Today I came across a memoir that was written by Jack Cashill. It was titled "Advertising Works". This was a narrative about how he used his skills as an advertiser to sell his house in Kansas City.
Cashill decided not to use a realtor to sell his house when the story took place 15 years ago. He took advice from a friend and decided to sell it himself. At first it didn't work and his friend discouraged him from being himself by convincing him that his ideas were in "bad taste". The house didn't sell for 6 weeks and it was time for Cashill's family to move. What he decides to do it create a unique trail of signs leading to his house to promote the sale of his house. The signs rhymed when read in chronological order and this attracted many people to the house. On top of that, a news team covered the story and put it on their newscast. Cashill ended up selling the house for a very good price.
Cashill might not have been able to sell the house if it wasn't for advertising. He really showed how bad a situation could be without advertising and how good a situation can become if advertising is introduced. This memoir was very interesting and the narrative elements he used kept me enticed throughout the story.
http://www.cashill.com/memoir/advertising_works.htm
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Visa Predicts Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the biggest game of them all. It has far more viewers than any other event on television. This makes it a huge target for advertising. Each year everyone tries to have a superior commercial that is memorable and will sell their product.
It seems this year that VISA was a little ahead of the curve. With the Super Bowl getting closer, people have noticed the similarities between the teams in it and Visa's preseason commercials. The two teams in this year's Super Bowl are the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49'ers. Visa ran an ad campaign at the beginning of the season that advertised getting a chance to meet players and coaches in the NFL if you won their contest. Interesting enough, the two teams they used for their commercials were the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49'ers. Is this mere coincidence? I suppose. However, I find this very interesting from an advertising standpoint. It shows the connections between a credit card commercial and sports that many people enjoy.
Whether they just got lucky or if they really did know who would be in the Super Bowl, it is very impressive of Visa. A company who just two years ago ran a Superbowl campaign that flopped. But that's a different story. I learned something about advertising when I stumbled across this random fact. I learned that sometimes advertising is hit or miss, but when you hit it, good things can happen.
It seems this year that VISA was a little ahead of the curve. With the Super Bowl getting closer, people have noticed the similarities between the teams in it and Visa's preseason commercials. The two teams in this year's Super Bowl are the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49'ers. Visa ran an ad campaign at the beginning of the season that advertised getting a chance to meet players and coaches in the NFL if you won their contest. Interesting enough, the two teams they used for their commercials were the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49'ers. Is this mere coincidence? I suppose. However, I find this very interesting from an advertising standpoint. It shows the connections between a credit card commercial and sports that many people enjoy.
Whether they just got lucky or if they really did know who would be in the Super Bowl, it is very impressive of Visa. A company who just two years ago ran a Superbowl campaign that flopped. But that's a different story. I learned something about advertising when I stumbled across this random fact. I learned that sometimes advertising is hit or miss, but when you hit it, good things can happen.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Learning the Language
One of the most popular television shows now a days is called Mad Men. It is a show on AMC that depicts the life of a creative director at an advertising agency based in New York City in the 1960's. The show somewhat gives advertising a bad reputation because of the many radical themes. Some of these themes include sexism, racism, and homophobia. This is because of society and cuilture also being quite radical during that time.
Because the show takes place in the 19690's, some of the words that they use may have a different meaning today or would be used in different context. Most of the words in the show in relation to advertising are normal words that would be used in an office such as secretary or executive or co-worker. Whats really different is the choice of words that don't have relations to advertising. A lot of these words have to do with the times in which they were said. Words like housewife and chain smoker are used a lot in this series. This is because smoking was more prevalent in the 60's and a lot of women did not have jobs because of the gender gap in the working industry. Another word used a lot is "boy". A lot of the men in this show use that word to address a man that is younger and inferior to them.
I wouldn't say this show accurately represents advertising today. Mostly because it doesn't take place in the present. This is why a lot of the word choice is not the same as it would be today. The present is a lot more conservative with what is said. This show is quite the opposite.
Because the show takes place in the 19690's, some of the words that they use may have a different meaning today or would be used in different context. Most of the words in the show in relation to advertising are normal words that would be used in an office such as secretary or executive or co-worker. Whats really different is the choice of words that don't have relations to advertising. A lot of these words have to do with the times in which they were said. Words like housewife and chain smoker are used a lot in this series. This is because smoking was more prevalent in the 60's and a lot of women did not have jobs because of the gender gap in the working industry. Another word used a lot is "boy". A lot of the men in this show use that word to address a man that is younger and inferior to them.
I wouldn't say this show accurately represents advertising today. Mostly because it doesn't take place in the present. This is why a lot of the word choice is not the same as it would be today. The present is a lot more conservative with what is said. This show is quite the opposite.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
About Me
Writing has never been one of my
strong suits but I wouldn’t call it a weakness of mine. My feelings on writing
vary in the topic in which I’m writing about. For instance, if I am writing a
research paper on something that doesn’t interest me, there is a greater chance
it will be harder for me to write and it might not reach the length
requirement. I have always struggled with length requirements because I’m not a
fan of elaborating. I prefer something short and concise that gets to the point
quickly. I do not enjoy writing enough to do it outside of class in my free
time, but I do realize writing is a major part of school and life. My obvious
goal for this class is to get a 4.0, but also another goal of mine is to become a better writer for the future.
I would like to take these skills and apply them to the field of advertising. I would also like to educate other people on what advertising can offer. It's a very intriguing and misunderstood profession. Through these blog posts I plan to explore into the world of advertising to learn the ins and outs of the business. I've always been interested by advertisements on television, on signs, and more. I'm just excited to learn more about it.
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