Unforgivable Ads

I heard all the uproar over P. Diddy's ads for his latest fragrance Unforgivable and assumed the ads were going to be gross and extremely appalling. I believe the ads did deliver those emotions but it failed to really sell the fragrance. All the glamorization of sex and infidelity failed to highlight the fragrance. Though this is true I don't believe it will hinder consumers from going and purchasing the fragrance. The attention the ad received from the uproar and upset has not stopped some channels from playing the ads. I have seen the ads on several different stations recently. The oversexualization of this country is appalling, and I believe that creative minds are stifled if they believe the only avenue to sell a product to today's consumer is through sex. I will not buy the fragrance for a loved one, but I know many others would.

Is advertising overwhelming?

These days one cannot go through their daily lives with out being bombarded with millions of advertisements. From the moment we wake up our senses are literally overrun with advertisements. Think about it. If you are someone you watches he local news when you wake up in the morning, think about how many ads you see during that programming. Or if you’re someone that prefers to read the paper in the morning you are still seeing lots of ads. Then think about your commute to work or school. Think of all the billboards you see, and of course don’t forget about the ads on the radio. If you continue to think about your daily routine and all the ads you encounter you will probably realize that you are seeing thousands upon thousands of adds everyday just doing your regular activities. But is this such a bad thing? I mean maybe all this advertising does contribute do the average America’s huge debt problem, but can you picture a world without advertising? In today’s world the average amount of credit card debt is close to $10,000 per household. That’s a lot. And it seems very discouraging when day in and day out Americans are constantly over run with all theses cleaver adds urging them to spend more and tempting them with the never ending promise that if you had this one item life would be so much better. But then if you stop and think about what the world would be like without advertising it would not be a pretty picture. Let’s start back at the beginning of the day and suppose that there is no advertising. There would be no more watching the local news in the morning because the average America could not afford to watch television without advertising. The paper to would be out of the question. The commute to work would also change. Since all the billboards help fund roads, there might not be any without them. And of course radio to would also be far too expensive for the average American to afford. So with out advertising think of all the extra money we would be spending for entertainment such as radio or television. I think the average American would still have just as much credit card debt because they would be spending so much more for entertainment. Though advertising can sometimes seem excessive and overwhelming I would prefer to never have to experience a world without it.

Avataars

Overall I think the Avatar is a cute idea, but more for a younger crowd. It was fun to create the avatar, but I think the clothing selection needs improvement. I didn’t find very many appealing options with the cloths and the colors and styles of the cloths just seems like they would appeal to younger people more than my age group. Though it was fun to create the avatar, I don't think I would ever use it. I don’t really understand what it is for. I know that you use it when using yahoo messenger, but I don't use yahoo messenger. I did think it was a cute idea however that you can change the avatar’s mood and their facial expression changes. I think younger kids would really enjoy using the Avatar, but I feel that people my age wouldn’t really see its purpose.

The Avatar

I think the Yahoo! Avatars are really cute. I have had a Yahoo! account for a long time, but actually today was the first time I created an Avatar because I thought it was a little silly. Surprisingly it was fun for me. I think it would have a been a little better if there was a slighter larger range of skin colors as an ethnic person I did not find a shade that I felt reflected my complexion. When choosing the clothing I think it would be more entertaining if the clothing was placed in a retail setting that had the different garment pieces in sections. People could dress their Avatar in lots of different selections in a dressing room similar to what is seen on the H&M website. Your favorite selections could then be stored in your personal closet that one could refer to often when they chose and wanted to change the outfit of their Avatar. These changes would make the Avatar more hands on and make someone return often to come back often to change the look of their Avatar.

Seven Jeans

In class we have been talking about subjects like brand equity and Vera Wang's line at Kohl's. I have been noticing another brand that has lowered its prices and brand identity to reach a new market and that is Seven jeans. These jeans are now being sold at Kohl's also when I first noticed this I thought maybe that this is okay and it can have a blue label like Ralph Lauren's Polo line or Armani Exchange. The difference is that even though these companies also have blue labels they have been able to retain a level of exclusivity. Seven Jeans does not seem as though there are as successful. Ralph Lauren and Armani are brands that have been around for years and have a faithful consumer base and they also have faithful consumers who though they cannot afford wish they could. Today I went to Ross and they had a pair of Seven jeans for 19.99. I found this to be astonishing. Suddenly I no longer liked the jeans even though they were cute. I am someone who appreciates feeling like I have something that the average person may not. Selling jeans at a major discounter like Ross makes the company much less exclusive. I wonder what the discounted blue label of Seven jeans will do to the overall perception of its brand? I also wonder why I wasn't as disgusted when I saw a cable Polo sweater for 24.99.

Taking advertising too seriously

A few Days ago in class we were discussing ethical advertising. While I do believe it is wrong to advertise overly sexual clothing, such as under wear that says eye candy and things of that nature, to children I think sometimes people simply take advertising too seriously. There is an ad that old navy is currently running that many seem to be taking offense to. The ad is for the new old navy jeans called diva, sweetheart, and flirt. The supposed offensive material was the song playing in the background. The song was a rendition of “Blue Alert” by Madeline Peyroux. Some people apparently felt the lyrics “she said no and no again” promoted sexual assault. But personally I feel that is a stretch. The song never indicates directly what she is saying no to. Also the action being shown also does not indicate any type of sexual assault. None of the women in the ad are even being pursued by men. The first girl, the “Diva”, is the only woman even shown with a man during the ad, and she is receiving a foot message, which does not in any way represent assault. Also at the end of the ad the women all leave together, not with men. Even though the class was told prior to viewing the ad that it was offensive, no one even identified that the song was the offensive material. I think that the song choice had nothing to do with the lyrics “she said no and n0 again”, but had more to do with how the song fit the theme of the commercial. The ad showed the three women in an urban setting and I feel the music promoted the glamorous yet laid back feel the ad was trying to convey. Saying this ad is offensive is simply just taking it too far.

The Gap has Fallen

In class on yesterday we talked about the Gap and how the company's brand equity has been on the steady decline in the past couple of years. We credited their continued demise to the fact that their core customer the middle class consumer is thinning out and becoming non existent. I agree that their target customer may becoming small, but there are some ways that the company could improve its products in order to regain a better position in the marketplace.

The first improvement I believe the Gap could make is to establish differentiation between itself and it's competitors in the marketplace. There have been many times when I have found an identical garment in Old Navy and the Gap. The Gap needs to look at what their competitors are doing well, stores such as Express and The Limited. The stores sell more of a lifestyle geared to the middle class consumer. Though their target price point is middle class, consumers of many economic classes are drawn to their products because they feel the products are differentiated from those of other retailers and portrays a lifestyle they wish to attain. The Gap has failed to differentiate themselves at all.

I believe that the Gap could become much more of a success if they try to differentiate their products with maybe a more fashion forward design. They also could benefit by promoting a certain lifestyle to be associated with the consumer. Portraying exactly whom they choose to target. With these improvements I think that the Gap will have a long future as the flagship store of its company.