Hulu Advertisements

In the past few years it has become a common thing for people to watch television shows online. I know that I myself always catch up on my favorite shows using sites such as Hulu or even watch shows directly on abc.com or mtv.com. This is brought up in a lot of my classes and often the question is asked if advertising is effected. In my personal opinion, I watch advertisements more on these sites than when I'm watching actual cable. The reason for this is because these sites make you watch the ads before letting you view the next segment of the show. When commercials come on when I'm watching t.v I have the freedom to flip channels until those commercials are over but this isn't possible with online viewing. What do you guys think? Do you think these internet sites which you can watch shows on affects television advertisements?

Ad Traffic

In doing research for our creative brief assignment I learned that on average we view 3000 ads per day. Advertisements are honestly everywhere so I think 3000 is right in the ball park but there is no way I register all 3000 of those ads. Tonight I am just posing a question because I'd like to know what everyone thinks about this fact. Which advertisements or source of advertising such as television, internet, magazines, etc. get your attention and why do you think that is?

Facebook

Something I noticed with Facebook advertising is that it is personalized to each member. I know for myself the side bars on my Facebook contain advertisements for companies as Modcloth and Overstock.com. A more extreme example is the advertisements that come up on my friends Facebook. When she changed her relationship status to engaged, advertisements of bridal wear and wedding planning took over her side bars. However, when she changed her relationship status to married, advertisements from Babies R Us and other similar companies targeted her. I think this is an extremely clever and innovative way to target your market and create ads that tailor to them. Has anyone else noticed advertisements on Facebook that you feel are tailored specifically to you?

Billboards

Billboards have been around for quite awhile but my question is, how effective are they? We all see them on major highways and even busy streets but do we really take in the content of these billboards? Personally, I can't think of one really great billboard that moved me or made me keep their message in mind. If anything, the only billboards i think really work are billboards for companies such as Dunkin Donuts or Dairy Queen which are already established companies with a name everyone knows. 

I think billboards should be left in the pass for several reasons. First, billboards are effective for a very very short amount of time and that is if you even noticed the billboard at all when driving by. If I drove by a billboard that caught my eye it may intrigue me for a few seconds but unless your going slow enough there's no possible way you can write down a number or take in the whole message the company wanted you to receive. Second, it is difficult to measure how effective your billboard really was in attracting consumers. People generally drive by billboards at a quick speed so companies really don't have much space or time to show you what their selling. So why spend the money on billboards? What do you guys think about billboard advertising and do you think they are still effective?

Dove

Marketing plays a big part in advertising and essentially the two go hand in hand. One of the companies that I believe have done the best job targeting their market through their commercials is Dove. These commercials have always stood out to me because they take a completely different approach than many other cosmetic companies. Dove emphasizes that their products are meant for every women and that every women is beautiful. Through their advertisements they make a point to show that covering your face up with makeup and photo shopping is not true beauty. Dover commercials put females insecurities in the limelight and pose the question to why females have these insecurities. Within this question is their key to successful advertising. They show pictures and campaigns of models portrayed with flawless skin and thin figures and oppose those ideals by showing women with all different figures and spreading the message that those women are the women with the true beauty. Here are a few commercials that I feel have a strong impact on consumers. Dove does also advertise to target men but I decided to focus on the female market for this blog. 

Every Girl is Beautiful
Pro Age
Dove Evolution
My Dove

Celebrities in Advertisements

The theme of the week seems to be the use of celebrities in advertisements so I'll add my view. Does using celebrities in advertisements cause risk or reward? 


I believe that using celebrities in advertisements causing both risk and reward. There is no doubt that celebrities come at a high cost but does that cost go further than just the dollar sign? A very known celebrity that caused more cost is Michael Phelps and that was with Subway and Kellogg. When companies choose to use celebrities they are looking for their spokesman to have a positive influence on their target market. However it is a great gamble to use such a well known spokes person because they are now the face of your product and people now will associate your product with that person. In the case of Michael Phelps, his incident being caught using a bong, Subway and Kellogg hit a bigger cost. They used an Olympian who failed to be the role model and positive influence that the companies had anticipated and therefor he lost all credibility. Any buyer who was really turned off by the incident may not want to purchase from the companies that Michael Phelps was the face of.


On the other hand, some companies would never have any recognition unless it was for the face of their payed celebrity. A great example of this is Kim Kardashian and the weight loss supplement Quick Trim. Both her and her sister Khloe advertise for this company and it has become a quick hit solely because these sisters are so popular. With this product I'm assuming that the sales of this supplement have by far outweighed the cost of hiring the Kardashians.  

For the past several years we've all seen commercials for it and have been more than disappointed that we can't get our hands on it. How awesome did Sonic look on T.V and we'd all Google where the closest one was only to find out it was in the next state over. Everyone time I saw a commercial for Sonic I remember asking why they advertise something that isn't even in our state. Finally, Sonic made its way to Connecticut and as soon as it did I realized that they have probably the smartest advertising team out there. The reason Connecticut Sonic's were a hit from the start is because everyone already knew the name and had been wanting to try it from the first time they saw their commercial. Sonic made us crave their food and atmosphere for years so there was no doubt that we all can't help stopping that first time we see their Sonic sign.