Advertising Is Good For You

Where do they find time for school and all that hooking up?

Today's teens must be multi-taskers extraordinaire. According to a just-released OTX study, U.S. teens spend an average of 11.6 hours a day online.

Source: Media Post's Center for Media Research

Fantastic illustrations by Tiago Hoisel

Advertising Agency: NeogamaBBH, Sao Paulo

CLICK HERE to see more of Tiago Hoisel's work.

Source: Ads of the World

HP discovers what anyone who's seen teens and their parents shop already knows.

According to AdWeek:

(Hewlett-Packard) has broadened its target audience this year from parents buying computers to include teenagers who often drive purchase decisions.

Imagine his excitement when he finds out engineers are allowed to have sex.

Source: Billboardom

Repeat after me, "Just because it's new and shiny and young people love it doesn't mean EVERYBODY should be using it."

Social networking site Facebook co-sponsored a conference over the weekend called 'Authentic Communications -- Examining Social Media & The Online Conversation.' The keynote speaker was FaceBook's VP of Corporate Development and Chief Privacy Officer, Chris Kelly.

I don't know for sure what was said at the conference but I'm betting it was something along the lines of... Social networking sites present a marketing innovation that will revolutionize the advertising industry, change the way companies talk to their customers, blah, blah, blah...

Before you start wondering, "What exactly is a paradigm shift, anyway?" take a deep breath.

Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have been made popular largely by the exhibitionist tendencies of the young. These sites do indeed present an exciting, new way to talk to young people. But that hardly means EVERYBODY should start advertising on one of these sites.

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It's become a popular trend to give a brand its own MySpace profile. Which makes sense if your brand is one that young people care about, such as Rocky skateboards, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch or rapper Akon.

But brands like Girl Scout cookies and the Multiple Sclerosis Society now have their own MySpace profiles. Why? Who but a bunch of advertising/marketing geeks will actually go looking for these profiles? Because Facebook and MySpace are websites, my friend. One doesn't accidentally come across a MySpace profile the way one does a magazine ad.

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Remember the dot com crash? Actually, all that crashed were the dumbass ideas that rejected basic marketing principles. Don't forget that the next time someone tries to tell you that your company will be obsolete if you don't slap something up onto Facebook right now.

Addendum (posted 2 April 2007)

The conference, 'Authentic Communications -- Examining Social Media & The Online Conversation,' hasn't happened yet. It will be held on April 24th. Sorry for the misinformation and thanks to Steve for pointing it out!

Source: Wikipedia

 

Helene Curtis Hair Products Ad from 1966

For many more examples of vintage advertising, visit my other blog, Found in Mom's Basement.

Source: Source: Wistful Republic

Yet Another Cheap Shot at Advertising and Marketing

An Illinois lawmaker is getting lots of press for her plans to introduce legislation that would make the alcohol industry stop marketing to kids. Funny thing is, there's no evidence whatsoever that the alcohol industry actually is targeting underage drinkers.

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A 2003 report from the Federal Trade Commission, based on its investigation of alcohol ads, product placement, and even internal company marketing documents, concluded underage consumers were not being targeted by by alcohol advertising and marketing.

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State Senator Carol Ronen, a Democrat, is targeting makers of what she refers to as 'alcopops' i.e. Bacardi Silver, Smirnoff Ice, Captain Morgan Gold and Mike's Hard Lemonade, and other sweet alcoholic beverages that appeal to those wanting to enjoy the effects of alcohol without the taste -- a market segment that is hardly limited to teens.

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So-called alcopops account for less than 1% of total alcohol beverage sales in the U.S.

In addition, sales of alcopops have decreased 21% between 2002 through 2006.

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The lack of evidence against advertising and marketing doesn't appear to be stopping Senator Ronen from moving forward with her plans to keep her name in the papers. 

Source: Chicago Tribune

 

Pepsi: You have to admire a company that can get its customers to pay for the privilege of advertising its products.

Pepsi is doing some interesting branding. They have a website called Pepsi Style where today's Pepsi generation can purchase Pepsi-themed T-shirts, jeans, dresses and fashion accessories.

Prices range from $15.99 - $75 per item.

Pepsi Style is a continuation of a similar and wildly successful promotion called Pepsi Stuff.

You've got to wonder how many kids got the crap kicked out of them for trying to slap one of these stickers on the wrong person.

To make young people more aware that they may be carriers of HIV without even knowing it, volunteers canvassed the streets of Lima discreetly tagging these stickers on unknowing pedestrians.



In the first month of the campaign, there was an 80% increase in phone calls to the clinic; the calls resulted in a 70% increase in HIV tests.

Source: Scary Ideas

Do I smell college students?

Young people stink. And they know it.

Proctor & Gamble's Febreze, for example, is very popular with barhopping young people who come home with smelly clothes they'd rather wear again than have to do laundry.

Teenage girls are an especially big market for air fresheners.

"You can’t have enough scent with teenage girls,” says John Paquin, executive vice president and global account director for Febreze at Grey Worldwide, a WPP Group agency.

In fact, sales of air freshening products have increased 50% in the past three years alone.

That's according to an article in the New York Times that reports on the growing number of young people who are redefining and increasing the market for air fresheners.