Comic Book Product Placement

People normally like to read comic books to escape reality but it seems reality is catching up all too quickly. Our (*cough* my) favourite super heroes like Batman, Spiderman and Iron Man may be able to save mankind from all kinds of disasters but they are powerless to stop one thing: advertisers splashing products all over the pages of the comics they call home. Check out these examples as proof.

Green Arrow - Fruit Pie

Punisher War Journal - Guitar Hero 

Catwoman - Converse

Secret Warriors - Cisco Webex

Batman and The Mummy - Twinkies

The Irredeemable Ant-Man - Old Spice Hydro Red Zone Body Wash

New X-Men - Nike

Adventures of Sam Spade - Wildroot Cream Oil Hair Tonic

Subliminal Messages In Advertising

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” -Will Rogers

The above quote by Will Rogers is just one of the many criticisms people have about advertising. Throughout my study at college I heard it all; advertising is immoral, manipulative, it promotes gluttony, vanity, materialism, and other unhealthy ways of thinking, and of course, it creates artificial product needs in consumers.

But advertisers can’t ‘make’ you want things you don’t need right? Many think they can! Their argument for this? Well marketers just implant the messages into advertisements subliminally of course.

The phrase subliminal advertising was coined in 1957 by US market researcher James Vicary. He said he could get moviegoers to drink Coca-Cola and eat popcorn by flashing those messages onscreen for such a short time that viewers would be unaware the messages flashed at all.

Although this kind of advertising is no longer allowed marketers still chhekingly try to use subliminal messaging to link their products to things like sex and power. Check out the selection of subliminal adverts below.

Money equals sex! Well, so say the palm trees. . .

Ever noticed the naked man in the camel logo?

Cover the ladies head and the glass on the right and say what you see! (actually maybe not, let's keep this blog PG13!)

Needless to say when Coke found out about this the artist was fired!

Yes I'll have a Gin on the sex please! Ooops I meant rocks!

Need I say it?

Flash Mobs: The Next Evolution in Advertising

“flash mob (FLASH mawb) n. A large group of people who gather in a predetermined location, perform some brief action, and then quickly disperse.”

Imagine the scene; you’re walking down the street, it is a quite and serine sunny afternoon, then all of a sudden music is blasted from some unknown source and 200 seemingly strangers break out into a perfectly choreographed song and dance. When the song ends, the crowd disperses just as quickly as they appeared. First thought that comes to mind – they (or you) must be crazy. . .something very weird is going on right? Wrong. In fact, you’ve just become witness to a flash mob.

Flash mobs are taking the world by storm. They’re leaving people everywhere inspired, stunned and amused by the wonderful randomness of them. You may recall me mentioning previously on my blog that marketers have to find new ways to attract consumers’ attention, well what better way than this?

Companies like Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, Sky and Samsung have all jumped on the bandwagon, and why not? Flash mobs are the perfect marketing tool for those looking to advertise big on a small budget. They engage consumers and draw a lot of attention to a brand. Check out a few examples from companies (and their fans) who have done it right below.

T Mobile

Coca-Cola

TNT

Nivea

Sky