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Chrysler Advertisement and Politics

vassallo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:40:31 +0000

By far, the most popular and controversial advertisement featured during the Super Bowl, was Chrysler’s advertisement. Unlike the vast majority of other advertisements displayed during the Super Bowl, which took place on February 5^th and aired on NBC, the advertisement did not feature adorable animals, beautiful women, or cute little babies. Instead, the commercial, which lasted for an entire two minutes, featured Clint Eastwood, who promoted the comeback of Chrysler, especially after dealing with such economic turmoil in the past.

After running for half a day, the advertisement became such a huge point, especially for President Barack Obama, who will be running in the re-election campaign. This advertisement proved that even an advertisement, featured during a football game, could rely heavily on politics. Some of the critics claim that the Chrysler advertisement was created as a way for the company to payback President Obama, after saving the company from its financial problems years before. Critics believe that it was a strategic move, with hundreds of millions of people watching the game, to advertise for re-electing President Obama.

One Republican, Karl Rove, says Chrysler was simply trying to settle debts it made with Obama and his administration, after they bailed Chrysler out from financial crisis, providing the company with billions of dollars.

While the advertisement was popular, it was not necessarily popular with good reason. Many people actually voted this commercial their least favorite commercial during the Super Bowl game. Many are suggesting that the automobile company simply felt that they needed to do something, as a way of helping to pay back the President, in a sense; for all that he has done for the particular company.

In the meantime, the chief political strategist for President Obama, David Axelrod, tweeted on the popular social networking website, Twitter, saying that the commercial was such a powerful spot. As a way of making people believe that Obama was not involved in the creation of the spot, Axelrod asked whether or not Clint Eastwood narrated the commercial.

In the meantime, it is expected that Chrysler wanted to give thanks to the president that saved the company from closing down. The president, at the time, made a decision that was not favorable amongst many other people. There were a lot of people who were against the decision but the president believed in the company and did not want millions of jobs to go down the drain.

Clint Eastwood, who is featured in the advertisement and also narrates the advertisement, talks about how the country, as a whole, needs to stick together and cannot be knocked out with just one punch. He also says, in the advertisement, that it is important for the country as a whole, to pick up and get right back on its feet.

Google Advertisements and Phone Calls

vassallo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:39:13 +0000

The companies that have been interested in advertising through mobile services are having a lot of success when they have the users of smartphones do something out of the ordinary. These companies are having the smartphone users make phone calls and it actually seems to be working.

Mobile advertising has become the next big thing in the world of advertising, especially as an increasing number of people own a smartphone. In fact, smartphone usage has done more than doubled within the past two years alone. Just about 44% of mobile phone users own and operate smartphone. And, the vast majority of smartphone users are going on the Internet every single day. More than half, approximately 69% of smartphone users in the United States, get on the Internet on a daily basis. It is expected, that by the end of 2012, $2.61 billion will have been spent on smartphones alone, which is an increase from $1.45 billion that was spent during 2011.

With such huge growth in the number of people who own and operate a smartphone, many companies are competing with one another. Google is at the top of the list, due to its Google search engine and the Android, which has beat out Apple with a deal of acquiring AdMob for about $750 million. The deal took place in 2010 and at the same time, Apple established its own advertising network, called iAd, which lets advertisers place media advertisements on specific iOS applications. And, even the popular social networking platform, Facebook, is trying to find a way to get in on the mobile advertisement spectrum, hinting towards preparing for mobile advertisement space.

With all of the competition, one may find it kind of strange that certain companies want smartphone users to make calls. But, it makes sense. As Google is the leader of mobile advertising right now, the company allowed advertisements to be displayed, which could easily be tapped by the smartphone user, to instantly make a phone call. And, since doing this, the Google advertisements have managed to rake in millions of calls each month.

And, this type of approach has been useful for companies that have already relied on call centers as a means of creating new business. Esurance, for example, claims that the click-to-call advertisements have helped with the company’s campaign, by nearly 25%. The company also said that the calls that came in from these advertisements often led to sales. There are still a lot of people who prefer to do transactions through the phone and this is why the Esurance Director of Online Marketing, Tolithia Kornweibel, believes that the click-to-call advertisements are a fantastic idea.

Other companies are following in the lead, including 1-800-Flowers and Comcast, a popular cable provider. With these click-to-call advertisements, both companies claim to have seen a large surge in mobile sales.

Spongecell Creates Interactive Advertisements

vassallo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:37:36 +0000

Spongecell, a company known for providing rich media when it comes to advertisements online, recently made an announcement about $10 million Series B funding. The company, which is based in New York City, received the funding from Safeguard Scientifics, Incorporate.

Spongecell is the company that works to make advertisements much more interactive than they used to be. While advertisements were once just banner ads, easily skimmed over by the millions of viewers, the company works on turning the advertisements into interactive advertisements that move and really grasp the attention of the person viewing them. And, best of all, the company has mastered incorporating different types of action into one particular ad, which allows the consumers to have choices when it comes to how they view the advertisements and interact with them.

There are some people who are not big on flashy advertisements because they feel as though they are a distraction from the actual website. However, Spongecell has been actively working on ways to ensure that its method of making advertisements interactive will be effective, and will not be a nuisance to the people who will be viewing the advertisements. In fact, the company has been doing so well; it has some top name investors, including the chair of Google, Eric Schmidt.

Spongecell says that the capital will be put toward good use, creating smaller video advertisements and expanding to mobile advertisement as well.

In the beginning, right before 2008, Spongecell set its focus on getting people to buy an event management widget. However, the widget never really had the success that the company was hoping for, so the company decided to switch its focus. After switching focus to advertising and media products, the company has had tons of success and has earned millions of dollars.

The Spongecell Company was established in 2005, consisting primarily of graduates from the Carnegie Mellon Computer Science. The company has overcome many obstacles and seems to be doing quite well now. The company has a huge client base, consisting of various top name companies and brands. And, in the past, the company has made sure their advertisements were engaging, by sending reminders via text message to those who were subscribed.

The company has not talked about the amount of money it has earned through revenues recently. However, in 2009, it is estimated that the company bought in $1.2 million from revenues alone. The CEO, Ben Kartzman, was looking for a partnership and is excited to grow and expand, with the help of Safeguard.

In a world where video advertising has become so increasingly popular, and is expected to increase in popularity, it is important for companies, such as Spongecell, to grow and expand their efforts to ensure that the consumer are satisfied with what they are viewing.

Super Bowl Advertisements That Create a Buzz Even after the Game

vassallo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:41:54 +0000

The majority of companies advertising during the Super Bowl have high hopes that you will continue talking about the commercial you saw, even after the Super Bowl is over. They are not only hoping that you will be talking about the commercial the next day, on Monday, but are also hoping that the commercial is something that you will continue to talk about all throughout the entire year.

The Super Bowl seems to be one of the best moments for advertisers because it is the most watched televised program, with millions of viewers. In fact, more than 111 million viewers are expected to watch the Super Bowl game that will take place this Sunday. It is also a major gamble for many companies, especially because the cost of a 30-second commercial spot was, on average, around $3.5 million this year. Marketers chose to take the risk, believing that it will pay off in the long run. An advertisement that is successful and is viewed by so many people can actually create a buzz that lasts a long time, even after the game is over.

Allen Adamson, the managing director for Landor Associates, has said, “If you do it well, it has the opportunity to set your company straight or change the direction of your company.” He also says, “You’ll never get all those people in one room again until next year.”

There are three advertisements from last year that seemed to be the best out of all the advertisements. May the force be with you was, by far, one of the most popular advertisements. The advertisement was for Volkswagen and featured a Star Wars advertisement, featuring a little boy in Darth Vader costume with an adorably cute plot.

Volkswagen took a huge risk, because they released the advertisement prior to the game, which is something the vast majority of advertisers did not do. However, this risky move actually paid off because the advertisement became a huge hit on YouTube, with 49 million viewers ever since. It became Number 3 on the Ad Meter of USA Today, the company that ranks the commercials featured during the Super Bowl.

The advertisement was a win-win situation, helping out all of those who were involved. The advertisement helped the sales of the vehicle, the new sedan, along with creating a celebrity out of the 6 year old actor, Max Pagehasm.

Because of the advertisements success last year, Volkswagen is continuing its Star Wars theme but will be advertising for the Volkswagen Beetle instead. They have released a sneak peek of the commercial which shows that dogs will be dressed up as different Star Wars characters. The advertisement has already had 10 million views and the Super Bowl is not even here yet!

Super Bowl Viewers and Social Media Platforms

vassallo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:40:58 +0000

With the Super Bowl over, the 111 million viewers were expected to use a number of social media websites while watching the game. The Super Bowl, which will was aired on February 5^th, featured the Giants vs. the Patriots, was one of the most televised event of the year, with millions of viewers tuning in. And, with so many people watching the game, the expectations for the number of Tweets and posts on Facebook are tremendous, as people will be using many devices, laptops, tables, mobile phones, to connect with these social media platforms. And, while this is just an estimate, the advertisers are truly hoping this will be the actual outcome for Super Bowl Sunday.

The Super Bowl has turned into such an important day for advertisers. Companies are sure to secure a spot for their advertisements as a means of reaching the large audience, with millions of viewers. And, advertisers have worked very hard to provide sneak peeks for their commercials, featuring shorter versions of the advertisement online and in movie theaters. In fact, one spot during the Super Bowl will cost, on average, about $3.5 million. This makes a lot of sense as to why advertisers are trying to make the most of their money, even before the advertisements have aired. A lot of advertisers are trying to encourage viewers to talk about the commercials on social media platforms, specifically on Twitter and Facebook.

There have also been some new reports made, stating that Facebook and USA Today will be linking up together to create a new app, the Ad Meter app, which will allow viewers of the Super Bowl advertisements to rate the advertisements and then share them with their friends on Facebook. The rating will also be used for USA Today’s yearly commercial ratings, which used to be based solely on the decisions of only 300 viewers. However, with the new app, people from all over will be able to add their opinion and 2 cents into the mix.

In fact, one company in particular, the Coca-Cola Company, is using its iconic polar bear theme; with some cool online features, as a means of getting viewers to head over to the Coca Cola Facebook page or even follow the company on Twitter. The Polar Bears will also have their own Twitter hashtag during the game. How exciting!

In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that viewers of the Super Bowl advertisements can easily look through the components of the Super Bowl commercials by using their smartphone and aiming it towards the television.

The E*Trade company will, once again, be using the talking baby in its commercial. And, the company prepared a survey which proved that at least one-third of the individuals viewing the Super Bowl plan to use social media websites while watching the game.

Hyundai Removes its 40 Mile per Gallon Claim

vassallo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:38:18 +0000

Hyundai, the popular automotive company, has confirmed that it will be removing the “40 Mile per Gallon” claim that it made about one of its vehicles, the Elantra, which was featured during the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Consumer Watchdog wanted this claim omitted because they believe it is misleading to consumers. However, Hyundai says that while they have omitted the claim from the advertisement, their decision was not influenced by the opinions of Consumer Watchdog.

Consumer Watchdog asked Hyundai to provide clarification of its claims, after reviewing the advertisement that will be featured during the Super Bowl. The advertisement was place on a YouTube page and the claim was made on the side of the YouTube channel screen. Consumer Watchdog made plans to show consumers a counter advertisement, which would prove that the 40 MPG claims were misleading and typically false. The advertisement, which was produced by Consumer Watchdog, would show that after a series of tests, only 29 MPG was achieved with the Elantra, which is a total of 12%, less than what Hyundai was claiming on the advertisements.

Consumer Watchdog was so serious about the situation, the even asked the Environment Protection Agency to re-do a test of the Elantra, both the 2011 and 2012 edition. And, reports prove that the vast majority of drivers of the Elantra have much difficulty reaching 40 MPG, as the claim seemed to promise.

Consumer Watchdog has been cracking down on cases like this, especially after an owner of a Honda Civic Hybrid managed to win a small claims lawsuit in California, after challenging the company on its misleading and downright false MPG claims.

Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog, has said, “Consumers who increasingly buy cars on the basis of high miles per gallon—then can’t get close to the posted figure—are justifiably angry.” Court also says, “Hyundai’s omission of its touted ’40 MPG’ claim in its Super Bowl ads, after making a very big deal of it in earlier advertising, shows that the company is hearing the hoofbeats of consumer outrage.”

The letter that was addressed to Hyundai from Consumer Watchdog asked for a response by Thursday, stating that they would stop the promotion of their counter advertisement if they received a response. In the letter that Consumer Watchdog wrote to the automotive makers, it said, “Should you intend to sneak the 40 MPG claim into your advertisement at the last moment then we offer you this challenge: Will Mr. Krafcik take the 40 MPG challenge and drive to the Super Bowl on a full tank of gasoline based exactly on that calculation, starting precisely that number of miles away? If you are not ready to do so, you should not tell 111 million U.S. Super Bowl viewers that they could either.”

New York Times Company Deals with 12.2% Decrease in Profit

vassallo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:42:18 +0000

The prestigious New York Times Company recently reported that their fourth-quarterly profit has declined by 12.2 percent. It is believed that the decline is partly due to the rising number of people who use digital advertising revenue instead of print advertising. The net income for the company was reported as being about $58.9 million, which would equal 39 cents per share. However, a year earlier, the net income was at $67.1 million, equaling 44 cents per share. The company reported a loss of $39.7 million for the overall year, which was equivalent to 27 cents per share. In the previous year of 2010, the company was graciously accepting a profit of $107.7 million, totaling 71 cents per share.

Revenue that was earned during the fourth quarter had declined by 2.8 percent, totaling at about $643 million. These results prove how difficult it is for print advertising to survive in an industry that is advancing by the minute and is turning digital quicker than most expected. Companies that still use print advertising are typically struggling as the vast majority of consumers depend on digital advertising instead. Most marketers and readers are migrating from traditional newspapers to online sources. The companies advertising revenue had even declined by 7.1 percent throughout the fourth quarter.

While these results were not necessarily the greatest, the company’s News Media Group, which is combination of the New York Times, Boston Globe, and The International Herald Tribune, seemed to be doing exceptionally well, as revenue increased by 4.7 percent throughout the fourth quarter. This also shows that online subscriptions are growing as paper and print seem to be declining.

And, even with good news, the company is still left dealing with the fact that advertising categories spent much less within the company and its newspapers during the fourth quarter than it did during the previous year. The Times Company announced on Thursday that it would be selling a part of its stake. And, during the month of July, the company had already sold over half of its stake to three different buyers, totaling $117 million.

In the meantime, these results came at a time when the Times Company is looking for a new chief executive, after the former chief executive, Janet L. Robinson, left the company after working with them for seven years. After departing, the company had to fork over $4.5 million for retirement and an agreement that had been made, which was equal to 2 cents per share.

During March, the company had introduced its new online service, a digital subscription to the NYTims.com website. Some saw it as a risky move but the company has to make an effort to compete with a competitive market that seems to be going completely digital.

Promotion of Advertising on Campuses

vassallo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:42:13 +0000

Advertising on campuses has become quite common, with many individuals being called “brand ambassadors.” When it comes to brand ambassadors, companies will typically hire specific students and have them market and advertise for certain products and brands. This is a win-win situation for both the company and the student who does the marketing because the company is able to reach a target audience, an audience that is huge, and the student gets to earn money and add the experience to their resume. Students are typically hired under the position of an intern and are able to spread the word on different brands, products, and companies.

The vice president of University Relations for Campus Entertainment, Laura Bundrick, has said, “Companies like MTV, Sun Drop and Verizon Wireless, among others, recognize the power of word of mouth.” She also said, “Students get their information from peers, and by utilizing college students companies see a return on their investment.”

Campus Entertainment is much of a middleman for students and companies all over the country. The students are paid nearly $125 each week. However, the amount the student earns each week will depend on what, exactly, they are representing at the time.

A sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lauren Andrews, has actually made $1,000 throughout six weeks of an internship with the popular beverage company, Sun Drop. Andrews and another student, Lauren Goodell, worked together to pass out 15 cases of Sun Drop soda each week throughout the different events that took place on campus. Goodell says that they also participated in an assortment of other events.

However, the experience of Andrews’ and Goodell is a good idea of what types of problems could arise. For example, Sun Drop is a member of the Dr.Pepper and Snapple products. However, the University is a campus sponsored by Pepsi. Both students found out they violated an agreement because of the school being sponsored for a separate beverage company. Goodell says, “I was never asked to stop by university officials.” She also says, “A few actually took Sun Drop and thanked me for it. I was not aware of the university policy until recently, after our campaign was over.”

Kelly Bartling, the news director of the University Communications, on the other hand, has said, “We don’t endorse or assist vendors in soliciting on campus.” Bartling also says, “To raise awareness is one thing, to sell a product is another. A gray area would be using a brand ambassador to raise awareness.”

Erin Carey, who was hired by Verizon to create awareness about the company, has said, “I think having brand ambassadors can be a positive experience if they don’t heckle students.” Carey also says, “We weren’t trying to sell phones. I think it can be a good thing until it’s taken to a level of trying to sell things, then it becomes something bad.”

Certain Companies Dominating Super Bowl Advertisements

vassallo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:42:10 +0000

There is one trend, in particular, that proves the economy is making improvement and finally growing, especially after such a crippling recession, which left the economy in turmoil. However, the one trend that proves the economy is turning around for the better is the growth in the number of car sales. Throughout 2011, car sales had increased by over 10 percent, which has been be the best amount of car sales made since 2008, right when the recession was taking its toll on the economy.

The American automobile makers seemed to do exceptionally well throughout 2011, especially as many of the Japanese car makers, including Honda and Toyota, were dealing with a huge earthquake and damaging tsunami, which seemed to cripple the manufacturing sector in that area, ruining a lot of parts and inventory that was needed for the construction of these cars. This allowed the United States automakers to resurge. And, they surely did.

With the New Year of 2012 finally here, automakers want to find out whether or not their success was based on the growth of the economy or because of the turmoil that the Japanese car makers were struggling with, most of which were simply out of their hands. 2012 will be an important year for car sales in the United States, which is for sure.

With the Super Bowl approaching, which will air on February 5^th, automakers and advertisers have realized that this is, by far, one of the best times to advertise. The Super Bowl is a sports event that will be viewed by millions of people and it is, in fact, the most watched televised event in history. And, because such a wide audience of people will be watching the Super Bowl, automakers want to take advantage of this opportunity to advertise to tons of people in one sitting. Automobile manufacturers are not only creating advertisements to be featured during the Super Bowl, they are also creating sneak peeks of the commercials, along with interactive games and social media fun as a means of truly engaging the audience.

This will be the first time that Lexus is ever advertising during a broadcast of the Super Bowl. Volkswagen, on the other hand, will be using adorable dogs, dressed up as Star Wars characters, to advertise for their automobiles. Hyundai will also be advertising a commercial that features an animal as well. The Acura has signed on several celebrities to represent their company during the advertisements. Kia will be using Adriana Lima, super model, for its commercial. And, Chevy has an exhilarating advertisement planned for the Super Bowl.

All twelve of the automobile brands have already purchased spots to be featured during the Super Bowl and have spent millions in doing so.

Airbrushed Advertisement Featuring Rachel Weisz Banned

vassallo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:33:10 +0000

An advertisement, which features a known actress, Rachel Weisz, has been banned by watchdog because of complaints that the advertisement was overly airbrushed. The Advertising Standards Authority, known as the ASA, made complaints that Weisz’s complexion was off and had been altered and changed within the image as a way for L’Oreal Paris to promote the Reivtalift Repair 10 product. It is believed the advertisement was airbrushed to make Weisz’s face appear smoother and more even than it actually happens to be.

The watchdog agreed and says that the advertisement has breached the industry code, providing an advertisement that misleads the consumers into believe the product performs immaculately and does more than it actually can do. They have ruled the L’Oreal cannot use the advertisement again because it is misrepresenting what the product can actually achieve for the average individual.

The ASA has said, “Although we considered that the image in the ad did not misrepresent the luminosity or wrinkling of Rachel Weisz’s face, we considered that the image had been altered in a way that substantially changed her complexion to make it appear smoother and more even. We therefore concluded that the image in the ad misleadingly exaggerated the performance of the product in relation to the claims (in the advert) ‘skin looks smoother’ and ‘complexion looks more even’.”

The co-founder of the Campaign for Body Confidence, Ms. Swinson, has said, “The beauty and advertising industries need to stop ripping off consumers with dishonest images.” She finds it appalling that these companies advertise products that supposedly provide amazing results when the results are simply exaggerated on the advertisement.

She believes that the banning of certain advertisements should serve as a wakeup call for advertisers who retouch and airbrush images too much. Aside from this advertisement being banned, there have been several other advertisements that have been banned, featuring Julia Roberts, Twiggy, and Christy Turlington. She is thankful that the advertising regulator acknowledges that retouching can be fraudulent and misleading to the consumers.

To add to this, the Royal College of Psychiatrists have said that the overly airbrushed advertisements can be harmful to the consumers, influencing them and making them believe they should look as flawless a the individual in the advertisement, without actually realizing that person has been airbrushed to look flawless. They believe that advertisements should be diverse, featuring people of all sizes and shapes, skin colors, and ages. Brands that show diversity and do not exaggerate performance will earn the trust of consumers.

L’Oreal says that they did airbrush the picture a bit but instead of airbrushing it a lot, they used lots of different light with lower resolution as a means of making sure that the picture was flattering. They believed they were allowed to do this.