Latest Shocking Benetton Advertising Campaign

"The Vatican said on Thursday it would take legal action to stop the distribution of a photo montage in an advertisement by the Italian fashion firm Benetton showing Pope Benedict kissing an imam on the mouth."(Link)

Benetton still follows its motto: "A picture is worth a thousand words." The debate is if such advertisements are appropriate.

The point of view of the catholic church is clear:

"This is a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offense against the sentiments of the faithful and a clear example of how advertising can violate elementary rules of respect for people in order to attract attention through provocation," spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Wednesday night. 

The statement further said that the ad was "damaging to not only to dignity of the pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of believers."

I just ask myself if you can't see the picture from a different point of view:  

Doesn't the picture promote multiculturalism, respect for other religions (or freedom of religion), and maybe even allows homosexuality (as we consider that two men are kissing).

That are all issues the catholic church has problems to deal with.

If I were the marketing advisor for Benetton I would not have printed these ads, because the risk is to high to offend people. However, I think there are messages in a lot of Benetton ads that should be considered.

Pepsi vs. Coke

Competitive ads are ads that include a competitor's product, normally displaying it as inferior.

I found this funny Pepsi vs. Coke ad: On the internet it says "Banned".
After I saw this commercial I know why Coke does not want this ad to be shown: It is great!
The marketers created a very creative ad. I think a lot of customers would switch brands after seeing this ad.

I suppose we are lucky that the Montana State Food Service has a contract with Pepsi!

VW Meets Star Wars

I love creative ads. There are not that much TV ads that really catch my attention, but this one is hilarious.

When I saw it in Germany, I called my whole family to watch it with me. However, my sisters were not nearly as impressed as I am: Maybe it really depends on the person if you find the ad funny or not.

I think it must be very frustrating for marketers that people are so different, because they just cannot target all customers with one spot!

However, this spot is an example that cultural perceptions are not that different: This ad was shown in Germany and in the US! Star Wars fans everywhere, huh?

VW - Experiences You Will Remember Forever

In my second wiki I have the topic: Modern family structures.

When I searched the web for ads targeting the traditional family, I came across a lot of very good commercials. I really liked the Volkswagen commercials! What do you think?

The second commercial could be a scene of my family's life. When my sisters and me were sitting in the back of our car, there was always something going on, that my parents would hopefully not notice.

By the way: I love the VW cars!!! They remind me of home!

Hunting

Another cultural difference is the hunting attitude of Montanans. I find it really funny that people my age spend their holy weekend going hunting the whole day. Never having been hunting I cannot really say if I would enjoy doing it.

However it would be really funny if it was like in this ad. I would definitely hunt like the man in the back ;-)

Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof

The reality principle means to find "ways to gratify the id that the outside world will find acceptable." The reality principle is part of Freud's personality theory.

When I read about the reality principle in our textbook, I had to think about a German saying. It is not directly related to Freud's theory of personality. However, it has a lot to do with reality:

Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof!

Directly translated it would mean something like: Life is not a pony farm.

English sayings related to the German one would be:
Life wasn't meant to be easy.
Life's not a bed of roses.
Life's no walk in the park.
Life's no bowl of cherries.

I really had to laugh, when I found this sign: It crosses out the "Real World" and the Pony farm will be there in two kilometers.

Sometimes I just wish to leave the real world, especially when there are exams, and just spend my life on the "Ponyhof"!

Prints & Books

I love this ad, because it really shows how I feel about print media. I am not that much a newspaper reader, but I love books. Holding a book in your hand instead of staring at your computer (like I am doing in the moment) makes a huge difference in the reading experience. In my opinion you are more likely to be part of the story, when you can actually feel the book. In my opinion reading books on computers or i-Pads creates a distance between the reader and a story.

Even better are letters and postcards that I receive. To have something where a person invests the time to write it by hand is a very nice gift. Related to the theory of extended self, the writer invests part of his or her self in the letter. That makes it more valuable because he is somehow connected to the paper.

Halloween

Where I come from, Halloween is not celebrated a lot. A couple of years ago, it started that people had Halloween parties. However, it is not as common to party on Halloween as it is in the US.

I found a funny ad referring to Halloween!

And men always say that women 
go to the toilet 
together!!! 

If your friends will be gone on Halloween,

at least, you know where to

look for them!!!

Schema: Ice as Means of Explaining Cultural Differences

 

In our textbook Consumer Behavior by Michael R. Solomon there is an example of an American student visiting France and being surprised the water she ordered is not ice cold (p. 81).

This student has a schema that she applies to water. Being used to water being stored in the fridge and being served with a lot of ice cubes, she reacted repellent to water having normal room temperature.  

 I understand the opportunities of keeping water in the fridge when there are 95 degrees outside.

 However, the other way around it is very hard for me to understand, why somebody would want to drink his or her water ice cold with a lot of ice cubes in it when it is only 50 degrees outside. I am already freezing, why would I want to drink even cooler water, so that I am even colder? Being used to drinking water at room temperature I just cannot drink ice cold water because it really hurts on my teeth.

 

I came up with this topic, because it shows interesting cultural differences. Even though American and European cultures are not considered that different, I observe situations nearly every day where I cannot help myself wondering:

Yesterday an American friend of mine put ice cubes in her milk, because it was not cold enough (coming out of the fridge).

That was a situation where I realized that there are a lot of cultural differences in our everyday life.

Optical Illusions

I am fascinated by all kinds of pictures that are just… NOT RIGHT! 

Have you ever stood in front of a painting or looked at a picture in a book and there was something…STRANGE… about that picture?

Here are some simple examples:



The lines are exactly parallel

Moving circles: 

If the viewer moves for- and 

backward the circles seem to 

move.





Old or young woman?








Artists use optical illusions in their drawings. It is fascinating how perception can change!

Marketers use this kind of turning reality upside down  to get consumers’ attention. 

 

And as it concerns me, such advertisement works! 

I love creative advertisement that gets you thinking about it!

Barbecue

A barbecue grill can be very expensive! 

So why not be creative and look for something similar?

I must admit, that this improvised barbecue grill would not satisfy the standards of a grill master. But isn’t it better to start with a small business? Who knows maybe that is the idea of the century!

Reality

Who hasn’t heard Rose’s gasped words in Titanic:

"I’m flying Jack!"

When speaking about films we are not speaking about reality. Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined.

We love films because they don’t portray us humans as we often are: 

• no supermodels,

• not looking awesome when we wake up in the morning,

• and in reality not everything works out! 

However, isn’t real live much more fun?

Adidas: Faster Than Your Shadow

I thought that after a couple of very critical blog posts, you would like to enjoy a funny one.

Nike has a lot of very successful advertising campaigns. Just think of the “Just do it” campaign. This simple slogan is certainly one of the best in the world. How many people do you see every day with a Just-do-it-T-shirt? A lot!

However, competitor Adidas does not sleep.

Personally, I find following advertising even more appealing:

I wish I could run that fast! 

Maybe I should get some Adidas shoes???