Celebrity PR: Angelina Jolie

While there are so many celebrities in the limelight and in the pages of various gossip magazines for bad PR, it is hard to find even a handful that have great PR. Angelina Jolie is one of these people in the great PR category. From self refection I can remember all the great things I've heard about her family life, her mothering skills, her selfless help in third world countries and when her name comes up these are the things that come to mind. I personally am not even a fan of her as an actress but whoever is in charge of doing her PR is absolutely fabulous and makes sure that every good deed she does gets unnoticed.
I think a genius move on her (her PR people's) part was a recent "retiring" speech that she gave to BBC news where she said "I don't plan to keep acting very long. I'm ready to do a few things now and fade away and get ready to be a grandma one day. I'm not so worried that I want to keep this pace up and try to be something and be a celebrity.
I like being home a lot. First and foremost, I have a lot of children, and I need to make sure they're growing right and they've got us there for them."
She adds, "I don't think I'll ever say I'm never, ever gonna work because maybe there's that interesting project where I feel creative."
This short and concise series of statements from Jolie tells the listener, she cares about her kids and her career is of 2nd importance. But, if we dig deeper what this small speech also does for Jolie is gives her a way to make sure people don't think her career is stifled or that she is getting "too old" for the screen, but that it's her decision to step away gracefully. It also leaves the door open that if something "really strikes her as a way for her to be creative on set" she can do it-- which is a perfect set up for whatever film she decides to come back with. It will catch the consumer at that point by letting them know that the movie script was so amazing that Jolie just had to make a comeback for it. This is genius PR.

"Free Blog" assignment: Celebrity Endorsements
For my "free" assignment I wanted to take a quick look at 2 celebrity endorsements-- one that I find works and the other which I believe is unsuccessful. (This success gaged by the TEARS model)
1st- Kristie Allie in Jenny Craig Commercials
This is the ad campaign I have chosen as a failed campaign. I realize this is an older ad, but it's the first one that comes to mind. This is a detriment to Jenny Craig's name and if anyone else views these ads as a fail like I do it may and most surely has deterred potential customers. The reason Kristie Allie was not a great spokes person for Jenny Craig is most readily based on the fact that most women that care about celebrities read gossip magazines of which she frequented due to her largely fluctuating weight. This news could be compared to Silvester Stilone being in a magazine for smoking something other than Marlboro's (which he didn't). But, besides getting bad press for herself she was acquiring a bad brand image for Jenny Craig as well as making the brand not seem credible.
2nd- P Diddy Proactive Commercial
I chose this as my "successful" celebrity endorsement campaign. P Diddy is a HUGE name and spans so many groups of people as being an important man. He is famous in the music world as well as in the fashion industry, and he is a very well received, composed and credible source of information (in the eyes of the viewers). So, to start Proactive has done a great job chosing their endorser. During the commercial they show before and after pictures of P Diddy as well as having him speak about the results he has had and the impact it's had on him. It sounded like the heart-felt truth (whether it was, or not), and he has retained his name as well as his commitment to the product via the public eye to this day.

Message Appeals:
What works for me?
1- Allstate Commercials: these commercials generally appeals to fear and to consumers that are looking for preventative tactics. These advertisements always get my attention and register in my mind " I need Allstate insurance to be in good hands just in case". The funny thing is that I do not purchase health insurance. I am still under my parents for this expense, but I am sure once I am finished with college and paying for my own insurance these ads will resonate with me and give Allstate the upper hand in my decision.
2-Mac (apple) commercials: The advertisements with the mac vs. the PC would probably fall under humor appeal, but they are always informational as well. These work extremely well for me, and I understand that I am included in their target market, so I would say their campaign is successful. I have already made plans to purchase a mac book over the summer.
What does not work for me?
1-Fragrance Commercials: generally speaking I am extremely put off by fragrance commercials. This being said, it's because they are almost always sex appeal commercials that are to me very cheesy or almost pornographic, neither of which appeals to me in an advertisement. Such examples are the Axe commercials and the Britney Spears "curious" tv ad.
2-Impoverished Children Commercials: Commercials run by groups such as Children International with videos and pictures of poor and hungry children do not appeal to me in the least. Doing charitable work and giving of my time and money are important to me, but ad's that guilt people into giving money are a turn off to me. Especially with companies like this that don't tell you what percentage of the money you give is actually making it to the children and what percentage is kept for the business.

Creative Brief for Dove Evolution Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

Date:10-28-08
Project: create an ad campaign for dove (evolution commercial)
Project Champion: Rebekah Bailey

Background:
Dove's goal is to appeal to the average woman. We would like to drive the point that real women are not as they seem in the magazines and that beauty is not defined by the media. Dove is already an established brand and therefore our goal for this campaign is merely to show the public what we as a brand support rather than provide more information about our products.
Success of the campaign will be measured in percentage increase in sales during the time that the ad is run.
The Audience:
The primary audience for this ad is middle income women with slightly less than average self-esteem. Any type of mocking, judgment, or derogatory content should be avoided in the commercial. We don't want to make it seem like our brand is for "unattractive" consumers, but we want to spin that into the idea of "what is beauty"? Before watching the commercial these women might have in their minds that they are less than attractive and that women in media are the definition of attractiveness which they can not meet. The secondary audience may be these women's children or spouses.
Objectives:
Our objective is to build a relationship with our consumer. Our priorities are to portray the Dove brand as an understanding, all-encompassing and excepting brand rather than trying to push goods on the consumers. Suggested strategy is to somehow expose the media and their fake portrayal of beauty.
The Message:
Media and the world do not define beauty, it comes from within and Dove realizes that.
To prove it we need to somehow expose the media and their ways of changing a normal woman's appearance. We also want to stress that Dove is a supporter of "real beauty"
The Medium:
Best way to reach this busy woman is through a TV advertisement. Second best would be a magazine since they obviously have been effected by the media's portrayal of beauty. This piece obviously follows many other Dove ads-- mostly about the product. It must retain a calm feel to coincide with ads that have previously run in order to not confuse brand image.
Anything Else:
Design objectives are to be calm and collected while still getting attention. The many character must be a women, regardless of how the advertisement is done.
The Deadline:
The message should be put out to the consumer at the beginning of the month to coincide with the receiving of monthly subscribed to magazines and should be run on evening shows viewed by middle aged women after a workday, such as Everybody loves Raymond, Friends, etc.
The ad must be completed March 15th, so that it may be aired the beginning of April.
Budget:
Our budget for this campaign is 1.2 million and has been approved by the head of the Dove advertising department.
The Responsible Parties:
the head of the advertising department as well as the CEO should agree with the implications and style of the ad produced before it will be allowed to air.

Out of Home (OOH) Marketing:
So far to date, my favorite marketing strategy I have ever seen is at a shop downtown that I actually am employed at called Just Be. In the same way that blockbuster used to use OOH advertising by shining the huge lights across the sky and drawing people to the source out of curiosity, Just Be has an industrial sized bubble machine on the outside of the building for the same reason. On average, there are at least 5 people a day that wander into the store and say "I've always wondered what this store was because I always see the bubbles", so it must be working. On the same note, whenever I say I work downtown at Just Be I get a perplexed look from most people, but when I say I work at the store downtown that makes the bubbles generally people know where I am talking about. I think that this an ingenious way of advertising without being pushy and without having to boast about the store, which gives the aura that the merchandise defines itself as worthy of purchase- we don't need to put up signs to tell you it's great.

Flat Earth Positioning and Target Market:
Flat Earth's positioning is as the "healthy chip" brand. They stick in the consumers mind as the meeting point of nutritious and delicious and also as the brand that gives you 1/2 a serving of fruit or vegetables for every ounce of chips.
I agree with this positioning for Flat Earth. I think they filled a niche for the female consumer that is health conscious but does not want to shop at the Whole Foods Market or eat soy based products.
As far as the commercial goes, I think it would be appealing to the target market. There is a thin, healthy looking women in the advertisement which is the ideal body for the consumer Flat Earth is trying to reach. There is also an adorable piglet, which would also appeal to women and then at the end they explain briefly the product because they are still in the stage of getting people to try the product.
If Flat Earth were to market to a younger group I would suggest for their advertisements using more upbeat music and possibly comparing the eating habits of regular college kids and their stereotypical weight gain to Flat Earth and the healthy benefits. I would also suggest they place the product in on-campus markets and give away individual chip bags at student promotions (especially to organizations or events that mainly are comprised of women).

RCS 362 Blog 3- Ethics in Advertising

Ethics is defined as "a set of principles of right conduct." But, who makes up these principles and who defines what is right? Generally, people attribute these kind of duties to government or religious authorities, but who is the ruling voice for advertising? For the time being, as advertising is a fairly new concept compared to monogamy or the various other moral standards we might have, standards for advertising are still disputed and there is little to no regulation for it.

In my personal opinion, there is no need for regulation at this point. For example, alcohol is marketed heavily on celebration days such as 4th of July, but the problem arises when there are drunk drivers. The issue is then with the consumer drinking and then making the choice to drive. That is not the choice of the product, or the fault of the advertisement. In the same regard, fast food advertisements do not make people obese. The conscious choice to eat unhealthy foods on a frequent basis is the fault of the consumer, not the product. Each individual has the ability to choose to use or not use a product, as well as to look at or not look at an advertisement.

In the future, there may be need for extensive regulation of advertisement, but that is yet to be seen. However, I don't believe it will come to that extreme. I think good advertisements do not make consumers question whether or not the advertisement is ethical. I think there is an element of this with Abercrombie and Fitch and the like companies, but I think they stop at getting publicity and attention from consumers. I do not think for example they would put a poster of a naked person on display, nor do I think that Budweiser would have a campaign for under-aged drinking. I think there is a limit to where companies are willing to go with their advertising, and I think once they cross a certain boundary they would be losing costumers. This unseen boundary, I believe, IS what regulates advertising, therefore deferring the need for legal regulation.