HEALTH .com

I know that when the winter flue comes to pay us visit soon we are all going to be desperately pounding on the computer in search of a cure for that annoying cough.

We are presented with direct to consumer persciption medication advertisements on a daily basis. Whether it is for men over 50 or teenagers with severe acne, advertising brings an array of pharmaceuticals products to our attention daily, what do we do with this information?

People are taking charge of their health, today consumers more than ever before are being more inquisitive regarding their health and getting answers.

An ABOUT.COM survey has found that 68% of people find information online because it makes them feel better informed and give them a place for discussion with their doctors. 47% of people find online information about alternative treatments, 26% uses ads in their search to help them find this information. In the survey when asked to identify the kind of information seeking they participate in, 58% answered that it is about side affects of drugs and 38% cited to have participated in free trails.

The effect of advertising on the drugstore supermarket has connected the consumer with the seller by providing a link to the information we need to know, want to know and wish we would have known.

US ARMY ADV

This coming week 4 agencies will be pitching to get the honourable job of promoting the US ARMY. The Army Requested Traditional, digital, direct marketing, promotions and events and the biggy for me, Multi-cultural advertising.

This gives me mixed emotions when I think about the "old days" and how in a Jim Crow nation men from other races and cultures were segregated in the Army.Then I blink for one second and realize that the current situation with the "Don't ask Don't tell" policy debates, puts the freedom of the very people who sacrifice their lives for the freedom of others, in a very small box of that is highly judgemental.

I understand that there are homophobic people in all walks of life, and the judgement can be especially sharp in an exclusive group like the military who is constantly under public criticism. what I don't understand is how we can accuse someone of Homosexual conduct as if it is a crime and worst of all take their job from them. This to me seems very paradoxical in a country where GLBT rights are so furiously fought for and equality is engraved into almost every walk of life.

I cannot wait for the day the Military open their eyes and realize that gay service men and women leave things behind too. They have families and people who love and accept who they are and most important the life of a gay service man or woman is just as valuable as the soldiers fighting next to them.

SO while the army is changing their advertising, I hope they find that they can recruit people from all cultures and ethnicity's and sexual orientation, because in the end it is all about protecting your country and In an ever changing political climate let's hope that all men and women can serve their country regardless of who they sleep with.

Wallmart in Africa

I was very excited to hear that Wall Mart is stretching their super muscles to the 3rd world. Maybe their influence in Africa can be a positive one and boost the economy for those countries who desperately need it. In South Africa we have a chain similar to SAM'S CLUB called MAKRO. When My parents recently came to visit the States they flipped out about Wall Mart's variety and low cost products. My dad still can't stop talking about how 24 cans of coke only cost $5! I truly believe that Wall Mart will triumph the poverty in those countries, they can bring products to the people that has never before had the pleasure of consuming anything but Salvation Army food packs.

Their head office will be in South Africa.

TGI in the trash

This last weekend on the boulevard TGI had a marketing campaign where they handed out $5 coupons to everyone tailgating. We accepted ours from a blond guy who frowned and asked - "are you going to use it?" I was inclined to say yes and take mine, later however I felt negative about his remark and decided that I wont and it ended up in the trash. I was not the only one who got asked that question because my coupon had a lot of other coupon friends in the bin.

I think TGI's marketing attempt was somewhat of a failure, not because it was a bad idea, because their people in the field was bad marketers, with obvious selectivity and arrogance toward the very people they targeted.

However, I would still go to TGI for their volcano chocolate cake, But I won't be using a coupon to pay for it, instead I will feel the guilt afterwards and that my friends are my biggest worry, not the check!

old age....here I come!!

I am so tired of the new break through formula advertisements the cosmetic companies seem to discover a new break through anti-wrinkle, anti aging treatment every week.

First of all, who funds all these experiments?? How many monkeys do they need per week to make a break through?? Secondly, give last weeks formula a better chance to actually break through before you come and spoil the fun for everyone who had just spend $80 on this weeks wonder treatment.

My 20 year old sister has been caught up in this anti-wrinkle-crazed-scared-to-death-from getting -old - phase. She is so naive to believes every company has found the next best thing...taking turns every day of the week. She thus has invested in her young age in so many products you could fill an old age home with them.

I don't know why people are so scared of age.

Why has society condemned grey hair and a few wrinkles to the end of life as we know it?

Grey hair shows experience, wrinkles show that you have laughed and enjoyed life.

We need to embrace who we are no matter what stage of our lives we are in. Let's accept that we will grow old, make peace with the circle of life, and remind ourselves that we are only as old as we feel.

Road Trip

I went on a road trip this past fall break to Oklahoma. As I was driving down 75 past McKinney all I could see were billboards of restaurants advertising specials, pictures of burgers and shakes. I was not hungry at the time because I had just had my yummy salad for lunch, but the sight of those massive -loaded -in -calories- and -saturated fat - items made my mouth water. I think those businesses who advertise out there would be very happy to know that their campaigns are very successful.

Clutter here is the only problem. There are too many, too close and too general in message.

I did enjoy seeing the automated billboards that changed messages.

I wish they could put up big signs to alert drivers like me that the sheriff is parked under the next bridge, this would be a welcome ad in any neighborhood.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

This past weekend I attended a house -building hosted by Habitat for Humanity. We started at 8 am and when I arrived at the address (made easy by Google Maps) I was full of energy and ready to put my shot put/discus thrower arms to work. We were greeted by the House Dad, leader, and put to work. We planned on staying the full day (8am till 5pm) but as the sun came beating down on our necks and the once so very easy to lift roofing slabs became 10 times as heavy and the roof 5ft higher by noon (lunch break) we said adios amigos. We will return next week. I don't know how I knew what Habitat for Humanity was, as I have never worked with them before, but their name was familiar to be on some level , and when mentioned I quickly associated them with a prominent charity and not just a waist of time type of group. They do very well marking their trucks that carry supplies as well as the boards they put up in front of the houses that marks them as a Habitat for Humanity Project. I felt lucky to be working with a group of people who reach out to provide the most important human need of all- habitat -

Lost In TranSlatioN

It is true that ads which are badly translated into other languages and can cause offense to native speakers.

I am bi-lingual and I am very proud of my mother tongue. If I should read an ad that is misspelled, wrong meaning is transmitted or just sounds dumb I will have to figure out who wrote it, why couldn't they find an adequate translator and wasn't it checked before it ran???

There are poorly translated ads out there that are worth sharing with friends because the make us laugh. Worse, some really bad translated ads can make a brand unappealing toward the target audience, the very people the ad is translated for. The question on my mind is, WHo is that person or persons that give it a green light before triple checking it??

The rule must be that If we want to know how to say something in another language...get a speaker of that language to do the job. Get another one to check it and then just to make sure your slogan didn't change meaning toward the opposite spectrum, 3rd time is the charm.
http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/HorrorMistakes.htm#ford

gROUND zERo

Ad week challenged the advertising agencies to find a creative way to get around the religious issues and the building of the mosk on ground zero. 5 responded with creative and copy that I can only describe as a job well done. They are in majority very positive about American people and the religious tolerance that Americans need to show toward those who are Muslim. I particularly liked Gotham New York's response. They classify the whole of the United States as GROUND ZERO. I agree with them for the fact that the matter that the Muslim war against Christian America has escalated and will continue to get pulled out of proportion because of the tolerance of "religion" in this country.
Since when is it tolerable to kill thousands of people, try to sink the US economy, and take responsibility of your actions all based on RELIGIOUS motivation. Sure, we all believe in a Higher power, but can we use that Deity to kill?
People have gone to war for centuries, most wars believe it or not had started because of women.
Now, I am not saying that I condemn Muslim's, but I believe that they have a very ethnocentric way of looking at the States, and them, like any other outsider, should not judge nor use selfish religious ideologies to tear the world apart. We are all HUMAN, HUMAN beings. We have to share this world, it's the only one we've got.
I pray for reconciliation
I pray for peace
I pray for tolerance
I pray for this tit for tat thing to stop
I want to live in a world where I can be safe regardless of whom I worship.
http://http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i188fd3103facd85e6db29539a44fe29c

CreatiVe ConsuMers

I recently read an article about consumers taking more action in the creative process by the use of amateur video and semi- professional creatives. I know that the agencies rely on the "professional" creatives and free lancers they use on a day to day basis. But it is obvious that the consumers-self, knows what works and what doesn't resonate with them. I believe that agencies, for their own benefit needs to tap into the consumers mind and have a bunch of "amateurs" think creatively about a product. This in my mind beats the idea of a focus group. Compare 8 people and what ideas my come from them to 500 people all thinking in unique creative ways. Many Monkeys and many typewriters may have a result of some funky idea.

SoCial resPosibiliTy..

What is Socially responsible advertising?

Frankly I don't know....The fact that the product and the brand needs resonates with the consumer means that the product has to in some form show a stereotype. The question comes in whether that stereotype is positive or negative? does it uplift a group, make fun of a group or bashes a group?

The product at hand must be considered. Is it possible to market beer in a responsible way? referring back to stereotyping, isn't the group who consumes beer triggered by typical "dude" ads? Or are we trying to get Nun's to drink beer?

Being socially responsible means we need to reflect on everything we do that effects society and ask ourselves if our actions are helping people or feeding them with the same old crap that Advertising is so famous for doing...??

Don't drink and drive!

Don't smoke and make an Ad... It's irresponsible!!