The Many Thoughts of Rachel
- Blogging Experience
Writing blogs is a skill that is crucial for anyone living in the digital age and working in online spaces. I have been a fan of the medium since I was a child and have had several attempts at a blog (all of which have been scraped from the internet because no one wants to see my middle school grammar mistakes). Since trying my hand again in college, I have found that it is just as enjoyable as when I first began.
The examples below are blogs written for my social media class in the spring of 2021.
Super Bowl Busts: The Ads You Forgot About
The Super Bowl is the biggest yearly event in advertising. With 96.4 million people watching, it was a time for companies to showcase their best commercials. However, these four commercials were not the favorites, in fact, you probably have forgotten about them already.
Pringles “Space Return”
Pringles just released a new logo design this past December, so it seemed fitting that they would showcase that in their Super Bowl ad, right? Wrong. Pringles took to the sky with a story of astronauts being ignored by mission control and a rescue ship. The rescue crews and mission control team were both distracted by eating Pringles to notice and we watched the astronauts grow old and forgotten. Not the worst plot, but not a memorable one either.
Skechers “To the Max”
Tony Romo stared in this commercial along with his wife where they showcased Sketchers shoes to have extra cushioning. They did this by exaggerating everything in the Romo household from sandwiches to mattresses to a monster truck. It was not very original or creative, but not terrible until the typeface choices and weird voiceovers that make the commercial uncomfortable to watch.
Dr. Squatch “You’re Not a Dish”
Dr. Squatch attempted to use humor across the commercial, but overall the jokes did not land. It captured attention by bleeping out a cuss word at the beginning and then talked about “being a man.” The commercial overall was not memorable other than the use of the word “titillated” which should not have been used because it was just uncomfortable.
Shift4Shop- Inspiration4 “Join the First All-Civilian Space Mission”
Finally, the most disappointing ad, in my opinion, was Inspiration4. This commercial supported St. Jude Children’s Hospital and is literally talking about being able to go to space. This is a big deal! The commercial, however, downplayed the significance of the mission. A semi-jazz rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is sung in the background as a narrator describes Inspiration4. We see the uniform up close and a reflection of Earth. Nothing empowering, exciting, or creative. This had so much potential and was just not memorable.
The advertising industry agreed that this Super Bowl was not the best for any of the commercials. There was not anything incredibly groundbreaking, but these four were the ones to forget about.
New Year, New Logos: Top 5 Redesigns of the Last Five Months
With 2020 being the most abnormal of years, brands had some time on their hands to reimagine what their companies’ design should look like. Below are my top five redesigns since September.
5. Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins has been around since 1945 and has had its fair share of logo designs through the years. This new design takes the classic “31” B and R and polishes it up. Giving the 2006 logo new life with brighter colors and a new custom typeface from Jones Knowles Ritchie. The change is subtle, but enough to hopefully be effective for the company.
4. Pringles
Walking down the aisle at the grocery store, I noticed that the Pringles can looked different. Upon further investigation, I found that Mr. Pringles lost the twinkle in his eye for a reason. According to a Kellogg press release, the company has spent the last two years designing a new logo that emphasizes the mascot’s oval chip-like shape. Mr. Pringles lost the hair on his head and on his mustache, but gained eyebrows and kept his bowtie. This is the first redesign for Pringles in 20 years.
3. Intel
Like Baskin Robbins, Intel had not redesigned their logo since 2006. The company lost its signature swirl for a simple block font. According to their website, Intel says, “our new visual identity emanates a renewed sense of confidence and simplicity.” The “i” is dotted with a square that is to mimic the Intel core processors that are found in laptops and other electronic devices. Along with the logo, Intel has a new typeface called “intel one” that will be integrated into all of the company’s documentation and marketing materials.
2. Pfizer
The pandemic has caused Pfizer to be in the headlines often throughout 2020. The company decided to take away the pill-like design and change to a double-helix spiraling upward. According to their website, the new logo “signals this shift from commerce to science.” They have focused their color pallet and typeface all while “keeping people and science at the heart of what we do.” I believe that this was the perfect moment for Pfizer to rebrand themselves and renew their focus on taking care of people over selling products, though the two tend to go hand and hand.
1. Burger King
Coming in at number one is Burger King. Jones Knowles Ritchie (who you may remember from number five) took the classic burger restaurant and gave it a much-needed makeover. According to JKRGlobal, “we set out to make the brand feel less synthetic and artificial, and more real, crave-able, and tasty.” Burger King had not had a rebrand in over two decades, so they pulled out all the stops. Everything from the logo now looking like a burger to a bold 70s typeface the new Burger King is into the 21st century and ready to be competitive in the quick-service restaurant industry once again.