Wednesday, 30 May 2012

CREATIVE ADVERTISING – PART 1


Advertising has always been my favourite subject and when its “creative advertising” , it never fails to catch my attention and special interest. 
Advertising is a big business and ranks among the top industries of the world along with oil, auto, information technology and agriculture. In India, the last decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in advertising business. Today I see a lot of creativity in advertisements, rather so much competition among brands and ads are no more “me too” type of messages. Today is the era of “BATTLE OF BRANDS” in every form of advertising – printed, non-printed and digital.
Through this post of mine, I would like to take you all through the types of  advertising and various message appeals used in advertising.

CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING

It was during 1950’s that television emerged as one of the most spectacular development in the history of advertising. Creativity in advertising was almost non-existent till 1950’s and it was large corporations like coco-cola who introduced the unique type of intelligence and class to advertising. As  we can see in the above ad picture , how Hollywood personalities like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are used to depict the classic taste of the drink.

COMPARATIVE  ADVERTISING :

 


Comparative advertising – the practice of naming, either directly or indirectly, the competitors in the ad and comparing one or more specific attributes.


VARIOUS TYPES OF APPEALS IN ADVERTISING:

  1. REFUTATIONAL APPEAL
The advertiser first presents both strong and weak points about the product or service and then refutes the views concerning the weaknesses. The ads are aimed at building resistance in the consumers mind against competitor attacks or criticism; and against existing negative beliefs of consumers. 



2. EMOTIONAL APPEAL

Emotional /transformational appeals are used to evoke positive feelings that may get transferred to the brand. Research supports the belief that the commercials which generate a positive mood among the audience are better remembered.
3. RATIONAL APPEAL
Rational/informational appeals are usually informative and attempt to convince consumers about the suitability of the advertised product or service to satisfy their needs.




 Its sub-categories are as follows; 

  • FEATURE APPEAL 




  • FAVOURABLE PRICE APPEAL




  • NEWS APPEAL

  • POPULARITY APPEAL


4. SEX APPEAL
There are very few appeals in advertising that can probably equal the attention- arresting magic of sex appeals. Many psychologists are of the opinion that proper manipulation of sex appeals can trigger subconscious human desires that result in the purchase of products or services.


But the advertisers should remember that if the sex appeal has no relevance to the advertised product, it completely fails in creating any persuasive impression on the target audience.


The response  of men and women are totally different towards sex appeals in advertising. The perceptions of men, for example, about sexiness of an ad depend on the degree of nudity shown. However, the romantic content in the ad is the primary determinant of sexiness for women.

5. FEAR APPEAL
Advertisers use fear appeals to evoke desired response and motivate audience to take steps to remove the threat. Toothpaste, helmets, anti-dandruff shampoos, water filters, life insurance and a large number of other products use explicit or implicit fear appeals.


                                         


6. HUMOUR APPEAL
Humour attracts attention and can help increase ad message retention. Humour is always used to create pleasant mood and enhance audience attitude towards the brand.



7. EGO APPEAL
Advertising message addressing the ego needs.



Saturday, 26 May 2012

AFTER IPHONE, IPAD, IPOD, WHATS NEXT???


Owning a latest technology gadget and going gaga over applications is what has become today’s trend. Sharing a joyful talk on features of a new iTab or iPhone, posting pics on social networking sites, of the ‘pride possession’ of these gadgets has become a common thing among the youngsters today.


The release of any new technology mobile phones or new gadgets always creates a vibe among people with an interest to explore more on What’s new with it adding to the present. Especially any ‘i-gadget’ soon becomes the rage and every youngster dreams of owning one. Oh why just youngsters ? I was astounded and speechless when a relative of mine asked his 2yrs old kid as to what he wants to play with – a toy car or an i-pad, and the kid snatched the i-pad from his dad, throwing the toy-car down in resentment. Goodness gracious! Where do the kids learn all this from???


Another amazing example of the I-phone craze!! Wedding invitation of one of my friends...!!







The “i” craze has grown so much that I sometimes feel…Am I missing on something??
A few days back, on a hot sunny day, I went to an ice-cream parlour. The guy gave the menu card and guess what I saw written on it?? New offering from Arun ice-creams –“i-cone” !! I was completely baffled to see that !! The curious me immediately asked the parlour guy what an ‘i-cone’ was? And he replied “its for all you youngsters who love the gadgets i-phone and i-pod. Why don’t you try it”..I obviously couldn’t resist...:P :D …..so for all those who haven’t heard of it yet – here is a snapshot 


Another interesting thing that I came across while surfing through the  internet was this –


Edible Iphone's a hit in Beijing bakery


A cake shop in Beijing has started making iPhone cookies and iPad cakes. The baked sweets are proving popular among customers who are willing to pay 228 yuan, or about $33, for an edible iphone.

This is just a image from Sky News ... no word on where in Beijing this cake shop is, but no doubt this trend will be soon replicated at cake shops , and very soon your little one is not only going to demand a device of his own, but also an iPhone-themed birthday party..!!


iCone , iPhone cookies and iPad cakes…..what do you have to say about all these??? iWannaeat???? :D





"Chinglish" -ungrammatical & nonsensical English !!


For those who don’t know, "Chinglish" is English translated from Chinese badly.
What motivated me to write about "China English" is this -
Wondering?? My cousin  bought a set of make-up brushes(needless to say –Made in China) recently, and we were astounded to read what was written behind the pack - 


I insist the readers to read the text in the image carefully.......‘The Best Use of Date’...??!!!!! Oh my god!!! Rofl !!
I have never been to China but have heard loads about it. And one thing that i would like to share is that- it is an absolute delight to watch the Shanghai public signs :P -










Hilarious as hell!! Isn't it?? 
After reading the Chinglish , only one song is running on my mind - 
"Why dis Kolaveri"??!! Seriously!!!! Why killing such a beautiful language like English??!!!!

Next time you want to have a hearty laugh, go get a chinese product and read the english text that is written on it!!!
God bless the Chinese!!!!