Zappos presents: New & Nude [Advertisements]

Zappos.

What’s the first thing that came to your mind?

If you said “shoes”, then you were among the majority of all 15 people I polled. Zappos is currently redesigning its advertising campaigns, focusing on the tagline of, “more than just shoes”.

I think that this is an incredibly smart move on their behalf. By changing the face of their company and products in such a shocking and vibrant way, they are immediately increasing knowledge and awareness.

There has been some controversy surrounding the ads, deeming them “too inappropriate.” Personally, I think they are clever, funny, and eye-catching.

Zappos showed us that all it takes to change people’s knowledge about your brand is a change of clothes—or should I say, lack thereof?

"Wild" about WWF

Animals are not my thing.

Don't get me wrong--I have a heart. I just have never had, nor wanted a pet. This week, a series of advertisements put out by the World Wildlife Fund caught my eye in a surprising way. World Wildlife Fund has been protecting the future of our nature for over 50 years. WWF's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.

Normally I would skip right over an advertisements talking about animals due to lack of interest, but their latest campaign really stood out to me:

The advertisements are simple, yet incredibly relevant and intense just through wording alone. Each of the advertisements uses a different word to describe the animal and scenario, including “horrifying”, “alarming”, “frightening”, and a few others.

 Although I personally would be "horrified" [and probably lose my mind] if I saw a shark in the ocean, I completely understood the importance of the advertisement and WWF's reasoning behind it.

This also opened my eyes to how a particular advertisement about a Wildlife Organization can reach a completely different demographic. We all have the friends who cry at the Humane Society commercials, but I never expected myself to be doing research on the WWF; it's all because of this particular  campaign.

Although I may not be adopting a kitten anytime soon, I can support a good cause.

Questioning "College Essentials"

Amazing deals.

Everything you need.

One store. 

            Really though, Target is fantastic. Ever since I began elementary school, I have always done my back to school shopping there. Although I was leaving for my first year college this August, I figured that Target was still the way to go.

            SHOPPING DAY: After collecting all my essentials, I began to wander around. I found a ton of things that weren’t on my list: extra 3M hooks, a new alarm clock, & beer pong supplies.

Wait… WHAT?

(Due to my lack of a smart phone, I had to find a picture online. It proved interesting though, for this display is from 2010, showing that this was not the first year the supplies were sold together.)

            Family-friendly Target had one of the most surprising displays I’ve seen in a long time. The display included your classic red Solo cups (Target brand) as well as a fresh pack of ping-pong balls and a table! Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t offended in any sense, I was just completely taken aback by this end-of-aisle display.

            As I said earlier, Target will always be a family brand in my mind. The store has everything from clothes (toddler-adult), to electronics, toys, pet-care, to food! In addition, Target’s models have always appeared modest in their advertising. This new step in a college-oriented direction made me take a step back and question their judgment. I think more people would be upset by Target’s blatant status quo of “college drinking” than if the display hadn’t of been there. I was at Target anyways just for my basic supplies.

            Beirut, pong, call it what you like. There’s a time and place for it….but at Target? I think not.