I'll raise my right hand!

The best campaign I have seen in a while is the 'Women of the World, Raise Your Right Hand," which started a few years ago by DeBeers and the Diamond Trading Company, one of their subsidiary's. I remember seeing in ad in either Glamour or Elle magazine, both of which are targeted to the same demographic, that stuck with me on impact even though it wasn't flashy. It was the words written that made it connect with me. The words said ""Your left hand says you're taken, your right hand says you can take over. Your left hand celebrates the day you were married. Your right hand celebrates the day you were born. Women of the world, raise your right hand." This is/was a campaign celebrated not only single women, but all independent women everywhere. I'm still only 20 years old and not close to being married yet, but as a young, free women I would be first in line to buy one of these diamond rings. The campaign focused strictly on print ads, showing how powerful the message being sent was since they did not rely on TV or radio at all. The words in each ad vary from ad to ad, although all send the same overall message. And they certainly have me raising my right hand!!

Axe is too much, all the time

Axe body wash and deodorant commercials are everywhere. Every time I see one they all deal with seemingly 'hot' girls with young teenage boys, trying to get them clean. This ad, for Lynx body wash (lynx and axe go together) was in a skateboarding magazine. Axe used to target all teenage boys as well as 20 somethings. But now, with all the Old Spice commercials and ads for their products, Axe really has become a second or third choice among men. So, an ad like this scream 'desperate!' at me. We've all seen someone in a bikini, so although I see a pretty girl in a bikini, the lynx part of it doesn't reach to me at all, even though they aren't aiming it towards me. the only clue this advertisement is even for a body wash is because the girl's abs say 'wash me.' Really? She's not a car, and it's the oldest joke in the book. Axe & Lynx need to give it up and take a back seat to Old Spice. Perhaps a new approach is what they need. Sex sells, but only to an extent. Give it up.

Chic in your pants? You're 2!

http://www.clothdiaperblog.com/banned-huggies-commercial/

This past spring my roommate and I had seen a commercial for Huggies diapers. Normally neither one of us would pay any attention to a Huggies commercial, simply because it has nothing to do with us. However as soon as I looked away I turned back because the narrator had a french accent, which is not common in American commercials, especially those that are for diapers. After watching the commercial I remember saying "that's just weird." Turns out the commercial is entitled 'I've got chic in my pants,' advertising Huggies new denim blue diapers. Why a company would even resort to making this kind of variation, and let alone advertise it in this way is beyond me. 

There are many issues I have with this commercial, which was short lived because it got banned after too many people complained it was inappropriate. First off, the product is diaper. It does not need to be 'chic,' because the only thing it deals with is poop and pee. Second, the person wearing this diaper is one or two years old, with no care and no idea if what they are wearing is stylish. Finally, 'Chic in my pants' turns sexual when you add in the hot, 20 something girls staring this baby down. There is nothing mesmorizing about a child in a diaper. The fact that women are staring at him is more creepy than anything else.

I could probably think of a few more reasons why I think this commercial is stupid and somewhat inappropriate. However, it was taken off the air months ago and I'm still talking about it. So it obviously had some effect. I may not be a mom buying my child diapers but if I was, the last thing my son or daughter would be wearing after seeing that would be a Huggies denim diaper.