Perhaps the thrill of watching a naked man/woman is so much that advertisers believe it can sell any idea or cause (whatsoever). The presence of nudity in advertisements is an old tradition (something which you cannot blame upon the loose morals of modern age man!). But, the frequent use of it now-a-days can certainly be ascribed to an enhanced appetite of the current generation, for sex and nude images.
Nudity in ads can be called as ‘white porn’ (and why not? When there exists black humor then why not white porn?) I’m saying so because irrespective of the fact that whether the product to be sold or idea to be popularized needs nudity or not, the latter is being served at your face. Needless to say such full frontal nude male / female ads merely generate hype. They may initially boost the sale of a product but they don’t change a consumer’s behavior towards a product / idea.

Now take these 2 print adverts for example. One is by PETA featuring Alecia Silverstone done in the super-clichéd manner. Common PETA, is nudity a proof of vegetarianism or vice versa? Where is the rationale in this that, just because I am a vegetarian (or supposedly one for this ad) I must strip down to nothing! Such kind of advertising still made a mark back in late 90’s. Not any more. It’s outrightly boring and stale!

Further, since there has been an overuse of naked female form (thanks to the indefatigable male gaze!) now, its time for the full frontal male nudity to sell stuff like cologne or perfume. The idea behind making this YSL ad might be to titillate the uber-rich and high class ladies and (gay) men but I’m pretty sure a lady won’t buy a cologne or aftershave for her man because its advert featured a hot male model showing off his balls!! What kind of illusionary world these advertisers live in? It’s hard to figure it out at times (sigh).
Though,� I’m not staunchly against nude ads…after all, some of them are done tastefully but I don’t find it stimulating enough when it is used for things like perfumes, lipsticks and such. As far as PETA folks are concerned, I think it’s high time they change their “I would rather go naked than wear fur” and come up with some other interesting idea because the truth is not many people give upon fur just because sexy models appear nude!

Via: commercial-archive

Children are susceptible to virals (not just the infections caused by viruses). I’m talking about the Virals/ Viral Promotions and ads on Internet, being made to exclusively target your small kids! We all know what a powerful medium advertising is in affecting our senses and molding our behavior especially when it comes to our decisions regarding purchasing a product. Despite being banned on TV, commercials promoting highly salted, sugary and fatty junk food are frequently mushrooming on the worldwide web to lure soft targets- children (under16) who are often unable to differentiate between healthy and non-healthy foods.

Companies manufacturing such greasy and highly saturated junk food have now devised a smart backdoor policy of actively advertising on internet because they know that today’s kids are smart enough to use internet but gullible enough to fall in their trap. In the United Kingdom, where the problem of child obesity is rapidly increasing it seems, a mere ban on such TV ads is not enough. While the traditional advertising-tactics like cartoon characters, film tie-ins and celebrity endorsements still continue to target a younger demographic, a report prepared by the consumer group “Which?” found that junk-food producers are now circumnavigating their tactics to reach a wider audience young in age and computer & mobile phone savvy. Junk-food companies now push their products on kids by using gaming websites or via sponsored mobile phone competitions.

The prizes won in such games are often rebate coupons or happy-hour tickets of junk-food outlets offering combo meals consisting giant burgers, colas, ice creams, fried chips etc. All this lacking any substantial nutritive value in terms of fiber content, vitamins, or minerals! The rise of advergaming promoting fast food ads is also a concern regarding this. Researchers at Which have singled out an ad campaign by Fanta (soft drink brand). The latter launched a “Want It, Win It” competition and sent a free branded mobile phone game to anyone who accessed the competition. As per the company the competition was aimed at young people above 16yrs. But Which? found out that younger children could easily access the website holding competition by lying about their age!

Ofcourse Fanta is not alone in the business. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs made social networking website Bebo its niche for promotion and publicity. Similarly, McDonald’s continues to host a “Kid Zone” on its website. Small children can actively play games here and can browse through a no.of Happy Meal products, thanks to the alongside adverts by the company. Which? is now signing out petitions against such reckless and irresponsible advertising. The companies’ ofcourse have a different word to offer on it. The issue also is not a new one but now it is acquiring dimensions that are harmful for young ones. Parents indeed act as a vital interface between these ads and the demands created by their children after being affected by such ads. But in this age of active and diverse media proliferation, tackling problems like child obesity demands action in many spheres so that, kids can opt for healthier food choices.

Government is playing its part by banning adverts promoting unhealthy foods on terrestrial television programming. The law was enforced from Jan 1st this year and children’s channels like cartoon network, pogo etc. have to phase out such adverts completely by December. While broadcasters express their concerns over quality of kids programming in wake of such a ban, which will definitely affect the ad-revenues, social groups like Which? are concerned about the rerouting of such ads through another, more widespread and relatively unguarded medium of internet. A balance definitely needs to be achieved by those who make such junk food, by realising their social obligations. While no body is asking them to pull out their marketing efforts but it would be in the best of the interests for the younger generation, if these companies act more responsibly in choosing a proper medium to advertise for their products.

Via Independent

Catching on with Indian youth and Indian companies is the marketing strategy of Advergaming. For those who are new to this term, advergaming is also known as in game advertising in simple terms. However, according to eMarketer.com, advergaming can be defined as an immersive mixture of advertising and entertainment that takes the form of video games. These games being made available online and in one’s mobile phones by gaming companies now a days. In the western world, the beginnings of advergaming can be traced back to as early as 1980s when Atari 2600 games were developed by Kool-Aid and Pepsi. The 2 companies smartly featured their products in these games. In India, ofcourse the trend of advergaming has become popular only after the commencement of IT & telecomm. Revolution. Currently the scenario is hot for mobile phone’s market.

Advergaming in India is now getting established with advertisers considering it to be a powerful medium to improve marketing strategies like brand recalling and revenue generation aswell. This non-intrusive advertising and marketing mix also bears potent properties of effective market research and demographic assessment. One can see that Indian gaming companies are now looking into it. The CEO of Kreeda Games, Quentin Staes-Polet vouches for the freshness of advergaming as a new concept in Indian markets and he also feels that, this strategy is an apt one for youngsters who like to chuck TV & other traditional media for Internet and mobile gaming. Last year, Kreeda Games launched and online game Dance Mela that allows adverts as a part of the game structure. So that, the realistic appeal of this virtual world created within the game makes the user feel comfortable about the ads displayed rather than finding them irritatingly obtrusive. Dance Mela is one of a kind Bollywood-based massive multiplayer online game, which is freely available at www.dancemela.com. Those interested can also buy CD’s from retail stores. The popularity of such games is luring advertisers to specially design games for mobile phones aswell. A lot of mobile phones with gaming features already come with games that have well placed in- game ads like a branded energy drink for the hero/heroine of a game to revitalize the batteries of the avatar.

Others in the Indian mobile industry also feel positive for advergaming. Like, Salil Bhargava, CEO, Jump Games (part of Reliance Big Entertainment) who confirms that the biggest entertainer in India, Bollywood is also opening up to advergames now! Jump Games has devised a smart approach to turn mobile phones from a necessary gadget into an avenue for promotion of Hindi films. Their advergame Jurm was the first one in the country to usher the concept of promoting films via mobile games!

Needless to say that with the fast development of mobile marketing in India and the recent introduction of Oxicash (mobile wallet), the future seems bright for mobile games and advergaming.

Via BusinessStandard