Advertising Is Good For You

Racial harmony + furniture = viral TV commercial

I love this wonderfully quirky TV spot for a furniture store in North Carolina.

Some, though, find it offensive.

Watch it and judge for yourself.

CLICK HERE to see the spot.

The spot was created by Rhett and Link.

Ralph Lauren celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Or is he celebrating Obama's inauguration? I'm not sure.

This ad made me groan when I saw it in yesterday's New York Times. Like so much of Ralph Lauren's advertising, it seems to be trying too hard. Here's another example of what I mean.

The University of Wisconsin is committed to diversity

 

BEFORE                                        AFTER

                                                               Image source: Horse/Water 

The University's attention to detail does not go unnoticed.

Celebrating Black History Month the thoughtless way

Click image to enlarge.

Are advertising and marketing types the only ones who give a thought to product placement?

Source: Bits & Pieces

Is this advertisement as offensive as I think it is?

Source: MultiCultClassics

Local landmark/offensive stereotype/very ambitious repurposing of roadside marketing

This approximately 40-foot tall Native American stands atop what was once a Chicago cigar store. When the building was taken over by an optometrist, the giant Native American was fitted with eyeglasses and a sign that reads, "Eye can see now."

Racism. It's in there.

I saw a TV spot the other day for Prego tomato sauce. It featured a nice middle-class African-American couple in their nice middle-class kitchen. The spot ended with the man proclaiming that the Prego sauce was perfect as is by saying, "Nah, it don't need nothin'."

Middle-class white people in TV commercials never use such atrocious grammar -- unless they're supposed to be hillbillies of the Jethro Bodine variety.

I'd love to hear the rationale for making the African-American actor in the Prego spot sound like he had a fourth-grade education.

Why don't ads promoting 'diversity' try harder?

Just a few of the examples of pitiful 'diversity' advertising posted throughout MultiCultClassics :

Advertising Against Racism: This is such a visually powerful message. And a brave one.

Depicting a swastika, even a partially obscured one, invites controversy. Or, at the very least, discussion.

Discussion, in this case, is a noble goal.   

I don't know if this was an ad or a poster or both, but graphically it has the simplicity and gravitas of Russian Constructivist posters.

Can you tell how much I like it?

Agency: CLM/BBDO, Paris
Source: AdParade

Advertising to Gays

One of my clients, a relatively small regional bank, recently began advertising in one of the few publications targeting the gay and lesbian community of Massachusetts.

This is an incredibly progressive move on the part of my client because gays and lesbians are still a relatively untapped market. Yet, a generally accepted statistic (at least up here in the Northeast) is that gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals make up about 10% of the American population.

That's a huge market of consumers. Fairly sophisticated consumers, at that.

According to an article in the Magazine of Online Media, Marketing & Advertising (OMMA), 77% of gay Americans have conducted banking or related financial transactions online; 74% have brought a product or service online; and 69% have made airline or hotel reservations online.

As for those companies that pursue a policy of avoiding advertising to gays, I'm reminded of Petula Clark's 1968 NBC TV special.

While performing with Harry Belafonte, the white songstress innocently touched the black singer's arm. The show's sponsor, Chrysler, freaked.

A man and woman of different races had never before touched one another on American television and Chrysler was afraid of offending Southern viewers. A representative from Chrysler demanded the 'touch' footage be substituted with a different take. Ms. Clark and her producer famously refused and the show aired, nonetheless, to high ratings and much critical acclaim.

I see two lessons here. First, Americans aren't as hateful as some might think. And, two, tread very carefully if you're going to discriminate among consumers. The story of Ms. Clark's 1968 TV special is still now remembered by many -- it's even part of Petula Clark's Wikipedia bio. You don't want a similar footnote permanently attached to your brand advertising.