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Posts tagged advertising

Truth in Packaging

October 31, 2008 · Filed under advertising, Business, Marketing, Rants · Tagged advertising, bacon, ethics, fail, food, packaging, truth, water slide, Wendy's

OK, yes this is another post about me complaining about marketers. How many times have you watched a commercial for a big juicy burger – meat glistening, giant ripe tomatoes, big fluffy bun, melty cheese – so perfect you want to run out and grab it right then and there? However, you get to the restaurant and proudly order your new discovery only to be handed a soggy, limp little burger. How could this be? You saw it with your own eyes on TV. You feel betrayed! You’ve been bamboozled! What are you to do?

Wendy's Baconator (Ad vs Reality)

I don’t know, my friends. What can you do? The laws seem to be fairly loose around this kind of thing – but is it so wrong? I’ve been on the set of food shoots – it’s truly an art. There are professional food photographers who are very good at their job. They use all sorts of materials to get food to look good. They put gloss on the meat to make it look juicy. The use carefully calculated placement of sauces, applied by syringes. Next time you see a box of cereal, take a close look to see if there is a heaping spoonful of cereal in cold milk. Odds are, the milk is actually Elmer’s Glue.

Should we be upset? Isn’t this just like a human model for clothes or sunglasses or makeup or something? Isn’t this just the same as seeing that shirt on a model, going to the store and buying it, only to see that you look like a turd in the exact same shirt? Kind of. The food has to be photographed to look appealing, I get it. Here’s the BIG QUESTION for the blog – how close should the actual product look in comparison to the commercial or the photo?

Take a look at this next winner of a product lie. There’s supposedly six kids that can frolic around in this kiddie pool. Looks great – what an oasis of fun! You can go down the water slide while your friends chill in the pool. Perhaps you’d like to play basketball or ring toss? Sure – it’s all good, kids. Back to reality – I feel bad for the kids in this “reality” photo. While the two products are very similar, that is NOT the same product. The kids in the photo on the box are pixies or something. Seriously! Look at this photo and just shake your head in disbelief (well, that’s what I did). Is there no Truth-in-Packaging law? I couldn’t find one, but if somebody knows of it, please give me the details. Is this ethical?

Wow, not even close

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Got Creativity?

October 27, 2008 · Filed under Creative, Marketing, Rants · Tagged Aaron Burr, advertising, creativity, got milk, Marketing, Mike McDowell, milk

OK, this is my rant about lack of creativity by marketers. This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. It irritates me to no end to see marketers lazily attempt to market their product or services by copying the popular “got milk?” ads by simply using lowercase type and filling their product or service in the blank of “got ______?” How lazy are you?

The “Got Milk” advertising campaign was created in 1993 by Goodby Silverstein & Partners for theCalifornia Milk Processor Board and later licensed it for dairy farmers. Milk had seen a 20-year slump, and this wildly popular advertising campaign is credited with milk’s resurgence as a competitor in the beverage industry. The first TV ad to run in 1993 was about a luckless history buff who adores Alexander Hamilton (in fact, it appears his apartment is like a mini-museum). He is slathering peanut butter onto a sandwich as he hears the radio announcer’s trivia contest. The question: “Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?” Next caller gets a chance to answer. Well, who do you suppose would get the call. None other than our tragic star who has just stuffed that peanut butter sandwich in his mouth. The DJ cannot understand his answer (Aaron Burr), so our hapless hero reaches for the milk to wash down his woes and win $10,000. No milk. Tragedy. “Got Milk?” is the simple tag on a black screeen. Brilliant!!! Check it out, below.

OK – so what’s your problem, Mike? I was driving in the Costco shopping center and drove past this pickup truck with these 10-foot cat tower things (I guess the cats climb on them), and a big sign that said, “Got Cats?” Ugh – why don’t these amateur marketers come up with something original instead of stealing and presenting a pathetic carbon copy of a great ad? And there are no boundaries for burglary of “Got Milk?” Check out some of the examples below. You’ve got everything from “Got Jesus?” to “Got Sand?” to “Got Shoes?” Plus, my favorite: “Got Poop?”

Anyway – that’s my rant. Keep your eyes open for these pathetic attempts at marketing, and gaze upon them with absolute disdain. Promise you will?

(Also, just for all of our viewing pleasure, I added a true “Got Milk?” ad featuring Hayden Panettiere to the gallery)