THE PERFECT SPECIMEN

A war has existed for a long time between marketers and female consumers in the United States -- a war over the objectification of women and the distortion of body image. Advertisements have traditionally targeted women by telling them that they are not good enough: hips are not narrow enough, breasts not perky enough, pores not small enough, eyelashes not long enough, teeth not white enough... and the list goes on and on. Advertisements create these insecurities in women so that they will go out and buy products to correct their supposed shortcomings. The cynical way to look at marketing is that it's all about profit generation.

So how do marketers communicate to women about the fact that they are vulgar, fat, ugly, and need help? Why with supermodels and a little help from Photoshop, of course. When women look at glossy magazines full of perfect human specimens, it is aspirational. As Clotaire Rapaille mentions in his book, The Culture Code, beauty is the American code for salvation! It is hard to attain, but when you get there, the angels will sing and a shaft of heavenly light will break through the clouds and shine on you. But no human being is really perfect, so Photoshop has to do the bulk of the work.

Recently, I saw this youtube video attempting to dispel the myths behind perfect magazine models:

It is a very entertaining clip, but I think in this tech-savvy age, everyone pretty much knows that Photoshop is often involved in creating images of perfection and beauty. But does knowing prevent poor self-esteem and negative body image? To me it seem like knowing the truth doesn't matter because people will always be after the idea of perfection, whether or not it exists in real life. Humans are social animals that will always seek approval. This drive for societal acceptance and need for praise may continue to feed the exploits of marketing.

THE BEST MOM AWARD GOES TO...

Since January of last year, two parenting books have been published and flying off the shelf: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Bringing Up Bebe.

In both books, authors Amy Chua and Pamela Druckerman compare and contrast the differences between how American mothers raise their children and how mothers in other cultures (Chinese & French) do so. It seems that the overwhelming conclusion is that American moms get a big fat "FAIL" -- they are too lenient with their children, cater to their children's every whim, and are too afraid to impose (or stick to) rules. The result is that American children have no manners, throw temper tantrums, produce average performance, and take criticism poorly. With these accusations, it's a wonder that the United States still function as a nation!

Though I don't disagree with a lot of what the authors speak of (yes, I think that American mothers can often be too soft), I do believe they are extreme in their criticism. This is especially true in Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Despite the harsh accusations and the emergence of mommy communities in opposition, these books have become best sellers.

I hypothesize that this has a lot to do with what David Brooks speaks of in his book, The Paradise Suite, which breaks down what being American is all about. Brooks observes that Americans are always on the quest for perfection. In fact, the American magazine industry was created for such a purpose. If American mothers have room to improve, then they will seek out all the self-help materials to ensure that it happens! Throughout all of their history, Americans have been driven by the "American dream" to create a better, faster, more efficient future. Chua and Druckerman's books have been successful precisely because they feed into this deeper emotional and ideological consumer need.

By tapping into the American psyche, marketers can strike the right cord with consumers.

For moms who would like to explore another child-raising strategy that is not so extreme and is more patriotic, New York Times writers Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang have written an article titled, Building Self-Control, the American Way in response to Chua and Druckerman.

THAT'S TRICKY

The ad says "scratch-n-sniff," and so I did.
And I smelled... nothing...
Weird. I must have scratched the wrong part of the paper... Nope, pretty sure I was in the dotted box. What kind of scent is it supposed to be anyway?

Unscented.

That made me mad for a second, then I started chuckling to myself. I couldn't hold a grudge for being duped because this is actually a pretty clever ad, designed to bring attention to what is NOT there!

This particular tactic of reverse-psychology is novel to me and therefor, pretty effective. I am also amused by the fact that, as a consumer, I did exactly what the ad asked me to do (scratch-n-sniff) without questioning. The dotted box intrigued me and I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. I wanted a resolution to my pondering.

A trend in marketing is the use of scents to positively influence the emotions of consumers. Here, the consumer performs a task -- expecting to be transformed by a pleasant fragrance that will take them to a far off land of exotic flowers and tropical waterfalls -- only to be let down... but in a good way, because it proves a point!

"M" IS FOR MAGIC

Flipping through a magazine yesterday, I noticed these two back-to-back ads:

In these "sensuous" ads, the pictures literally speak for themselves! No copy exists anywhere except for the iconic "m's" that stand for M&M's. This is quite amazing because M&M's have become so engrained in the American (if not global) culture that without being told, the audience can understand where these ads came from -- M&M's have reached Starbucks status!... or perhaps it was at Starbucks status before Starbucks had a status?

Candy is fun. But M&M's have taken marketing to the next level by personifying these inanimate objects, giving them distinct personalities and identities that consumers can relate to. Consumers understand the functional benefits (tasty, fun sized, and does not melt in your hand) and the aesthetic attributes (colorful) of M&M's. But by creating characters out of its product, the brand introduces emotional content to the game. People can now become attached to these personifications, see them as trusted friends, and fall in love with them. There is an element of magic too, attached to these "candy folk."

In fact, the explanation-less pages above remind me of perfume ads, where the selling force lies in the images' ability to awaken senses and evoke emotions (be it longing, sexiness, innocence luxuriousness, or danger).

A LITTLE INTRIGUE

I'm a fan of Nine West shoes, so I joined their mailing list a while back. But, like most people, I don't actually read a lot of what comes into my Inbox. Since I usually receive an email from Nine West everyday (which is way too often) -- and most of them look exactly the same -- anything from "Nine West" will often go into the trash without being opened.

The other day, I was in a shoe-browsing mood, so I decided to open a Nine West email. This was what I found:

Mmmmm... For my eyes only? How very intriguing...
Unlike the usual beauty shot of featured shoes and the catchy title that introduces the latest trends, this page was mysterious and exclusive-looking. This was something new.

Curious to be in-the-know, I clicked on the link.

And... YES! I get a coupon! Who doesn't love getting a deal?! Now, that was a nice reward for clicking on a promotional email.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I've never received coupons in the email before. But this type of presentation appeals to me much more than the traditional "open up the email and see the latest sale" tactic I see all too often. A little excitement and intrigue in today's predictable and look-alike world of email marketing can go a long way.

The only dissatisfaction I had was with the fact that 20% off seemed a little low. Since the economy has been slow to recover, more and more retailers are holding frequent sales promotions. The norm for discounts seems to hover around 30% off. This is not great for retailers' margins, but people are less reluctant to part with their hard earned dollars when things are uncertain. Discounts seem to be the popular way to entice spending (especially for non-essential items) for now.

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Examples of typical email promotions:

SO FRESH & SO CLEAN

Grocery shopping trips are the best when something new and exciting catches your eye.
That happened to me the other day when I was walking down the detergent aisle (a too-crowded aisle where every option looks the same). Amidst the typical orange, yellow, and green bottles, my attention zeroed in on an unexpected black bottle.

a BLACK detergent bottle! In a space where every product is trying to sell consumers on the notion of "clean," using black is pretty risky business. What's more, right in the middle of this black is a water-drop shape created from a kaleidoscope of dazzling colors. The effect is an eye-popping boldness that is refreshing and clean. This, I consider fabulous design -- the packaging is not only beautiful and stands out from the crowd, but the graphics also effectively communicate the promise that Cheer will clean your clothes and preserve their vibrant colors. The other detergent bottles appear cluttered and too old school (80's) in comparison.

Further examination of the aisle led me to find a white version of the same design. The distinction is that the white bottles are "free and gentle" while the black ones give you a "fresh clean." My hypothesis is that the white Cheer bottles sell better than the black ones (look at how many have been taken off the shelf!) because it connotes the notion of "clean" better -- or perhaps people just prefer "free and gentle." Either way, Cheer definitely appears to be selling well thanks to its fabulous packaging design!

PS - When I got home from the grocery trip, I jumped online to check out Cheer's webpage and found it to be just as beautiful as the packaging!

BUDDY-BUDDY COMMERCIALS

The brand managers at P&G have done it again!!
This time, with a new series of commercials in which Old Spice partners up with (or rather intrudes on) other P&G products to kill two birds with one stone.

PRO: Other brands such as Bounce and Charmin can benefit from Old Spice's positive aura to receive more attention and credibility. It's also possible that the halo effect works in the opposite direction to encourage moms, who are familiar with Bounce and Charmin, to instill trust in Old Spice.

CON: Mom is the main shopper for a household, but she likely won't choose a specific deodorant for the males in her family without first consulting them on preferences. While mom maybe interested in the Bounce and Charmin portions of the commercial, she probably wouldn't be able to make a decision on Old Spice simply from watching the ad. On the other hand, males who might be interested in Old Spice may change the channel before the commercial progresses to the section that they would find relevant. People have short attention spans and tolerance for commercials these days, so marketers have to be fast to compete for eyeballs.

I think these collaboration commercials are very amusing.
It would be fascinating to track how they impact sales.