When your life flashes before your eyes...

         I think that Volkswagen has a perfect mix of comedy and reality in their latest safety spot. They play on the classic "my life flashed before my eyes" bit but added the comedy by only having three memories for the baby to reflect on. Their target audience was younger couples who have felt the fear of having their newborn in the car for the first time. Volkswagen did a wonderful job of stressing the importance of safety without scaring the crap out their viewers.

When it rains, it pours.

Weather Channels newest idea to promote their android app gave commuters a run for their money. A Bus Shelter was rigged with sprinklers and cameras to catch people when they least expected it. Right when an actor looks at his phone his new Weather Channel app tells him it will start raining at 12:15 and right as he pops open his Weather Channel umbrella it begins to pour in the bus shelter. As everyone else gets soaked the only man with the app stays dry. This promotional stunt was created by the ad agency Iris, and a captivating new commercial was produced! 

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/weather-channel-soaks-people-bus-shelters-real-dick-move-147596

Have advertisers moved past the clichés?

       I recently read an article on Adweek.com that talked about the stereotypical role of women, not only in the real world but in the advertising world as well. Advertisers are called upon to project an image and when asked to portray a mom ad week says most companies substitute "one stereotype (the tireless, too-perfect suburban housewife) with another (the über-mom, juggling work and family while hardly breaking a sweat)." 

      We have come leaps and bounds from pervious stereotypes but these new ideal mom's can be just as limiting to the advertising world. Ad week praises companies like Huggies, Tide, and Target for their newest portrayal of women. Tide approached their somewhat difficult topic of women doing laundry but focusing on a more comical approach. Letting the women be responsible for the comedic turn of events was helpful in straying from the "laundry room" stereotype. Huggies has a commercial that is absent of typical crawling babies but instead flashes typical questions of expecting parents and directs them to huggies.com/answers. ""Utility and customization are going to win" for brands seeking to build relationships with busy female consumers, says Shaun Stripling." Lastly target also focuses more on social media asking their female consumers to partake in a twitter campaign called #everydayshow. This features comical photos of a somewhat "anti-modle" beautiful in her own way. 

     I think these new ideas are a great way to target a female audience and a much better way to portray a female presence. I believe these will all be very successful campaigns. 

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/courage-advertise-without-female-stereotypes-147484?page=2