NYU Internet Copywriting Class: Uniqlo Ad Development

Hey Blog!
    Long time no write, I know. I apologize for my long absence but to hold you over until next post here is my now finished assignment to create a banner ad for the company I am working on Uniqlo Clothing. A fantastic store , if you haven't been there I highly recommend it.

** Please click on the ad to see a larger version of it**

UNIQULO Wake Up App Website

Manhattan Mini Storage Getting Political?

I have to say I haven't been this impressed with Marketing in a while. I believe Manhattan Mini Storage has a Marketing Department that really knows their target audience. They have posted large billboards all over the Island of Manhattan in key visual areas such as the entrance/exit of the Brooklyn Bridge with messages like " IF YOU STORE YOUR STUFF OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, IT MAY COME BACK REPUBLICAN!"

   It took me a aback a little to see advertisements expressing an implicit opinion. From what I always understood about marketing you want to appeal to the greatest amount of people without ostracizing potential customers. But it seems Manhattan Mini Storage's credo is "Find your audience and get chummy".
   It took me a few moments to see the logic in this sort of advertising. It's simple enough. The majority of people who need storage are probably twenty somethings who have apartments too small to really fit anything(considering New York's price for apartment's per square foot is one of the highest in the world). And it just so happens that majority of people in this demographic happen to be liberals. Now this may not encompass their total potential audience, but they chose to edge out the competition for this specific group by posting a slew of advertisements that are both opinionated and risque. While the advertisements will almost certainly offend some people and hit too close to home, it also grabs attention and isn't that the point?
   I enjoy the idea that advertisements can be personal and nudge you with a joke the way a friend would, while also getting the word out about the business. New yorkers have a specific sense of humor, they've seen it all and done it all, and they won't acknowledge an ad unless it's saying something they didn't expect. I commend this marketing group for taking a risk and trying an approach that seems to have me and many other New Yorkers at the very least a bit amused.

Take a look at some of the other postings and remember it is just marketing , not propaganda.

The time is ticking down!

*For reference on this article please visit this shady website below:

SHADY WEBSITE!

   "Now this may be a deal I can't resist!" I proclaim to myself. Innocently thinking about applying to an internship or potential employment. But once I began to inspect the website and question some of the things they posted, I began to wonder.
    First there is a clock ticking down to when I can still buy this. Why can't I just think about it like a rational consumer? No! Not for you unsuspecting consumer , theres a deadline to this !! Holy!

   So of course you compose yourself being that you are a self respecting human being and can make rational decisions. Then you think, where is this clock from? What is it counting down? Are they closing the store? Isn't this The Internet, the thing that makes e-commerce possible 24 hours a day? It all seems slightly suspect. Maybe reaking... of suspect.
   Well then I start weighing the pros and cons. Well money is good and the job gets me the money... But I have to pay money ... To make money. The logic is shaky but the math is great!
   But alas this site no matter how much I blog is clearly a fake. Or at least definitely going to scam you on something. If you think about it, a legit website will probably win you customers, but one lonely website floating around in space linked to nothing else except your credit card number, seems fishy. And that lock is just a false sense of security. Its time to X it and let it back off into cyber space.

"Why Blog About Marketing?"

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Times Square in years past 

Short Answer: To review the art/advertising of our world is to give the advertising companies a personal review of how the ads move us and make us feel truly.

Long Winded Answer: I live in New York City, and some people think it is the financial capital of the world, tourist capital, attitude capital, but actually I think its the advertising capital of the world. When you walk through times square, your not walking through a historical site where the artifacts of the place move you, you are moved by gigantic signs and lights and  pictures of clothes and cameras and drinks that are inspiring you to believe in the product.
    I remember since I was a little kid I loved the steam that came off of the cup of noodles ad in times square, it felt so real I could almost smell the MSG flowing through the New York air. And the crisp bubbliness of the coca-cola ad drawing me in to stare into  effervescent creamy goodness. Ive grown up since then and I am still trying to kick the habit of soda, but those ads still stir my taste buds almost as strongly as the day I had first seen them.
    And so to this day I continue to be a lover of good advertising and a criticizer of bad advertising. One thing that has occurred to me recently is some advertising is very in tune with the communities they advertise to , but some seem to be out of sync not only with my personal appeal but also with general good taste and aesthetics. Some advertising can be effective but also have a character of sleaziness, cheapness, baseness, appealing to humanity's most basic desires without any hint of tact or creativity. If you've seen the world of online advertising and how cunning and tricky it can be, you may come to appreciate when advertising is honest and wholesome and somehow even maybe might have to do with the product.
    I believe if we have to live with advertising, why not live with marketing like an abrasive monster that's always demanding something of us, let's  make it appealing to live in a well marketed beautiful world, with products that reflect the way we would like to live and the environment you would like to live in.          The fact of the matter is marketing is based around getting the consumer to consume, now they have two routes. The first is to use tactics that grab your eye through force, such as a beautiful half naked girl next to car ie. shock value or confusion. But isn't it more satisfying to pick up product such as a beverage that both has aesthetic pleasing qualities and has some ingredient that you would appreciate to see in a drink. Now the second example is what I call substantive marketing , it has thought about what the consumer likes and how the product fits in the consumers world.
    My goal for this site is to rant about marketing , the way I always do, but I also hope to hear some responses from people that aren't me. I'd love to know how other people feel about certain ads or marketing and see if I am not alone out there. Leave some posts , I'd love to chat about it.