Trigon

These commercials for Trigon BlueCross BlueShield might be the cutest things I have ever seen.  The little boy is absolutely adorable with his voice and dimples.  Although I have never heard of Trigon and now with research I have found that they are not around with BlueCross BlueShield anymore, I think these ads are still very clever and really caught my attention.  Having the cute little boy talk about getting strong from karate and somebody getting injured in a movie he watched is the perfect way to bring attention to healthcare without being boring.

Royal Wed...Er, After Party!

After all the constant talk about the Royal Wedding, I just found out that apparently Prince Harry has been planning quite the royal after party.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380034/Royal-Wedding-2011-Best-man-Prince-Harry-plots-6am-survivors-breakfast.html

They are turning three State Rooms at Buckingham Palace into a nightclub.  There will even be cocktails chilled in treasure chests!  The party is supposed to go all night and into the morning until the 6 a.m. breakfast that will be served in the Palace.  A source said that "Harry is determined to make this a night to remember."  I really don't think that will be an issue!

The Importance of Fatherhood

This is one of the best advertisements I have ever seen!  My best friend showed me this commercial and it really made me think.  "More than 79% of Americans feel 'the most significant family or social problem facing America is the physical absence of the father from the home.' Research shows that the lack of a father in the home correlates closely with crime, educational and emotional problems, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol abuse.  In an effort to show dads the critical role they play in their children's lives, the Ad Council has partnered with the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and volunteer ad agency Campbell-Ewald to create a new PSA campaign that communicates to fathers that their presence is essential to their children's well-being. The campaign provides fathers with the information they need to become better dads."  I think this ad is great and teaches a wonderful lesson.  My dad means so much to me and I don't know what I would do if he wasn't such a great father figure.  He has always been there for me and has played a huge part in shaping who I am today.

Quite Disturbing

Victoria Looseleaf on The Looseleaf Beauty Report shows off a secret to aging!  Yeah, right.  This commercial is disturbing on many levels and there is no way that I believe that the facial-flex actually works.  The product looks like mouth gear and by doing flexing exercises with it in your mouth it is supposed to firm the jawline in just a few weeks.  It is totally worth the scary watch because in the end it will just make you laugh.  I have seen some weird infomercials before, but I think this one takes the cake.

Tom Ford's Racy New Ad

Tom Ford has recently launched a new campaign of advertisements for his new Neroli Portofino bath products.  The ads featured two models in a steamy shower scene completely naked.  There is much controversy about the risque ad.

Although the ad is quite racy, British department store Selfridges has gone and put up huge displays of the ads in their windows.  The ad display in the window has a overlay of moving water kind of like an aquarium.  This is sure to grab attention, both from consumers and the Advertising Standards Authority.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

As I was browsing the internet a few days ago, I noticed an advertisement on the side of the page.  It was for Burberry and it said "April Showers".  It really caught my eye with the rain, bright colors and beautiful British modes Sebastian and Cara.  The umbrella, purses, boots, sandals, and clothes are all gorgeous and really caught my eye.  I usually do not notice advertisements on the side of the webpage, but this one by Burberry was very intriguing so I had to click it, and I'm glad I did.

Scots Guard Banned From Royal Wedding Duties

A Buckingham Palace guard has been cut of his duties for the Royal Wedding after he called Kate Middleton some rude names and wrote rude comments about her on Facebook.  He said referring to Kate and her future husband: "hur and william drove past me on friday n all a got was a shitty wave while she looked the opposite way from me, stupid stuck up cow am a not good enough for them! posh bitch am totally with u on this 1 who reely gives a f*** about hur".
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5haLQhGFYEGAvBKlr8dHIxYCSSCNQ?docId=B18082161303677763A0

How to Fix Plumber's Butt

I was driving the other day and saw a billboard that read "Stop Plumber's Butt".  I was so confused and kept a mental note to research it later.  When I got to my computer I typed this in to google and found the above commercial.  I then realized how clever these advertisements for Duluth Trading Co. are.  The ad shows how to fix plumber's butt in four steps:

1. Identify the problem
2. Carefully remove shirt
3. Put on Duluth Longtail T
4. Double check your work

The Duluth Longtail T is 3 inches longer to keep plumber's crack covered.  This ad targets the perfect audience and displays their message clearly with humor.  If I was a plumber, I would definitely purchase these longtail T's from Duluth.

J. Crew Sued Over Sweater

The widely known "preppy" company J. Crew has been sued by Tony Duquette for trademark infringement and other causes of action.  Tony Duquette, Inc.  "The lawsuit alleges that J. Crew knowingly and willfully used the Duquette trademark without permission or license in connection with a leopard print product because of Tony Duquette's unique association with leopard print in the company's designs and products."  This case is a little ridiculous, especially because the artist is now dead.  I think the sweater is very cute and they should just let it go!

 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tony-duquette-files-trademark-infringement-suit-against-j-crew-120470879.html

Royals Unite

The Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton is this Friday, April 29, 2011.  The story of the couples wedding has been in the main headlines of many newspapers and magazines for months.  They have been discussing the guest list, the procession, the reception, and of course the gown.  The royals are so popular and well admired, they even have their own website dedicated to their wedding and all the details inside.  Absolutely cannot wait to watch the Royal Wedding!

Carrying Styles

This commercial is the perfect way to explain a typical sports game.  It's always understood that if you get up to go get a Budweiser, you come back with a round and how you carry it back is up to you.  I LOVE some of the examples they give like: the six pack strangler, the saint bernard, the flock of geese, the claw, and the labrador retriever.  It is so true that everyone finds a different way to carry back their round and they are all unique.  "It's what we do."

Sex Appeal Sells

Designer fashion companies know better than anyone that sex sells.  People want sex appeal and if they see others having it, they want it from them.  The more a company can show sex appeal, especially with an underwear line, the more people will want to buy their products.  You have to have the right target and appeal to them.  A great example of this is shown above with Emporio Armani.  The first billboard features soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo and sex icon Megan Fox, and the second has power couple David and Victoria Beckham, soccer star and former Spice Girl.  All of these people are famous, successful, wealthy, powerful, and last but not least: sexy.  People want to look like them, people want to be them, so when they see these celebrities wearing Armani, they want to go buy Armani.

Publicity

A great way to gain publicity for a company is through Facebook.  A company that does this well, but not everyone has heard of is Jovani.  They sell a variety of beautiful evening, cocktail, and couture gowns.

This screenshot is from their facebook page.  They use a variety of methods to gain public knowledge.  Like featured above, the company posts statuses telling people to "like" the status and they could win a Jovani watch for free.  They also add in there that they need to make it to 106,000 fans first though.  This creates an opportunity for them to find more followers through their already existing followers spreading the word and telling their family, friends, and anyone for that matter!  Jovani also posts pictures of celebrities wearing their dresses and the style number so people can go online and buy the same dress as their favorite star.  Jovani also allows people to post pictures of themselves in Jovani dresses on their wall so that others can see how normal, average people look beautiful wearing their gowns.  All of these techniques that Jovani uses bring attention to their company.  They use their publicity to their maximum benefit.

TMI & Grammar Lessons

TMI=Too much information.  In this day and age, some people tell and show too much of their personal lives than needs to be seen.  On person in particular that does this is Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.  Just the other day, I was talking to a friend and looking at Snooki's twitter.  She tweets almost ten times everyday telling people where she is going and what she is doing and posts pictures of herself and her friends in her house, car, room, bed and plenty more.  Don't get me wrong, I love Snooki and think she is hilarious, but there gets to be a point where the public just does not need to know certain things about your life.

Another thing that really bothers me is when people spell things wrong in their tweets.  We might as well stick with Snooki since she fits this category as well!  One of her tweets said, "OMG I've never seen such a slow cashier ... And I can talk cause I used to be a cashier and was fast as lightening !! Shit."  I mean really it is lightning not lightening.  Again, I love Snooki, but little spelling errors like that just make you look dumb and not very intelligent.  C'mon Snooks you can do better than that!

New Backdrop for Corona

Corona is usually associated with beaches and nice, sunny weather, but a new commercial for Corona Light is featured at a party in the city nightlife.  No more swimsuits and sand for Corona this time.  The new commercial was created by independent advertising agency La Comunidad.  This time Corona opts for DJ's at two rooftop parties that are playing different music and then decide to combine their music to make a killer mash-up.  As Corona would say: "It only gets better."

New Product, New Man

Introducing Old Spice Danger Zone.  The new product from Old Spice comes out with a new commercial. The danger zone products have not been announced on the official Old Spice website yet, but there is a new commercial that has popped up all over the internet.

The old spokesman Isaiah Mustafa is nowhere to be found in this new ad.  He has been the leading ad campaign man for the past year as the "man your man could smell like".  He is the often shirtless man that all the ladies love and men aspire to be.  The new unnamed spokesman says "danger excites me, but I can't fully enjoy it when i smell like fear and body odor.  So I prepare myself with a manly scent of Old Spice Danger Zone because even if something bad does happen to a danger zone man, he won't smell like something bad happened."  He is clothed in a white suit throughout the entire ad.  I really enjoy the new ad and the man portrays a handsome, adventurous jungle man with lots of courage.  I think having a new spokesman come out with the new product was a great move on Old Spice's part and I look forward to seeing what new ads he will be in next.

To Legalize or Not?

To legalize or not? That is the question.  The debate for legalizing marijuana has been going on for years.  This website has six different print advertisements featuring famous people such as James Franco, Michael Phelps and John Lennon.  The ads are clever and feature celebrities that people have looked up to.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2QB3kX/iloveweed.net/2010/06/6-awesome-pro-marijuana-ads-pics/

On James Franco's advertisement it says that legalizing marijuana would help bring the economy up and make our jails less crowded.  On Michael Phelps ad it says "14 olympic gold medals. 37 world records. 2 awesome lungs" and that heavy marijuana smokers show no obstruction of the lung's small airway.  On John Lennon's it says to give peace a chance and that marijuana can help do that.  Although these ads may or may not be true, nothing in them will effect the government's decision any time soon.

A Thin Line

This message is loud and clear: "The hurt of digital harassment can last forever.  There's a thin line between words and wounds."

This commercial really speaks for itself, but some people still do not get the message.  The commercial has been out for awhile now and it really fits with the latest bullying crazes.  People do not understand the full effect bullying has on people, especially cyber-bullying.  The old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is so wrong.  The mean things you say to people can stick with them forever and really have an impact on the way they are.  Commercials like this are absolutely wonderful and should really teach bullies a lesson.  Don't say mean things to people even if you are just joking, it can really hurt them emotionally and physically.  Watch what you say to others.

Beyonce Too Sexy?

Beyonce's new advertisement for her fragrance, Heat, has been banned from daytime television in the United Kingdom.  The Advertising Standards Authority said the ad was "unsuitable to be seen by young children.  ASA's statement follows:

"Beyonce's body movements and the camera's prolonged focus on shots of her dress slipping away to partially expose her breasts created a sexually provocative ad that was unsuitable to be seen by young children. We considered that the ad should not have been shown before 7.30pm due to the sexually provocative nature of the imagery."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/beyonces-sexy-heat-commer_n_784717.html 

Although I understand where they are coming from, I do not agree with the ASA at all.  After watching the commercial multiple times (provided by the link above), I still think that it is acceptable to show on daytime television.  I think Beyonce is a beautiful, talented artist who is a great role model.  There are things on television that are more sexually provocative then her ad and I think she is a successful woman and deserves to be able to show off her fragrance in her sexy advertisements.

Frontier

As I was flying to Washington D.C. for vacation there was a little bit of turbulence, especially for a flight to the district where I have flown numerous times.  I did not think anything of it until the flight landed and the flight attendant said "Thanks for flying frontier, a new kind of animal."  My first reaction was to turn to my friend sitting next to me and burst out laughing.  I had never heard something so ridiculous.  As soon as I landed and got settled, I went straight for the computer to research.  This is what I found:

Under the Company Info section of Frontier's website it says that when they first launched their airline in 1994, they wanted a way to stand out among their competitors and so they came out with their wildlife theme.  Today there are over 50 different animal photographs on the tails of their planes.  It made a lot more sense to me and I remembered seeing a series of Frontier commercials that showed the animals on their planes tails like this one.

It also says on their website that yes, they have animals on their tails, but that's not why the engines purr. The animal goes beyond just the picture and to the actual interior functions of the plane.  They wanted a way to attract people's attention and stick out in the market, and this just proves that they have certainly achieved that.