Everyone Loves Funny Commercials

Over the past year All State Insurance has introduced a new character in their commercials. We all have seen him and, some of us probably feel like we know him. His name is Mayhem. The Mayhem character represents the actual mayhem that can happen to anyone. Mayhem has been a toddler in your back seat, a fallen tree branch, a teen girl driver, and even a raccoon in your attic.

According to this article I read, All state’s target market with these commercials are called “bohemian mixers.” They are college graduates, they keep up with trends, and usually are under the age of 55. I feel All State reaches out to many more people, mainly generation Xers and Yers, because they are so humorous.

I love these All State advertisements. I think they are clever, funny, and they easily grab your attention. The use of Mayhem in multiple commercials and advertisements I think creates a relationship with consumers. They are able to relate to the situations happening in the commercials.

All state made a created a great campaign for themselves with Mayhem. They reach out to many different types of target markets, and the ads are known for their humor. I hope the continue to make many more of these ads. Check out this link to read an interesting article about the behind the scenes of the Mayhem character.

Opinion Leaders should Tell A Story

January is the time where Americans welcome an energized focus on losing weight. There are commercials, programs, discounts, products and memberships everywhere. Losing weight is the number one New Year’s Resolution. So, it did not surprise me to welcome multiple new faces as opinion leaders to what product we should all use to lose weight in 2012. There was Jennifer Hudson singing harder next to her old plump self, there was Charles Barkley promoting Weight Watchers new market-men and then there was Janet Jackson promoting Nutri System. Jenny Craig even added Mariah Carey to their roster as she is shedding her baby weight.

While I am sure all of these new advertisements and endorsements will net each of the companies more new customers; Jennifer Hudson is the most effective marketing strategy of them all. This fact is supported by an heavy increase in enrollment in 2011 amidst a struggling economy. Enrollment had increased 19% by the end of 2011. Weight Watchers was very innovative in developing new programs and going after new markets. The new points plus is more about success and targeting men with the tagline, Lose Like A Man is extremely creative. Women only make up 50% of the population so creating a new market with men can be profitable.

Jennifer Hudson as an opinion leader works, people connect with her as a “regular person” and her weight loss story has played out in front of our eyes just like her rise to fame. Charles Barkley’s weight loss is continuously showcased on ESPN as a testament to the power of Weight Watchers. While the campaigns for Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are less genuine, they are also competing with a very well managed integrated marketing campaign by Weight Watchers. The company has combined multiple aspects of the promotional mix to reach potential customers. They are using social media, public relations, online advertising as well as traditional media like television.

I am not the only one who counts Weight Watchers as the winner in this marketing war. I believe Jennifer and Charles story and the Weight Watchers brand has a proven reputation. Just check out their website.

Emotional Assurance from a Puppet

A Happy Customer Says:

"I just want to thank you for the fastest shipment and best service I could have ever gotten. When I placed my order with you I was a first time customer but I will not be a last time one."-Toby C., Feb 20, 2008

From a no-name online shoe company in 1999 to grossing $800 million dollars to being purchased by Amazon for $1.2 billion, Zappos.com found success in an ultra-competitive market. With so many companies competing online, Zappos.com had to find a way to separate themselves from other companies like Overstock.com. Instead of focusing on pricing, Zappos focused all its energy into 100% customer satisfaction.

The effort paid off. Zappos earned strong customer loyalty with their customer service, 24/7 call centers, price guarantees, free shipping and returns, and a 365-day return policy. Unparralled by any other online site, Zappos built their success on word of mouth and customer referrals.

With familiar campaigns of “Powered by Service” and “Happy to Help. 24/7”, Zappos began advertising in 2008. It wasn’t until we were introduced to the Zappets, puppets modeled after customer service reps, in March of 2010 that we saw a in spike in brand familiarity. The ads featured Zappets dealing with real life scenarios showcasing their customer loyalty team in action.

The Zappos commercial “Emotionally Ready” plays on the purchase dissonance that a lot buyers, specifically women, often feel after making purchases. A woman calls about an order that she receives over night and has not talked herself into committing to yet. She hides her order in the garage and calls Zappos for help. The operator relieves her of her anxiety and everything is okay.

The commercial found a niche that hit home. “Emotionally Ready” played on the emotional connections that consumers associated with purchases. It gave shoppers the power to enjoy their shopping choices and the drive to seek out Zappos’ branded service.

These Zappos commercials were so successful that they received the 2011 Effie Award. They surpassed one of their objectives (“Connection: Increase brand affinity and emotional connection by at least +15%”) by an overall 10% with “an increase in perceptions that ‘ Zappos.com is a brand that makes me smile’”. This emotional indicator reinforced the whole Zappos philosophy and proving the ad campaign effective.

Who said Starbucks is expensive?

I personally think this Starbucks commercial was very effective. At the beginning, they started with the interesting story with unique cartoons. Stories were about the rumor that people believed as a true story long time ago. The ad says, for example, people used to believe the earth is flat or that when you eat orange seed, the orange tree will grow out of your ears. After gathering people’s attention with these stories, they talk about their new product that they are promoting “Iced Brewed Coffee” in the end. They continuously talk about the rumor, but this time, it is all about the Starbucks, which is there are some people who think they cannot buy a coffee at Starbucks for under $4. Indeed, this is what most people think about Starbucks. In my opinion, via this commercial, Starbucks Company is responding to their customers with reasonable priced coffee.

One thing I liked the most was the way a person talks in commercial. He talks in a friendly manner as if he is telling an interesting story to us and when he moved to Starbucks’ story, he sounds even more familiar as he says ”Don’t be silly~.” At the end of the commercial, he warns us “Don’t believe everything you hear,” which is quite direct but it is so humorous at the same time. I think this last word would be the one that Starbucks wanted to say to their customers and I believe they managed it successfully!

CLICK to watch Starbucks' "Iced Brewed Coffee" Commercial

World at War?

Ever since I was little and can remember, I have been in love with video game entertainment. I can remember my cousin's Atari in the basement of my grandmothers house and us playing it for hours. Video game entertainment has come a long ways from the archaic Atari to the eye poping graphics that comes with systems like Microsofts Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3. Its also big business now with 48.9 billion in sales and is on pace to outsell musical content by the end of 2012.

With that being said, we now look at one of the most popular games out rite now, which is the Call of Duty franchise series. These games are like the Iphone of the video game industry which sets sales record with each new installment. The latest game, which was released November 8, 2011, set a sales record of 6.4 million copies in a 24 hour period in just the US and UK alone. It was said to have made close to 400 million on the release day alone. As this game became popular and popular, they started to run commercials with popular athletes and stars. The commercial in this clip is of the Call of Duty:Black Ops, and has the stars of NBA star Kobe Bryant and late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel in it. The commercial shows Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel shooting guns and rocket launchers in a field against other people. The commercial is trying to show how there is a soldier in every one of us and this game is how you can pull it out. As in terms of marketing, I thought it was very effective because you appeal to the target audience with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel and a chance to gain new markets with the commercials being a bit violent and controversial. Some people believed that the commercials are disrespectful to those fighting across seas and too violent for children to be viewing. Also with the stars of Kobe Bryant, people believed he should have been removed because he is more of a role model to little kids.

I think these commercials are effective and reaches the right target group it is trying. With many stars asking to be in these commercials, I believe the Call of Duty franchise will be around for a long time.

Eddie Miller http://youtu.be/LwOHX9gQ7Z8

It's Back!

I believe this is a very effective commercial, especially for its 30 second run time. After all, it got me to buy one. I had never tried a McRib before, then I saw this commercial and i just felt like I had to get one.

The reason I believe that this commercial works is because it stresses the fact that it is only a limited time offer promotion, and that you have to act now if you want to get one. The grown man acting like a little kid worrying about something that doesn't matter, especially when he is about to go off on his honeymoon, makes it look like the McRib returning is a pretty big deal, when in reality its not, well i guess to some people it is. then he goes on to say hes going to miss it, while it shows all his friends eating it, this makes you not want to be the odd man out. So since the commercial made me laugh I figured I would try it the next time I went to McDonald's, I was not disappointed.

So basically thecommercial tells you to get the McRib or you will be left out. I enjoyed it, it made me laugh and made me feel like trying one, and after all thats what they were going for right.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDgCbK7qD2Q

Keep Your Hands Off My Doritos and My Mom!

I feel this advertisement does an excellent job persuading consumers to buy Doritos within the 30 second time frame of the commercial. This commercial incorporated a plot, showcased the product, and showed the brand name all in half a minute. The commercial starts out as a women answers the door for her date. The woman then introduces her son to her date and leaves the room for a moment. While the son and mother’s date are alone in a room, the date tries to schmooze with the child, but makes the mistake of grabbing one of his Doritos. The little boy slaps his mother’s date, motions for him to put the Dorito back, and tells him to keep his hands off his mom and his Doritos.

The little boy hitting his mother’s date conveys to the audience that Doritos are superior to other snacks because not only is the little boy not willing to share them, he will fight for them. By showing that Doritos are superior to other snacks, this advertisement’s message conveys that Doritos are not a homogenous shopping product, but a heterogeneous product to the receivers who are the potential consumers.

The competitive environment for the snacks market is extremely aggressive because not only are there a lot of snack products in the market, there are also a lot of off brand products that are almost duplicating brand name products. The actors in the commercial lead the customer to believe that Doritos are a delicious snack because the boy is as protective of his Doritos as he is his mother. The commercial also ends by showing the Doritos logo; both of these tactics used together gives the product gratification and the brand recognition.

This advertisement packs a powerful punch for the small time slot given for the commercial. While it is necessary for any commercial to influence the customer to buy their product, it is especially important for this commercial to be successful because it was aired during the Superbowl in 2010 and the cost of getting one of the coveted commercial spots is extremely high. Doritos deserves a pat on the back for not only for successfully marketing their product, but providing their potential customers with a good laugh.

Click here to view commercial!