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Promotion Critique Robbie Clark Cosmopolitan is a magazine written by women and focused toward women. Throughout the magazine are advertisements for products that would be most beneficial for women. Anywhere from M. A. C. make-up to Guess clothing is displayed for the interested consumers. Within the June 2008 Cosmopolitan issue is an advertisement for Tacori jewelry. It exhibits a black and white photo of two chess pieces, a king and queen. The queen piece, standing upright, is covered with dazzling diamond rings, while the king piece is simply lying down in front of the queen.
Along with the chess pieces in the upper corner is the capital lettering TACORI. Although the ad is very simple the product at hand is prominently displayed along with a bold designer name, even the website is noticeable within the fine print. This ad is a good ad since the sparkling diamond rings stand out against the black and white background. The rings are strategically placed on the queen piece since most women are more interested in great quality jewelry than men are. Also, the king chess piece is placed on its side, this is resulting in a hidden message.
Since men are more likely to purchase the diamond for the women the king piece is symbolizing the price of the jewelry. Tacori is a good quality, designer product which can become expensive. If the king [man] purchased the diamond for the queen [woman] he could be ‘fallen over broke. ‘ He also could be kneeling to the queen because of the power she portrays with the diamonds. The Tacori Company chose a good magazine to advertise their product. Women appreciate and desire diamonds. The ad also covers the bases of being a ‘good ad’.
The product stands out so the consumer knows what the company stands for and the company’s name is bold so the consumer knows where the product is coming from. This ad displays the product showing a high status since it is located on the queen piece. It also makes the expensive price shown but not in a harsh manner. With all bases touched Tacori jewelry is being advertised in a great way. Volkswagen, which is quite popular, is the manufacturer to many different types of vehicles. Starting with the 1933 bug you can find the widely known symbol. Volkswagen has become one of the “25 greatest cars of all time” stated within Automobile magazine.
Volkswagen currently is airing a campaign for the new Routan minivan. Brooke Shields, former model for Calvin Klein, has become the spokesperson for the Routan commercials. There are a couple different commercials advertising the Volkswagen Routan with Brooke Shields that have crossed the line into being offensive. One commercial in particular, Brooke Shields is located in a Volkswagen parking lot stating that the pregnant couple standing behind her were simply having children based on ‘German-engineering,’ which is referring to the new Routan.
As the couple try to disagree with her, she continues to state false statistics to prove her theory. Brooke tells viewers that they should not be like Becky, the pregnant women, but to have babies out of love. This Volkswagen Routan commercial is offensive. The advertisement is directed towards pregnant women, stating that they should not have their babies because of ‘German-engineering. ‘ This is over-generalizing the pregnant population and belittling them. It claims they are pregnant for the wrong reason.
Also, it takes the enlightenment out of the fact of bringing children into this world. Brooke is criticizing those families who are having their child for love. Offensive advertisements can be offensive to one person and great to another. The Volkswagen Routan commercial can easily upset a future mother while being very humorous to a car fanatic man. Even though the commercial is by Volkswagen, Brooke Shields gets come credit as well. When an offended pregnant woman refers to this commercial she will include Brooke’s name, thus giving the bad reputation to her as well as Volkswagen.
What makes a good advertisement? Does humor make an ad effective or is the cute little animal commercials? Kim Gordon with National Marketing Federation describes a good ad as “the power to move the audience, really motivate viewers to learn more about or buy what’s being advertised. ” To “make something happen” because of an advertisement is when the good marketing techniques have came into play. Gordon explains that there are four rules that all ads should be based upon when creating an effective campaign.
Rule number one ??? Good advertising changes the customer’s relationship with what’s being marketed. This means that through the ad the viewers’ feelings can be opened up to new moving facts. The Tacori ad for example has the diamonds on the queen piece which suggests power. This can make customers want to gain that same power as well. The second rule ??? Effective advertising tells prospects “why. ” Why the viewers should purchase the product, should be established within the advertisement. What benefits will the customer achieve with the product; will they be tangible or intangible?
The diamond rings tell the customers that they will obtain an intangible benefit of confidence. The third rule ??? The best ads ring true. Situations displayed within commercials should allow customers to relate to them. This makes the viewers feel they ‘need’ the product since the ad coincides with their life. The final rule ??? Successful advertising moves customers to the next level. To move customers to the next level you must anticipate what your prospects will do after they view the advertisement.
If the outcome is not what you want then you must adapt to a new way so you get the desired results. Also, if the ad does not make any change during airing period then changes must be made as well. When these four advertising rules are followed, the ad campaign will be effectively motivational. Since the Tacori jewelry had participated in these rules, the advertisement they created is a good one. They included motivational techniques to move the customers and tell them why the product will benefit them. This ad must conclude in moving the customers to the next level.