GEICO- Hump Day

The "Hump Day" commercial is a relatively recent ad for GEICO Insurance. The ad features the two musical comedians and a VERY excited camel. So how happy our folks who saved hundreds of dollars switching to GEICO? Apparently, happier than a camel on Wednesday. Since 1936, GEICO has had many different ad campaigns promoting its auto insurance company. Some of these previous ventures include the Gecko, Kash the stack of money with eyeballs, the Caveman, and the two musical comedians who do the "Happier than A...” commercials. I am sure many of you can picture some of these hilarious ads and might be realizing GEICO is very effective in advertising its product. These commercials are so memorable because they have to be! Just think for a second about Allstate's Mayhem or Progressive's main girl Flo. Insurance company ads are some of the most memorable commercials on television. With so much competition, GEICO's Hump Day commercial puts itself a peg above the rest because of a day-related trigger. According to Business Insider, every seven days on Wednesday this ad reaches incomparable sharing peaks. For this reason, GEICO's Hump Day commercial is the company's most successful ad. 

Humor: 5

GEICO's "Hump Day" commercial is very memorable and funny. This ad's humor is very simple, but also very easy to relate to. Many people know the feeling of finally getting over the hump or the middle of the week and the happiness it can bring. GEICO capitalized on this idea by putting a funny and creative twist to the idea of "Hump Day." I think this ad reaches the target audience that GEICO envisioned of people ages 17-65. Basically, GEICO tried relating to people who whether in school or work know the tediousness of the business week. This commercial leaves a lasting mark in people's minds because of its association with a feeling and a day of the week.  

Effectiveness: 5

Based on data, GEICO has found this to be its most successful ad. On YouTube, this ad already has over 17 million views. Ian Forrester, Unruly’s Insight Director said "The ad is unusual in that it has enjoyed a peak in shares every Wednesday since launch, continuing to spread GEICO’s message long after a normal ad’s social interactions would have largely diffused 2 weeks following launch, according to Unruly’s Social Diffusion Curve." This phenomenon is a result of the day trigger. Rebecca Black's "Friday" music video also had this same effect on people. The data below from Business Insider also shows this phenomenon. 

Professor Jonah Berger, a widely regarded viral expert, explained triggers in this way:

"During the day there are countless moments imaginable that might trigger us to think about our day. It might be because you are tired of work and are thinking towards the weekend or because you’re Wednesday turned out great for a change. If the stimuli are strong enough then it pulls a trigger in your brain that makes you think about that remarkable ad with the talking camel you saw on YouTube or television. What happens then is that people relate their current mood to the characters in this video. If you are having a boring day behind your desk you will relate to the employees. In case something just made hump day your happy day, you will relate to the camel. You then decide to share your mood with others and use the GEICO video to give context to your current mood and share a funny video at the same time"

It is apparent that GEICO's ad continues to exceed expectations and continues to bring in views.

Emotion: 3

I believe this ad does inspire emotion from it viewers. However, these emotions relate back to Professor Berger's trigger statement. I do not believe the Hump Day Commercial promotes a social cause or a higher purpose, but at some level it does relate to its audience. However, this ad's main purpose is to promote GEICO's auto insurance. 

Customer Reviews: 5

On GEICO's website, out of 11,141 reviews, customers rated GEICO's services at an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars, or about 92 percent of the reviewers would recommend GEICO's services to a friend. However, to eliminate any bias, I checked other websites to see how customers viewed GEICO. For example, Insure.com reviews gave GEICO 4 out 5 stars with 80 percent of reviewers willing to recommend to a friend. For this reason, I believe that GEICO does not deceive their customers and do offer quality services as well as quality advertisements. 

So next time you see Caleb the Camel excited about Hump Day you can be excited as well because you could save hundreds by switching to GEICO...or just be excited that it is Wednesday and Friday is only two days away. 

 

Sources:

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2284622/GEICO-Hump-Day-Commercial-Dominates-Social-Video-At-Least-on-Wednesdays

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-geico-143161

http://www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/how-effective-are-insurance-commercial-mascots-at-actually-selling-insurance-017049

http://www.businessinsider.com/hump-daywhy-geicos-commercial-is-genius-2013-10

K-Mart- Ship My Pants

By capitalizing on a play on words, the Kmart customers in this commercial cannot believe that they can ship their pants and other items from online to their home for free. Since 1962, Kmart has been competing with stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. As the third largest discount store chain in the world, it needed a new campaign to revitalize the struggling store chain. When I first saw this commercial, I could not stop laughing. Overall, this campaign has had some pretty good reception. 

Humor: 4
As a play on words, this commercial has no problem gaining attention and staying in people's minds. However, this commercial may not be suitable for all ages. This commercial is definitely pointed at people ages 17 and older. Because of its creative wording, I believe this ad will not be easily forgotten.

Effectiveness: 4
According to ABC News, Shannelle Armstrong-Fowler, the spokeswoman for Kmart, said that this ad had reached the most number of views the company has ever had on YouTube. With almost 20 million views, this ad has been widely received by customers. Interestingly, TIME showed that Kmart has been losing sales in-store for a few years now because the stores being dirty and poor customer service. However, instead of taking care of these issues, Kmart has pushed its online sales. The "Ship My Pants" advertisement is a clear indicator of this as well. Retail analyst Brian Sozzi says, "instead of putting money into stores, the focus has shifted online, where sales for Kmart and sister retailer Sears grew 17% and 25% respectively, in the fourth quarter." Sozzi agrees that the website gives consumers a very good experience. 

Emotion:1
Although this ad is funny, it was not meant to instill emotion. It's purpose was to promote Kmart's Shop Your Way loyalty program. Kmart's "Ship My Pants" ad does not promote a social cause or create any emotional pull for its viewers. 

Customer Reviews: 2
After surfing many different customer review sites, there were hundreds of customer complaints about using the Shop Your Way loyalty program. Although Kmart's website does look inviting and may be user-friendly, the loyalty program that Kmart is promoting in the ad is misleading in how helpful their services can be. 

In conclusion, Kmart's "Ship My Pants" ad was very successful in reaching its target audience. However, the service it promotes has not responded well with many of its customers.  

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/04/ship-my-pants-viral-video-is-kmarts-most-popular/

http://www.prnewsonline.com/water-cooler/2013/04/25/lessons-for-communicators-from-kmarts-wildly-successful-ship-my-pants-viral-video/
http://business.time.com/2013/04/19/does-kmarts-hilarious-new-ad-acknowledge-that-kmart-stores-are-hopeless/

Dove- Real Beauty Sketches

Many of us have heard the saying "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." However, have you noticed that how you view yourself is so much more critical than those of friends, family, and even strangers? According to a published survey by Dove, "Over half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic, which equates to a staggering 672 million women around the world." 

Dove, the personal care brand, created the campaign called "Real Beauty Sketches." During the video, an FBI trained sketch artist sketched each woman without looking based on questions he asked about their appearance based on their own personal perception. Another part of the video showed each woman describing the features of another woman they met to the sketch artist. At the end, each woman is shown two sketches: her view of herself and someone else's view of her. However, usually the picture described by the stranger was more attractive and similar to the actual woman then the woman's own perception of herself. For this reason, Dove's Real Beauty Sketches ad was very successful in leaving a powerful mark on its viewers as well as myself. 

Humor: 1
This campaign does not use humor to reach its target audience. The Real Beauty Sketches ad is meant to have a deeper meaning; therefore the use of humor would be a distraction.

Effectiveness: 5
Dove's Real Beauty Sketches has been VERY effective in reaching its key consumers. Business Insider showed that after its first month of release, the ad had received 114 million total views, making it the most viral ad of all time. The ad has been uploaded in 25 different languages and has been viewed in more than 110 countries. According to Unruly Media's data, the video has been shared over 3.74 million times, which makes it the third most shared video of all time. Although the ad had received much attention from public relations and word-of-mouth advertising, the ad also lead to an increase in sales. After the ad was released on April 14, Dove U.S. sales were up by 1 percent by mid May.

Emotion: 5
To say this ad inspired emotion and purpose is an understatement. Although Dove is a personal care provider, its purpose in the Real Beauty Sketches campaign is to promote women's natural beauty not a product to create beauty. This ad reveals that women are their own worst critic and takes its viewers on an emotional journey of self-actualization. I agree with Unruly Media's statement that "what made this campaign perform particularly strong was the content, which elicited the intense emotional responses of 'warmth, happiness, and knowledge' from its target demographic." I believe Dove did a beautiful job in its creativity and production of this campaign. Dove Real Beauty Sketches showed that we [women] are all "more beautiful than we think."

Customer Reviews: 4
Although this ad boosted overall sales for Dove, this campaign did not promote one single good or service for the brand. However, I believe this campaign boosted brand image in the minds of Dove's target market and can be very profitable in the long run for all of its product lines. Also, I do not believe this ad deceived Dove's customer about its intentions or products.

At the end of the day, the point of Dove's Real Beauty Sketches campaign is to remember that we all have things we like and do not like about our appearances. However, the key thing is to focus on what you do like, because "we are all more beautiful than we think."

To learn more about the women in this campaign visit: http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/

Sources: 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-doves-real-beauty-sketches-became-the-most-viral-ad-video-of-all-time-2013-5

http://adage.com/article/news/dove-evolution-evolution/241971/

OREO - Whisper Fight

The Oreo debate has been raging since the cookie's creation in 1912. So what’s the best part of an Oreo? Cookie or Creme? In this commercial, two guys keep the discussion down to a dull roar as sides are taken in the library. OREO aired this commercial during last year's Super Bowl XLVII. The ad was ranked 20th out of all the Super Bowl ads. Although overall this commercial was not on the top of any ad charts, I think the commercial is pretty fun. 

Humor: 5
Creatively, this is a different spin to other Oreo commercials in the past where the debates over the best part of an Oreo are in more traditional settings. Since many of us have found ourselves defending our opinions on the best part of the cookie, (Creme *cough cough) I think this commercial can be enjoyed by all ages. Also, because of its ability to reach all ages, I believe it will stick in people's minds.

Effectiveness: 5
According to Forbes, Nabisco created this ad to kick off the new campaign after Oreo's 100th birthday. The Cookie vs. Creme debate carried over into an in-store promotion that encouraged consumers to vote by text. This campaign has been very successful for the company bringing in sales that have exceeded the $1 billion dollar mark. Not only an American favorite, this brand has been very successful all over the globe. 

Emotion: 1
The function of this ad was not to inspire deep emotion or purpose. This commercial was meant to entertain and create buzz for the brand. Although a fun debate, Cookie vs. Creme does not promote a social cause. However, it does lead people to get a glass of milk.  

Customer Reviews: 4
Although both are campaign slogans, Oreo has not been called Milk's and America's favorite cookie for generations for no reason. Over 450 billion Oreo cookies have been sold in more than 100 countries. Since its beginning 101 years ago, this snack has been enjoyed by all shapes and sizes. I believe this ad promotes the brand and does not deceive consumers about quality of the product. Let's face it, Oreo's are something to shout about, I mean whisper. However, the commercial has had some negative backlash about it's use of violence.

The next time you dig in to a package of Oreos, go ahead, declare your allegiance to the Cookie or Creme, but try to steer clear of any libraries. 

Sources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2013/02/04/behind-the-scenes-of-oreos-real-time-super-bowl-slam-dunk/

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/06/100-years-of-oreos-9-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-iconic-cookie/

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/05/23/oreo-krafts-2-billion-cookie-turns-100/