Direct Response Ad 2

Proactive Solutions

Launched:
2009

Media used:
Television

Appeal:
Rationale & Emotional

Analysis:
The analysis section first begins with identifying the commercial's target market.
In my opinion, the commercial targets men and women of all ages due to the participants used in its advertising. It was also observed that most customers' testimonials talked about being confident after Proactive Solutions solved their skin problem, thus implying that the commercial is aimed towards an extroverted group of consumers.

Secondly, it was noticed that the ad runs more frequently during the night. A possible reason for Proactive Solutions to choose this time slot is because of the customers characteristics. For example, generally speaking, most extroverts would prefer to socialize and thus, is normally out of their homes during the day. However, these segment of the market normally comes home at night, exhausted and just wanting to relax. Therefore, it can be assumed that the advertisement is viewed by a larger number of the intended target market during the night, thus explaining the frequent appearance of the ad on screens during the later hours of the day.

The third topic discussed is the persuasive method used by the ad.
"This commercial markets the brand and its products well." (Jiang, T. personal communication, May 7, 2011)

In further examination, the statement above most likely referred to the use of testimonials by everyday people and celebrity endorsements (in this ad, Jessica Simpson) to persuade sales and increase consumer's awareness of the brand products.

Well-known endorsers are influential due to their attractive and likeable qualities that is already perceived by consumers (Atkin and Block, 1983 as cited in Kamins, Brand, Hoeke & Moe, 1989). Besides that, a research done by Martin, Bhimy and Agee in 2002 reported that the use of celebrities and customer testimonials is an effective technique in both DRTV and long copy direct marketing.

However, like all other infomercials, the advertisement faces a problem with credibility. A survey done by Wirthlin Worldwide reported that 42% of consumers completely distrust infomercials as compared to that of information published in news articles, which had a 5% of non-believers (The Gale Group, 2006). This flaw commonly found in infomercials was covered using persuasive sentences such as "Number 1 best selling acne system in America" and "Over 15 million customers around the world" in the advertisement.


References:

1. Kamins, M.A., Brand, M.J., Hoeke, S.A. & Moe, J.C. (1989). Two-Sided versus One-Sided Celebrity Endorsements: The Impact on Advertising Effectiveness and Credibility. Journal of Advertising, 18(2), 4-10. Retrieved from Business Source Premier.
2. Martin, B.A.S., Bhimy, A.C., Agee, T. (2002). Infomercials and Advertising Effectiveness: An Empirical Study. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(6), 468-480. Retrieved from Emerald.
3. The Gale Group (2006). Emerging Industry Overview: Infomercials. Gale Emerging Industry Overviews. Retrieved from WARC.

Direct Response Ad 1

Oxi Clean

Launched:
2000

Media used:
Television

Appeal:
Rationale

Analysis:

Based on the ad, it can be said that the ad is targeted at women who has a family. Although it can be argued that the ad may appeal to both men and women (as long as one owns a house), Webster (1994) reported his findings that women dominate purchase decisions when the product is associated to the role of a homemaker.

According to Neff (2001), Oxi Clean's launch of its laundry additive and all-purpose cleaning brand products in 2000 gained an outstanding success using only direct-response TV ads to generate sales. Michael Hoye, the managing partner of consulting firm Hoye & Partners, Stratford, Conn. and a former exec VP at Colgate-Palmolive Co. Orange Glo's estimated that $100 million was generated by direct-response sales alone (Neff, 2001).

Through the ad itself, a few reasons for this level of success is clearly evident.

The first reason being the choice of salesman used to promote the product in the advertisement. The TV pitchman, Billy Mays is recognized for his distinctive selling pitch which allows him to carry the ads message across to the consumers. A quick glance at his history shows that he was a successful salesman before being hired to work for Orange Glo International on the Home Shopping Network, thus already acquiring the necessary persuasion skills required to make sales.

Other factors that may contribute to the effectiveness of this ad is the use of a rationale appeal as well as the visual demonstration of the product's benefits. In the ad, the product's benefits, simple method of use and product affordability was clearly communicated to the viewers. Additionally, the ad offers the consumes special promotions and discounts should they call in the next 20mins after viewing the ad. Therefore, the ad creates a desire in consumers, which is a characteristic of an effective direct-response advertisement (BhaveAdvertisers, n.d.)

At the same time, the evolution and acceptance of infomercials into the advertising society was increasing (Wojtas, 1990; Pollock, 1995). However, infomercials after the 1990s was not as effective as before and was instead used to create brand awareness more than sales. In other words, an integration between DRTV and retail sales was required to fully utilize the benefits gained from direct-response advertising. (Chapman & Beltramini, 2000).

References:

1. BhaveAdvertisers (n.d.). Direct Response Newspaper Advertising. Retrieved 7 May, 2011, from http://www.bhavesads.com/advertisement/direct-response-newspaper-advertising.php
2. Chapman, P.S. & Beltramini, R. (2000). Infomercials Revisited: Perspectives of Advertising Professionals. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(5). Retrieved from WARC.
3. Neff, J. (2001). Oxi Clean Rides Direct to the Top. Advertising Age. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/news/oxi-clean-rides-direct-top/54180/
4. Pollock, J. (1995). Infomercials Go Main-stream-Growing Credibility Fuels U.S. $4.5 billion Industry. Marketing - MacLean Hunter.
5. Webster, C. (1994). Effects of Hispanic Ethnic Identification on Marital Roles in the Purchase Decision Process. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 319-332. Retrieved from Business Source Premier.
6. Wojtas, G.W. (1990). The Renaissance of the Infomercial. Direct Marketing.

Business to business Ad 2

Epson - Engineered for Speed

Created by:

Albion, UK

Launched:

2010

Media used:

Television

Appeal:

Rationale

Analysis:
By using the Ariel Atom, a race car, to compete with the printing speed of Epson's latest line of inkjet printers, the ad above will probably generate a good first impression onto its audience. This reason for this is the ad's creativity, suspense and excitement, which in turn invokes attention and interest towards the ad. However, Heath (2010) argued that creative ads does not increase attention, but still facilitates communication through promoting open-mindedness and lowering consumers' guard towards the ad.

The appearance of the ad in televisions is another good choice that Epson made. Although a handful of people view television as a dying form of communication media due to the current shift towards the digital age (more specifically the Internet), a finding by Jones and Baxter (2010) concluded that TV viewing and its effectiveness is increasing.

On the other hand, to much dismay, the ad itself shows absolutely no indication regarding its target market. Only in the description found in Ads of the World, was the target market (small businesses) mentioned.

Analysed further, it was also observed that there was a poor measurement used in the ad, which was an Epson printer could print a map of the track faster than the car could drive it, but did not mention how many sheets of paper was printed in the duration of the lap.

In my opinion, the ad merely supports the brand's claim of producing one of the fastest inkjet printers by comparing the speed of the printer to the Ariel Atom and the statement of "38 pages per minute". Having left out other important aspects of their printers, such as multifunction, price and durability, the ad itself lacks the strength to motivate purchase behaviours from small businesses that have little or zero knowledge on Epson printers.

References:

1. Ads of the World (n.d.). Epson: Epson Printer vs Race Car. Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/epson_epson_printer_vs_race_car
2. Jones, T. & Baxter, T. (2010). A serious examination of the myth of TV viewing. Market Leader. Retrieved from WARC.
3. Robert, H. (2010). Creativity in TV ads does not increase attention. Admap. Retrieved from WARC.

Business to business Ad 1

FedEx Delivers to a Changing World

Created by:
BBDO

Launched:
2009

Media used:
Print

Appeal:
Rationale

Analysis:
The ads above are two examples of print ad that appeared from FedEx's global campaign, "FedEx delivers to a changing world."

It is well known that FedEx, being in delivery services boasts of getting their customers' parcels/packages at faster than their competitors. This is reflected in the first ad, where the large amount of FedEx employees are present, showing the company's speed and reliability in delivering. Although this point is consistent with that of the company's brand strength, the ad demonstrated little to no relevance with that of the campaign.

On the other hand, the second ad demonstrated a better link to their campaign. More specifically, the campaign's slogan, "FedEx delivers to a changing world" by showing a crowded, hectic and more business-appropriate environment.

In both the first and second ad shown here, there was a brief mention regarding growing markets in the text at the bottom of the ads. Similarly, the campaign is said to highlight how FedEx can help provide access to global markets (FedEx Global Newsroom, 2011). Therefore, it can assumed that the ads are targeted at a businesses with the promise of a quick, simple and reliable method for transporting.

Both ads also included a standard purple uniform for the employees to give out a professional appeal and thus increase the perceived quality of their services towards their target audience.

However, other than the text at the bottom of each ad, there was a lack of a global factor due to the choice of background unlike this ad below, which was created by BBD, Brazil.

This last ad which was not included in the recent, "FedEx delivers to a changing world" campaign deserves a round of applause. The brilliant idea of using a section of the world map as its background clearly portrays the availability of FedEx globally, while the brand strength of 'a quick and simple delivery' can be derived from the main focus which is the passing of the parcel from the male to the female.

References:

1. FedEx (2011). FedEx International Campaign. Retrieved from http://about.fedex.designcdt.com/our_company/advertising/international
2. FedEx Global Newsroom (2011). "FedEx Delivers to a Changing World." Retrieved from http://news.van.fedex.com/HALO09
3. Ads of the World (n.d.). Fedex: USA-Brazil. Retrieved 1 May, 2011, from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/fedex_usabrazil

Global Ad 2

Absolut Glimmer

Created by:

Team Family Business, Sweden

Launched:

2010

Media used:

Print

Appeal:

Emotional

Analysis:
From the design of the ad, it can be assumed that the ad intends to target young, modern people in the upper class segment of the market. This is due to the existence of the disco ball and speakers, which demonstrates energy and youth while the clean white theme abstractly states modern and an above average wealth.

At the same time, the crystal-patterned packaging of the product (aesthetics) and the line "Now available in selected stores around the world", enables the product to create a standard of exclusiveness. This leads to an increase in the product's value, creating a 'must-have' need in consumers who are socially conscious. Hence, it can also be derived that the ad additionally targets consumers who are more socially aware than others.

Although Absolut took a brave leap by repackaging their product, there are still several weaknesses found within the ad itself.

For one, the ad may fail to communicate its idea to its target market. Based on the ad alone, most consumers would assume 'present' in the tagline to be a gift, seeing how exclusive the product's aesthetics are. However, the word 'present' carries two meanings, a gift or the concept of a current time. According to Absolut's vice president in global marketing, Anna Malmhake, the idea of the ad was to bring inspiration and excitement to a current time or situation (Absolut Press, 2010). Therefore, the tagline, "Make the present exceptional", can be easily misunderstood by the intended audience.

In line with that, there is also a vague identification on how the ad supposedly, "encourages people to celebrate and pursue their secret passions." (Harris, 2010).

Moreover, in my opinion, this 2010 print ad by Absolut Vodka lacked an important amount of colour contrast between the product and its background, thus, resulting in a decrease of the ad's ability to attract attention.


References:

1. Ads of the World (n.d.). Absolute Vodka: Glimmer. Retrieved 28 April, 2011, from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/absolut_vodka_glimmer
2. Absolut Press (2010). Absolut Debuts Absolut Glimmer - A limited edition bottle with a crystal shape. Retrieved from http://press.absolut.com/templates/PressPage____8362.aspx
3. HabitusLiving.com (n.d.). Glimmer from Absolut Vodka. Retrieved 28 April, 2011, from http://www.habitusliving.com/play/glimmer-from-absolut-vodka
4. Harris, R. (2010, September 6).  Absolut Glimmers for Summer. TheShout. Retrieved from http://www.theshout.com.au/2010/09/06/article/Absolut-Glimmers-for-Summer/DFSBLEYTUD.html

Global Ad 1

1000 Cranes for Japan

Created by:

BBDO/Proximity in Tokyo, Canada and Singapore

Launched:

March 2011

Media used:

Online

Appeal:
Emotional & Rationale

Analysis:

The 1000 Cranes for Japan ad is targeted to everyone all over the world with the objective of enabling others to show their support for Japan who went through a huge amount of loss due to a devastating earthquake and subsequent Pacific tsunami on March 11th, 2011.

BBDO/Proximity based this ad on the ancient Japanese legend that promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. Because of this, the ad clearly demonstrates a relationship with the Japanese culture and belief which strongly communicates the ad's intended message.

Besides that, the use of various colours in the ad is to increase its attention-grabbing ability, attractiveness and sets a cheerful and supportive mood for people to get involved and support/donate for a good cause.

The ad was promoted through the Internet as media channel provides a broad reach with its availability and accessibility in most areas of the world. In fact, the growth of the Internet as a form of advertising media is so intense that the total expenditure invested by advertising companies on the Internet has shown a significant increase across all continents (Grande & James, 2008).

"By 2005, the Internet was available to 1 billion people worldwide, and approximately 845 million people used it regularly." (Emarketer, 2006, as cited in Rosenkrans, 2009)

Additionally, BBDO/Proximity used social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and so forth to further promote the ad, creating an electronic Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) effect. A basic definition of WOM is the sharing of information between everyday people on brands, companies, products in both digital and non-digital world (Carl, 2009). This is not only an effective method in today's advertisement-heavy world (Hogan, Lemon & Libai, 2004), but also proved to provide various cost-benefit advantages such overcoming barriers, reaching new customers, create loyalty and sustain and/or increase total sales (Palmer, 2009; Carl, 2009).

References:

1. 1000Cranes4Japan. Retrieved from http://www.1000cranes4japan.org/
2. Ads of the World (2011). Help Japan: 1000cranes4japan. Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/online/help_japan_1000cranes4japanorg
3. Campaign Brief (2011). BBDO aims for 1000 Cranes for Japan. Retrieved from http://www.campaignbrief.com/2011/03/1000-cranes-for-japan.html
4. Digital Lab (2011). Send a Message of Support to Japan. Retrieved from http://www.digitallabblogasia.com/
5. Rosenkrans, G. (2009). The Creativeness and Effectiveness of Online Interactive Rich Media Advertising. The Journal of Interactive Advertising, 9(2), 1-18. Retrieved from WARC.
6. Grande, C. & James, L. (2008). Global Advertising at a Turning Point? Warc Exclusive. Retrieved from WARC.
7. Hogan, J.E., Lemon, K.N., Libai, B. (2004). Quantifying the Ripple: Word-Of-Mouth and Advertising Effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 271-282. Retrieved from BusEco database. doi: 10.1017/S0021849904040243
8. Carl, W. (2009). Is talking getting you anywhere? Measuring WOM Marketing. Admap, 504, 1-8. Retrieved from WARC.
9. Palmer, I. (2009). WOM is about empowering consumers in shaping your brand. Admap, 504, 1-7. Retrieved from WARC.

Brand Ad 1

Armani Exchange - Spring/Summer Campaigns

Launched:
2007, 2010, 2011

Media used:
Print

Appeal:
Emotional

Armani Exchange's ad (2007)

Armani Exchange's ad (2010)

Armani Exchange's ad (2011)

Analysis:
Derived from the A|X (Armani Exchange) ads above, it can be seen that the ads promote the brand and its products (seasonal clothing line) and is targeted at extroverts, energetic, fashionable young adults.

Comparing previous ad campaigns such as the Spring/Summer Campaign back in 2007 and that of 2011, it can be observed that the brand's Spring/Summer Campaign has had a slight change in environment, from a beach to a park while still maintaining the outdoor setting. Besides that, the fun-loving, vibrant energy between the two campaign ads are kept consistent, while the sexual appeal found in 2007's ads have toned down. 

One of the most probable reasons for this is because ads with explicit nudity/strong sexual appeals tend to generate less favorable attitudes than those consisting of mild sexual appeal (Peterson & Kerin, 1977, as cited in Garcia & Young, 2006; LaTour & Henthorne, 1994).
At the same time, sexual appeal in the ads are not removed completely as these ads is proven to be able to easily grab an individual's attention and is common amongst companies involved in the fashion industry (LaTour & Henthorne, 1994).

Based on an article written by Seckler (2010), the effectiveness of A|X ads are increasing as A|X's marketing department is constantly improving their understanding on the public's (and customers') attitudes and values.

References:

1. Garcia, E. & Yang, K.C.C. (2006). Consumer Responses to Sexual Appeals in Cross-Cultural Advertisements. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 19(2), 29-52. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
2. LaTour, M.S. & Henthorne, T.L. (1994). Ethical Judgments of Sexual Appeals in Print Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 23(3), 81-92. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
3. Seckler, V. (2010). A|X Armani Launching ‘Utopia’ Campaign. WWD: Women's Wear Daily, 199(38), 14. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
4. Alek & Steph - OhlalaMag (2010). Armani Exchange Spring Summer 2010 Campaign. Retrieved 17 April, 2011, from http://www.ohlalamag.com/en/2010/01/armani-exchange-spring-summer-2010-campaign.html
5. Armani Exchange - Lifestyle (2011). Spring Campaign 2011.  Retrieved 17 April, 2011, from http://www.armaniexchange.com/category/lifestyle.do