‘Where’s the beef?’

Hope A. Smith
Published: September 5, 2008

Marketing, advertising, promotion — these are all words aimed at getting us, the general public, to purchase various items or services. Some advertisements are more effective than others in getting business.

Some advertisements are so effective, they claim a place in pop culture history. Remember this: “It’s a big bun. It’s a very big bun. Where’s the beef?”

There were T-shirts, stickers and magnets made as a result of this Wendy’s phenomenon. The “Got Milk?” campaign has spurred a slew of take-offs, from “Got Beer?” to “Got (fill in blank)?”
And some are overly effective to such a point that they become a part of our everyday vernacular. How many times do you refer to a cotton swab as just that — a “cotton swab”? Isn’t it more familiar to say “Q-Tip”? How about this — “Can you please pass me a Kleenex?” Sounds a lot better than saying, “Can you please pass me a facial tissue?”

“Band-Aid” is heard way more than “adhesive bandage.” It’s improbable that, as a parent, you’ll hear your child say, “Mommy! I have a boo-boo! I need an adhesive bandage!”

The effectiveness of an ad campaign is only as good as the audience it targets. For example, I was home sick this past Tuesday, and I could only assume that the target audience for “The Price Is Right” must be the senior citizen population. I moved on to “Judge Judy,” and if I had a nickel for every ambulance-chasing lawyer commercial that ran, riches would be mine.

No audience is more targeted by ad campaigns than kids around the holidays. Starting in September, tune in to any channel with a kids show. You will be bombarded with everything from the latest video game to the popular superhero of the year.

And each year there is a toy deemed “the hot toy” of the year. We’ve seen it all: The Cabbage Patch Doll, Furbie, Care Bears, and — the latest — Nintendo Wii. How can these products be so high in demand and not available? Supply and demand, my friends! And desperate parents!

Speaking of wise marketing, how many times will they reinvent Barbie?! All they do is slap a new outfit on her, give her some cool accessories, and BAM — a new Barbie is born!

My daughter has an under-bed box full of Barbies, both clothed and non-clothed. Yes, Mattel is my marketing hero. From the Malibu Barbie of my youth to the Veterinarian Barbie currently residing under Jasmine Smith’s bed, our family has spent a small fortune on purchasing the same doll with different clothes. Mattel has even earned a niche in the collector’s market with special-edition Barbies.

As children, many of us looked forward to the Sears Wish Book, and it usually came out around the middle of September. Another marketing genius! The toys were always toward the back of the catalog, and it was there that many of us created our lists for Santa. With bated breath, a lot of us would run to the mailbox to see if the catalog was there yet. The book would surely be dog-eared by the time Christmas came.

The ultimate advertisements are shown in full swing of the Super Bowl each year, and per Wikipedia, the average commercial spot costs $2.7 million. Even if you’re not into the Super Bowl, chances are you may tune in just to see the cool commercials. They’re almost a show of their own.
As adults, companies try to target us based on what appeals to us. Even Doritos has jumped on the “sexytime” bandwagon. Sometimes I have trouble figuring out what a commercial is trying to sell, based on its method of advertising.

A great way of advertising is to focus efforts on an annoying jingle. I’ve caught myself and several friends of mine humming the Vonage “woo-hoo, woo hoo hoo” jingle. Then I think, “Jeez, why does Vonage have to get into my head?!”

Oddly enough, the least probable way to get us to buy items is to annoy the heck out of us.

Hope A. Smith is an
independent columnist and
resident of Orange County.
Her column appears Fridays.
E-mail