guinness advertisements

Here are some guinness advertisements I stumble across while researching my paper.

http://www.adbrands.net/uk/guinness_uk.htm

These ads reflect on Guinness creative and adverse advertiseing techniques.

Interbrand Website

Looking at the top global brands in the world, I’m not surprised to recognize most of them. This is due to their effect advertising on a global market. I also noted that the top 10 are all American based companies, something to say for the land of opportunity.

 Coke, being number one does a fantastic job relating to different cultures and selling their product. While in Ireland it was interesting to see that most soda products seen in stores were coke products. Although Pepsi is the number one competitor in the United states, they were absent on the global market. Part of coca colas success story is their ability to appeal to all people. They advertise through sports, charities, youth organizations, theme parks, concerts, ect. As a result they are number one in the world with sales of $1.7 billion annually.

            Next there was Microsoft, a titan in the computer industry. It is through advertising that they are successful globally, however it is also due to their success with contracts that their revenue remains to be as high as it is. Microsoft is the third most successful company in the world because of their ability to create a universal product for the world as well as convincing people to buy it due to its compatibility with windows. Their strategy is to give the people what they need as well as making it as user friendly as possible.

            It was interesting to see Google as number four on the list. Google’s strategy is different then most companies. Instead of advertising themselves, they have created a way to become the front page of the internet by being a search engine. They then provide services such as email, movies, new, weather ect. Basically what most people are looking for quickly is provided instantly by Google on their homepage. Now Google’s advertising strategy is different because instead of advertising their homepage, they sell advertisement spaces on their page. Due to its popularity companies want their logo on the front pages for viewers to see while browsing. Basically they advertise through success in order to sell advertisements, which is quite fascinating to me.

            McDonald’s is also amongst the top ten. They do a great job of appealing to the cultural needs and norms in order to sell their product successfully in all corners of the globe. The McDonald’s image can vary depending on where you go in both their store and advertisements. This shows McDonald’s ability to diversify to fit the cultural norms. Their store can vary in shape and interior design, the menu can vary, toppings on burgers, and their advertising strategies. Reflecting on all of the Hofstede Dimensions by doing so. McDonalds also does a lot for charities, children through the Ronald McDonald fund, and conforming to societies wants such as making a healthier menu. It is because of this that McDonalds is found most anywhere you travel in the world and is the most success restaurant in the world.

While exploreing the interactive graphs I found that some companies or types of companies are sepcific to certain regions of the world. For example, Asia's top companies are only car companies and electronics. This was interesting to me that a region would be specific like this. However other places such as Europe and the United States I found were more diversified in their tope businesses. This made more sense to me because I feel that a business needs room to grow, although competition is helpful somtimes, it is hindering when trying to expand to the size of competeing on a global market.

High/Low Culture

Masculine/feminine-The idea of this ad is that drinking Guinness makes you stronger. Strength is very much a goal to reach when aiming for masculinity, so Guinness is clearly trying to advertise towards the more masculine audience. According to the Hofstede dimension scores, Ireland is predominantly masculine, so this ad would be effective in Ireland because of its concentration on the masculine side of the culture.

Individualism/collectivism- This ad is supporting collectivism. Social networking is bringing people together to form a group. Therefore, Heineken is encouraging people to come together and apparently has been since 1873. Ireland is very much individualistic; therefore this ad doesn’t really conform to their values.

Power distance- Guinness is trying to advertise to even the lower-income consumers. At only €3.30 a pint, anyone can afford it. They’re trying to increase their pool of consumers by showing that anyone can buy Guinness. Ireland has a low power distance score, so this ad is reflective of their view towards social class.

Long-term orientation- This ad encourages people to eat healthier. They are trying to attract people to their company by advertising that famous, fit people also eat their food. Subway is trying to convey the idea that people will be healthier in the long run if they eat their products. Ireland has a lower long-term orientation score, so this ad doesn’t really reflect the culture very well. Since it’s aiming to encourage people to eat healthier for the long term, it wouldn’t be effective if people don’t have that same point of view.

Uncertainty avoidance- This ad for electric cigarettes is an example of weak uncertainty avoidance because the company doesn’t need to explain itself or provide facts to prove that the product works. Consumers trust the company and have enough information about it already to know that, if they use the product, it will work. Ireland’s uncertainty avoidance score is also low, so this ad works well in this culture, since people don’t require a lot of information and fact to trust that a product works.

culture and consumer behavior

Individual/feminine- The Carlsberg commercial portrays feminist characteristics by showing togetherness and having everyone share everything. As the new guy is taking a tour of the house, everyone is getting along with each other and having a good time, which is how women generally behave. Another female point of view is that everyone should share and get along, like in this commercial. Everything is being shared except for the Carlsberg beer. They show individualism by having the beer be the only thing not being shared. The guy giving the tour has his own beer that he can claim for himself. He is an individual in that sense.

Individual/masculine- In the Diet Pepsi commercial, they show individualism simply by having the man have his own ideas about how his life is going to play out. His ideas aren’t based on the social norm. In the same way, the commercial is also masculine because the idea behind it is that conforming to the norm isn’t good. It’s saying that you always have to be better than the norm, which is a huge pressure on males in our society.

Collective/feminine- The Movistar Spain commercial, the people are together, socializing at a restaurant that clearly reflects their culture. This is how the company is gearing the commercial towards the idea of being collective. They also use more feminine activities such as singing and talking in this advertisement to show the feminine side.  

Collective/masculine- In the Tiovita Japan commercial, they show a group of similar looking men playing football or rugby together, showing them as a collective group. They also portray the masculine qualities of playing a hard sport, of being fit, and yelling and acting tough.

Magazine article

For my magazine I chose Cosmo. Known for its sexually explicit articles and advice, the magazine is quite popular for ladies, reading up on the latest fashions, tips and how to’s. While in Ireland I looked at a Irish version on it I found at a convenient store, the first thing I noticed was that the celebrities in it were different, obviously famous people in Ireland and Europe. I am used to seeing celebrities that I recognize however there were few that I did. An obvious difference was also that it was less, shall I say, “raunchy”, than its American counterpart. It was much smaller, and its intended purpose was for travel and fashion. Both use advertisements for fashion, makeup, perfume and the latest looks however the ads differ in their appearance. The American ad’s, again seem to push the envelope further. This surprised me since Europe is known for its freer lifestyle and more acceptable sexually explicit ads seen in public. My original assumption was that it would be the opposite that it was. Finally, both magazine still portray the ‘ideal’ image of women and push them to perfection.

Value Structure map

Heineken advertisement

            The next advertisement I found made me laugh when I first saw it. It was a Heineken ad, using the traditional colors and logos. However this one was a giant billboard that read “Social Networking Since 1873.” I thought this was great how Heineken used the up and coming hype of social networking such as face book. A newly discovered trend that has the world in awe with its power and possibilities. This is Heineken’s clever way of saying, “Hey world, I know you recently love social networking but guess what, we’ve been doing it for a long time now.” And of course theoretically they have since drinking a few beers does in fact bring both friends and strangers together and allows them to be social and network. Heineken has a point, which I never thought of before this ad, social networking has been around before face book made it online and brought consumer awareness to it.