OUGD501 Study Task 05: Studio Brief 2 - Research (Advertising Campaigns)

Research (Advertising Campaigns):

Successful:

Nike: Just Do It

When the fitness craze emerged Nike wanted to take advantage, so in the late 1980's the 'Just Do It.' campaign emerged. Its a slogan that everyone can relate to, its short and catchy as well as summing up the feeling people get when they exercise. It works because it connects with consumers on an emotional level. It made consumers believe they could be successful by just wearing the products. A small agency in Portland, Oregon, called Wieden & Kennedy worked on the campaign and it was the agency's co-founder Dan Wieden that came up with the phrase. Nike targeted people regardless of age, gender or physical-fitness level, that is what led to the brand being worn as a fashion statement.

Absolut Vodka: The Absolut Bottle

In 1980, the advertising agency TBWA made an ad for Absolut Vodka featuring a bottle of its product with a halo above it and the words "ABSOLUT PERFECTION". This managed to make its bottles the most recognisable in the world. They ran a print ad which showed the bottles in a variety of creative ways for 25 years, because of how successful it was. It is the longest uninterrupted as campaign ever and comprises over 1,500 separate ads. It worked because it was simple idea that everyone could understand, it also became something that people would collect and put the posters on their walls. Everyone wanted to see what the next image was going to be.

Dove: Real Beauty

Dove’s first steps in the Campaign For Real Beauty included “Tick Box” billboards, which debuted in Canada and spread across the United States and United Kingdom. They created ads around a topic that was sensitive but meant a lot to their customers. Trying to be truthful through design works at persuading people that their products stand for something good. It makes that emotional connection and plays on it heavily.

Unsuccessful:

Bloomingdale's: Spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking 

The text paired with the image leads it to communicate a very different message than the brand intended. Many people agreed it looks like Bloomingdales are encouraging date rape which caused public outrage and Bloomingdales having to apologise. The reason this failed was because it was in poor taste, as well communicating a very different message than probably intended. That is why it is good to have clear communication and consider the possible 'side effects' your work could have.

Esurance

This billboard had to be pulled down due the letters blurring together at a distance and "Cover your home in a click" looked like "Cover your home in a dick". It's really important to check your design works at different distances, and checking the legibility of text, as this can have a big impact on the design.

Victoria's Secret: The Perfect Body

Victoria's Secret launched a campaign all about "The Perfect Body" and it prompted widespread backlash, the campaign was changed to "A body for every body". The reason this campaign failed is because they haven't done the target audience research appropriately and haven't looked at the current social trends within society which led them to getting it very wrong.

Looking at successful and unsuccessful campaigns has been useful to understand what to do and what not to do. Doing research and finding out the target audience seems essential to any project as well as doing simple and clever designs that are memorable. Making sure to test out a design and get feedback is also important to avoid any problems such as communicating the wrong message or legibility. I am going to consider these factors when doing my own practical work.

RESOURCES:

WEB:
- https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32763/The-10-Greatest-Marketing-Campaigns-of-All-Time.aspx#sm.00001ivjeav2l1fp0vg7ep1d83fk1

- http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/history-advertising-no-118-nikes-just-it-tagline/1329940

- http://www.businessinsider.com/the-21-best-absolut-ads-2013-12?IR=T

- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns-10_n_4575940.html

- https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32763/The-10-Greatest-Marketing-Campaigns-of-All-Time.aspx#sm.00001ivjeav2l1fp0vg7ep1d83fk1

- http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/13-biggest-brand-fails-2014-161978/