# data[].attributes.body
This 30 second video advertisement for Banner Health presents a strategic play on the meaning of shot. Partnered with New York advertising agency, MullenLowe, the marketers created a vibrant ad that encourages viewers to do their part and reenter society by going to get the COVID-19 shot. Through enticing birds eye visuals of populated New York spaces, coupled with spoken word poetry, the narrator lists off our different “shots”at a future without Covid-19 consequences. To drive home the message of hope and unity, the advertisement ends by saying “It’s not just a vaccine, It’s a shot of humanity.” Through a non-contrasting use of lively colors, actions, and demonstrations of community, along with an upbeat and eager-sounding score, I thought this advertisement was very effective at inspiring viewers who want a shot at a “normal” life to get their shot by at Banner Health. As someone who is fully vaccinated, this advertisement definitely gave me hope for a future of joy and healing.

Source:

https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34634467/a-shot-of-humanity/banner-health

# data[].attributes.body
On April 29th, Colgate launched a campaign series of six black and white images with the words “Smiles Always Find a Way.” Demonstrating different types of relationships, one of the images presents a closeup of a newly wed couple gazing into each other’s eyes as the groom pulls back the bride’s veil. Other images show an old couple leaning in for a kiss or a group of surgeons with their arms around one another. Within each photograph, each person depicted is wearing a mask, yet their smiles are illustrated through the wrinkles by their eyes and the warmth of their gaze. After acknowledging how “We got used to living with our smiles behind a piece of cloth,” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Colgate progressed by saying “You don’t need to see a smile to feel it. A smile is more than a facial expression, it’s a way of standing up and dealing with the adversities of life.” This soft-sell advertising indicates that a smile is not only a feeling but a tool to push forwards, and during such an isolating time as now, associating Colgate’s brand with compassion, support, and love can be easily received by many Americans. In addition, the black and white essense of the images extract a sense of nostalgia, directing viewers to reminisce on the beauty and pain of this past year living during a pandemic. Personally, this series brought me back to the beginning of lockdown when thousands of people were taking to social media to share acts of random kindness for their neighbors, essential workers, doctors, nurses, and loved ones. This campaign speaks to the strength and resilience that America stands for.

Source:

https://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/125568/Colgate-Smiles-Always-Find-a-Way

# data[].attributes.headline
"Spotify follows Apple with an ad-free podcast subscription service"

# data[].attributes.subject
"Spotify follows Apple with an ad-free podcast subscription service"

# data[].attributes.body
Just recently, Spotify has announced they will be emulating Apple by offering an option for American podcast listeners to pay for a Spotify ad-free podcast subscription, which will allow for ad-free podcast users to access both basic and premium-paid content. In addition, as part of Spotify’s new advertising marketplace called Spotify Audience Network, creators can use this platform to directly promote exclusive podcast content, rather than engaging with third party companies. I am curious how effective ‘exclusive’ podcast content will make regular Spotify subscribers want to switch over. Afterall, with the current music subscription for Spotify, users are allowed to fast forward advertisements, so I wonder whether or not this ad-free podcast subscription will gain many users--and if not--whether Spotify will deactivate skipping advertisements for basic subscribers altogether. Much like what we discussed in class, this article makes me consider the tradeoff between paying more money for an ad-free podcast service, with additional exclusive content, or saving money to listen to skippable advertisements during podcasts that are not exclusive. Overall, audio services are offering heavy competition to services that require visual engagement, such as Youtube, which is why Spotify podcasts are likely to find great success in providing content creators to work directly with subscriptions rather than advertisements.

Article:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/04/28/spotify-follows-apple-with-ad-free-podcast-subscription-service

# data[].attributes.headline
"‘Can analog entertainment find a place in consumers’ lives post-lockdown?"

# data[].attributes.subject
"‘Can analog entertainment find a place in consumers’ lives post-lockdown?"

# data[].attributes.body
Due to the pandemic’s limitations on large gatherings in both public and private spaces, in addition to the closure of many facilities and live-events, marketers have reported a 240% increase in puzzle and game sales during the end of March 2021 in comparison to the end of March 2020. These marketing behaviors reflect family's transformed participation in tangible activities or socially-distanced experiences within smaller-sized parties. Therefore, brand advertisers are heightening their engagement with communal activity groups, such as local sports clubs or recreational leagues, rather than national organizations. Although it is unclear which newly-adapted purchases will have long term results, the article points out that consumer loyalty in ‘classic’ household items “has all the potential to grow in our post-Covid lives.” Personally, within the past year, I have spent significantly more time playing cards, chess, and scrabble with my family than I would have otherwise, and it is fascinating reading how marketers are capitalizing on positioning their advertisements through psychographic and demographic targeting during these culture-shifting times.

Article:

https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2020/05/04/can-analog-entertainment-find-place-consumers-lives-post-lockdown

# data[].attributes.headline
"‘Reverse Selfie’: Dove’s mission to combat social media’s negative effects"

# data[].attributes.subject
"‘Reverse Selfie’: Dove’s mission to combat social media’s negative effects"

# data[].attributes.body
In partnership with ad agency Ogily, Dove has been actively exposing the reality of harmful female beauty standards since 2004, when they initiated a ‘Self-Esteem’ project to bring awareness towards these damaging pressures. By associating Dove products with body-positivity, their brand has evolved to moralize their products while simultaneously promoting their name, similar to how H&M capitalized on the urgency of sustainability (recycling old clothes) while synchronously promoting their brand. Nonetheless, in advocating efforts for natural and ‘untouched’ beauty, Dove has released video campaigns such as ‘Evolution’ (2006), which exposed the cunning process of photoshopping models. These days, the majority of teenage girls engage in apps that distort their face and body, ‘fixing’ whatever flaw society has told them they have. As a response, Dove recently released a new campaign called ‘Reverse Selfie,’ which depicts a makeup-wearing, photoshopped selfie of a 13 year being reversed to her natural-looking state. The clip ends with the girl looking defeated, yet the advertisement encourages its viewers to join the #TheSelfieTalk to uplift young girls’ voices on this matter. For someone who has been utilizing Instagram since it came out in 2010--half of my life--I am constantly challenging myself to disengage with pressures of unrealistic beauty standards online. Absorbing distorted beauty expectations in advertisements is not unique to my generation, for the selection of models and television stars have always prioritized a manipulated and unrepresentative demographic, but the rate in which young people are exposed to these advertisements has skyrocketed in the past decade. And due to fabricated validation of liking and commenting on social media apps, my generation is pressured into manipulating digital reflections of themselves in ways that distort their own understanding of reality and self-worth, for millions of young girls' market behavior is directed towards promoting their identity on social media rather than in 'real' life.

Article:

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/04/28/reverse-selfie-dove-s-mission-combat-social-media-s-negative-effects

# data[].attributes.headline
"3 Marketer imperatives for seizing post-pandemic CTV opportunities"

# data[].attributes.subject
"3 Marketer imperatives for seizing post-pandemic CTV opportunities"

# data[].attributes.body
This sponsored, native advertisement discusses how marketing strategists are considering a post-pandemic society that will include pandemic-based consumption habits, for 75% of Americans have changed their marketing behavior in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 40% of these changes involving brand switches in 2020 that were twice the rate of those in 2019. Considering that advertisement fraud infiltrates 20% of online consumers--such as fake advertisements that display themselves as banners on streaming services--marketers are investing in models that ensure “brand-safe” security. Additionally, in wanting to avoid “cross-platform frequency capping”--where consumers lose interest in brands that are displayed repeatedly during the same sitting--while enhancing personalized advertisements and decreasing linear TV budgets, marketers are prioritizing geotargeting campaigns (local advertisement) and “unified packaged solutions” that will merge OTT online streaming advertisements (video interruptions or banners) and broadcasting TV inventory when promoting brands. Looking to the future, advertisement agencies are inclined to invest in versatile methods of brand exposure via TV streaming. I chose this article because it was fascinating learning the ways in which marketers are strategizing to benefit from such an increase in brand switching during the pandemic, and the pros and cons to the different methods mentioned (which deepened my understanding of marketing models from class).

Article: https://digiday.com/sponsored/3-marketer-imperatives-for-seizing-post-pandemic-ctv-opportunities/?mvt=i&mvn=126f011ae4754f37a054e648b4004aa1&mvp=NA-DIGI-11239222&mvl=Key-homepage_10th_slot%20%5BHomepage%2010th%20Slot%5D