Advertising Principles & Practice // Week 7

15.10.2016 // Week 7
Chia Yee Hsean (0322352)
Advertising Principles & Practice
Exercise: Idea Sketches, and 
Project 2: Advertising Campaign (Part 1)- Media Strategy


Lecture: Influence of Social, Cultural, Economic, Ethical and Political factors on/in Advertising

This week's lecture was very interesting as we discussed the social, cultural, economic, ethical, and political considerations/issues within advertising. According to the slides, advertising promotes choice, and simply reflects existing cultural values. But on the other hand, advertising from a cultural perspective can also promote or normalize certain types of cultures that weren't so prominent before. 

The lecture focused on the influence of MTV in India during the 90s as an example of this phenomenon. When India's economy opened up in the 1990s, the MTV channel exposed Indians to Western culture and had a huge profound effect on local culture (such as fashion trends). With culture being the the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society, we then analysed how advertising has used that understanding of culture to their advantage, such as global beverage giant Coca-Cola's new campaign, 'Formality Hatao, Coca-Cola pilao', which propagates the proposition of 'celebrating togetherness' by encouraging ladies to serve Coca-Cola drinks to house guests. We also looked at how Coca-Cola appealed to Malaysians by referencing local slang and festivities.

Political influences can also affect advertising. A little closer to home, the Malaysian advertising code has strong control exerted from the Malaysian Ministry of Information, as a preventive measure by the government to stay in power. However, the Malaysian Advertising Code of Ethics are enforced leniently to the whims and fancies of the authorities. 

In the past few years, companies have started hiring people to create viral events for their brand/product as a cheaper yet more effective means of advertising. Economic factors will forever be present in an ad campaign, but there are also cheaper, more creative ways to work around them. 

Ethics in advertising is a controversial issue. The public view of advertising is increasingly leaning towards negative.

Outcomes of the lecture:

• Learnt about the social, cultural, economic, ethical, and political factors on/in advertising
• Analysed how companies used culture to their advantage in promoting their brand/products
• Learnt about the Malaysian Advertising Code of Ethics
• Learnt about how viral marketing can overcome economic factors in ad campaigns
• Understood the controversy surrounding ethical issues in advertising

Times Weekly Forum

A free-market economy is based on informed consumers making rational choices. 

However, Noam Chomsky alleges that Advertising (& Marketing) creates “uninformed consumers who will make irrational choices…”

Now, where do you stand in this argument?

I personally disagree with Noam Chomsky on this, because I believe this statement no longer holds true today. Even though advertising did start off by exaggerating facts about their products, advertising has since become more tactful about the truth. Consumers, especially those of Generation Y, are also now more informed and cynical towards advertisements, due to their tech-savvy upbringing. Given the rise of technology such as smartphones, Generation Y has been constantly bombarded with advertisements from a young age, and are able to search for information online, as well as be more objective/critical towards such marketing campaigns. The influence/role of advertising and marketing has been affected by this, as they now have to consider possible backlash such as negative reviews and petitions. Consumers not only are more informed now, they also have the power to make choices about their products/brands. As a result, advertisers now give more credit to the audience’s intelligence. 

Instructions

Exercise: Idea Sketches

Project 2: Advertising Campaign (Part 1): Media Strategy (20%)

The Brief:

Duration of Assignment:

2 Weeks (Briefing on Week 7)

DEADLINE:

Week 9 

Description

The student now has the task of developing an Advertising Campaign – a total of 5 ads across different/same media – for the Playsafe Condom Brand, and its Air Ultra Thin product. Utilising the insights researched (Project 1) and the ideas developed (Exercises), choose the most effective combination for the target audience (consumer) in context of the local market. The most important, is an idea with legs, and one that resonates with the target audience (consumer).

In part 1 of the advertising campaign, the focus is on developing the media mix, which media will be used, where, and when. A media mix is a “combination of advertising channels employed in meeting the promotional objectives of a marketing plan or campaign”. It is the process of analysing and choosing media for an advertising campaign.

What are the considerations for choosing the media mix? Arens & Schaefer (2005) suggest the 5Ms: Market, Money, Media, Mechanics and Methodology (Please refer to the PowerPoint presentation on Advertising Message & Media Strategy).

The brand: Playsafe Condoms

The product: Air Ultra Thin (See figure 1.)

SMP/USP: Extremely thin condom for extra sensitivity

Target Audience: Gen Y.

Requirements:

The student must document the above analysis in their eportfolio and A4 hardcopy portfolio. The results of the analysis must be collated and presented in a PowerPoint presentation. This will be uploaded to your eportfolio and printed as thumbnail slides 4 per-page for your A3 clear sheet hardcopy portfolio. The use of visuals, diagrams, charts, time-lines are highly encouraged. 

Submission:

All gathered information (printouts, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented logically and chronologically in the A4 Clear Sheet folder. The works must be labelled and dated.

All gathered information (screen grabs, websites, images, charts, etc.) documented chronologically in the eportfolio for every week, for the duration of the project.

Powerpoint presentation of final analysis and choice of the media mix with relevant visuals, diagrams, charts, time-lines included, along the lines of the 5Ms. Printed as a hand outs, 4 slides per page and presented.

Objectives:

1. To develop students ability to synthesise knowledge.

2. To develop students ability to gain and utilise insight for effective advertising

3. To develop students ability to determine a media mix based on analysis.

Idea Sketches

I've decided to go with the stick animals under the suggestion of my lecturer, and have since further developed more ideas. The issue has mostly consisted of thinking of large mammals that would be drawn into stick figures for the most hilarious effect, as well as the drawing style.

Drafts:

Sketches:

Reflection
Experience: This week's lecture was interesting, as it touched on some ethical issues and several other heavier topics. We watched a video campaign by Coca-Cola, plus several other related examples from our own country.

Observation: I really enjoyed analysing the lecture slides, especially the examples/case studies shown. The video commercial worked its feel-good charm on me, while I was trying very hard to hold back the discourse within me towards the examples of misogynistic ads within Malaysia (the discourse, it was too real). Meanwhile on the idea sketches, I'm quite glad that this exercise is over, although now I am starting to dread the next assignment. I'm starting to see myself slacking in my assignments.

Findings: This module is a marathon and I am panting like crazy. But I suppose I am expected to start sprinting at this point. I'll need to start taking measures to make sure I stay focused on this last stretch.

Book of The Week 

This week, I picked up yet another advertising book on the premise that the cover looked good (haha) titled “This is Advertising” by Eliza Williams. The book addresses the changes within advertising, particularly the different forms of media channels that have been surfacing these past few years. I figured this book would provide me more context on the suitable form of media for Project 2. 

In today’s world of multimedia and digital technology, the industry has had to find ways to build new relationships between brands and their audience, to make each product desirable and relevant to the times. Because print ads just aren’t enough anymore, and audiences now demand to be treated with intelligence and respect. Thanks to the Internet, consumers now have more power to make choices towards brands that fail to do so, in the form of reviews, petitions, and viral videos. 

Digital advertising has since made leaps and bounds in terms of creativity and influence on culture. As well as opening up more interactive, playful relationships with consumers, they have influenced how advertisers are thinking about their brands. Advertisers now try to engage with audiences to define and shape the brand together.

There were a lot of great advertising examples from digital to integrated campaigns, such as the live TV commercial of 19 skydivers forming the word HONDA. A lot of the examples featured were ones I haven’t seen before, so I devoured every part of the book. It was delicious.