YouTube and Advertising

YouTube has only existed for 6 years, but already I can't image my life without it. Throughout these few years a lot has changed. Recently it started featuring more and more advertisements. Some videos feature 30 seconds before a video and most others have advertisement banners along the bottom and to the right of the video. I think this was a smart advertisement step, but as a viewer I'm slightly annoyed.

I can handle the short commercials before a video, but the banners are just absurd. The block the bottom third of the video and even though you can close them, I almost always miss the X and end up going to the linked website. Even though this is a smart business move and people probably won't stop watching videos because of it, it still brings an added annoyance to many viewers.

Distracting Advertising

Advertisements are all around us. They are unavoidable, but sometimes this comes at a cost. Many people I know, including myself are easily distracted. When I'm on a website I'm constantly moving from page to page and once in a while an ad will catch my eye. One in particle is American Apparel. Whenever I see there eccentric banners, I have an impulse to click. I end up browsing their site for hours. I have never bought anything but that never stops me from looking.

These distractions may seem harmless but new technologies are becoming dangerously distracting. Most recently I have noticed moving billboards. They are screen billboards that change pictures periodically. These types of advertisements are most often seen at sporting events or places like Times Square. They are fine in these locations, but on the highway I find them distracting. When you're driving you should be concentrating on the road, not looking off to a moving advertisement I think they are dangerous and somewhat stupid. Leave the LCD screens for walking/sitting locations only!

Awkward Advertising

I'm not sure if it's the intend of the advertisers, but some ads just make me feel down right awkward. I see them and I want to squirm in my seat or change the channel and QUICK. One such commercial is for Schick Quattro Trim Style (for women). It is a two in one razor, one side for legs, the other for bikini trimming.

In the commercial whenever a girl walks by a shrub, the shrub automatically gets trimmed. If you think about it, this makes for a very inappropriate visual. I understand that kids probably won't get the reference. But I did and it made me uncomfortable. I did not care for it.

Another set of commercials that make me switch channels is Axe body spray/ body wash. They almost always depict women fawning over shirtless guys. It's inappropriate and in my opinion a little sexist. The worst one shows Jaime Lee Pressly taking about balls. I just don't care for these innuendo jokes. Even though the media has come along way, that doesn't mean it has to start getting trashy.

I hope for my TV viewing pleasure, that advertisers stay away from this odd method.

Product Placement

I am not ashamed to admit that I watch a ridiculous amount of television. I am faithful to many series and from being such a frequent viewer, I have discovered that many shows use product placement. I may not be obvious to everyone, but I am quick to notice it now. Sometimes it's a subtle zoom in of an appliance (Top Chef) so that the audience can see the GE logo. Other times it's an awkward comment about how great Subway is (Chuck). I've started to make it a game and seeing how many I can notice in one episode.

The most commonly placed product that I've noticed is Apple products. Most shows I watch include Apple computers or an obvious iPhone lookalike.

In my opinion this is a hit or miss method. I think the costumer has to already have some knowledge about the product to work. Just seeing a brand new logo or something may not encourage them to do anything. It works if the costumer already knows about the product or has gotten it in the past they are then reminded of it. I'm not a professional but I think this method is sometimes effective and sometimes not. Either way I'm still going to continue watching for them lurking in the background.

New Ways to Advertise

As technology changes, our society changes. In order to keep up, advertising as evolved too. Advertising started in news papers, posters, and fliers. It relied solely on print ads. Soon radio and TV were invented and advertisement took a huge leap. They were able to create more direct content, but it also became must more expensive. These type of advertisements are still very prevalent but recently advertising has taken a new step.

Print ads are moving more and more to online. Every website it seems has some type of advertising on the page to help fund it. Many of these things can be quite annoying to users, but it enables these serves to continue to be free. Another huge change is phones. Now even apps and games on phones have ads running on top of them. Or products make their own apps or games to promote there product.

Yet another new way of advertising is using social media. Companies make Facebook groups to get the word out and to interact with their audience. I think this is very effective. A company has to know how to adapt to stay in the game.

One new type of advertising that I'm not too fond of is commercials before movies. I really enjoy going to movies, and I like to see trailers of up coming movies. Now however they started showing real commercials before movies and I feel that they just don't belong. Movie going is an experience that should be separate from watching TV. I get annoyed seeing commercials in this format. When you go to a movie I expect movie type previews not soda or army ads.

Overall ads are changing along with everything else. They need to keep up in order to do their job. Advertising is a changing field.

New Products

When new things appears on the market it's difficult to get the word out. I find out about most new products from commercials or since I work at a grocery I often just see new products there. A recent one that I was intrigued enough about it purchase was MiO liquid water enhancer. I had first heard about it from a commercial that showed how the product works. You just pour in flavoring into your bottle of water. You can add as much or as little as you like. At the time I was with a friend and we started talking about how Piggly Wiggly (our work place) has it. I decided to give it a shot, because it has 0 calories and looked like a good deal. The small bottle it supposed to be good for 25 servings and was only $3.50.

MiO Review: After trying the product, I found it to be convenient and delicious! My only complaint was that the serving size is a little unrealistic, at least for me. I had to pour a lot in order to get enough flavor, so I'm not sure if it will last as long and if this is the case, I don't think it's worth the price.

This product however did do an excellent job at advertising. It made everything about the product fun and worth a shot. I don't regret my purchase at all and I'm glad I tried it.

Humor in Ads

One of the most successful methods of advertisement is using humor. A good example of this can be seen every year at the super bowl. Usually the favorites are the ones that are funny. Old Spice is a company in particular that I think it very good at using humor to their advantage. Last year the introduced the 'Old Spice Guy", Isaiah Mustafa. The commercials are quick, witty, and to the point.

Old Spice always finds a way to use humor and target an audience. Detorderent is a hard thing to sell and it's impressive that they come up with a good idea to do so. Not only are their commercials popular on TV, but they've also become viral hits and many have even spoofed them. I also discovered that in the Summer of 2010. Isaiah made many videos in the style of Old Spice to other celebrities. They were just as funny as the originals and kept the internet community reminded and wanting more.