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.