Ah, social psychology. Have you heard of it? Maybe not. But you might have heard of social networking. And you might have heard of Isaiah Mustafa.
The Old Spice commercial in which he appears advertising Old Spice's body wash, which originally appeared in the Super Bowl, has gone viral. As of June 29th it had been viewed by 7,166,140 people - a great example of social networking. And the new twist is that the "Old Spice guy" responds to tweets (and nope, I'm not being paid by Old Spice, nor by Typhoo Tea [see an earlier blog], but I love seeing everyday examples of things we learn in social psychology classes, like the ones we have at Granite State College.)
The Old Spice commercial takes advantage of some very clever marketing ideas - and marketing ideas are best understood when you study social psychology. Procter and Gamble figured out that women were most likely to be the ones who would buy Old Spice Body Wash for their men. So the ad begins with a jacked bodybuilder, who coos, "Hello, Ladies...."
But this example doesn't end with how clever the marketers are. It's also an example of social networking. A social network depends on people who have some relationship with other people. So if, for example, you like something you see on youtube.com, like the Old Spice ad, and forward it, you will be most likely to forward it to people whom you like, to whom you're related. Or maybe you're one of those (annoying?) people who forwards it to everyone in your email address book. (If you are, I hope you know to hide those addresses in the "bcc" box, which hides the addresses from others so you don't have to look at pages of email addresses, which can be annoying, but can be a boon to those who are looking for email addresses so they can send spam ads for things like, well, you know...) But even if you are, the people in your email address book are still people with whom you have some kind of relationships.
The also offers the possibility of joining "us" on Facebook and Twitter. So once you click on those links, you start to feel that you are joining others like you. Social connection! Social psychology at its most basic!
Okay, I digress....What I'm getting at is how, as my students often comment, as soon as you learn about what's behind marketing and ads, you look at them with a whole new understanding. It's so cool.
Okay, here's the Old Spice ad, but I hope you'll also check out the exciting things we have to offer you at Granite State College. We'll help you understand how these ads work, what persuasion and marketing are all about, and help you be an educated person.
The Old Spice commercial in which he appears advertising Old Spice's body wash, which originally appeared in the Super Bowl, has gone viral. As of June 29th it had been viewed by 7,166,140 people - a great example of social networking. And the new twist is that the "Old Spice guy" responds to tweets (and nope, I'm not being paid by Old Spice, nor by Typhoo Tea [see an earlier blog], but I love seeing everyday examples of things we learn in social psychology classes, like the ones we have at Granite State College.)
The Old Spice commercial takes advantage of some very clever marketing ideas - and marketing ideas are best understood when you study social psychology. Procter and Gamble figured out that women were most likely to be the ones who would buy Old Spice Body Wash for their men. So the ad begins with a jacked bodybuilder, who coos, "Hello, Ladies...."
But this example doesn't end with how clever the marketers are. It's also an example of social networking. A social network depends on people who have some relationship with other people. So if, for example, you like something you see on youtube.com, like the Old Spice ad, and forward it, you will be most likely to forward it to people whom you like, to whom you're related. Or maybe you're one of those (annoying?) people who forwards it to everyone in your email address book. (If you are, I hope you know to hide those addresses in the "bcc" box, which hides the addresses from others so you don't have to look at pages of email addresses, which can be annoying, but can be a boon to those who are looking for email addresses so they can send spam ads for things like, well, you know...) But even if you are, the people in your email address book are still people with whom you have some kind of relationships.
The also offers the possibility of joining "us" on Facebook and Twitter. So once you click on those links, you start to feel that you are joining others like you. Social connection! Social psychology at its most basic!
Okay, I digress....What I'm getting at is how, as my students often comment, as soon as you learn about what's behind marketing and ads, you look at them with a whole new understanding. It's so cool.
Okay, here's the Old Spice ad, but I hope you'll also check out the exciting things we have to offer you at Granite State College. We'll help you understand how these ads work, what persuasion and marketing are all about, and help you be an educated person.
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