Week 11 EOC: Final Evaluation

My time spent throughout this class has been a positive learning experience. I feel that I have gained a much broader perspective on the advertising industry. I have learned many new aspects about advertising including the objectives, elements, careers, and methods in advertising. I also learned about a variety of successful advertising agencies. Since taking this class, I find myself paying closer attention to advertisements that I see. I’ve begun analyzing and critiquing commercials in my head and sometimes even aloud. This class will help me in both my career, and as a consumer.

Learning all about the world of advertising has made me interested in pursuing it as a career, or incorporating it into whatever I end up in.  I enjoyed coming up with my own advertising campaign as a final project. Advertising is a field that allows for creativity and expression of ideas. I typically enjoy brainstorming and coming up with creative ideas; I sure couldn’t complain if I was getting paid for it too. The assignments and content of this course have helped me gain the knowledge I need to grow in my career path, no matter what it may be.

Throughout this course I have turned in all my assignments on time, and gotten them done according to the criteria. I filled my blogs with valuable content, which expressed my understanding of the objectives. I paid attention to the lectures and participated when appropriate. Aside from missing one class period (week 8) I fulfilled my duties as a student in this course. I followed all of the criteria for the final project and am proud of how it turned out. In order to reflect my efforts and work quality, I believe the letter grade I deserve is an A.

EOC: Week 10: Advertisement- I Love New York

"IIIIIIII love New York!..." I just can't seem to get this song out of my head. Maybe that's one of the reasons the ad was so successful back when it was made. When New York was having a hard time getting tourists to come visit [and spend money] due to the city's bad rep, New York needed a good idea to draw in more visitors.

An advertising campaign came up with a simple phrase that made a huge impact. "I love New York". The commercial incorporated different characters from all of the different Broadway plays and musicals. "I love New York" was the jingle and only lyric of the entire song. The different performers sang the same phrase and the same tune in each separate scene. The idea was to express how great Broadway is and that "there is only one Broadway." True. There is only one Broadway, and it's magnificent. New York just needed to prove it.

Being a theater fan, and previous performer myself, I really enjoy this ad. I get excited when I see characters from a few of my favorite musicals show up on the screen; including a few plays I have performed in (not on Broadway of course). The song is catchy and, because it’s only one lyric, it is easy to remember. I have to admit I do “love New York”, although I didn’t need a commercial to tell me. Either way, the commercial was a hit, and created a whole new outlook for outsiders of New York city. Today we still see souvenirs, t-shirts, key chains, and more with the famous phrase “I Love New York”. It’s exciting to know just where that phrase started.

EOC Week Nine: Creative Content

For my creative content I am planning on creating an advertisement for a magazine, catalogue, etc. The advertisement will be a a photograph featuring a man, reading a newspaper. Only his hand and maybe the top of his head will be showing. Everything in the advertisement will be black and white - the print on the newspaper, ad itself, and most importantly, the small plate of cookies and milk that the man "has been" eating. The cookies will be the one and only... Oreos.



Keeping a black and white theme goes along with the slogan and entire concept for the ad. "Black and white will always be classic." Oreos have been around for a century; they are cookies that can be considered classic. As Americans we love our classic brands. We all have our go-to brands, the ones we are emotionally faithful to. Oreos may be milks favorite cookie, but they are also one of America's favorite cookies.



In my advertisement I want to emphasize the sophistication, and classic concept of the Oreo brand. Black and white is a pair of colors that we also categorize as classic; Oreos are one of the only cookies we think of when we think of a black and white cookie. The whole advertisement should flow nicely and color coordinate.

Final Project: Analysis of Project in the Real World

Creating this advertising campaign has been a helpful experience to get a taste of what it might take to create a real campaign someday. It required a large amount time and research that needed put in to have an understanding of competitors, target market, and originality. "In an overcrowded, competitive marketplace, relevant and engaging branding can ensure efficacy for a quality product, service, group, individual, or commodity. Not only does branding identify and distinguish, it builds equity (the value of the brand or group)." (Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 49) It was fun being creative and coming up with a slogan and idea to advertise my product choice.
I chose Oreo because it is a popular cookie - Americas favorite cookie (something I discovered throughout my research)  as a matter of fact. Oreo has many fans and always has creative and effective advertising. Something unique about the brand that gives me a good vibe about them is their Twitter account. Whoever runs the Oreo Twitter account makes an effort to reply to many of the tweets directed at them. I always see Oreo responding to fans and tweets they have been tagged in. I've had a personal experience on two separate occasions where Oreo has replied to Twitter posts I have mentioned them in.


"People do not usually say, 'I don't want to be more creative.' In any discipline, from science to music, creativity is valuable."(Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 32) Coming up with the creative content for an advertisement was slightly more challenging than I expected it to be. Being a creative person I thought creative content and ideas would come easily for me; however, coming up with something original and effective was challenging. That moment when they idea finally hit me it felt as if a light bulb went off!

"Several steps are involved in concept generation:

> Defining the problem

> Preparation: gathering and examining materials

> Incubation

> Generating and selecting ideas

> Assessing ideas"

 (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 74)

Once I had my idea pictured in my head, it was time to make it concrete. Once I had everything ready for the photograph I wanted to snap for my ad, I realized it was going to take longer than I thought. Since I am no professional photographer, it was challenging coming out with the right angles for my picture. I took over forty shots before I had the exact photo I wanted to use for my ad. During the process I learned where the product should be placed in the photograph in order to grab the most attention. When my initial pictures were coming out boring with no focal point, I realized I needed to capture the Oreo more focused, up-close, and centered in order to give it the attention it needed as a promotional ad.

In the end I was pleased with my photography. My completed advertisement turned out almost exactly how I envisioned it. If I were to do this this campaign in real life and had money to spend on it, I would hire a larger team to support my idea. Hiring a photographer, stylist, model, and graphic artist would be an excellent touch to my advertisement. I enjoyed being creative and creating and ad campaign for one of my favorite cookies. I think I could be very pleases working with advertising in the future. Advertising is more interesting and a more thought out process than I would have ever imagined.

Final Project- Creative Content

"Black and white... classic."

The creative content in my advertisement is created through photography. The angles, product placement, and color scheme help tell the story of the the picture. I also used an old fashioned advertising style to help emphasize the "classic" theme of the advertisement. "Creative thinkers have an advantage—they have nimble, flexible minds, able to solve problems in ways most cannot. You will notice that “creative” is coupled with “thinkers.” For creativity to be useful, it must be coupled with intellect, not to mention perseverance." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 32) 


"If you study geniuses and their work—Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, Toni Morrison, Amadeus Mozart, Pablo Picasso, Twyla Tharp, or Frank Lloyd Wright—you will find this to be true." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 32)

This is a print ad with a photograph of a man who just got off work and is relaxing with a newspaper, a glass of milk, and stack of Oreo cookies. The story of the picture may not be understood amongst all viewers, but that is just an element of print advertising.

"The relative value of “telling” versus “showing” an audience a story is a matter that goes back to Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Poetics. Very basically, in advertising, telling is narration—events conveyed by a narrator or presenter; it is also called diegesis or summary. Showing is mimetic, directly visually or dramatically representing events; it is also called mimesis or scene." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 108>. The message of my Oreo advertisement is conveying the classiness of the Oreo cookie. Oreo has been around for so many years that it has become a classic snack. The ad is in black and white to give it a vintage and classic feel. This advertising style is different from anything Oreo has ever done, so it will be an attention grabbing campaign.

Final Project- Promotion

"For such advertising to affect you, it has to seem relevant to you, and it has to be presented through media channels that will reach you." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 2) My advertisement for Oreo will be featured in places like magazines, newspaper, online (social networks, websites, blogs), and on street billboards in cities. "Nowhere is this more evident than in print. Whether it is a magazine or newspaper ad, an outdoor poster or billboard, there is no motion or sound to dazzle. In print, words and images alone must convey the idea." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 208)





The advertisement will be in high traffic ares such ad New York City, the Las Vegas Strip, Los Angeles, Denver, and San Francisco. Using social media and online websites to have the ad featured is a smart way to get it more attention. Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and other blogs are some places where the ad will be placed. “It's one thing to capture someone's attention, but another thing to hold them for three minutes,” Smith said. “And on the Internet, you're competing against everything else on the Internet, which is one finger-click away, so engagement becomes a critical element." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. Page 107)


I chose to do a print ad because in reality it would cost less and have more of a variety of locations for the ad. Sometimes writing can have a bigger effect than anything. Having a photograph with a readable slogan, allows consumers to view the ad however they want. Because the words are written, the advertisement might be interpreted differently amongst different viewers; this can be a good thing or a bad thing. The hope would be that most customers view the ad in a positive or emotionally pleasing sense, however if the ad is taken ins a negative sense then that is just a risk that comes with advertising. "Advertising communication depends on a synergy of visual and verbal components. In other words, the visual-verbal ad equation is: 1 + 1 = 3." (Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. PAge 208) Commercials may have the ability to deliver a more understandable message, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Final Project- The Big Idea

"It is critical to understand how a strategy and idea can work across media and how to start a conversation with people. To simply place an ad conceived for print in mobile media is not enough. One must understand what each medium can do and do well and what people want on that platform or device.(Landa. Advertising by Design. John Wiley & Sons P&T. PAge 49)The big idea of my campaign is to emphasize the classic quality of Oreos. Oreos have been the best selling cookie for many years, and has been sold for over a century. It's to say that Oreo has reached an age where it can be considered classic. It's hard to fine someone who doesn't like an Oreo. "Happy birthday Oreo! The classic cookie turns 100 years old today and you’ve no doubt had that old catchy jingle stuck in your head all day…"

The color combination of black and white has been around longer than Oreo has. Black and white is a classic color theme that is used for decorating, fashion, art, photography, and more. Before color television, movies, and photographs everything was in black and white. The color combination adds a vintage effect to those things now since almost everything is in color these days. "What do you think about the color vs black-and-white issue? Is color as often a distraction as a positive element in your own work? Do you shoot one, the other, or both? When and why do you choose black-and-white?"


My advertisement with attract customers because it is unlike any ad campaign that Oreo has ever done. Their advertisements are usually flashy and fun. In their old advertisements they had a catchy jingle:


“Oh oh oh, ice cold milk and an Oreo cookie, they forever go together, what a classic combination. When a dark delicious cookie meets an icy cold sensation, like the one and only creamy crunchy chocolate O-R-E-O. Keeps your milk from getting lonely.”


Having a simple old fashioned looking advertisement will be something unique for the Oreo brand. It gives Oreo a whole new look and may even attract more customers. The ad is targeted towards adults. Male business men - if you want to get really specific. Oreos biggest fans are children so opening up the target market to an older generation now and then is great marketing for the brand. Hey the vintage quality to the ad may even attract some senior citizen costumers.