Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Choose your words carefully
As PR professionals we must be mindful of the words we use, and I was reminded of the importance of this a few times this week.
Starbucks is being criticized for its skinny latte campaign because some people believe the women-centric ad campaign is sexist. In my view, this is ridiculous. We are bombarded with images of skinny women...and men...day in and day out, but Starbucks uses the adjective to quickly identify a sugar-free, fat-free coffee drink and people are offended. C'mon! The bottom line is, women order lattes. Men simply order coffee, regular of black , or the occasional macchiato, and if they do order a latte, few are worried about the syrup and fat content in the milk.
A more serious language blunder was committed by Michelle Obama yesterday in Wisconsin when she claimed, "This is the first time in my adult life, I'm really proud to be an American." Later in the day, Cindy McCain, who rarely speaks out, responded (but isn't officially saying it's in response to Michelle's earlier comment) by saying, "I have and always will be proud of my country."
I'm sure Michelle has been and will be a proud American for many years to come. However, she should have been much more cautious with her words. In the 24-hour Internet news age, everything is reported, every adjective and noun.
It will be interesting to see how much hay is made out of this statement. I'll be watching.
As PR professionals we must be mindful of the words we use, and I was reminded of the importance of this a few times this week.
Starbucks is being criticized for its skinny latte campaign because some people believe the women-centric ad campaign is sexist. In my view, this is ridiculous. We are bombarded with images of skinny women...and men...day in and day out, but Starbucks uses the adjective to quickly identify a sugar-free, fat-free coffee drink and people are offended. C'mon! The bottom line is, women order lattes. Men simply order coffee, regular of black , or the occasional macchiato, and if they do order a latte, few are worried about the syrup and fat content in the milk.
A more serious language blunder was committed by Michelle Obama yesterday in Wisconsin when she claimed, "This is the first time in my adult life, I'm really proud to be an American." Later in the day, Cindy McCain, who rarely speaks out, responded (but isn't officially saying it's in response to Michelle's earlier comment) by saying, "I have and always will be proud of my country."
I'm sure Michelle has been and will be a proud American for many years to come. However, she should have been much more cautious with her words. In the 24-hour Internet news age, everything is reported, every adjective and noun.
It will be interesting to see how much hay is made out of this statement. I'll be watching.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Monday Morning Quarterback
So the big game has come and gone. Personally, I'm not a big football fan. I never really was, but I admit that I get wrapped up in all the playoff game excitement and yes, I'm a sucker for any excuse to party. With that said, I do enjoy the Super Bowl - who can resist an opportunity to overindulge on pizza, wings, nachos, chips, beer and later on, Tums? :)
However, the other aspect of the Super Bowl that I truly enjoy are the ads. It's where companies spend a few million dollars for a 30 second spot with just about every American glued to the tube. Even my grandmother looks forward to the ads. A creative director's dream.
But this year was special because the office here threw down a Monday Morning Quarterback party with coffee, donuts, bagels, muffins and replayed every single Super Bowl ad for us to enjoy and discuss. So we ate, loaded up on coffee, watched some great ads, ate a little more and enjoyed the show. Even our friends down in accounting were into it! Apart from all the Monday morning partying, my personal favorites this year were:
The FedEx Pigeons: I liked this ad because it was funny and the FedEx spots always seems to be entertaining and on point. Danielle Swift, a fellow blogger here and one kick butt PR director, says the ads were "clever, stunning even. The details such as the huge feather hitting the bus windshield and the car the pigeon brought in being the man's who proposed the switch was hilarious! It's also on par with the brand: if you don't go with FedEx, you're taking your chances. There's no alternative to FedEx."
I couldn't agree more. The message was loud and clear and they presented it in an over-the-top funny way.
E-Trade Baby: This made me laugh, not only because talking babies are just downright funny, but the ads also had a sense of dark humor to them and a bit of the unexpected to boot. Genna Kornweiser, our new super-intern, thought this one was clever too. Genna says, "My favorite Super bowl ad was definitely the second E Trade commercial. The baby is adorable. It shows how easy stock trading and saving money can really be. I think hiring a clown with the “coin” he saved is genius because he feels that he’s also facing a fear of clowns, which many babies do have. It’s humorous and light, something stock trading is not known for. The only issue one might have with the original is the baby spitting up. I felt that was unnecessary so that’s why I chose the second part."
Unexpected Obstacles: This one really tricked me! I first thought it was a familiar ad about the early warning object feature that some luxury cars have, but boy was I wrong! I started chuckling at the sight of Alice Cooper, but when Richard Simmons appeared doing his aerobics in the middle of the road I really laughed out loud. Just goes to show you, if you don't drive with Bridgestone tires, you simply won't be prepared for what - or whatever - the road will throw at you.
GoDaddy.com really had a great one a couple of years ago with a play on the whole "wardrobe malfunction" debacle, but I think they've lost the plot this year and have overstayed their Super Bowl ad welcome. I will say that this year's ad did feature a clever drive-to-site component that probably increased website visits.
So let's open up the discussion. What were your favorite Super Bowl ads and why? Were they're well done, and more importantly, was the money well spent? Did the ads convey the desired message, or was there one at all? Curious to hear your thoughts!
However, the other aspect of the Super Bowl that I truly enjoy are the ads. It's where companies spend a few million dollars for a 30 second spot with just about every American glued to the tube. Even my grandmother looks forward to the ads. A creative director's dream.
But this year was special because the office here threw down a Monday Morning Quarterback party with coffee, donuts, bagels, muffins and replayed every single Super Bowl ad for us to enjoy and discuss. So we ate, loaded up on coffee, watched some great ads, ate a little more and enjoyed the show. Even our friends down in accounting were into it! Apart from all the Monday morning partying, my personal favorites this year were:
The FedEx Pigeons: I liked this ad because it was funny and the FedEx spots always seems to be entertaining and on point. Danielle Swift, a fellow blogger here and one kick butt PR director, says the ads were "clever, stunning even. The details such as the huge feather hitting the bus windshield and the car the pigeon brought in being the man's who proposed the switch was hilarious! It's also on par with the brand: if you don't go with FedEx, you're taking your chances. There's no alternative to FedEx."
I couldn't agree more. The message was loud and clear and they presented it in an over-the-top funny way.
E-Trade Baby: This made me laugh, not only because talking babies are just downright funny, but the ads also had a sense of dark humor to them and a bit of the unexpected to boot. Genna Kornweiser, our new super-intern, thought this one was clever too. Genna says, "My favorite Super bowl ad was definitely the second E Trade commercial. The baby is adorable. It shows how easy stock trading and saving money can really be. I think hiring a clown with the “coin” he saved is genius because he feels that he’s also facing a fear of clowns, which many babies do have. It’s humorous and light, something stock trading is not known for. The only issue one might have with the original is the baby spitting up. I felt that was unnecessary so that’s why I chose the second part."
Unexpected Obstacles: This one really tricked me! I first thought it was a familiar ad about the early warning object feature that some luxury cars have, but boy was I wrong! I started chuckling at the sight of Alice Cooper, but when Richard Simmons appeared doing his aerobics in the middle of the road I really laughed out loud. Just goes to show you, if you don't drive with Bridgestone tires, you simply won't be prepared for what - or whatever - the road will throw at you.
GoDaddy.com really had a great one a couple of years ago with a play on the whole "wardrobe malfunction" debacle, but I think they've lost the plot this year and have overstayed their Super Bowl ad welcome. I will say that this year's ad did feature a clever drive-to-site component that probably increased website visits.
So let's open up the discussion. What were your favorite Super Bowl ads and why? Were they're well done, and more importantly, was the money well spent? Did the ads convey the desired message, or was there one at all? Curious to hear your thoughts!
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