American Apparel Advertising

This is a quote from the American Apparel website: www.americanapparel.net

American Apparel's ads have always been easily identifiable, standing out amongst our peers and luxury brands alike, and have been instrumental in our success worldwide. Familiar images of employees and friends from around the world—not models—allow us to express the diversity American Apparel is built on and an aspect of authenticity that is often lost in traditional advertising. Our provocative, real, unpretentious aesthetic has struck a chord with today's young trendsetters, and has drawn us an intensely loyal following, similar to that of Levi's in the 60's and 70's when they were breaking similar ground with an underserved generation.

Photo by AmericanApparel.net

My thoughts:  American Apparel describes its appeal as a brand that ‘stands out’ and says that their familiar images of employees and friends - instead of models- expresses diversity. They state that they have a provocative, authentic, unpretentious aesthetic that is often lost in today’s traditional advertising. In some way this describes my experience with American Apparel, but in some ways it does not. I can agree that their brand does stand out; usually if someone is wearing American Apparel you can tell. Whenever I've been into the store I notice that their pieces all really make a statement, even their ‘basics’ are really not that basic at all.They always add something eccentric to make it more ‘American Apparel’. I think this makes up for them not slapping a logo on every article of clothing like most big retail stores.  I do agree that their advertising is very provocative and expresses diversity in their models by showing a wide range of different looks. This being said, just because the woman featured in their ads don’t have any experience doesn't mean they aren't models; they are still being paid by the company to display their merchandise, which is what any other model would do.
I don’t see myself in the American Apparel ads, but I do get the impression that if started shopping at American Apparel and wearing their ‘signature style’ I could look like someone who could be featured in their ads. Which I’m pretty sure is the point; American Apparel wants to make its consumers feel like models when they are wearing their clothing. So, I don’t see myself in their ads now but they are more relatable than the typical supermodel used in most advertising.
I feel American Apparel is authentic in the sense that they stay true to their own style. They don’t produce clothing that is just a similar version of what you could find at the store next door. They take risks.  Whether they do that is because it’s good advertising without the use of a tacky logo, or because they really do want to stay true to their brand, I’m not sure. In my opinion though, being able to stand out in such a huge industry is very impressive. 

These are mock ads I created for a 'Canadian Apparel' line that reflects my authentic style. 

The advertisements I made are less about the actual clothes, and more about the atmosphere. I wanted the audience to get a sense of comfort upon viewing them, almost like they're looking at a photo of themselves relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. When you see the ads you wouldn't roll you eyes and think "Wow,there's the thousandth ad I've been bombarded with today".Instead you would look at them and  find comfort. I stuck with the same design aesthetic as American Apparel because I like it's simplicity.My personal style is consistently changing, but one aspect of it that always stays the same are the cozy comfortable clothes that I relax in. They have memories attached to them and I feel at home in them. I enjoy being very casual.That is why these ads reflect my authentic style.

Image Credits:

http://justina-m.deviantart.com/art/coffee-tastes-better-in-the-morning-281464941?q=boost%3Apopular%20gallery%3Ajustina-m&qo=54

http://theyardpdx.tumblr.com/post/43576567165

http://www.sarahkaye.com/photographers/jo-tyler/homes-and-interiors/pic11532

Viral ad

Viral advertising is a very interesting topic to look at, mostly because I have experienced it myself. I can't count how many times some has said 'Hey, have you seen this?' and then I've gone home, looked up then told somebody else about it, maybe even tweeted about it? and the cycle continues. What makes an ad, or anything really, go viral? To be honest, I am not completely sure, even after experiencing it first hand I can honestly say I just can't put my finger on it. I remember one day my friend came up to me and told me he was the guy from the 'Old Spice' ad. I had no idea what this was, so he sent me a link to a video of it that night.  This was the ad he had sent me.

I remember finding it hilarious, and I heard a lot about the Old Spice advertisements from others as well. Then Old Spice made a Youtube channel and began responding to questions that were commented on their videos. 

 

I always thought this was such a great marketing idea. Old Spice was now able to get so many of these videos out to the public at no real cost to them. Plus,they became so interactive with their audience it felt a lot less like advertising.  So, it began with one viral ad on television but led to many YouTube videos that each received over a million views. The actor (Isaiah Mustafa) even made two appearances on The Ellen Show. 

I chose this ad because I was a direct part of it, I watched all the videos and loved them. I think what's different about these ads is that they appeal to both men and women. Guys want to be him and women want to marry him. It's something everyone can find clever and humorous. To this day I'm still not completely sure why I liked these videos SO much, but they are definitely my absolute favorite marketing campaign.They got my attention which is hard to do because I rarely pay attention to ads seeing as I am exposed to so many on a daily basis, and they always kept my attention. I would watched the videos weekly and never get bored or sick of them, along with a million other people.I suppose that is the only way to really describe why things go viral. Whether it's a picture,video,website or ad, they're the types of things that have you saying 'There's just something about it that I like' and have you telling your friends they need to see it as well. 

Cocoa Cola Advertising

Advertising is constantly changing. It has to be to keep it's audience interested. It's crazy to watch the way advertising has really evolved over time,For example we will take a look at Coca-Cola ; one of the world's top brands, sold in over 200 countries and worth an estimated 67.5$ billion dollars.

Well, every company has to start somewhere. Coca-Colas first advertisement was published on  May 8, 1886 when John Pemberton first sold his soda at Jacob's Pharmacy,Atlanta, for 5 cents a glass.

Image by Georgia Info

Pretty simple! Lets skip to the early 1900's when they began to use Hilda Clark, a Music Hall of Fame performer as a model in their ads; Celebrity Endorsement? now that's an advertising technique our generation can relate to.

In the 1909,  Coca-cola wasn't impressed with it's imitators, so it's advertisements began urging consumers to "Demand the genuine".  The colorful ads  also claimed Coca-cola would relieve your fatigue. 

In the 1930s Coca-Cola advertisements were realized featuring a jolly man, with twinkling eyes, rosy  red cheeks, big round belly and a full long beard. Sounds kind of familiar ,right? Coca-Colas advertisements in the 30s played a large role in shaping the image of Santa. These ads were extremely appealing to children and  aided in boosting sales around Christmastime.

Coca-Cola had been featuring polar bears in their ads since 1922, but in 1993 the company introduced the 'Always Coca-Cola' campaign, one commercial from this campaign was 'Northern Lights'. It showed animated polar bears sitting down to watch a 'movie' that was the aurora borealis and drinking their chilled Coca-Colas, this ad was extremely popular and still today the coca-cola polar bears are iconic. 

In 2007 Coke launched a new campaign called 'The Coke Side Of Life' this campaign was colorful and fun. This campaign was all about celebration and showing how Coke bring everyone together. The positive upbeat advertisements were well-received.

So, as you can see the advertising of Coke has really evolved throughout the years. From the bare minimum to multi-million dollar campaigns. Coca-Cola has had undeniable success in its marketing of Coke. Coca-Cola manages to be cutting-edge and appeal to today's modern world, while still pleasing it's consumers that have been loyally drinking the brand for years. I think a lot of Cokes success rests on the fact that they developed a trust with their consumers. It's the soda that you bring into your home and enjoy with your friends and family; from the brand that has been around forever. Coke has been on-top of the ad game for many years and in my opinion will stay on top in the future. 

Media,media, media. You hear it everywhere, but what does it really mean? Well the dictionary definition of media is : A means of public communication reaching a large audience.With all advances in technology  happening, media really is affecting us more than ever. Pretty much every aspect of our lives are affected by media, so know more than ever it's crucial that we critically look at the media, and investigate how it really influences us, and that is what this blog will be all about!