Public Relations

Lindsay Lohan's public relations has hurt her brand value. I think that the paparazzi has ruied her name. The public has heard about everything that she has been through, and for a lot of people it made them not like her anymore and not want to watch movies with her in them. When she was going through all her drug problems, hollywood made it seem like she was a complete failure. There was even a special on E! about her and a movie producer was saying that people were afraid to have her in their movies because she was unreliable and was always drugged up during their filming, or would show up late. This made people really not like her. Also when the media kept on talking about all her different drug problems, it gets old. It seemed like she was always in and out of trouble. The drama gets peoples attention, but it ruined her brand value. Another reason her brand value has been hurt is because she used to be seen as the sweet little parent trap girl, and she played in recent movies that are for a younger audience. With her going in and our of rehab, parents will not want their kids to look up to her and maybe not even watch her movies.

Advertising

If it is against the law to have false advertising for a product or service, then how come so many products and services are not advertised as they really are? An example of this is freecreditreport.com. This service is not actually free. In the commercials and everything they advertise how free it is but yet if you go to the website it is not free. Most credit score companies are guilty of this. Another example of this is the commercials and paid programs that you see that advertise getting rich fast. They show that if you purchase these homes for really cheap you can sell them and make back triple what you paid for. The reality of these are that you can't actually make as much money as they say.
Another product that has false advertising is diet pills. They advertise that if you just take the pill you can still eat as much as you want but you will not gain weight. This again is a lie. You can not just take the pills and lose wieght, you have to exercise as well. Also when you quit taking the pills you gain weight faster than before.
Also a lot of products that are sold on tv, do not actually work. If a producct does not work like it is supposed to, it shouldn't be able to be sold until the company can get it to work properly. Some examples of these products are cleaning supplies. They advertise these cleaning supplies that are only sold on tv, as being like miracle workers, but yet when you try using it at home, it does not work that great at all. I know it is marketing, and how they sell the product, but shouldn't the product live up to its advertising?
This is something I have always wondered about advertising, how do so many companies get away with false advertising, when it is against the law?

Message Appeals

One ad that I really like is the Gecko commercials. Their commercials are always very creative and usually humorous. My favorite commercial of theirs is the one where the squirrels cause a car to get in a wreck and then do a little handshake afterwards. I think this commercials so funny because it is something you never thought about but yet it happens all the time. Even if it is not squirrels, animals alaways run out in front of your car and can sometimes cause you to wreck. This is a very unexpected expense. Gecko gets their message across very easily and in a way that attracts attention.
Another ad I like is the freecreditreport.com commercials. Everyone of their commercials has a catchy tune and you end up knowing the words to them all. Freecreditreport.com uses humor to advertise their website. Their commercials usually have funny embarassing situations that happen because of bad credit.
Some ads I dont like are the OxiClean commercials. In every single one of their ads the man is always yelling everything he says. I don't think this ad is effective at all because the sound of his voice makes you want to change the channel. Also they just tell informative information and their commercials are boring.
Another ad I don't like is tne Feed the Children commercials. They try to use guilt as their message appeal and I don't think it is too successful. Those commercials make me feel so bad for those children that i just end up turning the channel an don't watch any of it. They should use a different appeal to try and get their point acrossl

Creative Brief

Client Information: FreeCreditReport.com
Project: To make a catchy commercial advertising freecreditreport.com
Prepared By: The Martin Agency creative team
Approved By: Freecreditreport.com
Background/Overview: This is a free website that consumers can go to to check their credit score. It gives an accurate score and is completely free for the consumer. We will measure the effectiveness of this ad by seeing how many people visit the site after the ads are put out compared to before it was advertised.
What is the objective, the purpose of the ad? The purpose of this ad is to introduce freecreditreport.com to consumers and to get them interested in checking their credit score.
Target Audience: Who are we talking to? The target audience for this commercial is really anyone who has a bad credit score that wants to see what all is on it and what their score is and just anyone else that is wanting to know what their credit score is.
What's the single most important thing we want to say? We want to say that with bad credit it can ruin a lot of things so you should check yours to make sure you know your credit score.
What are the supporting rational and emotional reasons to act or believe? This commercial shows a real life situation of someone trying to get a car but since they have bad credit they have to get a cheap car. This is an emotional reason that would make people want to act on or believe this ad. A lot of consumers have probably been through this, where they are trying to purchase something and their credit holds them back.
Mandatory elements, helpful information and insights: There are really no extra elements that need to be shown.
Schedule: What do we need from the creative team and when do we need it? We need a good commerical that will make people want to check this website out. Also we need it by the fall. Around the end of the year is when people really try to buy cars because the dealerships are marking down the newer cars since it is about to be a new year they will start having the newer cars. Also around Christmas time alot of people try to get credit cards so they can purchase more presents.

Billboard

A billboard that I really like is the Chick Fil A billboards. I think it is really neat how they have the cows look 3D and they are always cute billboards. They also have funny sayings with them. The Chick Fil A billboards are very unique and anytime you see the cows you know it is an advertisement for them. I think they did a really good job in their marketing.

Flat Earth Positioning

I agree with Flat Earth's positioning. They are targeting their product towards a good market and I like the way they are advertising their product. Their target market seems to be early 30's and older or just any health conscious consumer.
I thought the commercial was cute and I kind of like how they used the pig because to me it was not only when pigs fly but I kind of looked as it as the fat is gone, the "pig" is gone. Like the fattening foods are out and the healthy food is in. The commercial was really short but it did get the point across and I thought it was pretty appealing. The only thing I would recommend is maybe telling the different kinds of flavors and chips the company has to offer.
If Flat Earth tried positioning themselves towards a younger target market, I don't really think they would have to change to much. They would probably just want to have younger people on the commercials and maybe tell the benefits of the daily serving of fruits and veggies, and how it helps you in the long run. Also they might want to come up with dips and other things besides just chips.

Unethical Advertising

Advertising agencies are starting to let anything go when it comes to promoting their product, even if it involves doing things that they know they really don't approve of. For example, they are starting to make kids games, such as life and monopoly,come with credit cards instead of cash so that they can learn the brand at a young age. To me, this is wrong. I feel like if they are going to have credit cards in the game they should teach them about a credit card. They should have finance charges, and interest and payments so that the kids can learn how to actually use one. Cash on the other hand taught kids how to count money and the value of it, knowing how to only buy things that you actually had the money for. Also that is just wrong to think about branding the cards in the kids heads so that they would want one when they get older.
Another example of advertising going against ethics is a lot of the weight loss commercials. They are very untruthful and manipulative. They never really tell you all the side effects such as when you quit taking the pill you gain weight faster, and they are bad for your heart. Also they make it seem like all you have to do is take their product. You really have to exercise along with the product to get good results.
Another thing that I think that the advertising companies do that is very unethical is the way they advertise prescription drugs. They make the commercials seem like the pill they are trying to sell will solve all your problems with some side effects. They don't necessarily tell you that this certain anti depressant will make you severely depressed when you try to get off of the medicine. Also I feel like now a days everyone is prescribed some kind of anxiety, depression, or other kind of medicine. There aren't any commercials showing the negative part of the medicine. For example, one of my close friends has recently went to a psychologist and she has put her on praxyl for anti depression. I feel like now a days doctors are prescribing more and more anti depressants for everyone. They make it seem like everyone needs to get on prescriptions to help get over depression. This is not the case, those meds actually make people more depressed in the long term and while they are on the medicine it alters their personality. An example is this praxyl that she has been prescribed, when she gets off of it it will make her severely depressed and she actually has to go through lower doces before she can just get off the medicine. They didnt mention these side effects before they prescribed her the medicine and until she started taking it. Also the ADD commercials make everyone feel like they have ADD. The commercial where they man lays in bed at night and thinks about all the stuff he has to do or what he did that day and cant sleep, is false advertisement. Just because you lay at night and think about everything you need to, does not make you ADD, it is just a simple part of being human, everyone does it, but it does not mean you need to be put on a medication to help with it. I think there should be more commercials talking about the side effects of the pills, and not just the nausea, upset stomach and other side effects like this, but the real side effects, such as your body becomes dependent on the pills even if you really don't need them, and how hard it is to get off of them once you start taking them.