Topic #1 Old Spice

"She Noes Best" is the new catch phrase Old Spice is using as they continue to delight audiences with their hilarious and always entertaining commercials.

You have to watch this commercial, It cracks me up. The commercial starts with the shot of a plane flying through an ominous storm that is tossing the plane around. Extremely loud action music is playing over the sound of the storm. 
The shot then goes into the cockpit of the plain where a very panicked and "nerdy" looking actor is screaming in  an unusually shreky/loud voice that "its raining and that he has no idea where he is." Next, you hear a rather provocative and soothing sounding female voice saying "remain calm" then the camera cuts to an extreme close up of an attractive woman who you think is in a command tower, she then tell him to make his heading 240. The camera then cuts back to the panicked pilot who adjusts his heading. The camera then cuts back to the female who tell the panicked pilot to reach under his seat. 
Again, the camera cuts back into the plane for a shot of the pilot who is now holding what looks like 7 different old spice products. In his panicked voice he yells "these are just Old Spice grooming products." She tells him to "Stay with Me:" and  "Put on the deodorant" he responds with "I don't think how this can help and applies, the female then tells him to "grab and apply the pomade." He does as he is told and as he is running the pomade through his hair he transforms into a professional attractive looking calm pilot who has it all under control. She tells him to start his decent then he says where is that run way. Next the camera cuts into a shot of a living room where the female is sitting and the plane crashes through the wall and stops right next to the diner table where the woman slides over and in front of a whole turkey they both say "hello." and then the Iconic Old Spice Whistle plays. 



This ad sticks pretty close to the type of Old Spice ads that we have become used to seeing. The spot only runs for 30 and the product is only shown for about 5 seconds total. I didn't even realize it was an old spice add until the pilot reaches under his seat 12 seconds into the spot. This add uses a combination of  the Story Telling and the Association Principle to relay its message. The ad heavily relies upon stereotyping, the persuasive techniques used where a combination of snob appeal and the hidden fear appeal.
I think that this add effectively uses the platform that it was designed for which would be TV. I say this because it has flow just like a show would, you have a dramatic Setup, the confrontation and the resolution. Its not just someone talking about the product. This ad holds your attention even if you are not the target audience and that's why I think it works well. I would say that the target market for this ad is a mid twenties, lower income, single male that has self esteem issues and who probably isn't that popular or good looking. Based off the Consumer Insights information that I discovered from InfoScout, I was pretty close with my assessment of whom the target market is.
As much as I love this ad and I love all of the old spice adds of lately I can say that it doesn't make me want to purchase their products. Having said that I am certainly not who they are trying to market towards. When it comes to basics such as shampoo, conditioner, soap and deodorant you have to develop a marketing campaign and strategy that will make you stand out, give you that purple cow because all of the products are just about identical. Old Spice has done a wonderful job of creating a campaign that hilarious and each spot they put out has the potential to go viral. The "Mom Song" landed over a million views in less than 3 days. this article explains why Old Spice is soo successful
One of things that I learned about Old Spice during this assignment was how large of an online presence they have and how they are dedicated to utilizing all platforms to push their brand awareness. Pretty Cool if you ask me that the master of YouTube advertising is a deodorant company.

Media Blog Forum 2

Topic 1: Social Media

I would like to start this article by saying that I am not one of the masses that spend the majority of their day just scrolling through various social media platforms such as the ones listed on this weeks assignments. ie, Facebook, snapchat. In fact until I took Marketing I didn't even have a twitter or LinkedIn account. Any how, Although I am not a fan of Social Media and I don't recommend that anyone get there news from such sources. I do think that in many cases Social Media has empowered people to become more active politically at least online. However, I worry that people do just fall to the echo chamber and because all of their friends feel or say one thing they will automatically take that stance without any personal thoughts or insights.
Some of the people that I follow and why are.

I follow Donald J. Trump on Twitter. The main reason that I follow the President on Twitter is because everyone is always talking about his latest Tweets and I like tobe in the loop. Another reason that I follow him is that you are able to get information directly from him, I don't want to go into a rant about how biased our media in this country is so I will just leave it at that.

I also follow Mark R. Levin @marklevinshow. I follow Mark because I have been a listener to his radio show on NPR for over 10 years and I feel like he is an independent thinker who uses his years of experience to formulate a well thought out rational realistic point of view, He is not another echo chamber, like many of his conservative cohorts.

The last company that I would like to mention is one that I follow on LinkedIn, the name of the company is Cheddar Inc, I like them because they are always posting videos, almost like commercials of cutting edge technology or machinery, I see a lot of applications in third world or developing countries for the items that they post. I mainly just like to watch these videos as a form of entertainment and to stimulate thought processes.

The best "tweet" that I have seen lately was the Presidents 4th of July address that he tweeted out on the 4th. I enjoyed this because it really represents the way I feel about my Country. It made me emotional. The address didn't seem politicized it seemed sincere.

I really enjoyed the TED talk from Sherry Turkle, She hits the nail on the read. The world and the way we communicate and connect is changing at an incredible rate. One example of a boundary that I have set with my two 16 year old's is that when they text me it will be in complete sentences with proper punctuation. Another boundary that I set with the family is that there is NO cell phone use allowed at the dinner table, this includes adults. This gives us time to visit and talk about the day, it really is one of my favorite times with my family.

When it comes to playing and downloading games onto my phone and computer I would have to say that I am one of the few who don't participate in such activates. The only game that I have downloaded is Ballz and I have only payed it a few times. I just have the time or desire to spend my valuable time staring at my phone. I am the guy who still turns his phone off in class and in meetings. I would rather be connected to the real world and my immediate surroundings.

Although I don't use my phone and computer to play games and surf social media I do find that I still spend at least 20 hours a week on some sort of electronic device, usually associated with work or school.