Week 3 EOC: Tobacco Advertisement Evaluation

Determine the scenario: What happens in this frame?

It is Father’s Day, and a mother, her children, and the family dog are all ready to give the man of the house his presents – a pack of cigarettes a piece.

What is the setting? What are the conditions?
The setting is the foyer of a two-story house on Father’s Day morning.

Who are the people or groups?
The man in the ad coming down the stairs is a father and husband, and the others are his wife and children, and the family dog.

What is their point of view around this specific experience?
Their opinion is, “The only brand good enough for Dad is Old Golds.” They believe that only this brand of cigarette will do for their father.

What are their goals?
The goals of the family members in the ad are to give their father something he’ll enjoy.

What are their assumptions? What are their perceptions?
Their assumption is that their father will love the gift because it is this particular brand.

Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?
There isn’t a real conflict in the advertisement, but the family cooperates to give the father what the ad suggests will make him happy.

What are the outcomes?
The outcome isn’t outright seen in the ad, but it is assumed that the outcome is a happy Father’s Day.

The advertisement conveys a home-like feeling, attempting to give the product a family-friendly image. It also tries to establish the brand as superior by telling you that it’s the only thing that will do for the number one man in your life. Its message is that if someone that important and close to you deserves nothing less, then it is the best brand. Using a figure directly relevant to your life, they establish themselves as an ideal. That, of course, is a main strength of this ad. It is relevant in some manner to the consumer, in contrast to the glamorization tactic of many vintage tobacco advertisements.

Image credit to http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/vintage_tobacco_advertising/page/4/ .

EOC Week 2: Questionable Ethics in Advertising

There are many examples of questionable ethics in advertising. Too many businesses just try to make money without thinking about how unethical their methods can be. Most of these strategies, fortunately, hurt sales in the long run. For example, Shape-Up shoes promise to burn more calories while you do exercises you were already doing to give you the figure of your dreams. When consumers found out the product wasn’t helping, the result was predictable. They stopped buying, for the most part. Another product that doesn’t deliver on its promise is one most people likely have in their homes every day: bottled water. Bottled water, including Dasani and Aquafina brands, often comes from public water sources. Ever wonder what MWS or PWS stood for on your water bottle? It’s just a way to note, without outright saying, that the water comes from a local, public source. Additionally, it is held to less vigorous standards than water from the tap. Sometimes it’s not even held to any standards at all! It markets itself as healthier and purer than tap water, but it’s really the opposite-It can be harmful. There have even been studies that linked bottled water to the development of cancer. Hopefully, within the next few years, more consumers will be aware of the risks, and stop buying, but the chances of that are fairly low. The one thing bottled water does offer above tap is convenience. Another unethical choice in advertising comes from what has in the past few years become public enemy number one: credit card companies. Credit card companies have found that their greatest profits come from high-risk borrowers, who would only pay the minimum payment. Their advertising is often directed purposely to the people who would have difficulty paying the cards off and have little financial responsibility, as this allows them to accumulate late fees and interest, trapping them in debt to make the greatest possible profit.

Voice

I have always believed that fashion is much more than a way to express ourselves. It is a way to express our culture, identify ourselves as part of a community, share ideas, and make friends. Style unites us as people, from our first day of school to our wedding day. As a child, I dedicated myself to becoming one of the people who made it happen, and that desire has stayed with me since. Never have I quite let go of that fascination with a population’s attire, or what it says about the overall community. Never have I grown tired of seeing friends sharing their style. When I think I’ve seen everything, all I need do is look a little closer, and there is another group of people with another style entirely ready to excite and inspire me. As long as there are people to communicate ideas, there will be new trends and subcultures to examine and research, and old trends to compare them to. The patterns that fashion reveals in our culture will never cease to inspire passion in myself, others in the field, and future additions to the fashion industry.

EOC Week 1: VW Lemon

The Volkswagen Lemon ad described inspections of Volkswagens, and how one tiny detail can make that car a “lemon” to the company. It was meant to show the quality of the cars they sell by saying that Volkswagen accepts only the best. The ad basically said that lemons often look just the same as any other car, and inspectors at Volkswagen notice the difference so that a lemon, or even a slightly less-than-perfect car, does not end up in a customer’s hands.

The ad appeared in the early 1960’s with the headline “Lemon.” It was at the head of the Creative Revolution, when imagery replaced traditional trends in advertising. The ad had many strengths. Its wit was charming and it used poetic devices to allow it to stand out among the unimaginative ads of the era. Part of the true genius, however, was that the ad highlighted the parts most closely linked to the ‘experience’ of driving, subtly appealing to the viewer’s emotions without straying from the most obvious purpose of showing the quality of the car. It brought to mind not only the image of the inspection itself, but the smooth ride the shock absorbers allowed, a flawless body and interior, and the road ahead. Though the car was inexpensive, the ad brought to mind a luxurious, comfortable experience.

It was a unique work which helped to revolutionize advertising. Advertising would no longer be about showing just the product, but also, the experience associated with it. The ad, along with its predecessor, Volkswagen’s “Think Small” ad, moved advertising ahead into a new era, in which advertisers would appeal to the senses and emotions rather than simply showing a picture of a product and telling you to buy it.

To be honest, even today, the ad makes me want to buy a Volkswagen.