Who is the customer?

            It can look like that clothes industry just selling their products. Nevertheless, the messages they use in their ads are very different. In this topic will be an overview of how advertising for two similar product brands in the same category appeals to different types of consumers. The points made are based on the consumer behaviour literature.

United Colors of Benetton

            United Colors of Benetton is one of many clothes selling companies but has got a unique approach to advertise themselves. Most of their print ads are set out to increase a sense of basic humanity focused on skin colour (Andreiadis et al 2004).

They have chosen not to directly advertise their product. Instead, they are increasing brand awareness by approaching social issues such as racism, child abuse, AIDS, etc. By doing it, they want to show themselves as the company which is not interested in the products but in the people wearing them. What is more, they are available for everyone no matter what is their skin colour, social background, class, living region or sexual preference (Andreiadis et al 2004).

The United Colors of Benetton marketing director Oliviero Toscani had a very simple but powerful recipe for their advertising. The plan was to take a powerful image with the logo in the corner and from that point on, the ad will work by itself. He believes that this type of passive and aggressive advertising pushed Benetton from small manufacturer somewhere in Italy, to a worldwide corporation (Andreiadis et al 2004). Even if not all campaigns have done well to the image of the company, they still increased brand awareness by significant amount of PR coverage and word of mouth activities (Percy and Elliott 2005).

All of the ads form part of an image campaign for the Benetton brand and are not related to a product. Moreover, they use passiveness as they do not contain any request to buy the product (Hackley 2005). What is more, the only words the ads contain is the slogan and brand name what keeps the ad abstract. In addition to that, Benetton use subjects of recent political events, religious manifestations and address social and environmental problems. Sometimes they use erotica. All this makes people process and think about the ads and reflex (Alstiel and Grow 2005). This kind of processing the message is called simultaneous and includes both systematic and heuristic models of processing the ads (O’Shaughnessy 2004).

 

            All of the Benetton ads are communicable and has got a message that gives some thoughts. Benetton's target market is relatively educated and is attracted by visual emotional but informative appeals (Sutherland and Sylvester 1993). Firm use real advertising which “was meant to expose the public real issues, and themes that most people would never like to deal with: illness, death, forced immigration, violence, intimidation.” (Andreiadis et al 2004) Some of them seem to be brutal but real. The ad related to AIDS exposes the emotionally painful moment and the agony of the dying man. This carries a serious and modern tone of voice in approaching the present-day audience (Percy and Elliott 2005). Nevertheless, next Benetton campaign was “more toned down, keeping controversy at a manageable level.” (Andreiadis et al 2004)

            To underline their message of being united brand they use contrast. Mostly it is the contrast of the skin colour of the people in their ads (Percy and Elliott 2005). Nevertheless they have no iconic object or person as it keeps their message clear. It is a brand for everyone.

American Apparel

            American Apparel (AA) is the company with a completely different approach to advertise similar products.

Minimal message and provocative image in American Apparel (AA) ad campaigns are designed to get attention and create controversy (Band no date). Word of mouth plays a key role in their campaigns. They are trying to reach their primary audience directly and create buzz between others.

The key fact that distinguished AA sexuality based approach from other risky marketers is the nature of models in its advertising. The AA models were recruited on urban streets and other general places. Pictured youth are not models but good looking teenagers. The resulting ads showed a range of young beauty with variety of body typed which were not modified to eliminate imperfections. The idea was to provide the appearance of intimate casual snapshots or art photographs. It is their inherent youth appeal which makes them sexy. They were meant to look genuine and authentic rather than sexually provocative. It is very rare to see natural beauty without any corrections nowadays and it is exactly what attracts people eye (Band no date), (D’Alessandro and Chitty 2011).

AA does advertise relatively cheap products so the message is quite simple. They try to attract their target market of Young Metropolitan Adults using playful, erotic, flirtatious and controversial tone of voice (Percy and Elliott 2005), (Band no date). They picture ordinary girls, females to get the message that they are for everyone and that people in the ads are product users and consumers can relate to them. Nevertheless, they underline the individuality of their customers as most young buyers are concerned about being different (Band no date).

However, AA seems to think that women should always be presented in sexual positions in marketing. Often, you will not see the woman’s face, but if you do, she is expressionless, vacant, compliant, and submissive with their legs spread or on all fours. Cameras are focused on genitals, even when the model’s face appears in the photograph. There is often alcohol involved which suggests a removal of control from the women depicted. The models are presented like sex dolls what overlaps with the majority of current youth perceptions (Adomaitis and Johnson 2008). Often the female models are splayed out in beds, sometimes with other clothing partially removed or yanked down to expose buttocks and genital areas. AA chooses a high proportion of very young looking Asian and Latin American women what underlines their cross-ethnic identity (Band no date).

In most of the ads, they have company name written in black on white background. No more text or logos usually appear in their ads. That keeps ads simple, with the attention aimed at the female body (Percy and Elliott 2005).

Conclusion

            All clothes selling companies use they own methods to advertise the brand. Benetton do this by approaching the social problems and issues that usually not getting any attention from the brands. American Apparel uses controversy to make a buzz what increases brand recognition. Both methods are useful as they encourage society to talk about them.

References

Adomaitis, A. & Johnson, K. (2008) Advertisements: Interpreting images used to sell to young adults. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 12 (2), 188–192.

Alstiel, T. & Grow, J. (2005) Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics From the Outside/In. London: Sage.

Andreiadis, E., Baciu, I., Iancu, A. & Pilsu, M. (2004) United Colors of Benetton – Case Study. 33-36.

Band, J (no date) Contagious Case Study: American Apparel. 68-77.
D’Alessandro, S. & Chitty, B. (2011) Real or Relevant Beauty? Body Shape and Endorser Effects on Brand Attitude and Body Image. Psychology & Marketing, 28 (8), 843 – 878.
Hackley, C. (2005) Advertising & Promotion: Communicating Brands. London, SAGE. Available from MyIlibrary [Accessed 10th November 2012].

O’Shaughnessy, J. & O’Shaughnessy, N. J. (2004) Persuasion in Advertising, London, Routledge.

Percy, L. & Elliott, R. (2005) Strategic Advertising Management. Oxford: OUP.

Sunset, B. (06/02/2008) American Apparel Campaign. Weblog. [Online]. Available from: http://marketing-case-studies.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/american-apparel-campaign.html [Accessed 10th November 2012].

Sutherland, M. & Sylvester, A. K. (1993). Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What

Works, What Doesn't and Why? NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Advertising assessment

Overview

“Virgin Atlantic (VA) had a tough task in following up its acclaimed 2009 “Still red hot” campaign celebrating 25 years of the brand. However, the airline has struck gold (IPA 2012). The primary objectives of the campaign were to show the glamorous inside into the airline iconography and dramatising how it feels to fly with the Virgin Atlantic even in a downturn when the customer confidence is low (Taylor and McNabb 2007).

‘Still Red Hot’ ad as well as ‘Feeling good’ adverts was aired on TV and cinemas. Both ads feature a series of fantastic vignettes which highlight the experience of flying with the airline (IPA 2012). In addition, VA made several print ads aimed at upper class market.

To target particular segments there is need to identify individuals with similar characteristics which determine a marketing strategy (Kotler and Armstrong 2000) (Jobber 2000) (Copley 2002).

Demographic and socioeconomic segmentation reveals that Virgin Atlantic customers are between 25 and 44 years old with high income (Google 2012). It underlines the fact that Virgin Atlantic customers are leisure and comfort seekers. The unique selling point of VA adverts is being an exclusive service provider concentrating on flying experience rather than price of the service (IPA 2012).

The emotional campaign had a challenge to stand out from the price promotion clutter. The adverts had to get the message of Virgin Atlantic being like no other airline on earth.

Still Red Hot

The first advert is full of quirky sense of humor with perfect attention to details based on the atmosphere of those years including style and glamour (IPA 2012). It helps to communicate the essence of the brand in an original way. The ad has a quite straightforward narrative and shows what everyone would expect to see. Everything is concentrated on attitude towards flying experience. The date in the start shows that brand has its history and adds credibility (Percy and Elliott 2005). The nostalgic cues in the advert used to evoke nostalgic thoughts in individuals are proven to get favorable consumer responses (Muehling and Sprott 2004). The guy on the phone is one of key characters as he underlines the Virgin image as a brand. They are not too serious, but they do have a long history what make an influence on their brand personality.

Most of the filming is done around the reactions of people to the girls walking along the airport. The moment, when crew member waves to the little girl who runs behind them, captures the moment that the Virgin Atlantic crew do not take themselves too seriously and that they are to provide the best service (IPA 2012).

Depth of entertainment gave the ad a long life online. What is more, the advert appeared in the premium price programming to make sure that the content is in the best environment and is viewed by the target audience. In addition, advert did get general talk-ability from PR coverage to Google searches through to online buzz (IPA 2012). All the aspects underline that the advert attracted people attentions and received many positive attitudes and feedbacks.

Feeling good

The strongest point of this advert is its ability to maintain the viewers’ attention with the slice of persuasiveness. The “Feeling good” advert is visually appealing and seems even subliminal. Almost all of the shots are focused towards the centre of the screen. The images are changing by using transition what makes it much more difficult to look away (Alstiel and Grow 2005).

 Viewer sees “red stiletto-clad sexy ladies striding triumphantly through a surreal, fantastical landscape.” (Williams 2010) The advert has many moments of showing how sexy the Virgin Atlantic service is. Smartly dressed businessman's poll dancing around the fork with a shrimp on supports the image. Even the general safety procedures are shown in a creative, enjoyable and sexy way. What is more, a beautiful giant woman laying you to sleep suggests that you are going to be truly taking care of.

The song from the James Bond movie automatically makes viewer think about a pleasure, luxury and an adventure at a highest level. To link it with a film even more, advert shows flying female silhouettes and the  glass of martini with a green olive. All this has a subliminal effect and suggests the premium quality and high service standards  (Percy and Elliott 2005), (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy 2004).

The message strategies used in both adverts shows benefits using association. If someone sits and enjoys the piece of advertising, he tends to believe the brand and what the brand is telling. “Still Red Hot For 25 Years” slogan makes even non user feel positive about the brand while “Your Airline's Either Got It, Or It Hasn't” slogan used in the end of the commercial indicates that Virgin Atlantic truly has ‘it’ (Bly 2006).

Print ad

            Virgin Atlantic print ad pictures well dressed lady sitting on the comfy chair in the very stylish room. It demonstrates what kind of comfort deserves and what benefit their client gets. From the first glance it is not obvious who is the target market for this ad but after having a closer look it becomes clear that the ad is aimed at upper-class passengers.    

            The advert has a little informational text box in the bottom saying: “Award- winning Clubhouse at Heathrow. Your airline either got it or it hasn’t”. Indirect comparison with all other airlines stress the fact that VA definitely has got it. What is more, it is not a simple one as it is “award-winning”.

Summary

            The campaign has a high level of impact on Virgin Atlantic performance. The ads were effective in multiple dimensions by showcasing their uniquely engaging service style and bringing a sense of humour.

"Still Red Hot" 25th birthday campaign was listed as one of the top ten marketing moments of 2009 by Campaign Magazine (Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd 2012). It was popular on general word-of-mouth platform. It had over 700,000 searches, over a 100,000 website hits and people searching for Virgin Atlantic brand increased by 500% (IPA 2012a). It was noticed immediate change of fortunes comparing to BA in terms of brand consideration, brand awareness and brand preference. In addition to that, across all advertising channels, Virgin Atlantic get £10.5 return on every £1 spent on advertising and for TV alone it was £14.5 for every £1 spent (IPA 2012a).

References

Alstiel, T. & Grow, J. (2005) Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics From the Outside/In. London, Sage.
Bly, R.W. (2006) The Copywriter's Handbook. US: Owl Books.
Copley, P. (2002) Marketing Communications Management. UK, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Google (2012) Doubleclick Ad Planner. [Online] Available from: https://www.google.com/adplanner/?pli=1#siteSearch?uid=domain%253Avirgin-atlantic.com&geo=GB&lp=false [Accessed 20th October 2012].
IPA (2012) Virgin Atlantic: still red hot even in a downturn. [Online] Available from: http://vimeo.com/34779504 [Accessed 20th October 2012].
IPA (2012a) RKCR/Y&R. [Online] Available from: http://www.ipa.co.uk/Agencies/RKCRY-R [Accessed 20th October 2012].
Jobber, D. (2000) Principles and Practice of Marketing. 3rd edition. UK, McGraw-Hill.
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2000) Marketing: An Introduction. 5th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Muehling, D. D. & Sprott, D. E. (2004) The Power of Reflection: An Empirical Examination of Nostalgia Advertising Effects. Journal of Advertising, 33 (3), 25-35.
O’Shaughnessy, J. & O’Shaughnessy, N. J. (2004) Persuasion in Advertising. London, Routledge.
Percy, L. & Elliott, R. (2005) Strategic Advertising Management. Oxford: OUP.
Taylor, K. & McNabb, R. (2007) Business Cycles and the Role of Confidence: Evidence for Europe. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 69 (2), 185-208.
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd (2012) Press Releases. [Online] Available from: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/pressoffice/pressreleases/news/ad.jsp [Accessed 20th October 2012].
Williams, E. (2010) Virgin Atlantic: out of this world? Creative Review. [Online] Available from: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/october/virgin-atlantic-traktor [Accessed 20th October 2012].