Smooth Beer for Not-SoSmooth People

As a guy who's had this happen to him before, I feel for the dude in the Keystone commercial. While I was only talking to a friend and not an attractive female, I still felt pretty stupid. The guy in this commercial ends up looking pretty stupid himself and in the end, the girl ends up looking stuck up. While this commercial stays pretty controversy-free, it does somewhat play with gender roles.

If you happened to be a male and a Keystone drinker, how do you identify with our poor, "unsmooth" friend? He's a pretty normal, average looking guy. Consider this question: do you feel that Keystone is stereotyping its own target market by playing off the dumb-guy stereotype?

Regardless of what they are doing, I know that this has happend to me, that I have had many "unsmooth" moments, and that I myself am coincidentally a Keystone drinker.

Big Smooth

What is your most embarrassing moment? Was anyone else around to see it? Well whatever is was you will probably feel better after watching this Keystone Light commercial. The ad starts off with a man reaching into grab an ice cold 30 rack of Keystone Light when a gorgeous woman approaches him from behind. She does not acknowledge him, but she does say, “So what are you doing tonight” in a flirtatious manner. The man is somewhat startled and caught off guard and just replies, “uhhh nothing”. The woman continues to jabber on saying they could go just go to her house and hang out. The man then straightens up in excited and says, “Yeah that sounds awesome!” At that moment the woman flips her hair back in confusion revealing her Bluetooth and tells the person on the other line to hold on as she looks at the man in disgust, then proceeds to walk away. The man is completely embarrassed and mumbles, “Oh, I thought you were talking to me”.

            The commercial is then dubbed by a narrated voice that says, “You can’t always be smooth, but your beer should be." This new Keystone Light can is now specially lined to seal in the taste. The TV ad concludes with a final scene taking place at the cash register. As the man is getting checked out, the woman again approaches him from behind and apologizes for what happened earlier. Again the man suspects she is talking to him and attempts to converse with her. The woman reaches to her ear and says, “uh, just a second”, and the man realizes she was still on the phone and quickly turns away in discomfort.

            Keystone Light is promoting their new campaign with the focus on showing the audience and consumers that their beer is the smoothest, even when you’re not.        

Smooth Beer

You may not always get the girl but Keystone Light will always be there. The ad says "you may not always be smooth but your beer should be." More and more commercials are bashing men. Many of us think this bashing is funny, and it totally is! Funny commercials appeal to us and we like to watch them over again on YouTube and share them with our friends.

Keystone Light's target market for this ad is single men who are looking to have a fun night. The man gets excited when he thinks an attractive woman is inviting him to her house for the night. He finds out that she is not talking to him but another person on her hands free blue tooth device. After he is faced with rejection he still thinks the woman is talking to him in the checkout line. Again, he faces rejection.

This is a funny commercial and Keystone Light is trying to play off of the rejected yet humorous male figure. We find it funny when to men's reactions when they are rejected. Keystone Light is not saying that if you drink their beer you will be rejected. In fact, it is opposite. Their message is saying that if you drink their beer you will be "smooth" and won't have any problems with the ladies. The attractive female will approach you and you will be able to handle it because you drank a cold Keystone Light beer.

Emailing Marketing: Enhancement or Annoyance?

I will be the first to tell you that I enter my primary email on just about every online form that comes my way.  This is a bad habit, and I am soon reminded of my sloppy behavior when my college inbox is flooded with coupons, deals, promotions, and upcoming events for various companies.

Sifting through and taking a look at some of these emails today, they are all in my trash folder. Many of the advertisements are of very poor quality, do not link to correct pages, and are just a hassle to move around when trying to organize or clean out email inboxes. Some are so vague that it is clear the same advertisement was sent to 1 million other “lucky” customers.

Purpose

Why are these companies using email? Well, what are their objectives and what are these companies trying to accomplish? Sometimes this is difficult to understand, and I still cannot put my finger on why they do this besides a pathetic attempt to bring in more customers and ultimately increase their profit.

Coupons

Take coupons for example, many companies send out coupons and other discounts via email to every single customer in their database. Is this effective? Are coupons most effectively sent out to new or old customers? This can be answered or hypothesized with a measure of customer profitability, software tracking of spending, and the customers search habits. Many customers will buy from a company without a coupon, but others may not- and this is what companies want to track, and usually can translate over into the type, and frequency of emails a consumer will receive.

When are they sent?

Statistically, emails are viewed the most in the early morning, or in the evening. NOT in the middle of the day. Monday may be considered the least attractive day to send emails because inboxes are often filled with emails that have not been read over the weekend. Promotional advertisements may be overlooked.

Pros of using email marketing… There are not many…

• ·        Cheap
• ·        Can be personalized
• ·        Automatically individualized
• ·        Social media integration

Market Segmentation

Segmentation targeting is a good..or at least better approach companies can use for email marketing. Customization reinforces the idea that the business cares about the customer, or is trying to care. I have received emails letting me know that I have not spent money with a company in a longtime, and then they offered up a 25% off coupon on my next purchase with them. This encourages and reminds me of old habits, and maybe brings ideas of things that I want or could buy from their company.

Social Media

Companies are also integrating social media into their email advertisements much more frequently. Is this effective? It is if the consumer takes the time to click on it and falls into yet another trap. Once you have liked this company on Facebook and Twitter, they now have access to your news and twitter feeds. Not only will you be bombarded on your work and personal emails… but on your social media pages as well!

I am not convinced by email marketing. Are you still annoyed by the endless promotions and advertisements too? Many consumers have found a way around the flood of potentially useless emails; create a “fake” email address. I do not have one myself, but I know many who do. If you create an email that uses your name, and information but one that is not connected to your primary account, the junk emails that are automatically sent due to registrations, or purchases can go unseen.. or at least temporarily until that “dummy” address is checked.

Modern Class and Glamor Goes Airborne

Whipped Cream, and Fluffed Marshmallow.. now those are two modern flavors that might not remind consumers of alcohol. Not only do these flavors scream younger generations, but so does this commercial. Amber Rose is a sexy 29 year old, known for her ties with Kanye West, and recent flame with Wiz Kalifa-- and now she is the spokesperson for Smirnoff Vodka. Between her love affairs with celebrities, her unique style, and the modern setting of this commercial, it is obvious that Smirnoff Vodka is targeting their new flavors to a much younger crowd.

In the Social Media Watch blog, the idea of social media and travel were discussed in this post--Social Media and Travel.

This blog is written by Scott Monty, who is the social media head of Ford Motor Company. Scott does a great job laying out the importance of having consumer-friendly electronic usage in all airports in order for the customer service and ratings to be positive. Charging stations, wifi, as well as speed and accessibility are key aspects mentioned in his post.

These days, travel and social media go hand in hand. It is a huge advantage for a company to be able to reach their market while traveling, instead of just watching tv or going about their busy lives. While on planes, and waiting in lines during travel people (aka potential customers) have downtime and could be absorbent to many commercials , billboards , and advertisements. The blog gives an informative list as to which airports offer free wifi and charging statios per gate, as well as a list for the top 12 airports for social media power users which breaks down the best airports and cities for those who use social media platforms while traveling--whether it is for business or pleasure.

In regards to the Smirnoff commercial, I find it interesting to see how prevalent their ad is on social media websites. Located and talked about on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.. Smirnoff will hopefully reach their audience during travel as well as during their everyday life. This is especially important because the younger age that Smirnoff is targeting is often on the go. Whether this is travel by car, plane, train, or boat-- social media needs to be available. On this available social media, which is often limited (especially on something like cruise ships where access is expensive and service is scarce) Smirnoff and all companies trying to advertise need to make themselves known. Overall, Smirnoff does a good job of placing themselves on almost all social media platforms.

As for the specifics on their target market, I am thinking people of the legal drinking age, to about 30 or 35. There is a smooth, and upbeat feel to this commercial that is inviting, and entices both men and women. The music is upbeat and moves into intense tunes by the end of the commercial. The ad shows Smirnoff's new flavors in a sophisticated setting of class, and glamor just as Amber Rose herself is a diva, you may be too once you try Whipped and Fluffed vodka.

Party Sweets

Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow plus Whipped Cream vodka plus Amber Rose equals the ultimate combination! Smirnoff Vodka introduces a new commercial featuring the one and only Amber Rose. This diva is an American model, artist, actress, and socialite. She is best known for her high-profile relationship with rapper Kanye West and her recent engagement with rapper Wiz Khalifa.

The TV ad starts with a close up of Amber taking a bite out of a giant fluffy mallow as people are dancing around in a completely blued out, dream-filled room. The next shot shows a bottle of the Marshmallow vodka being poured into a fancy glass as Amber Rose says, “I might choose fluff…Then again, I might choose Whipped… Either way, vodka never felt this good.” Amber Rose hops into a limo and then onto a private jet; the commercial depicts an edgy party accompanied with Whipped Cream vodka and dancing women whipping their hair around. The underlying message here is that Fluffed is all cool and fun, while Whipped is edgy and erotic. What makes whipped cream any more “badass” than marshmallow fluff is a mystery to me, but this is the way Smirnoff portrays the flavors. This commercial attempts to show you that no matter what flavor you chose, you will not be disappointed and have a one of a kind experience. Or maybe you will chose to indulge in one flavor one night and the other the next.

Have a Beer With Your Fantasy

What’s that? If I drink Heineken I can be the most well liked man at the party? This may be so, but what if I drink Dos Equis instead? Doesn’t that make me the most interesting man at the party? Either way, beer advertisements such as these aren’t simply selling an alcoholic beverage; they are selling a fantasy and an exciting one at that.

Lets take a quick look at what that fantasy entails, especially in this ad. Our friend making his grand entrance is quite worldly, well learned, and outgoing. Is it ethically sound for Heineken to sell this fantasy to their costumers? Of course it is. They don’t make any claims about how your social life will greatly improve while drinking Heineken. Hell, they don’t even show anyone actually drinking it (which they can’t legally anyways).

That being said, Heineken gives you all the pieces to the puzzle with this ad. It is up to you to put them all together.

Be the Man

When you drink Heineken everyone will notice you when you walk into the room. It will give you a sense of entitlement and self-confidence which every man wants when they walk into the party. Heineken's ad is saying drink our beer and you will be the man. The man who can fit in with everyone, who can do anything, and who everyone wants at their party. 

Drinking Heineken will make you the jack of all trades. You can party with a prince, make jaws drop, play in a band, or make the winning score. By being this man you are able to be who everyone wants to be. All of this is accomplished just by drinking Heineken. 

Advertising like this is playing with the idea that accomplishments can easily be obtained through their product. Heineken wants to show you that it is easy to be who you want to be at a party. All you have to do is drink their beer and you will be the man!

Executing "Be a Man of the World" Campaign

The Entrance commercial is Heineken's first ad in their most recent campaign, "Be a Man of the World". The purpose of this new campaign is to shift the focus from the brand Heineken, to the person buying the beer in order to emotionally engage viewers. Many alcohol commercials embody both aspects, and I think Heineken has done a good job of making the ad about the "customer" but not forgetting to include why the advertisement exists, the brand.

 Sandrine Huijgen, manager of Global Heineken Communication, said that "a man of the world is confident, resourceful and open to new people and experiences when making an entrance – with a defining choice of beer".

I think this ad ultimately reaches a broad audience because of how employable it is from the aspect of many demographics. The humor is fun to watch, and easy to laugh at; every encounter the man experiences brings something different to the table.

From a 21 year old woman, to a 50 year old man, many people enjoy social gatherings, and some of those people especially enjoy being the social butterfly at the party like the man in "The Entrance". He made a strong and memorable entrance, just as Heineken wants their brand to be strong as memorable to consumers of all ages. 

The Entrance

“The Entrance” is not only the title of this next commercial, but the perfect way to describe the entirety of Heineken’s ad. The commercials starts off with a man getting dropped off in front of a building as what looks to be paparazzi snapping photos of him as he walks in. Right as this mystery man steps foot inside he is greeted by an elderly man who seems ecstatic to see him. As he continues on, he is offered a couple drinks; either a cocktail or a Heineken. After shrugging off the cocktail he reaches for the Heineken but is pulled away by another guest before he can grab it. The commercial continues with this suited man acquainting himself with almost every guest at the party. Each time the greeting is a little different with a fun twist, as if he has an inside joke with each affiliate. He encounters a standoff with a stout cowboy-looking man; he draws his imaginary gun and fires a direct shot and watches the man stumble backwards, then proceeds to embrace his friend with a hug. The oh so popular man continues through the party performing tricks and charades impressing the all guest members. He comes across a martial arts expert and carries out a series of blocks and punches as the two men pass a Heineken bottle back and forth. The sequence ends with the gentleman handing over the Heineken to the “ninja man” with a smile. The commercial concludes with the mystery man twirling and playing a flute with the band and singer, and accepting a fresh Heineken from a waiter.

Like the old saying quotes, “The party don’t start till I walk in” is exactly what this commercial is portraying. This man literally walked in and started the party. Heineken wants to show the audience that their beer is the optimal choice of beverage at an event and will kick off the night.

Working Like a Dog

A beer company that advocates for the rescuing of pets in need? Now that’s something new. However, using benevolence, good causes, or other charitable actions to market products or services is a tried and tested method for moving merchandize (especially Tom’s Shoes).

But what is the real ethical responsibility that an organization or company takes when they attach themselves to a cause? One could say it depends on what they claim to do. In our case, with Wego the rescue dog, Bud Light simply gives publicity to a cause, and not much more.

Could they/ should they do more? That’s up to personal opinion. Overall, Budwiser is able to show that even though they care about the “good time,” they also care about other stuff too, like pets that need of good homes.

In the end, it seems as though both Bud Light and needy pets are winners in this equation. However judging by the work load of poor Wego, it looks like he may have gotten the short end of the stick.