Advertising Case Studies

Creative Objectives and Methods Analysis

By Matt Meier

An analytical look into the primary advertising creative objectives and the methods employed to achieve those objectives. Examples are given to illustrate a real-world use of the methods.

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INTRODUCTION
Many advertisers use various methods to attract consumers attention in different media forms. As outlined by the textbook, these message strategies the methods an advertiser utilizes to achieve an objective are numerous, with 10 desires that are sought to be achieved, as well as their various methods to achieve the objective. The following are the 10 hopes that advertisers wish to achieve and their strategies to achieve them, with examples.

PROMOTE BRAND RECALL

The concept of brand recall is simple enough: advertisers seek to have consumers remember a specific brand or an evoked set of brands. The strategy behind this method usually involves repetition of the brand name in an ad, using a catchy/clever slogan that is easily remembered (preferably with the brand name within the slogan), and using point-ofpurchase displays. Advertisers often seek to create unaided recall, where the consumer would instinctively remember the name of the brand. For example, is a study was being conducted amongst consumers and a question such as Can you name a few Coke products? was asked, an advertiser for Sprite would hope that the consumer could immediately recall that brand quickly. Having a consumer call out a brand instinctively if such a question were asked could indicate that that particular brand is amongst the first choices of purchase a consumer would make in that brand category.

REPETITION

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The Campbells brand of soups is a prime example of repetition being used to promote a brand. Often times the soup isle of a grocery store will contain a section entirely devoted to the Campbells brand, using the familiar red band with simple script text in a repetitious manner. Utilizing the mix of red and white creates a stark contrast that sticks out for the product, making it instantly noticeable and memorable. While this is not advertising per se, the fact remains that this use of repetition only helps for consumers to recall the Campbells brand of soups.

SLOGANS AND JINGLES

Timex, a brand known for making tough watches, would frequently use commercials to test their watches, demonstrating their ability to withstand a beating. Earlier commercials 2

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were often done live during a commercial break, which lead at times to some mishaps, such as the when a motorboat engine caused the watch to be lost in a tank of water, leaving the spokesperson a little fumbled. But regardless of any mishaps, the phrase I t takes a licking and keeps on ticking would be repeated at the end, letting the audience, and potential consumers, know that the watch would always continue to work through anything.

POINT-OF-PURCHASE

DISPLAYS

Gum and candy bars are a frequent mainstay of checkout lines at grocery stories, where the prime location to include point-of-purchase displays. Often POP displays are impulse buys, wherein there is little cost for the consumer and therefore virtually no secondguessing the purchase. The example provided here is Wrigleys 5 Gum, which has continued a strong promotional campaign since the products debut in 2007, using the tagline, Stimulate your senses. The packaging is usually stark, flat black, with a cool or slightly warm color highlighting the text and minimal graphics. The product is no doubt a standout at grocery stores around the nation. Point-of-Purchase displays are not always gum and candy containers at grocery store checkout lines. Often times large cardboard cutout displays are utilized at store entrances to remind incoming consumers of a current sale that is occurring in the store. This variant of the display is typically used to remind consumers of a key sale, whereas the POP display example noted above directly correlates with the product itself. Both the cardboard cutouts and containers are inherently POP displays, serving the purpose of getting the consumer to buy.

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LINK KEY ATTRIBUTES TO THE BRAND NAME

This goal of advertisers often uses a unique selling proposition, which is fancy-speak for pointing out a positive trait of a brand. Typically finding a USP must begin with the maker (or advertiser) first; its key to sell yourself on the brand before sell ing the brand to consumers. If the key trait or traits does not seem appealing to you, then it is necessary to go back to the drawing board. Often the best method to finding a USP with a brand is to look around at other examples, with luxury cars being a prime example.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Bose has been a notable user of USPs throughout their advertisements. Whether the ads are through television or in print, they typically tout Boses ability to providing excellent audio quality, usually at a premium cost. Bose has come under fire from audiophiles and consumers alike for Boses supposed deceptive marketing practices. While Bose usually promotes their product at the luxury level, consumers have dissected the machines and found it to be on par with low-to-mid quality products that typically sell at just a couple hundred dollars. This is certainly against the image that Bose has been selling for years and can very well work against the brand.

PERSUADE THE CONSUMER

This form of advertising tends to be very common, but is a tad bit more difficult than the previous two advertising objectives as it requires the consumer think about what the 4

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advertiser is saying. However, these ads tend to give justification for the consumer to purchase the product, which gives the consumer a reason in social circles for buying.

REASON-WHY ADVERTISING

Trident Gum ran a series of commercials, stating that 4 out of 5 dentists recommend using Trident Gum as a means for keeping teeth clean, a logical reason to use that brand of gum. The ads were humorous in nature, usually asking why the fifth dentist would not recommend Trident. The commercial shown above had a panel of five dentists, with the first four giving a Yes vote to using Trident. But as it came time for the fifth dentist to give his vote, a squirrel had crawled up his pant leg and had bitten him in a very sensitive location, to which the dentist cried out NOOO! The advertisements, such as this one, took a stated fact and turned it on its head, giving unique and hilarious approaches as to why the fifth dentist dissented.

HARD-SELL ADVERTISING

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Hard-sell ads usually want the consumer to act immediately, as there is a limited time window for sale; sometimes if the consumer acted sooner, they would be eligible for a special discount or more of a product without cost. One example that I have been seeing lately has been Kay Furniture, a local furniture store centered in Smithville, MO. For the past couple of months, Kay Furniture has been burning up the local airwaves about their Going out of business sale, as well as using roadside posters by the dozens to grab drivers attentions. I have seen this tactic get used before with other furniture businesses, notably Crawleys Furniture of Liberty, MO. Back in the late 1990s, this particular furniture store held a Going out of business sale, hoping to sell the entire stock. A few months passed after the closing of the business before it cropped back up again across the highway from the original location, with the new location having a much larger floor space to use.

COMPARISON ADVERTISING

Comparison advertising is something fairly unique in the United States, where it enjoys much fanfare of its use, whereas in most other nations of the world have outlawed such forms of advertising. Comparison advertising is a simple enough concept, featuring two competing brands being matched up, with the advertised brand having such features that are noticeably better than this other brand. Verizon Wireless often uses this tactic against its main competitor, AT&T, as noted in the image above, by way of showing the amount of high-speed data coverage in the United States. However, Verizons use of the graphic has landed them in hot water with AT&T, who claims the ad is misleading and potentially harmful to AT&Ts business. Such ads, if deemed misleading by the FTC, can be suitable for legal action and fines. Therefore, comparison advertising is inherently a dangerous approach as there is a high legal cost with such advertising.

CELEBRITY TESTIMONIALS
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Celebrity testimonials tend be one of the most common forms of spokesperson advertising around, and no spokesperson has done this better than NBA legend Michael Jordan, noticeable here for Hanes. Jordan was also the face behind the uber-popular line of Air Jordan sneakers, which have since gained somewhat of a cult following recently this past holiday season, some pandemonium erupted as shoppers across the country faced arrests when rushing to grab the shoes when they went on sale for the Christmas buy. Celebrity spokesperson are typically paid large amounts of money through endorsing products, with some person sitting quite comfortably long after retiring from their career, i.e. Michael Jordan and his post-NBA career. However, these spokespersons often serve as role models and as such are expected to conduct themselves in a reputable manner. When Tiger Woods, who was making $100 million a year through endorsements, was found to be having extra-marital affairs with several women, some of the most prominent of Woods employers dropped him, including brands such as Gillette and Nike. The word of caution through this is that celebrity endorsers are often held to higher standard once endorsing products and are heavily scrutinized by the brands they endorse to ensure that advertisers are hanging onto the right individual.

EXPERT TESTIMONIALS

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Advertising that features the endorsement of a professional is a great credibility booster for a brand. The example above features former US Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop endorsing the Life Alert, which is a wearable device that high-risk users typically the elderly wear in case of home accidents that calls in medical services. With the affirmation of the former Surgeon General, who is the face of American best health practices, giving the okay to use the device, it is sure to make prospecting consumers look into the device for use.

AVERAGE USER TESTIMONIALS

Demonstration ads and infomercials typically use average users in their advertisements, so as to bring a level of relation to the target audience. Shamwow, the popular absorbent towel featured a few average users in their first, and famous, ad, with the persons each giving positive feedback about the product. What sets this apart is the apparent setting of the user testimonials, which appears to be a product demonstration, perhaps at an event or ideal location where the target audience possibly conglomerates, maybe a city market. With that in mind, these appeal do truly appear to be average users rather than the 8

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paid actor spokesperson who merely represents the average user, but is not one themselves.

DEMONSTRATION ADVERTISING

Demonstration ads have a strong credibility towards them, as it lends the creed Seeing is believing to the product. The earlier Shamwow ads primarily featured the product being used, with the average users affirming the success of the product; Timex essentially built their entire ad campaign around product demonstrations, with the famous slogan confirming the watchs durability. The example featured here (with Tiger Woods, no less) is a common example of demonstrating the product in the ad. It seems odd that razor maker Gillette needs to consistently remind consumers of the products use, as the use has essentially not changed for decades. Regardless, Gillette always features a man shaving, ending with usually a clean face and virtually no signs of the guy ever having hair (if only this were true).

INFOMERCIALS

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Infomercials tend to be a staple for fitness products, such as Total Gym shown here. Featuring the endorsement of martial arts master and actor Chuck Norris, Total Gym advertisements typically run from 2 to 10 minutes in length, with 30-minute blocks sometimes being bought in the early morning hours on some cable networks. Infomercials generally are one long, extended product demonstration, which usually go into the depth and range of the product and its many uses or degree of use. Infomercials usually take on the form of a talkshow format, with a host showing the benefits of the product while the guest asking particular questions about the product, as in the manner of a typical consumer. Some infomercials can also be considered hard-sell ads as they often feature Call now! actions to get a consumer to purchase the product for a special deal.

AFFECTIVE ASSOCIATION
Advertisers often wish to have their brand remembered in a positive light by the consumer. The three methods used by advertisers involve feel-good, humor, and sex-appeal advertising. These forms of advertising tend to be quite difficult to pull off correctly, but when done, some truly memorable ads can be made.

FEEL-GOOD ADVERTISING

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One of the most effective feel-good advertisements in recent memory came from Anheuser-Busch, with this commercial coming from the 2005 Super Bowl. The ad is largely wordless, with a group of soldiers returning home via a commercial airport, while patrons take notice and begin a crescendo of clapping, eventually leading to cheering and hand shaking. The timing of the ad was no doubt touching, as the United States was entrenched in the worst stages of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with many viewing the conflicts as Americas next Vietnam. Whereas during the Vietnam era, where returning soldiers were viewed with scorn and spite, the Anheuser-Busch wanted to paint an extremely positive and enjoyable picture of these soldiers, a mix of men and women of different races, returning home from their respective tour of duties, presumably to their families where there will undoubtedly have a welcome-home party, with a few Budweisers going around.

HUMOR ADVERTISING

Humor advertising typically has the benefit of being among the most memorable method of advertising, but sometimes lacks getting the brand name to stick with the 11

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consumer. However, recent ads from Old Spice and Dos Equis have proven successful in their form, mixing the brand directly in with the humor of the commercial (and even reaching meme status on the Internet, a truly great achievement for any brand). A recent example of a successful humor ad campaign comes from Direct TV, which features a disgruntled cable user making a seamlessly horrible and/or unusual mistakes which invariably lead to an even further unusual/horrible conclusion; the ad noted above eventually finds the cable user reenacting scenes from Platoon with Charlie Sheen, after the user meets the Platoon star in a Turkish bathhouse. The ad campaign is similar in effect to Toshibas Ramifications ad campaign, which also featured humorous situ ations compounding into each other, all stemming from a manufacturing design that was withheld for cost/time reasons, that is until the CEO of Toshiba decided against such measures due to thinking up the ramifications.

SEX APPEAL ADVERTISING

One of the most famous phrases in advertising is that sex sells. Despite this long held belief, sex does not actually sell well, as numerous studies have proven that sex appeal does not get users to buy a product, nor get a consumer to remember a brand all that well. Sex appeal ads, however, do work in grabbing a viewers attention, as noticed in the controversial Go Daddy commercial from Super Bowl 2005. This ad was a take-off of the infamous Nipplegate that occurred during the halftime show of the previous Super Bowl in 2004, where singer Janet Jackson suffered a wardrobe malfunction when pop singer Justine 12

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Timberlake removed a piece of her clothing. The Go Daddy was no doubt an attention grabber, which caused enough immediate controversy that Fox refused to air the commercial a second time, despite the fact that it was scheduled to run during the exact same Super Bowl 2005.

SCARING THE CONSUMER INTO ACTION

This method of advertising is all about getting the consumer to realize they need a product to prevent something from occurring, done through the method of fear. Fear itself is a very powerful emotion, easily one of the most powerful in human nature, and appealing to fear can get a consumer to act immediately .

FEAR-APPEAL ADVERTISING

Fear-appealing ads seem a little unusual given their context amongst these other ad examples, as they usually are promoting consumers not to use a certain brand. These fear appealing ads are often used by the government or non-profit organization to promote the dangers of drug use, noticeably tobacco. The Centers for Disease Control recently kicked off a campaign that features former smokers going about their lives, but with the shock and fear stemming from various gross abnormalities of their bodies. The ad above shows a former smoker who now has to breathe through a hole cut in his trachea, a very clear and graphic representation of the dangers of tobacco use. Despite these seemingly shocking ads, the 13

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general consensus among tobacco users is that they have little effect on getting them to quit, as learned through personal discussions in my Communication Law course. The graphic warnings tend to be ignored by users, as tobacco use has become a lifestyle choice for them, and thereby inherently difficult to change, despite the knowledge they have of the dangers.

CHANGE BEHAVIOR BY INDUCING ANXIETY

Anxiety advertising is somewhat of a take-off of fear-appealing ads, just not at the level of compounding fear that fear-appealing would do. Anxiety ads tend to want the consumer to feel that they need a certain product by way of fulfilling a need, typically in a social context. Anxiety ads are fairly common in the ad world and can be successful in playing off of peoples dread.

ANXIETY ADVERTISING

One ad campaign that I have noticed time and again that uses anxiety as a means of advertising comes from aspirin maker Bayer. These ads usually featured the average-user, a person whos often middle-aged or elderly and who has suffered from a life-threatening heart attack. However, they usually end up staying alive because a bottle of Bayer aspirin was near, that allowed them to pull through their heart attack just long enough for medical attention to arrive. Bayer essentially advertises to keep a bottle of their aspirin nearby in case a person were to suffer from a heart attack. Some attention has been called out against Bayer for making claims that their aspirin can save lives. While it is true that aspirin can (and has) save a life of a person mid-heart attack, the truth is that a doctor-prescribed aspirin regimen is most effective for individuals who are susceptible to heart problems. It would not be possible for Bayer to land itself in hot water for making these claims that aspirin saves lives, but it should not be broadcast as being the true rule for all heart attack sufferers. One element of aspirin that can work against a 14

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person mid-heart attack would be the amount of caffeine present in the drug, which can actually cause the heart to race, thus compounding the heart attack further.

SOCIAL ANXIETY

Deviating from the more serious anxiety ads are social anxiety advertising, which are meant to drive consumers to purchase a brand to help them out in a social context, typically in the form of personal health and hygiene. Various products, from shampoos to deodorant, all use social anxiety as a means of promoting their self, as with Proactive. The Proactive brand is advertised as the solution for acne sufferers, usually featuring a celebrity spokesperson promoting the product, such as Justin Bieber, noted above. Acne is no doubt a very common cause for social anxiety, as it can be readably visible to individuals, namely teenagers, whose lives are often built around social circles. Because of the fact that teenagers are the most common demographic that experience acne problems, brands such as Proactive frequently target this demographic.

DEFINING THE BRAND IMAGE

Defining the brand image can be a very challenging, but equally rewarding, method of advertising. Some of the most notable examples brand image definition includes Nike and their familiar swoosh, Chevrolet and their cross, and McDonalds and their golden arches. If a brand can find the perfect level of brand image, they can become a truly unforgettable brand, as noted with the examples afore. To achieve a successful brand image, advertisers would use images, product placements, cultural/social tie-ins, and transformational ads to sell to the consumer.

CONVEYING THE BRAND

THROUGH IMAGE/SLICE-OF-LIFE

ADVERTISING
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Easily one of the most tear-jerking ads in recent times, Googles Chrome ad of a father leaving a digital time capsule for his daughter is truly an unforgettable commercial. The ad is largely the dad using various Google products, from Gmail to YouTube, all through the Chrome web browser, as he stores and records specific events in the life of his daughter as she is growing. The ad ends with the Chrome logo, reaffirming the presence of the browser in the events that transpired. What makes the ad so utterly likeable was not only the simplicity of using the browser and lack of specific reasons to use the browser, but the heart strings the commercial pulls on consumers. The ad itself, despite being a series of images that all string together to tell a story, is really a feel-good itself.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Product placement is most often employed by advertisers to get a brand to be used in a certain fictional context wherein a viewer may notice the brand casually via a film or television program. Sometimes product placements are utilized by filmmakers to help cut costs of a films product; this method was very noticeable in the 2005 film The Island, where 16

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the producers had certain brands, such as Aquafina and Xbox, utilized in the film, where the brands paid for their placement, hence off-setting production costs. Some product placements can lead to some truly high levels of iconography; Aston Martin, seen now as one of the premier luxury car brands, has become so inextricably tied with the James Bond franchise so as to be inseparable. The above still comes from the 2012 Bond film Skyfall, the 23rd film in the series and one of many to feature an Aston Martin, most famously the Aston Martin DB5, as noted above. The DB5 has come to be recognized as the signature Bond car, which is usually outfitted with an array of weapons and gadgets, which are meant to elude and eliminate any enemies that attempt to thwart Bond and his mission.

LEVERAGE SOCIAL DISRUPTION & CULTURAL CONTRADICTIONS

Getting a brand to look as though it is a part of a cultural/social setting is extremely sophisticated and requires much work on the part of the advertiser to work correctly. The method is not often employed because of its difficulty, but has found some success in many brands, ranging from Mountain Dew to Volkswagen.

TIE

THE

BRAND

TO A

SOCIAL/CULTURAL MOVEMENT

Tying a brand to a social and/or cultural movement can be very rewarding for the brand or create backlash against the brand. Pepsi found great success in the 1960s when it launched a very successful campaign targeting the youth of America. The 1960s was a very contentious time for many young Americans, who were struggling to create a national 17

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identity built upon rebellion against parental norms and rock-and-roll. Pepsi latched onto this vibe and quickly gained a strong foothold in the cola market, coming head-to-head to industry leader Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola would, in effect, attempt a similar move as Pepsis in the mid -1980s with New Coke, which was an attempt by the company the reinvigorate their brand by changing a familiar product. However, severe backlash ensued from millions of disgruntled consumers, who saw the brand as giving in to the cultural changes of the day and changing an American icon that, for the better part of a century, had remained the same. Coke did eventually reverted back to their original (Classic) formula, and had the bless ing of stellar sales to go along with the debacle.

TRANSFORM CONSUMPTION EXPERIENCES

Advertisers who seek to get consumers to feel differently about a brand is perhaps the most difficult form of advertising to undertake. Such advertising can create huge scorn, creating a large amount of negativity. It is an inherently difficult method to undertake, but when successful, can prove to be the right thing.

TRANSFORMATIONAL ADVERTISING

Chrysler definitely hit it out of the park when they featured veteran actor Clint Eastwood in their recent Super Bowl commercial. In this ad, Eastwood spoke of America entering the second half, with times not getting easier, but nonetheless needing us to stick together. Not only was the commercial cleverly aired immediately before the second half of the Super Bowl game, Chrysler itself was entering a new era after its purchase by European 18

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automaker Fiat. The purchase came after the Chrysler brand was struggling to keep up with declining sales, only to take a severe beating during the worst of the Great Recession. Having executives from the company beg money from Congress did not help the brands image much either, as many of the executives from Chrysler, as well as General Motors, used expensive and wasteful modes of transportation to reach Capitol Hill. It is hard to say exactly how effective the Clint Eastwood Super Bowl ad has had on the company, given that not enough time has passed to truly reflect any noted increase in sales for Chrysler. But I can attest to the popularity of the ad: immediately after commercials airing, the hashtag #ClintEastwoodForPresident became a top trend on Twitter and remained so for the duration of the game.

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SOURCES
http://neatdesigns.net/the-clash-of-the-titans-pepsi-vs-coke-ads-in-the-50s-60s/ http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/glossary/brand-recall.htm http://retail.about.com/od/glossary/g/pop_display.htm http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/5-gum.aspx http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82480.html http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html#bottom http://adage.com/article/news/t-sues-verizon-3g-network-comparison-tv-ad/140303/ http://news.softpedia.com/news/More-Advertisers-Drop-Tiger-Woods-129667.shtml http://abcnews.go.com/Business/nike-air-jordan-xi-concord-shoppingfrenzy/story?id=15220618#.T8BEwLCvKSo http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/infomercial.html http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/time-out/201007/does-sex-really-sell http://www.webpronews.com/godaddy-super-bowl-ad-controversy-2005-02 http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/aspirin.asp

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