February 4, 2015

Nissan Super Bowl Ad (Chapter 6)

This 2015 Super Bowl ad for Nissan is interesting and I think can spark a good discussion about ad design.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your impression of this ad?
  2. In your mind, what is the message?
  3. The ad never really talks about Nissan, is this a good idea or not? Explain.
  4. What type of appeal, message strategy, and execution is used for this ad? Justify your answer.

Posted by on February 4, 2015 in Chapter 06 and tagged , , .

Leave a comment

January 28, 2015

Power of Social Media (Chapter 9)

GoDaddy created an ad to air on the Super Bowl that was withdrawn after criticism in social media that it promoted puppy mills. This would be an excellent example of the power of social media.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Watch the Journey Home ad for GoDaddy. What are your thoughts about the ad? Was it in bad taste? Why or why not?
  2. Read the Adweek article. Did GoDaddy do the right thing by pulling the ad from the Super Bowl? Why or why not?
  3. Do you think the criticism in social media represents the majority of people, or is it just a small number of individuals who voiced their objections to the ad? Explain.
  4. What are your thoughts about Blake Irving’s comments?
  5. Watch the 2014 Super Bowl ad for Budweiser. Compare it to GoDaddy’s Journey Home ad. What made the Budweiser ad the best ad of the 2014 Super Bowl while GoDaddy’s ad had to be pulled?
  6. Do you think the publicity raised by this ad and GoDaddy pulling it from the Super Bowl can benefit GoDaddy? Why or why not?

Posted by on January 28, 2015 in Chapter 09 and tagged , , , .

Leave a comment

January 26, 2015

Toyota Super Bowl Ad (Chapter 6)

Toyota featured paralympic Amy Purdy in a first quarter Super Bowl ad. This ad would be excellent for discussing the source characteristics and the selection of a spokesperson. The sound track is Muhammad Ali’s classic speech.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your initial reaction to the ad?
  2. What are your thoughts about using Muhammad Ali’s speech as the soundtrack?
  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using paralympic Amy Purdy in the ad?
  4. Discuss each of the source characteristics found in the chapter in terms of Amy Purdy’s selection for the ad.

Posted by on January 26, 2015 in Chapter 06 and tagged , , , .

Leave a comment

January 23, 2015

Product Placement (Chapter 10)

Product placement has become a big business. Do they work? Here are some videos that can be used to generate a discussion.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why do brands invest in product placement rather than use advertising?
  2. From the first video, list the top 10 product placements. For each, indicate if you agree that it is a good product placement or not. Explain why.
  3. From the second video, what is digitally-placed product placement? Why should companies use digitally-placed product placement?
  4. For you personally, are product placements effective? Why or why not?
  5. Watch the third video. Would you agree that these product placements were not done well? Why or why not?
  6. Do you think product placement suffers from clutter, similar to ad clutter? Why or why not?

Posted by on January 23, 2015 in Chapter 10 and tagged .

Leave a comment

January 21, 2015

Millennial Consumer Trends (Chapter 4)

Elite Daily has produced a white paper entitled Millennial Consumer Trends that you can use for Chapter 4. The Elite Daily website may also be of interest and can generate some discussion. You may want to download the actual study since it has more information than the article. It is available through the article.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Based on the article, describe the millennial generation. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  2. Based on the article, what trends do the authors see for millennials?
  3. Review the Elite Daily website. What type of information is available on the website?
  4. Elite Daily states it is the “premier online news platform for and by Millennials, the leading source for breaking news and entertainment for the future leaders of our generation.”  Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Posted by on January 21, 2015 in Chapter 04 and tagged , .

Leave a comment

January 16, 2015

Fear Appeal (Chapter 6)

Here is an excellent fear appeal commercial entitled “Your Skin” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that can be used to discuss the various elements of the behavioral response model.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What level of fear is displayed in this advertisement?
  2. Do you think this ad will be effective in reaching teen smokers, especially females? Why or why not?
  3. Go through the elements of the behavioral response model in terms of this ad and the goal of discouraging teens from smoking, or to quit smoking.

Posted by on January 16, 2015 in Chapter 06 and tagged .

Leave a comment

January 15, 2015

What is the Message? (Chapter 6)

One of my students submitted the following ads examples of ones they disliked. I think it could make some interesting discussion in terms of advertising design.

Discussion Question:

  1. For each ad, what is the message the ad conveys? Do you think this is the message the creatives wanted to convey? Why or why not?
  2. For each ad, identify the appeal, message strategy, and execution. Support your choice.
  3. Which ad do you like the best? Why?
  4. Which ad do you like the least? Why?

Posted by on January 15, 2015 in Chapter 06 and tagged , , .

Leave a comment

January 6, 2015

Doritos and the Super Bowl (Chapter 7)

For the last 9 years Doritos has used consumer-generated advertising for the Super Bowl. This AdAge article has links to the top five Dorito ads for the 2015 Super Bowl. The winner will receive $1 million and an opportunity to work as a contractor for Universal Pictures in Hollywood.

Discussion Questions:

  1. After watching the five videos, which is your favorite? Why?
  2. Do you think this is a good strategy for Doritos? Why or why not?
  3. Why does Doritos pick the Super Bowl to run this type of campaign? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks?
  4. Do you watch the ads on the Super Bowl? Why or why not?
  5. In your opinion, what makes a good Super Bowl ad?

Posted by on January 6, 2015 in Chapter 07 and tagged , .

Leave a comment

December 18, 2014

Kellogg’s Hopes to Change Buyer Behavior (Chapter 3)

While this New York Times article was written before the Kellogg’s campaign launched, it has useful information about Kellogg’s strategy. Since 93% of Americans eat cereal getting them to eat more is extremely challenging, unless you can encourage consumers to eat cereal in the evenings, not in the mornings. That is the goal of this campaign. Here are two TV ads that were produced.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you ever eat cereal in the evening or at non-breakfast time?
  2. Do you think this campaign will increase sales for Kelloggs by getting consumers to eat cereal in the evenings? Why or why not?
  3. In terms of consumer attitude, which component of attitude does this campaign and TV ads try to influence? Justify your answer.
  4. In terms of cognitive mapping, what is Kellogg’s goal? Explain.
  5. Do you think this campaign utilizes any of the trends in consumer buyer behavior? If so, which ones? Why? If not, why not?

Posted by on December 18, 2014 in Chapter 03 and tagged , , , .

Leave a comment

December 16, 2014

Integrated Campaigns in Action (Chapter 13)

Through the generosity of some great advertising agencies, we were able to obtain some integrated campaigns. This campaign was to encourage recycling for the city of Shreveport and was prepared by Gremillion and Pou advertising agency. The PowerPoint provides details of the campaign, entitled “Just Curb It,” and shows the collateral pieces that were prepared, which included television, outdoor, newspaper, and a brochure. This integrated campaign would work well with Chapter 13.

Just Curb It Integrated Campaign

For additional teaching resources, access the authors’ website at clowbaack.net.

Posted by on December 16, 2014 in Integrated Campaigns in Action and tagged , .

Leave a comment