Ads Gone Viral - Dove's 'Real Beauty Sketches'

Dove's 'Real Beauty Sketches' is a short video in which an FBI-trained sketch artist draws 'real' women based on their own descriptions of how they see themselves and how a stranger sees them. The stranger's descriptions were more often than not more stereotypically attractive and similar to what the women actually looked like. The sketches drawn according to the women's descriptions of themselves are less stereotypically attractive and are less similar to what the women actually look like. The video hammers home Dove's point that women are often overly critical of their appearances and don't see their true beauty. The video was a huge worldwide viral success—despite some criticisms—being uploaded in 25 languages to 33 of Dove's Youtube channels and viewed millions of times in more than 110 countries.

The ad embodies the 6 sticky principles:

1. Simplicity: Very simple concept as it features 'real women', strangers, an a FBI-trained sketch artist and the concept of 'real beauty'. The video ended with the simple but memorable tagline, "You are more beautiful than you think."
2. Unexpectedness: The viewer is not sure what is happening when the video starts, it rolls out like a story, and the viewer gets wrapped-up in the story. Why they are being sketched, what do the sketches look like and what will the reactions be to the sketches? 
3. Concreteness: Dove created this campaign based on the idea to celebrate women's natural beauty. This video's concrete images are 'real' women, strangers, an FBI-trained sketch artist, the sketches and the reactions of the 'real' women to the sketches. 
4. Credibility: The use of an FBI-trained sketch artist and 'real' women brought a lot of credibility to this video for viewers. These women looked just like women we knew—our mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and even ourselves—and so we related to the women in the video and their self-criticism. This campaign was also built on the back of many years of 'real beauty' ad campaigns by Dove.
5. Emotions: The video is elicited strong responses from viewers. Most women, including myself, will agree that we are our own worst beauty critics, and so this ad spoke to many of women (and men) all around the world.The teary emotional reactions of the women looked heartfelt. 
6. Stories: The story that many women do not see their own true natural beauty, and should believe that they are in fact "more beautiful than they think", was a very powerful story that Dove developed. It was a story that millions of us around the world wanted to share with each other, by sharing this video.

Ads Gone Viral - #ALSIceBucketChallenge

Written by: Crystal Armstrong

Online & Mobile Marketing EXSM5513

Module 3 assignment.

How Does it Work? Simply put, If you do not want to take the Ice Bucket Challenge, you donate to the charity directly, if you do not want to donate, you dump a bucket of ice water over your head, post it on social media and issue a challenge to two people to do the same using the hashtag #AlsIceBucketChallenge and post it to social media platforms of your choice.

What is it?

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a social media campaign designed to raise awareness/funds for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or "Lou Gehrig's Disease".

Did it work?

The ALS campaign raised $100,000,000, increasing fundraising efforts by over 3500% vs 2013.

Why it worked:

'ALS Ice Bucket Challenge became a social media frenzy because it was essentially fun, easy and for a good cause' Plenty Consulting. 36 celebrities completed the Ice bucket challenge including Oprah Winfrey, Justin Beaver and Taylor Swift to name but a few.

What Principles Were Applicable to this campaign - All 6!

• Simplicity - Required water, ice, a bucket and a phone to post the event
• Unexpectedness - Everyone is curious to watch a fun video of a friend embarrassing themselves - the social cause just make it better.
• Credibility - Excellent cause with a charity with a solid background
• Emotions - The challenge had it all! Peer to Peer, Fun, aaccessible good cause and interactive wi!h the final call to action being 'friend to friend' to donate and complete. Peer pressure can be a good thing!
• Stories - Every challenge was the same but unique and each person who shared and commented couldn't wait to see who was next and if they completed the challenge.

5 Top Shopping Sites - 'Charge It!'

by Crystal Armstrong

Online & Mobile Marketing, #EXSM5513

ECommerce, For Most of Us, It's Just Called 'Shopping Online'

I am an online 'Power Shopper' meaning, that I like to access a website, search, find and get out quick. Search-ability, visual impact, continuity, a clean layout and no wait times mean a lot to a consumer profile such as mine and this criteria is rarely met in a 'Bricks and Mortar' store - hence my preference for e-commerce as a rule.

The following stores are ones I frequent regularly for purchases and are popular in my social network. How do you feel about them - do you agree with my synopsis?

The products available:

Beyond the Rack is an online discount store whose main purpose is to provide access to designer goods at up to 80% Off retail pricing. It offers everything from clothes (Men/Women/Children), shoes, accessories, costume jewelry and limited home decor/goods.

How easy/difficult it is to search 

This site is very easy to search, providing fantastic visual displays of products, multiple views in some case and search options including category, gender, size, price and type. 

How easy/difficult it is to add things to cart

Adding to the cart is quite easy - at the touch of a button and you have the option to 'edit cart' at any time but, items are only ' cashed or held' for a limited time in members carts and will time out if you do not process you sale at the end of the countdown.

Any features you liked and the ones that you felt detracted from the experience.

 I enjoy the ease of shopping, sorting/searching and cash out that this site provides. Even the timed cash-out feature is a bit of thrill but, should the item time-out and not be redeemed by another consumer, you are sent a reminder email on items you are interested in to re-ignite your cash-out (great after sale follow up)

Things I don't like:

This site absolutely required membership to view and shop before you buy! This annoys me as a consumer as I like the option to decide if I like the club before I commit to membership. Shipping times can also be an issue in addition to some quality concerns by online users (yes, I have had this occasionally myself but the return process is quite good)

Overall rating: Although it is a winner in my world, ratings site Reseller ratings show a consumer rating of 2.1/10 with over 21,058 consumers weighing in. Looks like there is some room for improvement on this ecommerce site across the board.

The products available:

Joss & Main is a member only online shopping site for designer home, furniture, decor accents and lifestyle accessories. The brand categories are curated, themed, highly visual and limited-time offerings with a finite supply, creating a feeling of urgency in buyers. In other words, Chintz & Company quality but with ease of shopping, no attitude and great prices'

How easy/difficult it is to search 

You don't really 'search' per say on this site. You visually feast on attractive images, click the 'Shop Now' and see what takes your fancy by clicking on single items by category/price and availability.

How easy/difficult it is to add things to cart

Adding to the cart is quite easy - at the touch of a button and you have the option to 'edit cart' at any time but, items are only ' cashed or held' for a limited time in members carts and will time out if you do not process you sale at the end of the countdown.

Any features you liked and the ones that you felt detracted from the experience.

 I enjoy the ease of shopping, sorting/searching and cash out that this site provides. Even the timed cash-out feature is a bit of thrill but, should the item time-out and not be redeemed by another consumer, you are sent a reminder email on items you are interested in to re-ignite your cash-out (great after sale follow up)

Things I don't like:

This site absolutely required membership to view and shop before you even view the site! A true Fail in my world but, the items are so good, I committed anyway! Membership pays seems to be their mantra and it seems to be working!

Overall rating: This is a highly rated ecommerce site who is obviously doing it right with luxe item service. Ratings site Reseller ratings rate it 8.44/10 with over 8,312 reviews.

The products available:

This American e-commerce company, the largest of it's kind in this country, originally started as an online bookstore, but has since diversified to include electronics, clothing, household items and has separate websites for countries spanning the globe.

How easy/difficult it is to search 

If you can think of a way to search, this site has it! Category, name, author, item and a built in ratings system complete with intuitive suggestions of 'add on' items like ' other shoppers who purchased this item also viewed' and finally, upon signing in, it recalls search histories.

How easy/difficult it is to add things to cart

Very easy shopping options with 'Add to cart' options and allows you to continue shopping or cash out with ease. Editing cart is also simple and if you do not cash out at this time, it saves you purchases allowing you to come back and commit later.

Any features you liked and the ones that you felt detracted from the experience.

Shipping is often free which is a plus but, the site has grown so large that it is getting ugly and confusing to look at and there are so many search tabs that it is also detracting from the experience to a degree. 

I do like the intuitive suggestions and often buy them - Success to them. The reviews however are a little irregular at times so, I take those with a grain of salt but, do read them.

Overall rating: I do trust and rely on this site for all sorts of purchases but.  the customer experience has deteriorated as they have grown bigger. Ratings site Reseller ratings rate it 5.45/10 with over 27.021 reviews with most consumers agreeing that consumer access to assistance post purchase has decreased.

The products available:

Toys for children and adults.

How easy/difficult it is to search 

Great search options: search bar, name, make, gender, age, category, learning, theme - this site also allows segregation by price, gift and top selections by popularity.

How easy/difficult it is to add things to cart

Very easy shopping options with 'Add to cart' options and allows you to continue shopping or cash out with ease. Editing cart is also simple and if you do not cash out at this time, it saves you purchases allowing you to come back and commit later.

Any features you liked and the ones that you felt detracted from the experience.

This is one of the best sites I use - 'Child's play' on all fronts: cash out, shipping, shopping searching and returns/tracking. 

With the Christmas season upon us, the 'up sell' banners are distracting and overwhelming in my opinion but, every consumer is different.

Overall rating: I do trust and rely on this site completely and have had nothing but good experiences.

The products available:

A travel site offering discounting flights, hotels, vacation packages/experiences and car rentals.

How easy/difficult it is to search 

Very easy to search by need, category, deals, location and dates and searches across multiple hotel/costs airline and travel sites to get you the best deals available for travel quickly and efficiently. It also has a search bar to allow search by ratings or specific name of hotels/airlines or by rating.

How easy/difficult it is to add things to cart

Very easy to add things to cart but, careful attention must be paid to ensure you are fully aware of constraints, cancellations and times.

Any features you liked and the ones that you felt detracted from the experience.

I love that it is a 'one shop stop'. my experiences are always good and the customer service is awesome! 

I always verify ratings with Trip Advisor to see the consensus of real photos/ratings of properties/resorts before I go as there are many sponsors on this site. Other than that, I have no issues.

Overall rating: I have had a great experience with them and always book my travel through this site.  After service is also wonderful and changes can be made online or with one call. Great service and highly recomended.


What are your favorite or 'most hated' ecommerce sites and why do they rate in your mind? Send us a note in the comment section of this blog and follow us for more exciting ecommerce updates here or on twitter: @getsocialmkt1

Keep Shopping!

Why do ads go viral?

Viral advertising. It's what every marketer hopes to achieve, but so very few actually do.



The Volvo Trucks video featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD), 'Epic Splits' has racked up more than 76 million views in just over a year, with good reason. The video is awe-inspiring and adheres to the sticky principles as described in the Heath & Heath book, Made to Stick.

Why did the video go viral?

• Simplicity. There are two trucks, JCVD, and a single camera. The narration provided by JCVD is easily forgotten, but the video concept is so simple--yet amazing--that it remains with you long after the video ends. How amazing are Volvo Trucks if JCVD can do the splits while the trucks are driving backwards? Pretty damn amazing! 
• The entire video was unexpected. The danger, the awe at both the drivers and JCVD, and the respect for Volvo Trucks 
• The concept is concrete and attention getting. The concept: Volvo Trucks have stability and precision. Let's have a guy do the splits between the trucks while they're moving. The video clearly and successfully demonstrates that concept. 
• Volvo was founded in 1927. The company is credible; however, showing consumers just how stable and precise your product is by risking the life of a washed-up action star really drives the point home. 
• The video they made created an emotional connection with the audience. You watch on incredulously. The beauty of such a simple idea, but complex execution, with someone risking their life is crazy. You can't not watch the video, it's just that compelling. 
• JCVD put his life in the hands of Volvo and based on that video, I'm willing to as well. The story shared is for Volvo Trucks, but if I ever need to trust a vehicle with my life, you can bet your sweet bippity that I'm going to consider Volvo for my needs. At the heart of the video are the concepts of dependability, reliability and safety. For me, those concepts transcend Volvo Trucks and blanket apply to all Volvo vehicles.