Nostalgic Brands

Walt Disney is best known for the products of its film studio that mostly appeal to a younger audience. However, with there recent re-releasing of old Disney movies in 3D and the whole "Disney Vault" campaign have audiences rethinking who exactly is the target of the brand. In fact, it makes me wonder if Disney's target audience are the children who watch them or the adults who saw them as kids and want to revisit their fond memories.

Disney is one of those great nostalgia brands, I know for me when I see that palace in a Disney film's credits I feel like I am 6 years old all over again. What Disney have started doing by re-releasing such films as Beauty and the Beast (1991) in 3D, is that they are really reaching out to those who watched that film as children when it was first released. To see recycled Disney films still shown in theaters having success is astonishing and one of the reasons are successful is because they are appealing to the "grown up kids" with the feeling of revisiting there childhood along with the stories we loved as children while at the same time appealing to the younger generation with the 3D computer animation (PIXAR) which is entertaining for them.


In there Disney Vault campaign, the company has cleverly decided to seize the release of films such as "The Little mermaid", 'Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast", "Snow White","Pinocchio" so that they can be released in a few years. Disney says they do this to keep the movies fresh for a new generation, but it seems to me that by locking up there product away from the public, it will cause people to either completely forget about them or pass on those kids that haven't seen it yet and by the time Disney release them once again, they will have them because they grew up already. On the other hand, since they have many other new material coming out all the time, I think that the company can afford to do this and it almost seems like an investment or safety net just in case some of there new material isn't working out so well they can just go back to the vault and release that old content that is sure to bring back viewers. Some of the major disadvantages are that the vault doesn't make the films any more valuable, that it is pointless to attempt to lock something away when it is available online through legal avenues and most of all that if the films are broadcast on television, the whole idea of a limited-release vault seems pointless.

Overall, I think that Disney has successfully revived their brand by tapping into our existing memories and people have accepted and revisited the brand for the sense of nostalgia that it brings. In addition, I think that in an attempt to compensate for there overdose of new material and changing art, Disney have latched on to the idea that we long for and return to things that are stable and familiar. However, Disney really ought to re-think the limited-release strategy that they've branded as the Disney Vault because in this day and age, if people want to see the content, they will see it regardless.

Brand Communities/ Loyalty

I believe that brand communities like Harley-Davidson have in fact been greatly involved with the brand, and the reason being is that the more they are around the Harley-Davidson brand, the more it is discussed and new products will be desired by these communities no matter what. For instance, when a new android phone hits the market, the first people who order it are usually those loyal fans that have been talking about it on the forums or web pages of the internet community. I think that the fact that the Posse Ride is not regulated by the company employees but the riders themselves automatically gives a sense of freedom and carefree riding among the community. This strategy also helps to improve rider satisfaction by setting goals and checkpoints to achieve throughout the journey. It seems much more intuitive to let the riders enjoy the ride without being too involved because bombarding the consumer with constant regulations can easily make the experience stale. Create your own custom Harley-Davidson and compete with others to see who has the most unique design then encouraging riders to  share there unique designs with the community or even allow the customers to have input on what there newest model bike design should look like. Brand loyalty plays a large role in successful companies like Apple because some consumers have built an image which they feel is almost never going to fail and will support any product the companies makes (apple-fanboys / iSheep) no matter what it is or how good the competition is.

The sad thing is that people would actually this.

Coke Zero

I think that this was an example of deceptive advertisement used by the Coca Cola company and that they could have been more straight forward in there blog and didn't give the consumer enough information about the source of the campaign. I think that many other companies have positioned their product as "diet" instead of "low calorie" successfully but I think that "diet" drinks In North America have a preconceived notion that they have some sort of aftertaste which could take away from the overall perception of the product.

I think that this technique of a "fake blog" was superfluous and that the ad campaign would of had a more positive reaction from consumers with a more authentic ad campaign and this was a leap of faith that didn't really have as many positive outcomes as they might have thought or hoped for.

As a consumer, I know that there are advertisements out there that have backfired on a company and actually lost potential customers. For example, Apple's now removed 'Genius' TV ad campaign included three ads that aired during the Olympic Games London 2012 opening ceremony and received a very mixed reception. It portrayed the customer as clueless and in a way insulted the customer which made it unpopular with consumers, it was also seen as a very low point in the companies marketing and that is probably why Apple removed them completely. In general, when a company uses an advertising technique that doesn't work or is received with negative feedback, that it is the responsibility of the company to learn from that mistake and improve without having to resort to 'fake blogs' or insulting the consumer.

Bike Lanes

With the recent fall of the economy the rate of growth in bike commuting has risen dramatically. Many people who commute to work or school have used or seen a bike lane on the side of the street. As a frequent bicyclist, I have noticed that many cities including San Jose have not enforced mandatory bike lanes for all of the main roads and intersections used by bicyclists. Some of the benefits for having bike lanes include; a decrease in sidewalk riding; lower rate of wrong-way riding, as well as an increase in helmet usage. Out of the 70 largest U.S. Cities that have "Bike Commuters", San Francisco and Oakland are in the top 5. Downtown San Jose is full of students that commute daily and an increase in bike lanes will not only make it safer for the students, but it will also encourage others to ride which has obvious benefits (reduced pollution, healthier alternative). In addition, Drivers don't have to "Share the Road" and look out for any potential riders if there is a dedicated lane for bicyclists which they know to stay off of.

In August of 2010 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom implemented a city wide campaign which would add 31 miles to the existing 48 miles of bike lanes in the City, an increase of 64 percent. I feel like the improvements have not continued since then and San Francisco's current mayor, Mayor Edwin M. Lee as well as San Jose's Mayor Chuck Reed have not done enough about this issue.

Stereotypes: Race

The topic of race hasn't always been sensitive issue in the media. In the past, using racism in advertising was an acceptable marketing strategy. Today, standards have changed yet it's not too difficult to find traces of racist attitudes in commercials and pictures.

Few races have been joked more about for their accent than people of Indian decent. The stereotype that all Indian people are tech supporters and speak with amusing accents is well known in our society. Advertisers have used this stereotype to add comedic value to their campaigns. For example, MetroPCS's Tech and Talk with Ranjit and Chad are spokesman that answer calls and tell customers about their great service while performing amusing antics. The ad features two middle-aged Indian men with accents dispensing advice on cell phone usage. The joke relies on the notion that Indians are disproportionately employed as tech-help jockeys or in tech-help call centers.

"How in any way is this appropriate? It makes Indians appear stuck in the 80s, in love with distasteful patterns and crappy techno."

"With bellydancers backing two dorky, fast-talking Indian American computer wizards, it's veritably stuffed with flat, racist stereotypes. Counseling a customer stuck in a cell phone contract, the tecchies use the lop-sided language of the third world"

In addition to advertisers, the popular late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live has a recurring segment of the show that outsources the joke-writing to an Indian call center. The segment portrays a group of Indians with relatively thick accents telling jokes on the topics given to them. These stereotypes are not really used to broaden a message but more as a comedic element that people have been exposed to. The general classification, although not really that negative do have their disadvantages when thought of as difficult to communicate with because of an assumed accent.