Author: emo14a

International Women’s Day, Looking Back to the Past

During International Women’s Day several brands will take the opportunity to address import issues of women’s equality, and the important strides women are taking everyday. While many brands look into the future we saw Budweiser look to the past.

In an industry that is historically plagued with sexism, Budweiser is making strides to turn this perception around. While many brands are able to look to the future, it was time for Budweiser to address the past. This isn’t any easy step for a brand to take; however, to build trust with their audience this is a logical step.

We have seen brands like Gillette take a stance in their advertising, and have it backfire. While Gillette crafted a strong message in their “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” advertisement, it had people wondering if Gillette should have been the company to take the stance. This reaction was the result of Gillette previously objectifying women, and the choice not to address it head on. This decision hurt the credibility of the brand.

Budweiser launched their new advertisement which aimed to give a modern twist to previously sexist advertisements. They placed their old advertisements next to the revamped advertisements to give a harsh juxtaposition in how they depict women. By making the comparison side by side, Budweiser chose to build credibility with their audience by showing that they hold themselves accountable.

Times change and with them so should advertising. Not only are they taking this opportunity to accurately portray women, but they are seeking to actively portray empowerment. How Budweiser follows up this advertisement will be interesting to see, since they have set a new standard for themselves.

ASMR Internet Phenomenon

If you haven’t heard of ASMR until now then you are out of the loop. This phenomenon has taken the internet with its rise in popularity on youtube. For someone who’s unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it is hard to understand without feeling or listening to it.

Defined as a “calming, pleasurable feeling often accompanied by a tingling sensation”, ASMR, autonomous sensory meridian response, occurs in response to certain stimuli.

What triggers an ASMR response drastically varies from person to person, but some of the most common ones are said to include inherently soft sounds. These sounds can include white noise, whispers, chewing, tapping on hard surfaces, brushing sounds and even the sound of someone breathing. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t for everyone.

As it continues to grow in popularity it is starting to break into mainstream outlets. Advertisers have dabbled in the idea of ASMR, but have never fully committed to the idea. That all changed with Michelob Ultra’s commercial featuring Zoe Kravitz that aired during the Super Bowl.

“Michelob Ultra is hoping to stand out with a whispered message about its organic brew, Pure Gold, for its second Super Bowl spot. Actress Zoe Kravitz stars in the 45-second ad from FCB Chicago which uses quiet, deliberate sounds in the hopes to trigger ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) for viewers while also giving them a sense of how Pure Gold is different.”

Advertisers are always looking for a way to stand out and by capitalizing on social phenomenons they are able to reach new audiences. Not only does this reach the ASMR community, but brings it to a more mainstream audience. It will be interesting to see if more brands dabble in ASMR to make a new commercial sub-genre.

Dream Crazier

Serena Williams stars in Nike ad celebrating female athletes during the 91st Annual Academy Awards. This ad is a follow-up to the controversial “Dream Crazy” campaign which featured Colin Kaepernick as the narrator back in September.  This series of ads was considered to be the 30th anniversary of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. Serena Williams was one of the first athletes to be recognized in the “Dream Crazy” series late last year.

This isn’t Serena Williams first rodeo. In the past year, she has been a conversation leader on many topics such as motherhood, sexism, equality, and police brutality. Hands down she was the right choice to narrate Nike’s “Dream Crazier” ad that features female athletes challenging double standards showing that they can achieve crazy dreams.

“The use of Serena Williams as the narrator amongst a number of athletes reflects her standing as one of the most inspirational athletes of her generation,” the Nike representative told Adweek, “who empowers girls to continue to believe in their own crazy dream.”

Soon after airing the ad across platforms, responses have started pouring in with opinions about Nike’s current stance. The new strategy Nike is employing by taking stances on political and social causes is becoming more prevalent in all of their ads. After the backlash on social media for the “Dream Crazy” ad Nike’s sales soared.

With Nike’s attention being more focused on its female consumers, it will be interesting to watch over the next few months to see the effect this ad will have on Nike’s revenue. With the comment section of the video already becoming divisive, it will be interesting to see how their audience will react.


New Take on Tide

Procter & Gamble released their newest Tide campaign with a roll out a video featuring the slogan “Life, Not Laundry” developed by Saatchi & Saatchi to promote their new nationwide laundry service. This is a huge move for Tide within the millennial generation. They had started offering this service in select cities to see the initial reaction from their consumers. In metropolitan areas, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive because a lot of apartments don’t offer washer and driers. With this information in hand, P&G tailored their commercial to fit this demographic by not selling as a luxury, but for anyone who needs a little convenience in life.

“It’s critical we go for this because it’s a natural extension of the brand,” Raman says. “The time people spend on chores is decreasing, and there’s less and less consumption happening at home. The market for out-of-home laundry is just as big as for in-home, and growing faster.”


This campaign marks another huge step for tide because they are transitioning to a more localized strategy for the new services they are offering. We should expect a lot more guerilla marketing for tide including direct mail, e-mail, digital, and experiential to help drive this idea of Tide building relationships through direct interaction with the brand.

Skittles Broadway Super Bowl Commercial

In the weeks before Super Bowl Skittles announced their unorthodox take on advertising for the coming game. They would be creating one of the most over the top Super Bowl commercials to date that would not air during the Super Bowl or for that matter would not be broadcasted anywhere. This decision was made to combat one of the largest problems companies like Skittles face.

“People buy snacks for Super Bowl parties in the days leading up to the game, not during it.”
-Ari Weiss, DDB’s North American chief American creative officer

This leads to a rather large problem to solve. How does a company like Skittles create enough buzz before the Super Bowl to promote sales before the game? In order to battle the noise before the Super Bowl, Skittles would have to come up with a very unexpected commercial that could not just be simply ignored and, with that, the idea of Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical was conceptualized.

This commercial musical hybrid was designed with the full intent of not being aired or broadcast leaving the only insight into the production to the teaser video or viewing the performance live at Town Hall. This musical features four songs within a thirty-minute time frame which feature commentary on advertising which can be streamed on Spotify for everyone who missed the performance.

Since this “commercial” is being hailed as not only an advertisement but also a work of commentary art, how does the Skittles method of advertising affect how this ad will be received and by who?