some idiot's digital ad idea...

I'm a hulu.com fan to the core. My schedule doesn't allow for watching my favorite shows live on T.V. so I have chosen to resort to the internet to keep myself up-to-date with my favorite channels. The website is horrendously easy to use and allows me to utilize some spare hours within my day while I'm doing other tasks (laundry, cleaning, cooking, eating) to also watch TV for 'free'. The catch? There are advertisements interspersed throughout the shows, about 5-6 thirty second spots per hour long episode. This isn't horrible by any means, it doesn't particularly bother me and obviously hasn't curbed my love for the site.  On one recent venture to catch up on Glee, before the video would start to stream it forced me to make a choice. Either A) I could watch one long ad and then watch the rest of my show commercial free, or B) I could watch the show as usual with a few ads every 10-12 minutes. DUH! I'll watch one long ad. I pressed play, let the ad run while I grabbed a quick snack and changed into pajamas. What I'm confused about is what fool thought this was an effective way to reach consumers in the digital realm? I essentially watched free TV commercial free. I guess the digital platform is an ever-changing one and new ideas and attempts to reach consumers arise daily. However I would love to know who thought this was a good idea? Obviously they realized it was ineffective because it's only happened to me that one time even though I wish I had that option for every show!

Facebook's doing what??

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Facebook has taken a recent forefront in the news regarding the release of its @facebook.com email creation for all users and the discussion of its future plans regarding advertising.  I found this article very timely as the advertising methods of sites like facebook have been discussed extensively in our recent classes. The article eluded to the fact that facebook is "plotting some sort of massive ad network through the distribution of its Connect and Like buttons all over the Web".  In other words, facebook is working to more closely personalize ads for specific users based on their web activity on the site. This personalization can be taken as a good or a bad thing based on who you talk to. Some users find it creepy and invasive to think that someone is theoretically following their online activity. Others assume that if they have to look at ads, they might as well be ads that interest them. Both schools of thought carry merit, however the expansion of this use of advertisements on the site cannot really be predicted. Zuckerberg mention at the San Francisco conference that “we’re getting started with ads,” he said. “We’re ramping up well. We have a lot left to do". How far will the ads on facebook go? How far can they go?

Which ads do you watch on REPEAT?

I take a personal interest in advertising because I want to pursue it as a career path so I watch ads over and over again online, look up interesting campaigns and generally keep a watchful eye for ads that make me look twice. However, people who don't have such a vested interest in the advertising world also tend to re-watch ads that strike a certain cord with them. Whether they be funny, inspiring, thought provoking, or just plain entertaining, certain campaigns with the assistance of digital video media access have become household names simply due to their number of hits on YouTube. What makes these certain ads special to so many? What do they have that translates their image from "ad trying to sell me something" to "cool video I want to watch over and over again?"  I would argue music has a lot to do with most advertisements that people tend to watch repeatedly. An ad that has a catchy tune that also tells a thought provoking story is unbeatable. Humor I'd say would be the next lure to viewers. If it's funny, people will use it as a form of entertainment, pass it along to their friends, and certainly remember it for an extended period of time. Here's some of my favorite ads that I periodically pull up on YouTube just for the heck of it!

Gatorade-Evolve
Old Spice-Smell Like a Man, Man
World Cup

Will the power of Facebook ever decrease?

Recent discussions regarding how to best utilize online advertising and digital media got me thinking. Will the power of Facebook ever lessen? Today, most people either have a personal Facebook page, or if not know what the site is and have been on it before with a friend on their account.  That media platform has obvious power, and the advertising world is changing constantly to attempt to best utilize this stage. Digital advertising becomes more and more specialized, personalized and specific every day. But is all this progress eventually going to fall on deaf ears? I've had my Facebook account for about 6 years. I certainly don't visit the site daily, and only do when I'm looking for something specific; be it a photograph, information on an event, a friends profile.  Based on personal experience, my use of the site has decreased overtime thus making myself a less involved and eager target for marketers. Will there ever be a day when Facebook and sites like is become a thing of the past? My excitement for the site has lessened but I may be a special case. However I know that if others begin to follow the trend of cutting back on Facebook time advertisers will be extremely disappointed at the loss of such a useful marketing platform

Happy Baby Advertisement

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The 'Happy Baby' ad by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for HP e-printers took an interesting spin on an idea seen in ads for years. The baby travels in his green bouncy seat across America's heartland, along busy highways, and throughout beautiful country sceneries. He winds us wheeling his way right into a suburban home and the next shot is his face coming out of an HP e-printer. The new technology this printer eludes to in this incredibly eye catching method is that one can take a photo and email it straight to a printer, rather the printers themselves coincide with a certain email address.  Just another technological method to transmit information faster and with more efficiency, this virtual traveling of photos from some distant location into reality in one's home potentially thousands of miles away was beautifully mirrored in the physical travels of a baby. Babies are hot topics for photo-ops in most families and this particular child's interesting and expressive face along his joy ride illuminates the reasons why photos of babies are so important and endeared. Well produced, incredibly cast, and an interesting take on the product's key usage, this ad caught my eye and portrayed a rare example of incredibly advertising in a world unfortunately full of poorly made clutter.

Indefinitely Overturning Restaurant

I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a city with a downtown and the whole bit, however it pales in comparison to Dallas in size, restaurant choices, shopping, nightlife, and the like. My family (who eats out quite a lot) pretty much rotates 5-8 restaurants when choosing a dinner spot. This one strip of shops and restaurants is literally half a mile from our house, and there's this one location that has changed names over 5 times since I've lived in Charlotte (7 years total). The food is terrible, but the location is primo and there's a rooftop terrace that would be a nice place to enjoy good food, if the chef ever improved. Sometimes these restaurants just vamped up the location, switched the name, and kept the chef in an attempt to fool consumers into believing it to be a hip new spot. Except the bad food and weak service never changed. A restaurant with incredible food and a worse venue opened a block away along the same strip and has done wonderfully. It's my distinct opinion that restaurants, devices, and services that offer quality products will succeed with even minimal advertisement. Word of mouth and public opinion are everything, especially in the restaurant business. Charlotteans know the flip-over restaurant never changes and has horrible food, regardless of its location and hip rooftop accessory. Building and sustaining a positive public opinion is a powerful advertising tool that sometimes seems to be shoved in the corner when it should be front and center.

Pick your ad!

           I'm an avid fan of the site Hulu which allows viewers to watch old and new episodes of hundreds of shows and movies online for free. The catch, however, comes in the form of obnoxious advertisements. The last few times I've watched a show on the site, the first ad which is played before the show can begin, asked me to choose one of three options. For instance, the ad was for a type of vehicle and 3 boxes appeared showing images of three different women with their respective names written underneath. The women varied in age and ethnicities but were each shown happily seated in the front seat of sed vehicle. My take on the advertiser requesting a viewers choice in protagonist for the ad they must endure exhibits an attempt to open a line of two way communication between advertiser and consumer. Theoretically, most viewers will choose the woman that most relates to their life, the "soccer mom" would choose the woman who looks most like her and so on. The thought process being that people will relate more closely to the product if they similarly associate with the user of that product portrayed in the ad. Secondarily, people may be more likely to listen to an advertisers message if they play a role in their ad experience. And finally, this method evokes some sense of curiosity. Combined, these three aspects of this new marketing method may be extremely effective.