Advertising is.....

Is Advertising Ethical?

Is anything even ethical? Everyone at some point, lies. The consumer is making a decision to trust everything they see.

Cheated on your favourite brand recently?

Some advertisements use a different approach to getting new customers. They show an option and suggest you move to their new, better option. Are you cheating on your Heinz ketchup if you get tempted to switch to a new brand? No. Heinz ketchup should have kept you. I think the reason these companies use these tactics isn't to promote cheating and infidelity at all. I believe it is because most of the time the brands we "stick to" don't advertise anymore. I don't see anything for Heinz anymore, because the customers are loyal. But, if they saw a new ad for a new ketchup that is telling you leave your old heinz maybe they have a point. They are showing you that they are making the effort to get you to be their customer while Heinz just got lazy.  No offence to Heinz, just using it as an example.

On another note advertisements that say anything regarding actually cheating in a relationship or to do anything that harms another persons emotional state in any way is absolutely ridiculous and those companies don't deserve anyones business. And the Ashley Madison ads are completely unacceptable it makes me angry to think about.

Back to brands trying to convince you to cheat on other brands I think this is just silly. I honestly don't have much to say because it's very simple that I strongly believe ads can try to convince you to do anything they want and if you fall for it that's your problem. People are over sensitive these days. The next big thing will be, "The ad told me to cheat on my chip company so I cheated on my wife too" a week later they will be suing the chip company when the wife divorces. NO. Humans are silly. The sad thing is, this probably happened somewhere.

To sum it up, companies can do whatever they want to sell you on their products.

Billboards - gone.

Alright, so I've been told there are a lot of countries questioning whether or not they should remove all outdoor advertising. Why would they do this? I think they would probably do this so it doesn't get out of control and so that our world is not completely overwhelmed with ads but rather it would have more space to see the beauty in our world.  On the other hand, does it really stop us from seeing other things? And is it really going to get out of control? These are some of the questions I, personally am asking in regards to this.

This is probably one of the times I do not have a specific side to take. I think it could be a good idea because maybe less distraction would be nice to not see all the clutter of advertisements everywhere. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a fantastic idea though. Getting rid of those advertisements might lose business for people. Why would we want businesses to suffer? The world is made up of innovators and successful people but without advertising maybe they wouldn't have made it so far.
On the other hand, it is not a horrible idea to restrict the places companies advertise. The roads could actually be a distraction to drivers and that's not good with all the new laws with cell phone usage while driving.

If I had to chose a side I would say keep the god damn advertising. People in this world sometimes just want to make a fuss out of nothing. So just keep it and move on from it. Who cares if you don't like seeing it? It's there, so just leave it.

Meme made by my classmate

Made by Desiree Deschenes.
Desiree knows me too well and knows that this is what my friendships are mad of. Friendships are awesome in life but what makes them greater is alcohol, sarcasm, inappropriateness and shenanigans. She was not with me that night from that photo, but it was a great night out with friends downtown at multiple bars. It's okay to have a little bit of fun in life! I guess she knows that even though I study hard I also know how to balance my crazy friendships! Thanks Desiree! :)

Quotables!

Advertising using humour

There is a lot of talk about humour and how it affects advertising for a brand. Some of the talk is about if the humour actually results in sales, if maybe the humour insults too many people and if it should be used at all.
Does the humour result in sales? It might, because it might make people laugh but at the same time if it insults too many people they might lose the same amount of sales that they gained therefore the add would be considered ineffective.  I think it is entirely up to the brand and company if they want to use the humour and maybe they should just be a bit conscious of who they might offend and how many of their target audience they might offend. If they take a look at who might take offence they can refer back their target audience see their psychographics and demographics and evaluate it. They might offend a lot of people but the people who they for sure do not want to offend is their target audience. They have to be smart and careful when making ads that include humour that could offend. For example if you know your target audience is mainly animal lovers and you make a humorous remark about animals that could offend someone; you are stupid. Your target audience needs to be especially considered in all aspects of the design process. Their end goal is sales so if they use humour that could be offensive but doesn't offend their specific target I think it is okay. That brings me to the second point about if the humour insults too many people. It shouldn't and again the companies need to be aware of what they are putting out there.
I think humour should be used in moderation, just like anything in life. You can do it a little bit but don't over do it. If you aren't careful with your humorous advertising you could very well end up damaging your brand.

At the end of all of this, the companies need to pay attention to their content and their target audience. If the company has established their brand voice and tone it is safe to say they know the direction they are going in. If the brand identity is known to have a humours tone then they should continue to do what they are doing. I think it is mostly just important that companies are aware of what they are publishing! Just don't be dumb and you will good to go.

Does Advertising affect obesity?

Does advertising affect obesity?

I don't like fish. Actually, I don't like seafood at all. If I saw an add for seafood I wouldn't eat it but maybe I'd consider it because they would make it look better than it really is. Is this the same case for junk food? I chose not to want to eat junk food, but am I tempted? Yes, advertising does tempt us but at the end of the day it is our decision. 

Literally billions of dollars are thrown into advertising in the food industry. Obesity levels are constantly rising. Is is safe to say that they are affected? Yes. Of course they are affected. People are gullible, people are tempted, they see something they want it they buy it. This is why the advertising works. I don’t blame the advertising though, because the advertisers are incredibly smart when it comes to this. They know the way most humans work.

They see, they want, they buy.

You can’t blame the advertisers for figuring out how to sell and what works. Their techniques work, but at the end of the day it’s our decision.

So you saw an amazing add for McDonald’s French fries… You saw it, you sure as hell wanted it, so you bought it. But hours later you felt sick, you felt fat and you cried about it. Who are you blaming? The advertising. That’s only because you want someone to blame other than yourself. We need to take a step back and realize it’s your choice. No one forced those fries down your throat; you put it in your body. Deal with the consequences.

I am extremely sympathetic when something bad happens to someone that is out of their control. I am sorry though, if you willingly eat those French fries every single day and complain that you got fat that’s YOUR fault. Entirely. People who are obese did it to themselves. I don’t have any sympathy for them. There are many gyms, and healthy lifestyle resources people can use to fix the problem instead of falling for the advertisements over and over again.

If you are incredibly obese and do have issues with self control I am not disrespecting you, but I suggest you talk to a health care professional who can help you. Just don’t blame the advertising because they are doing a good job if they make you fall for it every time.

On another note, I do believe there are a lot more unhealthy advertisements than there are healthy ones but that is just because people know the healthy options exist. A red shiny apple won’t tempt them; they are tempted by sugar, sweets and everything that will satisfy their cravings. Why would they advertise the healthy options that we already know about. The companies know that we don’t even want to see apples on the TV so they don’t waste their budget on it. Again, the advertising agencies are smart. They know what they are doing, so don’t blame them.

We all love our snacks, and treats we just need to learn to control our cravings and temptations. Don’t get sucked into the adds and you will be fine!

If you are concerned try to follow the LIVE standards off of http://childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/what-is-childhood-obesity/statistics/.

It says to eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables a day, have no more than 2 hours of screen time per day, enjoy 1 hour a day of physical activity, and avoid sugary drinks.

Sometimes the greatest changes in life are done really slowly over a long period of time. Small consistent changes over time can honestly have the best result. I challenge you to not get tempted by the next advertisement you see.

At the end of the day, you make your own choices in life. If you enjoy all the unhealthy food in life then eat them, no one is stopping you! Just make sure you feel good about what you do.

Photoshop, should we do it?

Should we Photoshop Ads?

Photoshop has its pros and its cons when it comes to advertising. Some say it could be lying or as I sometimes like to call it, false advertising. But others think it is a good thing because they see it as beneficial.

My point of view depends on the situation. Extreme Photoshop to make women or men look a certain way makes me question how real the models are. Some people with self-esteem issues see these models and think they are supposed to look like that and that’s really unfortunate. The ads can consume young girls with what they feel they should look like. I think it’s a problem because the models probably look better without the effects anyways so why do they do it? Young girls see this, and try to attain the unattainable, but they see it and think its possible when it’s not. Have a look at the Dove ads, they really nailed it by focusing their ads on the products and showing people what beauty truly looks like. I doubt they used a lot if any Photoshop on their models. That is how it should be. But wait, is it? This is where my point of view changes. Dove is actually winning with this unique approach. What if everyone did it? This makes me think, maybe we see the over photo shopping way as a bad thing only because its all we see. What if all we saw was natural beauty? Everything would be the same and there would be no difference in the ads. A variation is good it shouldn’t be fully one way or fully another way, there just needs to be a line. The line should just be to make the photo shopped models look realistic and not set unrealistic expectations for the viewers.

Overall I think Photoshop is good, it has its benefits. When used properly and when the models look real it is appreciated. When they over do it that is where I see the problem. I think the advertisers need to be aware of their viewers and go from there.

Banvertising

Is Banvertising offensive or clever?
If an add is deemed as offensive, should it be banned? Honestly, if something is offensive to one person it might not be offensive to the rest of us. It's extremely bothersome how in life in general people will ban certain things because it doesn't please everyone! Nothing will ever please anyone! And example of banning something other than advertising is how people and schools have banned the word, "Christmas." It's a huge deal now to say this word just because some people didn't like it.

Banvertising is the same thing. I don't agree with banning words that have meaning to some people and I also don't agree that we should ban artwork and advertisements based on some people's values and beliefs. So advertisements should not be banned, because they were created with an intention and if that intention is working no one has the right to stop that!

That brings me to the next point, who can even determine what is considered to be offensive and what is not? I do not think any one person has the right to determine this. Our world needs to let people express whatever they want however they want. If some people are offended, I am sorry but that's too bad. It's an advertisement that might not even targeted at you so why should it matter?

On the other hand, yes I do believe that companies should be careful what they post. If they want to keep their business and keep a good reputation they should be aware of the reactions that their work may cause. But there is only so many people you can please in life, so at the end of the day it should be entirely up to the creative team to decide what they are going to create.

I hope it is not a deliberate strategy to have their advertisements banned, if that is the case then my entire theory changes. I do not believe in manipulating to get a specific outcome. However, if the company posts an ad and wants to shock people that is okay, but to specifically want to be banned is a little bit odd!