My Thoughts on Advertising
One of advertisements most widely used concepts is that sex sells. I’ve always been fascinated by how much showing a little skin can do to catch your eye. Yes, I am a guy but there is still a bundle of ads that I consider to be one of my favorites. The point of view where these ads are demeaning to women is a very good point, but let’s face it, it catches your eye and that’s exactly what these companies are trying to do.
So let’s take a look at where this may have sprung from. We all have heard about a 1950’s icon that was one of the hottest celebrities at the time and everyone still tries to look like her. Her name is Marilyn Monroe, and this ad about shampoo is maybe nowadays not so bad but at the time I’m sure this was really turning some heads. And women look at this ad and say to themselves that if I use this shampoo I’ll look like her.
This next way of advertisement is a little odd, but yet I think it’s very under-used and should be exploited more. When going into bathrooms I feel that the signs above urinals are very eye catching. What better to do when you’re doing your business, then read a little advertisement. The read is guaranteed to get a full look at it, and the reader is almost thankful they have something to read (for reasons I won’t get into). I feel that these are very under used, but yet a great way to advertise, and maybe best of all, you know your marketing group. If you put your sign in the men’s bathroom, I’m pretty sure just men will be reading it and you can therefore make the ad very personable, meaning that it will appeal just to men. A very useful tool a small business could put in a local gym or shopping mall.
Another method of advertisement I feel is under-used is marketing to college students. Maybe it’s just here in BSU, but college students are young, and they are on verge of starting a life on their own where they have to make a choice on which brand to buy. If I was a small business, I would definitely start with students. We talked in class about how if we as students start buying a certain brand now, we’ll stick with it for a long time. Like for instance, a man approached me at Guitar Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. After conversing with him for a little bit about our interests in guitar amplifiers, he gave me a discount on a Marshall tube amp. They usually run about $3,000, but I got mine for a little under $500. That right there got me hooked on this amp, and I know for a fact that this will be the only amp I buy for the rest of my playing times. It’s simple stuff like this that really go a long ways not just in the music industry but in any kind of industry where it’s very competitive. By no means am I saying that I’m an expert in advertisement/marketing, but there is untapped goldmines out there that, I’m not sure why, but they haven’t been experimented with like the urinal ads. The advertisement industry is THE most competitive industry out there, there is always a little three inch space on something for someone to put their company name on and get their name out there. For this I’m fascinated, and always will be appreciative with annoying ads, and being flooded with thousands of advertisements a day.
The images i used:
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