Thursday, October 31, 2013

Every Bite is Happifyin' Light



Aunt Jemima pancake mix was released in 1886 and it was a woman by the name of Nancy Green who ended up becoming the face of the mix. Targeting women between the ages of 25-35 who are going to be at home getting ready to do the shopping for the family, this ad uses many different fonts which takes away from its effectiveness but the catchy slogan, friendly advisor and soft sell techniques really surpass that making this ad seem very effective to me. They created this great personality that people could identify when thinking of the brand and put her on the advertisements so that everyone knew who to look for in stores. Pancakes became a big part of a lot people's mornings after and Aunt Jemima became a household name. This ad does have some ethnic and racial implications of how African Americans dressed in a sort of cooks outfit and cooked for families. 

Americans will Always fight for Liberty

This advertisement for enlisting into the military during World War II, released in 1943, attempts to grab the attention of the males ages 18-25. This is an effective advertisement because it uses not only patriotism brought about by the current world crisis, but also uses the transfer method in an attempt to take draw similarities between present day and the American Revolution and the glittering generalities method, which is a linking to a favorable cause or idea, with the idea here being liberty. The culture of the time period was war so it completely embraces what is going on in the world but one way that it was said to gain status and respect from fellow men in this time was by joining the military and really draws on the stereotypical idea of what a man should be; strong, brave, patriotic.

Spam 'N' Pancakes On The Fire


This ad from 1942 sells the popular meat product, SPAM. It uses a two line rhyme along with a few recipes for different uses of SPAM to target women between the ages of 18-25 who would be buying their husbands groceries. In the time period before WWII, women had only started breaking into the workforce so at this point some women are still the "make my husband happy" types. I think it's an effective ad because not only does it have a catchy slogan that consumers can think about with the product name, but it also has other uses. Since SPAM was only introduced in 1937, the advertisers had to make sure new consumers knew that the product was versatile and not just for being put on sandwiches. In 1942, America had already entered into the war and with food shortages affecting people all over the country, SPAM was a cheap "miracle meat" that provided the protein that people needed. The only race being targeted at this point were the white population because this was still in a time before any other race really had any buying power.

The Fine Car Of Its Field


This advertisement for the '55 Ford aims at men between the ages of 25-50 that are either working class or retired. It uses a unique selling proposition technique along with the same font and a the image of the actual car, and it touches on Ogilvy's idea about how products can augment a person's image. It embraces the idea of style obsolescence, by having the years model number in the ad, showing that by now obsolescence is really starting to catch on. 1955 does fall within in the time period we studying in class called the post-war boom, which talked about obsolescence so that's pretty big in advertising culture. This item was a symbol of having excess along with it was an easy way to get from many homes out in the suburbs into the cities where most people works or shop.

where there's life... there's Bud

This Budweiser Beer ad from the 1950s targets men between the ages of 21-40. Its use of bright colors and a friendly looking white man in a suit make this effective at advertising at that target audience but the tiny copy and their main slogan they're using makes it ineffective, in my opinion, at doing more than just getting a quick glance from potential consumers. It uses the mason symbol and James Bond, both of which were very big during this time period. The use of Bond means this ad utilizes the friendly advisor approach and it uses the hard sell techniques by being direct in its pride about the ingredients used. This would be important at the time because the 50s were a time of great rebellion from the younger generation and to rebel, they would drink illegally or smoke, and this ad positions Budweiser as being more of a classy thing and not something to be consumed behind the dumpsters at school. The only stereotype here is that only men consumer beer.

The Most Distinguished Name in Sunglasses


Founded in 1937, Ray-Bans quickly became popular with their original 'Aviator' style. This ad, from 1960, shows the classic style on the man in the picture along with many of the newer ones. This ad targets men and women between the ages of 18-25 and whom have a more fun-loving attitude. Clear pictures with the style name for easy purchase, the asymmetrical style and the use of images make this an interesting and effective ad for selling these sunglasses. This shows the active lifestyles of young people in this time period and you could have found a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers only a few years before in a James Dean movie, so these really had integrated into popular culture and were even a lifestyle symbol to some people making it very important to them. They used Ogilvy's ideas about the image the product creates and that being the real reason why people buy a product. There is no better example than Ray-Bans, back then and even today, as something that has transformed from a mere product to a personality symbol of its wearer.

Lucky Strike Green Has Gone to War




In 1941, the United States entered into World War II and with that certain materials started to become scarce. The components of the green ink on Lucky Strike cigarettes was one of them. This ad came out in 1942 and targets male smokers between the ages of 30-50. I say that because most of the younger population of males, were being targeted by other ads that sought to get them to enlist. It uses the current events of the time to still advertise because it makes it seem like Lucky Strike supports the war effort. A company that supports the war effort was more American and therefore more popular and important with the American public. This ad uses the hard sell in an attempt to sell their cigarettes by using the patriotic angle they went with. There aren't any real stereotypes being exploited in this advertisement