Online+Ad+Critique

=Subaru STi : Choose your own angle =

In this advertising campaign, Subaru is trying to market their top of the line Subaru WRX STi. The STi is known to many car enthusiasts as a car that was born from the rally world. Subaru seperates themselves from the competition by promoting their symmetrical All Wheel Drive. The advertising company in charge of this campaign DDB, created many interactive series on Youtube video of a Subaru WRX Rally Car driven by Rally champion Pat Richards. The Youtube videos include real-time footage of a real rally stage that includes a driver cam, bumper cam, clutch cam, and side cam. The targetted audience of this campaign are the loyal followers of Youtube.



I felt that DDB had a good concept by tapping into the STi’s rich rally history to promote the car. DDB's idea of choosing your own angle and allowing the user to pick which camera to view it from is an intriguing way to apply the concept. At first, you would think that it was a smart idea because it allows the user to "choose their own angle" but when you move from the face value, you begin to realize it is nothing special at all. The bumper, clutch and side camera angles fails to keep any interest, and the driver cam isn't capable of keeping the viewer interested for the length of the video (7:27).

If you refer to the eMarketing textbook, they say that a succesful online advertisement will need to
 * attract attention
 * convey a message
 * entice action

I felt that this campaign fails to attract attention from youtube viewers. As a loyal follower of Subaru for over 5 years, this ad simply cannot compete with others on Youtube. It is an interesting concept, but not enough to keep watching it, especially for 7 minutes! I felt that the problem with this advertisement is the poor choice of camera angles. If the camera shots were changed to fast cuts of the external view of the car speeding through corners, flying over ditches, and spitting dust on long straights, it would be much more interesting.



This advertisement tries to convey to its viewers that the STi is an offroad race car, capable of handling rocks, sand, gravel and snow. The clip shows the rally champion's ability to steer through and into corners at amazing speeds. It gives the feeling to the viewer that if you buy the STi, you can drive like Pat Richards. I felt that the message this ad conveys is well done and plays off the viewer's interest of speed and cars, but the method it was showcased in was a failure. Not only did it fail to keep attention, this commercial failed to entice action as well. At the end of the advertisement, the screen fades to black and the subaru logo appears along with a website.



When you take a look at the comments posted about this video, you will notice the amount of negative comment over positive comments. These comments are useful because it is a direct feedback from the market that subaru is advertising to.

Comments
 * 1)  [|www.jackmancer.com] | Mon, 2011-01-17 03:08 says It's cool. I like the WRC ;p But not much of an ad I think.
 * 2)  [|Hiperion] | Tue, 2011-01-18 03:16 says 0% creativity
 * 3)  [|sirvan] | Tue, 2011-01-18 11:36 says Not a very smooth use of YouTube.

=Mini : Minimalism Campaign=

I saw this Mini Cooper commerical on youtube in 2009 and I think it is a good contrast to the Subaru commercial. This commercial was a part of Mini's Minimalism campaign. This ad asks the viewer to watch it to find out what it means by minimalism. In the comments, it says that the video is about David and the Goliath. The Mini Cooper is known for its small agile body and fuel efficiency. Similar to Subaru, it came from a racing heritage and has a rich history. The advertising company in charge of this ad is webguerillas in Munich Germany. In the video, the thin pointed pen represents a mini cooper. This exotic green pen is being chased by the Goliath, a marker with a large tip. The goliath is represented through sound of muscle cars and other gas guzzlers. The target again is the audience of Youtube. Car companies seem to use youtube as the medium for their advertisements because the millions who browse Youtube everyday.



Webguerillas presented Mini Cooper as a agile fine tipped pen that never ran out of ink while other cars as a marker that ran out of ink easily. This one minute long commercial was much more successful because it kept my attention. The marker chasing the pen scenes were fun to watch, it acted as a good attention grabber. The duration of the commercial also plays a key role. This Mini Cooper commercial did not require seven minutes of my time. Throughout the whole commercial, the marker chased the pen and at the end, you get a birds eye view of the picture, and all the markings the pen and marker made turns into a silohette of a Mini Cooper.

This commercial used a metaphorical method to showcase the Mini Cooper. This car commercial was different because it did not follow the standard car commerical template with camera shots of car strolling through beautiful roads with the sun setting on the horizon. What this commercial achieves, is character. The music and the video images presented a character to the viewer. This commercial is trying to convey the idea that Mini Coopers are more agile, and travel longer distances than its competition. The visual imagery is spot-on and it conveys a detailed message.

I felt that this commercial lacked enticing viewers into action. Similar to the Subaru commercial, this commercial ended with a Mini logo and the website. I think that it would work better if instead of just putting the website, the commercial should tell the viewers to join the "minimalist movement" and promise extra features and footage.

__Bibliography__

1. GMTV. " YouTube - MINIMALISM MINI COOPER ." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011. .

2. "Mini." //Planet Mini//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <www.mini.com/com/en/minimalism/index.jsp>.

3. "Subaru Mobile Site | Subaru Cars, SUVs, Wagons." //Subaru Mobile Site | Subaru Cars, SUVs, Wagons//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. <http://www.subaru.com/>.

4. SubaruCanada. " YouTube - Dash Cam - Choose Your Own Angle - Subaru WRX - Rally of the Tall Pines ." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyIxoCzOG08>.

5. SubaruCanada. " YouTube - Bumper Cam - Choose Your Own Angle - Subaru WRX - Rally of the Tall Pines ." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_989284&v=lJD7IcEdRog&feature=iv#t=30s>.

6. SubaruCanada. " YouTube - Side Cam - Choose Your Own Angle - Subaru WRX - Rally of the Tall Pines ." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_741221&v=HO7ojViBVtk&feature=iv#t=38.8s>.