Daily Dose

Ad Arbitrium

Haley Posted by Haley

 After drooling over the creative workings of the Cannes Lions (International Festival) winners throughout the past few weeks, it got me thinking of my favourite campaigns and advertisements. Of course there are the classics, such as Volkswagen’s “Think Small” and Wendy’s, “Where’s the beef?” that have captivated audiences, both past and present. The fact that I am learning about their campaigns in lectures (decades after they have launched), proves the success of the brand in itself. This brings me to brand recognition.

As a consumer who has been on both the outer and inner workings of an agency, I have been able to recognize the reach and effectiveness of certain ads. In today’s society it’s a struggle to even catch consumers’ attention, never mind create brand recognition. The most successful campaigns (in my opinion) are quirky ones that consist of creative and witty, copy and design. The ability to create a reaction (i.e. laughter or disgust) from the consumer or audience is the key to building brand awareness.

Here are few campaigns that caught my eye:

Historically Hardcore
Although this was a fake campaign created by a couple university students, it created a lot of buzz. With hopes of encouraging youth to visit the Smithsonian Museum and gain historical perspective, creators, Jen Burrows and Matt Kappler compare popular modern day celebrities with past American presidents. Whether or not the Smithsonian approved of the fake advertisements, the controversy surrounding it increased traffic on the Smithsonian website and to the museum itself.

 

 

UNHATE Foundation
The UNHATE Foundation gained instant attention in November 2011, when they released controversial photos which featured world leaders kissing. The ads (obviously photo shopped) were part of a guerilla marketing effort to spread awareness about the UNHATE Foundation. They used “kissing” as their main focus for the campaign, and edited famous faces together to create a reaction from the public. They used creative initiatives through print, TV, social media and guerrilla marketing across major cities throughout the world. By doing this, they to urged the public to “create a new culture of tolerance” and “combat hatred”. With recognizable faces such as Obama and the late Kim Jong-Il, the campaign reached audiences young and old, of all nationalities. The result of the ads had both good and bad feedback, but ultimately the campaign served its purpose and got people talking.

To upload your own kissing photo visit the Kisswall at, http://kisswall.benetton.com/



Google Voice
Naturally when you see something out of the ordinary it causes you to take a second look. Well this is exactly what Google was/is hoping to accomplish with their campaign for Google Voice. Using rotating images on huge digital billboards to display words divided by syllables and their pronunciation, Google is not only getting people’s attention, but is stopping them in their tracks.

[check] [it] [out],

 

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