someone recently forwarded this message to me - i am going to copy the message verbatim and wanted your opinion as to what you think of the commercial.
I recently viewed a disturbing Old Navy advertisement on TV promotingone of their new lines of jeans called the Flirt. The lyrics to thesong playing in the ad suggest that when a woman "says no, and no again," this is part of the process of flirting. This conveyance isvery disturbing to me as a professional who has spent years working toimprove communication regarding consent in the dating situation.It is imperative that we educate our students & the public, both maleand female, that when a woman says no it means NO. It's not a playfulexchange that is meaningless and can be ignored, but a declaration of her intent that must be honored. This advertisement goes against abelief system that we as sexual assault prevention professionals havebeen working hard to correct. I would encourage anyone who isinterested to send an e-mail to Old Navy expressing similar concerns about this advertising campaign. Although perhaps meant to be cute and"just" flirtatious, the ad has a very damaging message that should notbe promoted.Here's the link to view the ad: www.oldnavy.com
Here's an address to voice your concerns: custserv@oldnavy.com
Anamarie
Chair, Sexual Assault Prevention Team
When you see the ad - do you think the issues raised by Anamarie are justified?
If yes, why? If not, why not?
What was your reaction when you saw the ad towards the product?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
first sightings
wow, i've really enjoyed reading the blogs and reading some very interesting opinions from a great batch of students. lets continue to keep it up!
i was a bit nervous when the class started off on tuesday, because everyone looked so sleepy, it was early morning and i wanted to get everyone charged up about advertising and marketing. advertising is such an exciting world - of brands and models and great stories and entertaining commercials. its hard to stay bored with a subject like that.
and once we started discussing brands especially in the retail world - the class perked up and we saw a great stream of ideas - with some strong opinions going back and forth. we analyzed what companies were doing or had done, some strokes of brilliance and some great guffaws. and some potentials - where the jury was still undecided. sometimes its nice to sit back and observe the initiatives taken by companies and see how the consumers will react.
for this class, one of the initiatives we've decided to observe from the sidelines is the introduction of the vera wang collection at kohls. it all started when one student brought up the topic and suddenly everyone was discussing the positives and negatives - check out the blogs in my links to read more about what the students think!
i'm excited at the idea of watching how two sets of consumers are going to react to the vera wang line at kohls - first i want to see how does vera wang manage not to alienate her current core customer base - of potential brides who love her wedding gowns! and next i want to see how the average american customer reacts to the vera wang brand name in the store.
some students thought the average kohls customer has heard of the vera wang brand - and some students disagreed. i tend to believe most of them are unaware of the brand or at least the importance of the brand and what it stands for or signifies. brand recognition is just that! mere recognition and should not be mistaken for the customer understanding the vera wang brand identity.
i was a bit nervous when the class started off on tuesday, because everyone looked so sleepy, it was early morning and i wanted to get everyone charged up about advertising and marketing. advertising is such an exciting world - of brands and models and great stories and entertaining commercials. its hard to stay bored with a subject like that.
and once we started discussing brands especially in the retail world - the class perked up and we saw a great stream of ideas - with some strong opinions going back and forth. we analyzed what companies were doing or had done, some strokes of brilliance and some great guffaws. and some potentials - where the jury was still undecided. sometimes its nice to sit back and observe the initiatives taken by companies and see how the consumers will react.
for this class, one of the initiatives we've decided to observe from the sidelines is the introduction of the vera wang collection at kohls. it all started when one student brought up the topic and suddenly everyone was discussing the positives and negatives - check out the blogs in my links to read more about what the students think!
i'm excited at the idea of watching how two sets of consumers are going to react to the vera wang line at kohls - first i want to see how does vera wang manage not to alienate her current core customer base - of potential brides who love her wedding gowns! and next i want to see how the average american customer reacts to the vera wang brand name in the store.
some students thought the average kohls customer has heard of the vera wang brand - and some students disagreed. i tend to believe most of them are unaware of the brand or at least the importance of the brand and what it stands for or signifies. brand recognition is just that! mere recognition and should not be mistaken for the customer understanding the vera wang brand identity.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Hello Class and Welcome to Blogging!
As 10% of your grade, you need to create a professional blog in groups of 2. This blog needs to be updated once a week by any of the group member. The blog is a space for expressing your professional opinion on the various brands and marketing campaigns you see – whether on TV, print, on a billboard, shop signage, web banner, in theatre, on youtube, etc. The idea is to promote students to think beyond the traditional concept of books and lectures and explore the world of brands all around them. The members of the industry will be invited to read the blogs and comment on them creating a rich experience for the students to get feedback on their ideas and opinions.
Each group will create the blog on www.blogger.com and send the link to me via email at mjsanghv@uncg.edu. Your blog will then be listed on the main blog site – http://mktgprofessor.blogspot.com. The students are encouraged to promote their blogs on professional websites or forums, within the business community especially within the advertising and marketing circle, as well as within their circle of family and friends.
Steps for creating a Google account:
Go to http://mail.google.com and you will see a sign that says SIGN UP FOR GMAIL.
It takes you to a webpage where you can create an account. Just follow the steps from there on.
Steps for creating a blog:
Once you have a gmail/ google account, go to http://www.blogger.com
On that page you have the options of
Taking a quick tour of the website and it will explain – what blogs are, how to publish, get feedback, go mobile, etc.
You also have the option on that page to create a blog in 3 simple steps.
i. Create an account (this is where you use your gmail/ google account)
ii. Name your blog
iii. Choose your template.
Once you have created a blog – go ahead and post an entry. Please no one-two liners – A thoughtful paragraph or two on topics related to advertising, marketing and brands.
Each group will create the blog on www.blogger.com and send the link to me via email at mjsanghv@uncg.edu. Your blog will then be listed on the main blog site – http://mktgprofessor.blogspot.com. The students are encouraged to promote their blogs on professional websites or forums, within the business community especially within the advertising and marketing circle, as well as within their circle of family and friends.
Steps for creating a Google account:
Go to http://mail.google.com and you will see a sign that says SIGN UP FOR GMAIL.
It takes you to a webpage where you can create an account. Just follow the steps from there on.
Steps for creating a blog:
Once you have a gmail/ google account, go to http://www.blogger.com
On that page you have the options of
Taking a quick tour of the website and it will explain – what blogs are, how to publish, get feedback, go mobile, etc.
You also have the option on that page to create a blog in 3 simple steps.
i. Create an account (this is where you use your gmail/ google account)
ii. Name your blog
iii. Choose your template.
Once you have created a blog – go ahead and post an entry. Please no one-two liners – A thoughtful paragraph or two on topics related to advertising, marketing and brands.
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