BMW... Fast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plxNfU-PA2c

The new BMW M5 is fast, really, really fast! But how do you have a commercial that says more than it’s a fast car, you show it. It is proven that, at times, pictures are more powerful than words. Therefore, BMW explained the extreme speed of the M5 through a video.

            At first I was a bit confused about BMW’s commercial I didn’t fully understand what they were trying to say until the second time I saw the video clip. The new BMW M5 is so fast that it is used to film someone trying to break the land speed record. While this is obviously fake, I think the visual is great. It is clear that the car is incredibly speedy because it is able to out drive a land rocket looking thing. A BMW was the chosen car to video tape this aerodynamic machine that is supposedly one of the fastest vehicles. Clearly then BMWs must be fast.

            This commercial is so different that I think it is good. I have never seen a car commercial use this method. Usually a car is driving through a city or speeding around sharp turns on a slick deserted road. The BMW is in a desert with a land rocket. That automatically made me stop and watch. Simply being different and bizarre made this ad beneficial and interesting. 

Dove Evolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

The Dove Beauty Campaign has been a huge success. It stresses beauty in the everyday person, and that beauty is not defined as a super skinny model that has been airbrushed. In many of their advertisements Dove uses a variety of “models.” These models are normal women who use Dove products; they are from all races shapes and sizes. To add to their campaign, Dove made their Evolution commercial.

            The Evolution commercial shows the transformation that a model goes through before she can be deemed beautiful by the media and general public. Dove showed how photographs are digitally altered and how the model’s hair and makeup is done professionally. This commercial is a true eye-opener. Most everyone knows that advertisements and models in magazines are digitally altered through Photoshop, but it is much different to watch it happen in fast forward.  

            This commercial caught my attention because the transformation is so great. I, like many others, knew that those in magazines were not “real,” but I had never seen it first hand. Dove truly brought to my attention how much I aspire to unrealistic beauty goals. I am already a Dove body wash user, but after watching this I became more interested in the Dove Beauty Campaign. I think Dove wants their product sales to go up, but I also think they are honestly interested in changing the image of beauty and that is truly inspiring.  

Fiesta, party party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwtmfeyTNV4

The name of Ford’s new car is the Fiesta, if translated from Spanish to English it means party. The Ford Fiesta is fun, creative, innovative and full of positive energy. The commercial completely correlates to the car. It is colorful, has movement and is depicted in a city environment surrounded by a variety of people. The creative in Ford’s commercial is incredible. They were able to incorporate the different positive aspects of the car into the cities scenery. For example the side of a building and truck have the gas mileage and the umbrellas spell out hands free. Ford created a commercial that makes their new car look like it is in a parade when it is turned on, in reality I think Ford wants you to feel like you are in a parade and having a great time (party) when you are driving their car. I believe they got this point across. Ford’s Fiesta commercial makes me want to at least test drive a Fiesta and see first-hand what the experience is like. 

Banned Bud Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VoeKGeeZvg

Bud Light created this commercial for the 2010 Super bowl; unfortunately the commercial was never aired on television because it was banned. Although it was banned, it was viewed by huge numbers of people online possibly even more than if it had been on television.  The popularity of this commercial spread like wildfire on the Internet and through every demographic.

            Bud Light’s clothing drive commercial drives home the point that Bud Light is one of the best beers and people will do anything for one. It is such a strong commercial because of it use of humor. The commercial is targeted towards middle-aged men who would find the sexual humor used very funny. It uses a typical office that most adults are familiar with and it has the stereotypical boring office girl. The use of stereotypes, and the dull muted colors depict a boring office, but the Bud Light completely changes the atmosphere and make the office a place of fun. 

Hamster Rap?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeVAXSKDup8

Kia’s television commercial for their new vehicle, the Soul, is simply confusing and bizarre.  The use of rapping hamsters has nothing to do with the product or their target audience. In fact I found the hamsters to be a turn off and it hurt the brand and their new car. Most people who drive Kias are younger to middle aged women. They are looking for a safe, attractive, and reasonably priced car. This commercial is targeting younger single men who are more inclined to listen to rap music and dress like the hamsters depicted. Also, the song that the hamsters are rapping lyrics state, “you can get with this, your you can get with that.” I thought this was an appropriate song at first, but they then compared they new Kia Soul to a washing machine and toaster “car.” These comparisons do not relate to Kia and really do not make the Kia look any better. In fact they made me think of the car as a household appliance that you have to have to do boring house chores. Someone who is buying a new car wants beauty and luxury, not boring and necessary. Kia defiantly missed the mark on this Television commercial!

Toyota

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq4nrmnqY9o

I am a General Motors or Ford car buyer, but with the hard economy and push for environmentally safe products the 2010 Prius commercial looked very persuasive. The way Toyota used color, art, and the want for more environmentally safe products made this commercial extremely effective and well done!

The Toyota Harmony commercial for the Prius, while it is out-of-the-box, is an excellent television commercial. The commercial is focused on how great the Prius is for the environment and how it will help to preserve the environment for future generations, preying on the fears of the public. The scene behind the Toyota Prius looks animated at first glance, and in a way it is, but if you look closely it is actually people dressed to look like grass, flowers, trees, water etc and then digitally altered. This helps stress that the world is for everyone and it needs to be preserved for the future. Toyota’s commercial uses bright colors and the scenery is very idealistic and child-like. This visual brings about a feeling of calm and happiness and it is automatically attributed to the car. In all, Toyota was able to create a scene of a perfect world made possible through their car.

Guilty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K2GAoBTuc4

Guilty by Gucci is their new perfume for women. The main thing about this product is that it smells good, but the commercial has absolutely nothing to do with scent except for one tiny shot where the man smells the women’s neck. Instead the commercial is a woman driving a sports car with flames bursting from it and fanaticizing about having sex with a man. The commercial is also very graphic, and a bit over the top.

While the flames and the sex could represent the feeling of being guilty, I feel the same ideas could be used just toned down a bit. There is no need to see the long road ahead or spend so much time watching the woman drive before the flames appear. The flames are one of the most important aspects in the commercial they add the feeling of the devil and relate to the name guilty. Also, the sex scene could be shorter and less explicit. The scene is important because it defiantly adds to the guilty feeling but it is just too graphic and over done. 

The print ad is much better. It has the man smelling the woman’s neck and it has a sense of sensuality. It is artistic and makes Gucci look like the expensive quality brand it is.