In Response to Will

Do you think gender specific marketing is sexist?

I think that maybe in ways it can be sexist, but in my opinion it is a great marketing technique.  It grabs more viewers/consumers attention than other ads.  Sex sells.  There aren't many men I know that wouldn't watch a Victoria's Secret ad and think it was dumb.  They would say it was a great ad and watch the whole thing, however they probably wouldn't know what the commercial was selling.  The women watching this same ad are just going to compare themselves to these women, think they need to look just like them in order to feel pretty around their men, and then buy the products thinking it makes them more appealing to men.  This is brilliant advertising, because so many people actually get suckered into it.

Do you think this kind of advertising and marketing of a product is bad for your brand?

Shaving Below a Man’s Neck, if That’s What She Wants

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/business/media/gillette-promotes-a-new-shaver-using-qr-codes.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=advertisingandmarketing&adxnnlx=1364418126-xnqUO69GH+0JdM2y2Sj/Sg

This article is about how back in the 60's and 70's men who had chest hair were attractive whereas now major magazines and other ads with men have polished torsos and well defined six packs and pecs.  Since this is the new attractive man Gillette has taken their trimmer razor hybrid and started making ads about how men should start using them on their chest and back rather than just their face or neck.

"The new commercial is set at a poolside cocktail party where contrasting preferences in men’s body hair are expressed by three comely women:the model Kate Upton (some chest hair, but never on the back) and the actresses Hannah Simone (hairless stomachs to emphasize abs) and Genesis Rodriguez (no hair at all)."

“The ProGlide Styler. Trim, shave and edge. The one tool you need to get the look she wants.”

The new commercial will not air until April first and will part of "What women want" campaign.  This ad was developed when they were starting to hear how men were using their product for other places below the neck.  The company is trying to say that they care what people think and that is why they are putting an ad out geared towards women's hair preferences for men.

Do you think this ad is a clever way to sell more of a product they have already promoted in the past?

In response to Mia

Do you think that this company will be successful if it continues to stay as a strictly online-based company?

 

 I think this company could go either way.  They could be very successful because they are online and more convenient for our busy society today.  However, they may do very poorly if they stay as a strictly online-based company.  Many people trying to work out hard and lose weight or get toned want that one on one experience with a coach.  So if CoachUp were to add an option of signing up with a coach to meet with I think it would help the company in the long-run.  If I were paying for a coach I would want to be able to meet with them in person so I knew I was doing everything right.  Online coaching can only go so far.

Do you agree, or think that the company will stay successful because they are so strictly online-based?

Ads That Speak the Language of Social Media

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/business/media/ads-that-speak-the-language-of-social-media.html?ref=advertisingandmarketing&_r=0

This article is about how companies are using social media to their advantage when advertising.  They use the tactic known as borrowed interest.  "which brands seek to associate themselves with elements of popular culture that are pervasive enough to be familiar to the proverbial everybody"  Some examples of advertising are:

• Ads for Snickers Peanut Butter Squared candy, sold by Mars, that depict the word “like” and a thumbs-up symbol evocative of Facebook above a competitor’s product; the word “love” and a heart hover above the Snickers candy. “If you like peanut butter and chocolate,” the ads assert, “you’ll love peanut butter and Snickers.”

•   Ads for the cosmetics retailer Sephora, addressed to “a busy networker,” that promote BB (beauty balm) creams as “your new must-have status update: They prime, hydrate, treat, protect and perfect.”

•   Ads for Chock full o’Nuts coffee, sold by Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, that carry the words “social network” above a black-and-white photograph of a kaffeeklatsch during the “Mad Men” era.

•   Ads for Martha White baking mixes, sold by J.M. Smucker, carrying headlines that include “Finally, something worthy of a status update” and “Double your ‘friend’ list in just 15 minutes.”

Companies do no want to bash on social media.  They are trying to use it in ways to capture the viewers.  So, when they use an add like - “My mom hasn’t accepted my friend request yet. What could she possibly be doing?” The answer: driving in her Venza to meet friends — the nonvirtual kind — for a day riding bicycles." - it is suppose to be humorous and state that the Venza can take you places making you too busy for all social media. This is suppose to be similar to the way social media keeps you closer to people.

Do you think this is a good way to capture audiences?  Do you ever "like" a brand on a social network?