Like everyone else around the world I grew up eating M&M's. They were there before I came to the States and they were still there afterwards. Looking at this advertisement selling M&M's brings back memories of being a kid and not taking life too seriously. As a viewer I am already hooked by the bright colors, the funny M&M people, and whatever joke they are intending to tell. But the real hook of this advertisement is the competition that offers $1,000,000 to anyone that is lucky enough to buy the winning bag of M&M's. This advertisement acknowledges our society's perceptions of wanting to be forever young, because it uses comedy and gives funny faces to these all familiar M&M characters. Without thinking too much about it I would say that this advertisement is targeted towards children, because it looks like a cartoon and includes a competition that is reminiscent of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." What these M&M people seem to symbolize is an odd couple that definitely work great side by side. But the color change brings to mind that this classic brand is trying to reinvent itself, with a promise that everything will go back to normal after someone wins $1,000,000. The final message of this ad is that eating M&M's will make people happy, kind of like being with our old friends Red and Yellow. To make this product sell better I think that more color could have been added, although compared to other advertisements for chocolate this ad is really effective because it brings in both the new and old factors smoothly and effectively. 
If not for the chocolate connecting these two very different ads together I would think that they were trying to sell totally different products to totally different people. For my second choice I decided to use this beautiful Godiva advertisement for its world class Belgian chocolate. To tell the truth I have not been familiar with Godiva until recently, but that is probably because this brand targets middle or upper class grown-ups. I definitely never got any Godiva when I went out trick-or-treating. I can now appreciate the great lengths that Godiva went to make this ad work. The classical black and white picture of a smolderingly beautiful model is all the more better with Godiva chocolate. Note how this ad looks so much like a Tiffany's advertisement for jewelry. The beauty and sexiness hooks the viewer to buy this product like any good perfume ad would do. The elegant black dress, the model, the fancy chocolate, everything here is targeted towards our social perceptions of what beauty and success is. In the lower left corner of this advertisement Lady Godiva is riding on top of a horse, symbolizing quality. The message of this advertisement is that eating this chocolate will make people indulge in a "Golden Moment," full of beauty and allure. To better sell this product it might help to include more people in it, because then it would seem more accessible to the general public. Compared to other advertisements for similar products, like Ghirardelli, this ad is more effective because it seems more exotic in an elegant sort of way.Works Cited
Lozito, William. Godiva Sweetens Their Naming and Branding.
Name Wire, 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.
M&M’s. Advertisement. The Contemporary Reader. 10th ed. Ed.
Gary Goshgarian. Pearson: Boston, 2011.
Gary Goshgarian. Pearson: Boston, 2011.
I really enjoyed this blog of yours! I like a lot of what you had to say, you always have great ideas.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you used two very different ads. Shows the range of products nicely.
ReplyDeleteReally nice job selecting contrasting ads that sell the same product yet are entirely different in all other respects. You do a good job writing about advertising, as usual Alina. And now, for some reason (can't imagine why??) I'm in the mood for chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!! And some of that luxurious, "live the golden life" kind, thank you very much!
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