The various ways that companies go about marketing or advertising whatever it is they want money for has changed quite a bit from the days when a dolled up woman in a red dress and freshly manicured hair and nails displayed a box of pancake mix in her hand against the richly colored background of her kitchen.
These days it takes something with a little more oomph to get the attention of the average passer by. Sex sells, so a commercial featuring a naked woman with a small towel covering her non 'G' rated bits and pieces to advertise the pair of wrinkled jeans slung over the chair in the out of focus corner of the screen is not unheard of or surprising. Celebrity endorsements can be pretty annoying, we don't care about toy train collections Michael Gross, but they must get the job done otherwise companies wouldn't dish out the dough to have an, what they assume is well liked, individual speak out in reverence of their product or service.
Advertising one product through another is another often seen method. Over the past few years I've had the opportunity to buy M&Ms with the faces of Shrek, Indiana Jones, Barbie and some other fuzzy character on the package. Again, this wouldn't be done unless it works so I guess this method really does boost sales or get the word out. Maybe it's just me, but I'd much rather buy a sac of potatoes with the faces of movie stars on the bag. It makes the whole process of advertising on a consumable seem much more wholesome.
In this day of internets and webpagesites it's not surprising that a whole new way of advertising would come about. The way 'they' come after the consumer is much more personal now. There is of course the whole spam phenomenon but what's even more intriguing is how the consumer is getting involved in the advertising process. They're seeking it out. Freely. Openly. They're liking it!!!
The guys behind the advertising for the new Batman movie have come up with some interesting ideas. As it stands, I can have Commissioner Gordan call me on the phone. Early in the campaign there were pictures that would slowly become uncovered when puzzles and missions were completed by fans. Rather than hammering the public with 'go see this movie' commercials, small adventures and interactive features are taking over.
Keeping with the out of the ordinary, the new Lotus vehicle has had masked individuals roaming around high class events in Europe, all to get a buzz going about the car. Advertising with performance art, if that's what it's considered, or with a mystery seems to get the juices flowing. Who's that guy with no features? Why is there a guy with a mask over there? Make someone wonder and you've made them care. Curiosity may have killed the cat but satisfaction definitely brought him back, and with selling products to the public, satisfaction over and over is a must.
