Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sex sells?



Alright, I guess we can all agree that showing skin helps to increase sales if it comes to records, clothes or any other products. I mean how many times did we already get to see Britney Spears half naked in her clips and winning awards for it?

The “sex sells” tactics is also used by many advertisers. Some are very successful and stay in our memory as we are overwhelmed by the sexiness and some just don’t. I think most of the ladies know which ad I refer to- David Beckham’s ad campaign for Armani Underwear.



But like I said before it can go both ways. In this case I am referring to The Body Heat perfume ad. I mean we agree that sex can definitely sell, but I think there must be an idea behind it, somehow a story line. This commercial is stereotypical and to be honest just looks cheap. One reason for that might be the music used in the ad: “I wanna take you home… body… body heat…” ummmm, sure…I rather laugh at it than think that it is so sexy and I really need to get the perfume.


And along with that comes another issue. The perfume is shown for like 2 seconds at the end. So the entire time I am wondering what the commercial is for, condoms? STD awareness? After finding out it was for a perfume I didn’t even know who it was for- boys or girls? I mean it could be either way- I either get so sexy with the smell that I am able to make out with the hottest boy in the club, or the smell makes me so sexy that I can have two girls at once.

So sex sells, definitely. But this commercial to me just appeals to people that like watching a guy getting groped by two girls and no increase in sales can be achieved.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Febreze commercial in junction with the NFL


Usually I record the shows I want to watch on the TV so that I am able to fast forward the commercials. However, the whole past week the great tennis tournament, the U.S. Open, was on and of course I wanted to watch the matches live; this means I am not able to fast forward the ads. Luckily, this time I did not mind watching it as the Febreze commercial in junction with the NFL came on and made me laugh.

Febreze came up with several ads with different situations regarding house hold pets and their odors. The ads feature NFL mascots pretending to be house hold pets. In the ad campaign they show them doing pet things and how Febreze would help remove the pet smell, such as wet pet odor. In the one that I liked the best, the mascots acting as pets are having a pool party and jumping into the pool demonstrating that wet pet smell. I believe that this ad is funny and does a good job of presenting the effectiveness of the product.

Moreover, the commercial advertises a Febreze product that removes the pet odor. The mascots are pretending to be the pets which I think is already kind of entertaining. Furthermore, since I am living with a little, smelly dog I know how annoying wet pets can get and how nasty they can smell. So this commercial addresses a necessity for any pet owner- a product eliminating the pet odor.

I believe it is clever and Febreze is being playful by replacing pets with the NFL mascots. It is appealing to wide range of people because they use a lot of mascots from different NFL teams in the same commercial. Most importantly the product targets men and not only women. Yes, men also go shopping and they pay a lot of attention when a mascot of their favorite team is a part of a commercial.

Furthermore, I believe that humor is the easiest way to be remembered. The ad is clever in its simplicity and appealing to a wide range of people.

Febreze was never specifically marketed before as a product that can be used against pet odors. The advertisement also drives attention to this segment by not only broadening the customer base but also the wide range for use of its product. And the subject matter of pet odors is a big problem that almost everyone can relate to. Febreze is taking this approach to get into the animal odor segment and it does it fairly well by staying in the memory of the audience.

Just being able to be connected to any parts of the NFL will make people look carefully and not fast forward. But since Febreze is one of the official sponsors it makes a lot of sense to take advantage of this. The ad is recognizable and it draws a lot of attention as most of the people recognize the mascots as football is the number one sport in America.

Last but not least, the application of Febreze is not only good for pet odors but also for the mascots costumes. It makes sense to advertise the product with the mascots as it is also applied for these costumes. I am sure anyone who has been next to a mascot or has smelled a costume after an evening of work also thinks that it is a great fit.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

2 for 1


Get two foot long sandwiches and just pay for one? I love it! The Subway on Pacific Avenue allows us to save some money offering two for one foot long sandwiches after 4 pm.

One might ask why they do that, they will be losing a lot of money. However, just take a second and look into Subways situation. Since they use fresh ingredients when customers don't come in they throw it away anyways, so why not give out sandwiches after 4 pm? Furthermore, there is hardly differentiation between Subway and other sandwich places and Subways brand image is not that strong either. It needs to come up with new ideas and promotions to increase profits.

I believe that this promotion is great as it sets new standards. It attracts customers who would otherwise not go to the store. It could increase its sales through higher customer traffic and there is the possibility that customers will go back and eat there more frequently. Just like me. I am not a Subway fan at all. Being on the tennis team for four years and eating Subway sandwiches for lunch nonstop at tournaments definitely got old. My team mates feel me. But this week I have been at the Subway twice already. Once I paid $ 6.30 and once $ 6.97. This is weird but hey, it doesn't stop me from going again and taking advantage of this great promotion. At what other places you just pay $ 3.15 or $ 3.48 per sandwich?

There is however one issue- the advertising of the promotion. I would have never known about it when my friend wouldn't have told me. Hoping for word-of-mouth advertising is not enough. You want to attract more non customers to your stores and there should be proper advertising for it. When I went in the first time there wasn't even a sign for the promotion. Next time I went there was a basic banner. I didn't like it and I think there is bigger public attention needed for this to have a bigger impact.

If the store doesn't have enough money for an ad campaign it should at least hand out flyer's or have posters at the nearby schools like for example UOP and Delta College. Students love to spend less money on food and more on other things.

But since now you all know- you should go and enjoy!


For more information contact Subway Restaurant, 4663 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA. Telephone number: (209) 473- 4744