20 February 2008: State Farm Insurance

State Farm sponsored tonight's ABC.com showing of Lost. As only one 30 second ad slot exists prior to the ability to watch the show, I watched the full State Farm Ad. The ad starts with an image of a 4 lane highway. People are driving very quickly. Driving in America indicates freedom. I remember my first driving experience. My mom got in the car and asked if I knew how to start and how to stop. I confirmed that I did. To which, my mother responded, then let's go. I was so afraid. The day I received my drivers' license, the first place to which I went was an orchestra rehearsal. Again, I was so afraid of driving. As I grew more comfortable, the car changed into an escape. I spent a lot of time commuting for an internship and as I grew professionally, the car representing my increase in confidence. It also increased my road rage. That was why the next portion of the ad appealed to greatly. It was not that there were only fast moving cars but also that the picture was disjointed with images of people eating dinner, neighbors speaking over a fence, two people speaking over a fence (indicating that they are neighbors). The cars moved swiftly and safely past these people. This oncoming traffic appealed to that sense of fear I exhibited as an early driver. I would not wish to hit these people. The people are shown in friendly situations. Speaking to neighbors or having a family dinner or planning in a playground are manners by which we express ourselves and embrace each other's happiness. We, as Americans, share in our joys, wanting to ambitiously succeed. America is a front porch country. That is where most of life is traditionally lived. In the home or in the front yard. As I watched the ad, the spokesperson said "remember that the people on the road are your neighbors and friends. They are not just in your way." It humanized the driving condition. We like to think that we are completely free on the road and that slower drivers are inhibiting our freedom. However, we do not view the same code with other people. Whether it be love, friendship, family, the outdoors. We treat these situations differently than we treat those on the road. This ad called our attention to our other codes. It definitely spoke to mine. The Farm connotes my rural upbringing, where it is one-on-one service. While I do not drive, I respect State Farm's ability to bring me 'home.' Home represents safety. If I remember those who are at home, I will want to keep them safe and they would wish the same for me. The marketing implications are huge but this is 'off-code.' It may take another follow up ad for people to feel comfortable with this dynamically continuous change in behavior.

5 Insightful Marketing Websites

http://www.trendhunter.com
http://advertisingetc.blogspot.com/
http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/
http://adweek.blogs.com/
http://brandnoise.typepad.com/

19 February 2008: American Apparel

Facebook is currently trying to monetize their peer to peer networks. Today, I noticed the American Apparel banner ad on the right hand side. In bold, it says "Day to Night." It shows 9 girls, 3 across and 3 down, in different phases of dress. Day to Night makes one initially think of work to bed. However, the way that the girl is phased makes the user feel like they are witnessing a story. When stories are told, Americans view them as a linear, left to right process. The past is on the left, the future is on the right. The girl is wearing a blue sweater. Blue represents knowledge and intellect. Furthermore, the sweater connotes conservative. The grey skirt indicates being dull. The top left person is not necessarily who we want to perceive ourselves as as Americans. We view ourselves as exciting. However, the rest of the ad was lost on me. Instead of one story, moving from the top left to the bottom right (black on white. Black indicates night. White indicates being fresh. The two together indicate a fun party), it was 3 different stories. Why only three stories? Finally, it said "Take your daytime look into night ->" The arrow indicates direction, so I looked, and there, was American Apparel. I have never been an American Apparel buyer, so perhaps that is why the meaning was lost. What I deem as American Apparel is different from what the brand manager and buyers deem as American Apparel. However, for a younger demographic, who is not yet working, but always multitasking, it appeals. The three stories, the multiple clothes. People want multi-functionality in their lives. They want to be both professional and fun. Society often limits their ability to be both at once. However, American Apparel liberates people and enables them to simultaneously be both. American Apparel can take advantage of this positioning to appeal to Millennial sentiments and increase business.

18 February 2008: How Many Bites in a Twix?

Today, while working on a group project, my classmate Trevor suddenly pointed at my classmate Anca and exclaimed, "why are you eating your Twix bar like that?" I looked over and saw Anca had both of the Twix bars pushed up, even bite marks on both. One of the best Twix selling points is that it has two bars. It also has a caramel crunch. The caramel reminds me of the fall. Crisp leaves all around. The rich smokey smells of burning leaves. Twix is a very 'fall' bar for me. However, when I eat it, I eat one bar and then the other. I want to maximize the time it takes for me to eat the bars. For the purpose of this class, I asked Anca why she consumed her Twix bar in this manner. She immediately replied, when you take out the Twix bar from the wrapper, it takes time to eat it. During that time, it melts in your hand. This way, I don't have to get my hands dirty. Anca is from Romania. Romania was under Soviet control until the fall of the Iron Curtain. Under Soviet Control, the rich had much and the poor had little. I guess that Anca came from the former rather than the latter. At its base level, to have own's hands dirty indicates that somebody has to work for a living. Often times, the rich do not want to associate themselves with dirty handiwork. This is the root reason that I imagine Anca does not want to get her hands dirty. In Romania, Twix may try to overcome this cultural prism, and create one full bar, instead of two, that can be pushed out of the package. Or the marketer can experiment with advertising people eating the Twix bar in this manner to imply a desired socio-economic status symbol.

17 February 2008: Tarzan The Musical

I remember my first musical. It was a commercial: "Ah, Ah Kansas." I would run around on my little 2 year old legs and sing the jingle. This jingle was a manner of my happily expressing myself to the world. The jingle starts on the tonic, then moves upward to the minor seventh, and then resolves. Musicology suggests that this motif makes the user feel uplifted, then unresolved (the minor seventh causes this), and then resolved again. It is the key to substance. As I grew, musicals have this form. Mary Poppins uplifts, creates discomfort, and then resolves. The music reflects this. I started having season tickets to theatre at the age of 15. Theatre created a sense of escape that the Millennial generation often seeks. Its lyrics and stories are classic. The themes are often generationless. I ultimately want to promulgate the arts to the disenfranchised for many of these reasons. Today, I was listening to accubroadway and a song came on. It was a song that I knew I had to purchase. It was the song "Two Worlds," from Disney's Tarzan the Musical by Phil Collins. Tarzan is a paradescence of both freedom and struggle. Tarzan does not fit in either world. However, he is seemingly free. The song title reflects this irony. The cover of the song is green, representing lush and natural. The logo is a papyrus font which reminds me of wood and the jungle. Beyond the cover, I started listening to the music.

The music starts with an open drone, much like bagpipe, with solo male tenor. The tenor is always the hero. A bagpipe is almost always played outside. The drone reminds one of the constancy of life. A bird caws, reminding the listener that they are in the jungle. Finally, a tribal drum beat starts. Two solid chords with the guitar. Suddenly, the listener is no longer alone. He is unified with the world. The entrance of the piano represents European cultural influences. The world is no longer wild, but structured. However, the tribal drum beat still continues. I am attracted to this drum beat. As I continue to seek acceptance (as many Millennials do) and try to fit in, there is a part of me that wants to be different. To be me. Without cultural influences and resistance. That is why I am drawn to this drum beat and this song in a way that I have not been to other songs. The lyrics to this chorus sing as follows:

Put your faith in what you most believe in
Two worlds, one family
Trust your heart
Let fate decide
To guide these lifes we see

Put your faith in what you most believe in
Two worlds, one family
Trust your heart
Let fate decide
To guide these lifes we see

I am at a crossroads. Maybe I don't have to pick. Maybe there is a new path for me that I seek. As a marketer for Tarzan The Musical, I should use this message to target young teenagers and their parents. Teens face this crossroad of conformity. They also will relate to the Tarzan and Disney message in a positive way. They do not have to pick. It is not either/or but rather and/but.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3KA8KiNTNg

16 February 2008: The Bar

The average grocery decision is made in 3 seconds. That holds true for me in every category except beer, wine, and candy. Tonight, I had to make a decision between beers. Why does it take me 5 minutes to decide between Killians and Harp? First, it must be said that I am on a very tight budget in preparation for a trip to Prague. Second, I normally do not care for domestic beers. My first memory of domestic beers is of my mom drinking a cold Bud Light after a hot summer day of weeding. She looked at me and said, sometimes there is nothing better than a cold beer on a hot day. American beer is typically very light. It resembles water and people often drink it as if it was. I did not really drink that much in college, but my freshman roommates did. What type of beer did they drink? They drank American beer. In bulkloads. They would wake me up in the middle of the night, drunk. American beer resulted in bad behavior and exhaustion. However, when I moved to Dublin, my perception of beer changed. No longer was it Rapaille's gun. Instead, beer was something to be consumed as an accessory while speaking with a person. The beer was darker and heavier. The dark color connoted richness. Its thick texture made one feel as if one was eating a meal. It was not meant to be consumed quickly. Rather, European beer was like having a dinner party. It was meant to be enjoyed with others. Killians is a domestic beer. However, I did not realize this until this past year when Monday's is $2.00 domestic night at Legends. Its dark color and Irish name, combined with the horse on the label, implied that it was Irish. Ireland's cultural metaphor is conversation. However, Harp is a lager. Light beers contain for me that slight feeling of apprehension. However, Harp is also an Irish beer. I value its Irishness over its light color. I did not drink it as much in Ireland however. I only started drinking it in the U.S. As I compared prices, I ultimately selected Killians because I sought the dark richness of a meal that Harp could not provide me. It was fitting for a Saturday night. Marketers could easily take this sense of "Irishness" and apply it to multiple beers. While the Irish have fun, an Irish beer is a conversational one. It is meant to be enjoyed and should be positioned as such. Harp would be interpreted as more of a blonde beer: full of ambition without the contemplation. Harp is the fun beer of Ireland. Killians inserts the meaning of Irish conversation to create its own brand meaning.

15 February 2008: Contemplations of a Lemon Bar

Today I went to lunch with an old professor of mine. She took me to this Victorian coffee shop in Mishawaka. As you enter the shop, the shop has the feel of an old general store. The general store connotes homemade and fresh. This general store did not just connote homemade. It actually was. As I sat at the table with my professor, discussing this course, I used my own cranberry tart as an example. My professor then looked at her lemon bar, thought contemplatively for a minute, and then said, I bought this lemon bar because I love the color yellow. I just didn't realize it until now. The walls of my house are painted various shades of yellow. Yellow is my favorite color. I love bananas. I just love yellow things. When I probed her as to why, she promptly said "in a town like South Bend, it is nice to have something that is so light." She was referring to the overwhelming portion of the South Bend year when it is gray. Yellow things served as her own sun. The sun traditionally symbolizes both light, life, and heat. These elements also bring happiness. In the subculture of South Bend, the sun is a rare commodity. It is to be treasured. One stops what they are doing to bask in the happiness that the sun brings. For my music professor, eating something yellow, was like eating happiness. Consumed, it could only warm the spirit. For a marketer, my music professor reflects the American perpetuity of optimism. A creator of lemon bars would do well to launch during the late winter months, when people seek light in the midst of a longer winter and look forward to the happiness of spring.