Advertising and Comparing Ad Effectiveness

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This set of ads is for competing products, both ads appearing in People. The Swiffer Wetjet ad in spring and the Clorox ReadyMop ad in winter. Neither is strong on the seasonal component, though the green in the spring ad for Swiffer is appropriate. Visually, the Swiffer ad looks stylish, but there is a lot of copy. It takes a long time to tell its story, yet there is no compelling visual to draw the reader in. By contrast, the Clorox ad has much the same visual -- a utilitarian product shot -- but it tells its story very effectively with minimal copy. I feel that the utilitarian nature of the product is matched by the Clorox ad, and that ad tells the sort of story the audience wants -- that the product is easy to use. The Swiffer ad seems too complicated, and for that reason I would think that the Clorox ad would test better among women.

E18. Both ads are for DHL. The first, which appeared in People in the fall, has the copy "Yellow. It's the new brown.," which directly references the UPS advertisements that refer to the company as "brown." The connotation is certainly going to be effective. The color scheme is heavy on the yellow as well. The cleverness of the message is probably the best thing about the ad, and people will remember that.

The second ad, from People in spring, has a winter theme, and the tagline "Use us to the Sunshine State, please." This would resonate with people living in the north who may be getting sick of cold winter weather, especially if they see the ad while it is still winter. . The black and white color scheme is intended to differentiate the ad but ends just obscuring a lot of the imagery. For this reason, and because the first ad is more universal (its message is effective anywhere), I feel that the first ad would test better among women.

E19. Both ads are for Susan G. Komen. The first is a winter ad in Newsweek and the second a spring ad in Ladies' Home Journal, so the ads are targeted at different audiences. The first ad has a large amount of copy, but the charity does have a story worth taking time to tell. The ad is soft, and makes a rational case for contributing to the Komen Foundation. This fits with the magazine as well, so this is probably an effective ad. The second ad is less logos, more pathos. It has the Foundation's signature pink, and features the image of a bald women carrying herself with dignity. She is surrounded by other women, so the visual tells a fairly clear story about the impact of contributing to the Foundation. . The copy is simple and powerful. This ad in Ladies' Home Journal is speaking to a readership that is 100% women, whereas the Newsweek ad is aimed at a more gender-neutral audience. The LHJ ad has the strong color, strong visual, speaks directly to the audience, and is pathos-oriented rather than logos, and for all of these reasons I feel that it would test better with women.