Degree Men's Deodorant: Prepared for Anything

“For such advertising to affect you, it has to seem relevant to you, and it has to be presented through media channels that willreach you,” (Landa, Advertising by Design, 3). It is with this idea in mind that I chose Prepared for Anything as my slogan for Degree men’s deodorant. Men can be very complex creatures, but for the most part, they usually have one thing on mind. That one thing can lead them to different extremes, changing who they are, but who wants them to change, and why should they? Men shouldn’t change who they are; they should, however, feel fresh and confident with whatever challenge they take on. That’s where Degree steps in.

No matter who he is, a man wants to be able to be at his very peak, whether this peak involves climbing mountains or playing video games. He wants to feel Prepared for Anything. That’s why this slogan has such a huge impact within this campaign and for the deodorant itself. “Ads promote,remind, endear, inform, and call people to action. Besides effectively calling people to action, what makes a campaign effective is a matter of opinion,” (Landa,Advertising by Design, 192). When men take the time to actually look at a deodorant advertisement, they are usually considering switching brands. Something in the product they are currently using just isn’t doing it for them, and they need to find something better. Prepared for Anything is the slogan that will convince men Degree is that something better.

When I was trying to come up with a slogan for Degree men’s deodorant, I asked my fiancé what he looks for when buying a deodorant. He said that he really wanted something that wouldn’t be too overpowering, or too under-powering. Most important is that the product has to make him feel fresh. There are certain qualities and aspects that lead men to make that defining purchase. By studying the opposite sex, I’ve been able to gain an insight into what exactly is important to them, and according to Advertising by Design by Robin Landa, “seeing a situation, brand, organization, product, service, or behavior from adifferent perspective (reversal) can help stimulate ideas,”.  With this campaign, I want men to use Degree deodorant and feel Prepared for Anything.

EOC Week 10: What Makes A Great Advertisement?

What is it exactly that makes a great advertisement? Who defines what a great advertisement is? Is it the campaign creator or advisors? Well, who cares what they think anyway? The answer to all of the above is us; people as a whole.  We, the people, and no, I’m not going to start quoting The Constitution, although the writers of that were on to something with that whole unity thing, are the ones who judge an advertisement for what it is. We are able to see and define a product based on its ad alone. We are the ones that make it important. We see the ad, test the product, and when that’s all over, decide to buy or not buy the product based on our research. We do this everyday, so of course that’s why advertisers are the ones coming after us. They almost chase us down with whatever information they have about the next big thing they have. “From engaging in public service to choosing goods and services, advertising calls people to action.” It is with this idea that a great advertisement is born.

The most memorable advertisements out there were created with the above notion in mind. The people. They are the ones that could easily make or break a product before it has really been put out onto the market. Of course they should care what we think! In an interview for the Advertising Educational Foundation, Jeff Manning, creator of the Got Milk? campaign said that "At my request, we tried to pursue advertising that took us to a different place. Not strategically, but executionally,". This thought is perhaps what has made the campaign so successful, and able to last through different generations. Manning saw that the current way of advertising, merely selling products to people, wasn’t working. They had to sell the idea of a product, and that’s exactly what they did. They branded milk. “Not only does branding identify and distinguish, it builds equity”. Great advertisements are able to do just that.

EOC Week 9: For Those Who Think Young

The above Pepsi commercial has the slogan for those who think young, saying that their product is for a whole new generation of people not wanting to feel old just ordering a regular cola or ginger ale. This new age attitude is also referenced in a Mad Men episode of the same title where creative director Don Draper appears to be against this new wave of thinking saying that this new generation doesn’t know what to do with themselves or the added sugar they can ingest, and so “pour Pepsi on their cereal”. His boss goes on to tell him that it’s exactly this type of thinking their clients want and they need to hire younger people in order to get the job done.

The attitude of being young doesn’t necessarily apply only to Pepsi. Women have been trying to evolve this way of thinking into their lifestyle with the beauty products they put on in the morning. Pepsi was one of the first to out right say it however, and continues to broaden this idea further emphasizing things that only the younger generation would know about. In the following commercial, Sophia Vergara is lying on the beach, and she decides she wants a Pepsi. Rather than wait in the ridiculously long line for one, she tweets that she just saw soccer star David Beckham. The crowd goes frantic and she is able to get her Pepsi just when David appears next to her. Two concepts are introduced in this commercial that only the young or young at heart can identify with: tweeting, and meeting a star by chance.

Pepsi didn’t only continue with this idea with commercials, but made print ads as well. A very graphic, very designed poster for Pepsi with not just the product, but a young athlete on there as well only ad to their concept. 

BOC Week 9: Chocolate

With new creations come new advertisements. A product as well known, and well liked for that matter, as M&M’s would seem as though it doesn’t need any advertising at all. However, with the Holidays coming up, it appears that they would like to remain in the competition for a favorite Holiday candy. To get in the spirit of things, Mars company is celebrating with “twelve days of deals” instead of only one like other retailers. Their candy is already reasonably priced, at ten to fifteen dollars for a bag of personalized M&M’s, however they are choosing to give you an extra percentage off for each day you buy. With this extra money off, it would seem as if the company is taking a loss, but they are choosing to use this tactic in a smart way, almost forcing the customer to want to buy more.

Expanding their marketing technique from the average American to the new savvy business man is another tactic for M&M’s personalized candies. In an ad that reads, “Personalized M&M’s for business. A sweet idea to grow your bottom line”, and has the yellow and red characters saying “We’ve got all your marketing needs covered. In a tasty candy shell”. The advertisers for the company are essentially wanting the business man to save a little advertising money by spending it on the candy that will do all the advertising for them. This is really commercializing the candy in an effort to gain new customers. What other chocolate company really takes the time to market themselves to the business consumer?

The two advertising campaigns alone are able to set M&M’s personalized chocolate apart from any other company. Although, the candy itself is already different in that no other brand will allow you to put your face or business logo on a piece of chocolate. The ads allow the customer to see that this brand is for them though with the discount and the different business strategy. Imagine sitting in an office and being greeted with a bowl of M&M’s with their logo on it. Aside from being tasty, it is also a memorable way to advertise. The campaigns are advertising advertising.  

EOC Week 8: Typography

Prepared For Anything

Adobe Gothic Std B

Prepared For Anything

Comic Sans MS

Prepared For Anything

Lithos Pro Regular

Prepared For Anything

OCR A Std

Prepared For Anything

Century Gothic

Prepared For Anything

Trajan Pro

Prepared For Anything

Tekton Pro Ext

Prepared For Anything

Gungsuh

Prepared For Anything

Impact

Prepared For Anything

KaiTi

EOC Week 7: Pitch

For my advertising campaign, I am choosing to focus on Degree men’s deodorant. It’s something used every day, and is something so simple that people don’t take too much time to really think about it. This is also a product that controls how a man’s whole day goes. Men want to be prepared and feel fresh for whatever comes at them, and if they’re sweaty and gross, that’s not going to happen.

My idea for this campaign is to show just how Degree affects a man’s day as perceived by both a man and a woman. The average man has goals and things he may want to accomplish by a certain time, or that’s what a woman wants to think anyway. She wants to know that her man wants to do more than sit on the couch all day, playing video games and stuffing his face. But what is it that a man wants to do with his time? Maybe spending all day on the couch playing video games and stuffing his face is exactly what he wants to do. Is there really anything wrong with that as long as he smells fresh either way?

Degree is a brand unlike any other in that it’s all about the typical male and how he is perceived in everyday notions. Other products out there would have you buying them because of the fantasy they portray when using them. Why not appeal to the everyday man and making himself the best man that he can be instead of trying to change him? This brand is all about giving a man that added confidence he needs in order to get through his day by being himself. Who would want anything more? The slogan I’ve created only adds to the male side of deodorant by saying that men are “Prepared For Anything.”

  

EOC Week 6: Copywriting

When you think of Nike or any sports company for that matter, you become energized, thinking of the many people behind the company itself and how upbeat they must be to work in such an environment. Apparently, this ideal thinking is exactly how the Nike slogan “Just Do It” was created. Although many people think that Gary Gilmore, a notorious killer was responsible for the origin with the uttering of his last words “Let’s do it” before his execution in 1977, it actually was the brainchild of Dan Weiden of Nike’s ad agency Wieden and Kennedy. He was reported speaking of the Nike employees admiringly saying, “You Nike guys, you just do it.” No matter where the slogan itself came from, it still comes with a powerful message to get in shape. The above commercial provides that impact showing that the woman is so in shape, she is able to outrun her killer. 

Why is it that in today’s technologically advanced society, some people still can’t get over someone else’s sexual orientation? Something so simple and personal that it really shouldn’t be anyone else’s business is now somehow a topic of discussion. Who cares? Should anyone? If a person is suffering because of this subject and not feeling comfortable with themselves, is anyone entitled to care? How do you know that there are others out there sharing the same problems, or that anyone cares at all? This was the idea behind the Give a Damn campaign created by Cyndi Lauper in 2007.  The campaign consists of PSAs on behalf of True Colors, a music touring organization that consists of celebrities with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender interests. The hope of this project is to say that there ARE people out there when you think no one else has your same problems or issues. The above ad features celebrities talking about suicide and how it isn’t the only way out of how you’re feeling.