MARMOT'S FIRST SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

     It doesn't matter if you are a sports fan. It doesn't matter if you watch the NFL. Every February I guarantee you have heard about at least one of the most sought out advertising spaces there is.... The infamous Super Bowl commercials.
     Super Bowl 2016 aired 62 commercials from 53 different advertisers to 112 million viewers. For the first time in history, Marmot, an outdoor equipment and apparel company, aired a 5 million dollar super bowl commercial. This will also be the introduction to their new mascot... a fuzzy little marmot, that is implied to be male (see the teaser advertisement below, titled "Meet the Marmot Soon: Aah").

    This commercial, along with the advertising campaign that it kicked off, caught my attention for several reasons. For starters, I'm an avid outdoor enthusiast working towards a degree in business and marketing. I would one day hope to work for an outdoor equipment company. Marmot is a brand that I am already familiar with, so naturally I am interested in their advertisements. What really sparked my interest on this particular commercial was the controversy surrounding it, the way in which they introduced their mascot, and the approach they used to change their desired audience.

     Along with the teaser above, Marmot released two more teasers:

     The one above, titled "Meet the Marmot Soon: Campfire," and the one below, "Meet the Marmot Soon: Angels."

     It seemed that, between the teasers and Marmot's Super Bowl debut, audiences everywhere were excited to see what Marmot would present. They would soon be... very confused.

     The 30 second 5 million dollar commercial (which was more then their entire budget for advertising the previous year) followed the story of a man and his marmot friend on a camping trip. It begins with the friends climbing out of their matching Marmot tents first thing in the morning, to realize they are wearing matching Marmot coats. The song "Friends" by Flight of the Conchords begins to play, which coincides perfectly with the theme of the commercial. As the story continues, the friends do outdoor activities together, such as hiking, swimming and roasting marshmallows. They even make pine needle angels together (as shown in the teaser). Nothing too unusual, other then one being a marmot, of course. The ad ends with the pair watching a sunset.... That's when the story line goes off the beaten path. The man leans over to kiss the marmot... that's when he is slapped and told "I'm not that kind of marmot." Marmot then presents their new advertising slogan "Fall in Love with the Outside."

     The ad in its Super Bowl (February 7, 2016) debut entirety lasted 30 confusing seconds. However, Marmot originally made the ad to play for a full minute. The full commercial adds fishing to the activities the friends participate in. It also includes the teaser clip "Meet the Marmot: Aah," to which it is insinuated that the marmot is a male. It is the ending that added to the confusion of the viewers even more. As if you thought that wasn't possible! The story takes a turn when the man tries to kiss the marmot. The marmot still slaps the man, however he says "What the...." and begins kissing the man back. You then see a lot of confused wildlife, such as deer, bears and owls. When the camera goes back to the man and marmot watching the sunset, there's a woman and her daughter looking disgusted and surprised, staring at the friends. This is the way in which Marmot chose to kick off their ad campaign "Fall in Love with the Outside Road Tour."

     Typically I would say that the "plain folks" persuasive technique was used in this commercial. However, I'm not sure that a rodent kissing man is considered to be a normal, every day person... I do know, though, that there is a storytelling technique utilized. There's a story of a man and his friend and their outdoor experience that led to....love? I believe that this technique would have been more effectively utilized if it had not involved bestiality. 

     If Marmot was going for a different approach then other companies, they definitely accomplished their goal. It is safe to say that consumers had not yet seen advertisement like this before! In 2013, Geico released a commercial that created an uproar in regards to bestiality, but it was less.... hands on. Here is that commercial:

 

There were two main disturbances with the Super Bowl ad that Marmot aired: does it promote bestiality, and is it "one long no-homo joke," as stated by the Washington Post? The reviews show that there is mixed feelings between viewers, but we will get into that later in this post.

    The goal of the "Fall in Love with the Outside" campaign was to reach more mainstream retail shoppers (Marmot had a 4% decline in net sales last year). The focus was on simple pleasures in the outdoors versus big adventures. This would reach a whole new demographic. To bring sales back up, the company was attempting to appeal to people who enjoy simple pleasures in the outdoors such as fishing, swimming, hiking, and camping. Not just consumers who go on big adventures, such as backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, tight rope walking, etc. This would help Marmot to expand its shares in mainstream retail and change its focus on the lower income demographics. This commercial shifted the company's focus from the extreme adventurers to encouraging people to just get outdoors and fall in love with it.

     The ad presents a strong change in demographics. Adventure Journal posted the commercial on their Facebook page, receiving a comment from one consumer stating "I just simply thought I am no longer their demographic." It shows consumers that, although Marmot is a name brand, they don't just cater to the extreme adventurer, but everyday people. Whether it be a simple camping trip with swimming and fishing, or backpacking into the unknown, Marmot has a product for you! Because of this, and the odd, yet humorous, tactic used, this did engage younger, lower income consumers that I believe was the target audience. The downfall to this ad is that it creates great confusion among its viewers. Sure, the ad shows that Marmot is an outdoor apparel and equipment company, but I think viewers don't understand the point in showing a man kissing a rodent, even if it is his friend. If Marmot was going for a shock factor to make the commercial memorable and talked about, they accomplished their goal! According to adweek.com, tracking technology provided data showing that the ad was the second most engaged ad of the Super Bowl at about 88% engagement, which rated higher then 98.5% of the ads shown. 

     In addition to the Super Bowl commercial kicking off the campaign "Fall in Love with the Outside Road Tour," Marmot has utilized social media to bring in consumers. The Road Tour presents tent pitching contests, in store events, an insider's guide to every national park in America, live music, craft beer, and meaningful conversations about health benefits of getting outside, even if it's just in your backyard. The campaign is also raising money to help maintain local trails for future generations. All tour dates and stops are announced via Twitter and Facebook for all to see. Social media has also assisted in the spread of the first ever Super Bowl Marmot commercial, with millions of media posts and tweets. On The Mountaineers tweet in regards to the interesting sales pitch, one follower tweeted "Ummmm amazing. Nothing shy of genius."

     Besides social media outlets, there's plenty of discussion about the controversial advertising move. People either seem to love it or hate it, but never in between:

The Memphis Daily News reports "This Super Bowl rookie stole the show..." and "Marmot wins on it's storytelling abilities, how well it connects with consumers, how memorable the spot is and the clarity with which it communicates what it sells."

While Forbes.com states "Puzzled viewers probably won't be running out in the cold to buy an outdoor jacket after that."

The Chicago Tribune and Washington Post ranked Marmot's advertising technique as one of the worst ads, while The Oregonian dubbed it one of the best.

Performics.com claims "Marmot was one of the few Super Bowl advertiser brand keywords that broke into Google's top 20 searches during or directly after the game."

Tvline.com displayed pole results for Marmot's unique advertising strategy as follows:

• Awesome      20.55%
• Very Good    28.24%
• It was OK     28.85%
• Subpar          10.82%
• Fail               11.54%

     Based off the ad, I would probably not check out the company and all it has to offer. Sure, they offer outdoor equipment and apparel for those that like the simple outdoor activities. Unfortunately, that just doesn't make me want to jump up and see what exactly they have to offer. I wouldn't recommend the brand to others either. On the flip side, I wouldn't tell them not to check it out. In the end, though, I have shown the ad to people. Marmot has that going for them at least.

     Based off Marmot's unusual choice of advertising techniques, I've drawn the conclusion that going with a memorable commercial does in fact add more advertising. If you didn't watch the Super Bowl and see the commercial air, it's okay because I'm sure somewhere, somehow, you either saw it or heard about it anyways.

     I've learned a lot from examining this particular marketing strategy. There are many ways to get your name or product out there to people that probably wouldn't have heard about what you have to offer. Even if it is a controversial choice of advertising, in the end, consumers will hear your name. That, in itself, is advertisement. 

     When I took a closer look at marketing techniques and specific advertisement strategies, I found myself looking at every companies commercials in a whole new light. Who would've thought about how the ads we see are created, or why? I sure didn't! I find myself wondering how I can market a product or a company name differently then how they chose to. Maybe that's just because of the career path I have chosen for myself. Maybe it's because I'm curious to see what I, myself, could come up with. In the end, the challenge is accepted....

Below are a few links to blogs that spoke of Marmot's fascinating advertisement techniques:

https://blogs.www.edu/marketing311fall2016/2016/11/16/superbowl-commercials/

globalcocktails.com/was-the-marmot-super-bowl-ad-homophobic-you-decide/

www.rohitbhargava.com/2016/02/best-and-worst-of-superbowl-marketing-strategy-2016.html

nerdist.com/flight-of-the-conchords-score-the-marmot-super-bowl-ad/

  

   

PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES OF ADVERTISING

The two ads I chose to review are (the first) a Patagonia ad. The second one is an advertisement for a shake weight (yes I actually did watch this recently).

The Patagonia ad shows the kind of activities that people who use Patagonia products participate in, and the amazing places they explore. In this ad, there is also Patagonia products displayed. What stood out to me is that they show the types of activities that their products are used in. Patagonia makes outdoor gear, and outdoor activities should be used to advertise that type of gear. The audience they are targeting are outdoor enthusiasts, therefore they need to show outdoor activities like they did. This ad displays the association principle technique for this reason. I believe this technique is very effective in this ad. People who are in need of outdoor gear want to see video clips of the places they want to be and situations where outdoor gear is necessary.

The ad for the shake weight displays a muscle toned man using the shake weight to work out. What stood out to me was how unrealistic the product is. Especially to obtain a body with that much muscle. The makers of the Shake Weight are targeting anyone who is looking to get more muscle tone by not having to go to the gym. I would most associate this advertisement with a plain-folks pitch. It's so easy, anyone can do it type of pitch. For me, this advertisement did not work. The whole concept doesn't make sense to me. It's not that easy to get a toned body and especially not from just shaking something around while looking ridiculous.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

     I've decided since Facebook is, what I believe to be, one of the most popular social networking sites, that I would use it for this advertising evaluation experiment. I am an avid outdoor explorer, and one of my favorite brands is Patagonia. So I started my search for Patagonia's Facebook page.
     The first thing I notice when I view Patagonia's Facebook page, is that they use social networking for advertising. Instantly I see ads for sleeping bags. That's pretty much expected when you look at a brand's page. No big surprise.
     As I begin to explore this page, I notice there's videos posted on their timeline. Coincidentally, these videos are sponsored by Patagonia. None the less, these videos showcase what Patagonia is all about... outdoor exploration.
      Patagonia also uses social media to show appreciation to their customers. For example: there's a post asking customers of Patagonia sleeping bags to share their pictures of themselves in their sleeping bags. This also is a way of encouraging their followers to interact with them, while also advertising the sale of their product to people just like you and me.
     I believe that using a social media network is a genius idea for Patagonia or any brand. They aim to target anyone who has a love for the outdoors. Anything outdoors. Everything outdoors. I believe this is very effective for advertising. The fact that there's 1,007,995 people that like their page, and 994,200 people currently following status updates, speaks for itself. Every time someone "likes" the page, that persons friends see it in their news feed. If they are unaware of what Patagonia represents, they might look into it. If they are aware of what Patagonia is all about, they just might go check out their page and see what's going on in the outdoor adventure world. Every person that visits the page will see advertising for Patagonia products.
     Patagonia does a great job at using social media as part of their advertising campaign. With that being said, there are some improvements that I believe would better promote their products. I would recommend more contests to where followers could win Patagonia products. They aren't cheap, so it would be nice to be able to win a product to test out. Another suggestion I would make would be to have more videos on product reviews. Q&A's would also be very helpful. As a consumer, and not financially well endowed, I would like to see what other consumers think about specific Patagonia products. Nobody wants to spend a ton of money on a product just to get home and realize it was a complete waste.
   

THE INTERNET

     As time goes by, I realize more and more how human interaction has decreased due to a majority of the population always looking down at their cell phones. From public transportation, in the line at the grocery store, walking down the street, and even driving down the road. Nobody seems to make eye contact with one another, or even hold there heads up for that matter!

     Sherry Turkle's video, "Connected, But Alone?" explains the sad truth about how disconnected we are to one another anymore. I think she explains perfectly how technology today is creating an environment of seclusion and causing our children to lack in basic communication skills that are necessary, even in a world where technology has provided us with alternate means of communication. For example: when a group of friends get together, nobody is talking to one another. Instead, they are all looking down at their phones, completely ignoring each other. It's a personal pet peeve of mine to be talking with someone and they won't put their phone down. I find it rude and disrespectful. What happened to eye contact during conversations? For this reason, I make it a point to not be on my phone when spending valuable time with the people I care about. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter... none of these things are of importance when you sacrifice valuable time with someone that you will never again be able to retrieve. I find it most entertaining when people take a picture with you to post as a status update that they're having such a great time.... yet they are actually looking at their phone the entire time, off in a different place. These examples show our children how life is lived. We are showing our children that social media and digital games are more important to us then actually spending to together. This generation of children are losing the valuable skills of actually communication with each other in person, not just via media. 

     I like to group the concept of digital gaming with that of social media. They are both amazing at distracting our attention and requiring us to ignore the world around it. Sure, it's great when you need to kill some time, but not as an every spare second distraction. I won't lie. I, too, have a game on my phone. Yes, just one. Yes, you guessed it... Candy Crush! It's a game that, when needed, helps me to kill a few minutes. Sometimes this is while waiting in the car for someone, or, the most common need, while waiting for my sister to get ready to go somewhere. The most appealing aspect of this game is that I can just close out of it at any time and it doesn't matter. I may lose a turn, but I don't have to get to a stopping point. I don't need to tell anyone I'm playing against that I need to go. Nothing. When my spare few minutes of boredom has ended, so has my game.

     Honestly, I like to keep my attention in the real world. The physical world. I much rather live my life through actions then through a persona I create about myself online. I can't say I spend a lot of time on any social networking site or on digital games. A rough estimate of the amount of time I spend in a week on these activities is about 2 hours total. Even that is too much for my liking. Social media is merely a means of resources for planning my adventure trips, which I try to do weekly. I run out of ideas of new places to explore quite rapidly, so suggestions from others that enjoy the same activities is extremely helpful. During those lonely smoke breaks, Candy Crush comes to use. That's where I like to end my online, digital gaming, social networking, ignore the world experience. 

     It's always intriguing to hear someone express their opposing point of views. Please feel free to leave comments on your opinions on the matter, or how these modern world communication sources affect your life. Would you like to change the role they play in your life?

TWITTER AND SOCIAL MEDIA

     This week I have been studying social media and the effects it has on my life. Below are just a few thoughts I have on the subject. Everyone has their own opinions and uses for social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and I would love to hear how social media plays a role in your life, so please feel free to comment!

     To start, I would like to say that I've had a Facebook account for about ten years now. However, I am new to twitter. Most of the experiences and opinions I express, therefore, mostly come from Facebook.

     I use my Facebook account as a resource for finding new areas to explore. For this reason, I would have to say my top 3 people/organizations that I follow would have to be: 1.) Girls Who Hike Oregon, 2.) Hiking In The Pacific Northwest, and 3.) Oregon Hikers. Yes, they are all hiking pages! Don't worry, I'm also apart of some Colorado and Utah groups as well. I just utilize the Oregon pages more frequently for funding reasons!

     I see a lot of  Facebook status's that I find interesting and/or funny. Those are great for entertainment purposes when I'm bored, but the status's that I enjoy reading and find very useful to apply to my life are those that I find on my hiking pages and groups. The best status update I've seen lately is a video posted about the 15 best one night backpacking trips in Oregon. This post stood out to me because I find it very useful. I do a lot of hiking and backpacking but don't always have a few days to go on trips. It's nice to find information and reviews on places I can go on an adventure with a limited amount of time.

     If you've read the above paragraph instead of skipping through this blog post, you might get the idea that I use social media to enhance my life outside of electronics. My main purpose of having any type of social media account is to be able to get information on places I'm interested in visiting. I feel that social media has enhanced my ability to experience these amazing adventures that I otherwise might not know about. I would definitely have to say that's about the only way social media of any kind has enhanced my participation in anything, including democracy and government. The only reason why I participate in social media is to broaden my horizons on places to explore. That, and I'm a business/marketing major, so obviously social media activity definitely is a must!

     I'm very interested in knowing what others use social media and networking for in their lives! Please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks!