Print Ad That Caught My Attention

I really like this print ad primarily for its universal appeal. People of all ages use pencils and chew gum. Granted, this ad is nothing game changing but I wanted to add some variety to the types of ads I use; this being one of the first print ads I’ve talked about. Because it is a print ad I see large change in the dynamic and method of advertising. Its not flashy, but very eye catching, primarily because of the contrast in focus. The most interesting part of this ad is that the product is secondary and placed inconspicuously in the corner. That to me was brilliant. The image in the ad is so cool and captivating yet obscure enough to make a consumer take a second and ask the question, “what is this advertisement trying to sell?”. It makes the consumer seek out the product then take the time to put together the ad and the product to determine the message. It is a was creative way to engage the audience in a way that commercials do, all with a single image.            

Does the ad have any real significant impact on our popular culture? No, but it’s a neat ad with some impressive graphic design that give me this unexplained feeling of expected fun to go with the consumption of this gum.

Women in Sports

In class we discussed how advertising is often skewed in regards to sports and gender. We discussed advertisers tendencies to sexualize women athletes and admire them for their attractiveness rather then their abilities. But this isn’t always true. I believe its all in how the athlete is wiling to portray themselves. Take this ad for example. This is a commercial with Maria Sharapova that acknowledges her beauty but also her amazing athletic abilities.

            This is a very nice commercial. It speaks to a young female demographic, but the universal Nike message speaks to young men as well. This commercial is the direction that advertisers need to take to promote positivity towards female athletes and lessen the objectification that is associated with them. This advertisement’s influence on pop culture is quite positive. It tells girls that there is a healthy balance between outer beauty and athletic success.

Hope: The Obama Ad

I know this is old and almost irrelevant at this point in time, however, I believe this ad is significant enough to be revisited. I wasn’t old enough to vote at the time, but I was old enough to truly grasp the political process unlike years past. For, I saw a message break barriers and make history. It was an entire campaign that revolved around one powerful word, hope. The Obama campaign strategists played it by the book when coming up with this campaign. The image/word was simple, relevant, and competitive. The red, white, and blue tied into the image of a gentle face looking off into the distance with the powerful word hope emanating creates the most important part of political marketing; the trust. It’s an amazing image that warms the heart and pushes “consumers” to believe. These consumers obviously being 18+ Americans, both male and female of all ages and backgrounds (he was running for presidency, he can’t afford not to be completely inclusive).

Hyundai: Where Would We be Without Technological Progression

I like the way that instead of painting a unrealistic picture of what the product could make you (if you drink Dos Equis you could be more like the most interesting man in the world, or if you use Axe body spray girls will disrobe and throw themselves at you) it cleverly tried to point out what life would be like without it. Its subtle enough to where the audience will not take offense to you basically saying “you need this or else!” yet straight forward enough to make the consumer think about what life would be like had no one recognized progression and innovation. Demographically looking at ages 16+, any gender, any ethnicity, and any income because of the great diversity of the actors in the commercial. The advertisement uses the ELM theory because the ad uses peripheral processing, very entertaining to watch and the message is not hidden, it’s spelled out for you.

Never Say No To Panda

Here is another example of a hilarious set of foreign commercials that have made their way to computers around the world. This once again proves the power of a comedy filled advertisement. This advertisement is one of the most versatile in regards to a demographic aim. The use of the cute mascot attracts kids, even parents and the borderline dark humor will be most appreciated by both males and females ages 13-25.  However, to differentiate this post from a past post I’ll includes examples of foreign commercials that do not have the same universal appeal.






The Australian ad is racist. I don’t know if that’s funny in Australia but I GUARENTEE you it would not go over well here. Culture differences I suppose? Now the Japanese one… I don’t even know where to begin. It’s both creepy and confusing. I can’t confirm this but it’s allegedly a commercial for insurance… I know that with out any translation it is almost unfair to judge the ad, but good Lord, the animals instantly grow breasts and a raccoon swings his male genitalia in sync with little red riding hood’s song and dance. There are no words that could clear that up for me. And unfortunately these are the kinds of commercials that lead Americans to unjustly believe that the Japanese are just weird (this is the effect on our popular culture).

Social Learning and Masculinity

During the social reform of the 1960’s, America experienced a rise in violence, political unrest, and a general “decline in public morality”. The masses were said to have learned this behavior through the media, be it that they were in fact the first “TV generation”. What was true then seems just as true now, but with social learning through media becoming the proprietors of the masculine guise embedded into our young men’s heads today.

We can only hope that media does not play the primary role in the exemplification of the “real” man. Ideally a young boy’s (or even girls, for they too have their own idea of what a man should be) first example of a man is his father. The danger lies in a situation where the father is either too preoccupied with work or other activities or simply not present at all in the child’s life. It is at this point the child is forced to seek out the male image, and in a day and age in which youth are more media savvy then ever, the media becomes the one to teach little Johnny what it means to be a man.

Unfortunately, the media often gets it wrong. Prosocial and antisocial behaviors are frequently intertwined and very subjective.  The power rangers exhibited bravery, teamwork, and even ingenuity; all of which can be considered prosocial qualities. However, the leader of the power rangers was always a white male that when faced with adversity used violence to settle ALL disputes. It would have been preposterous for power rangers to negotiate or solve their intergalactic issues diplomatically, because like the film Tough Guise points out, to deviate from the medias image of masculinity is to be considered a “wuss, wimp, fag, or sissy”. There are no homosexual crime fighters, no sensitive male super heros, and at least while I was growing up little to no portrayals of successful men of color. And because of this, we have an epidemic of skewed ideologies pertaining to masculinity.

Liquid Mountaineering

I felt extremely stupid for falling for this, but that’s what makes it a great advertisement. It feels as though one is watching a clip of a documentary you’d find on the discovery channel, but in reality is a commercial for Hi-Tec shoes trying to sell their product to young outdoorsy people. Brilliant! All marketing firms, take out a pen and paper and take notes. This is how advertising should be. It should be so discreet that I can’t tell I’m being sold a product. Require me to look into it, do some research. We are at a point in time where it is part of popular culture to not have all of the answers, because we have the technology (often right in our pockets) to find the answers. It is something that as a generation we almost enjoy (we do it with music, movies, even news). So advertisers should stop underestimating a demographic that is almost too smart for “conventional advertising”, we tend to not pay attention.