In Response to Todd

Do you think GM was out of line calling out Ford in the ad, or do you think it is completely fair game? At what point does a statement like "most dependable, longest lasting full size truck on the market" become false advertising?

Yes, I think GM was totally out of line calling out Ford motors in the commercial, and believe they will lose money because of it. I remember watching the Super Bowl and seeing this advertisement. Immediately my roommates and I were talking about the commercial, and we all came to an agreement that GM was out of line and would probably get sued.

I think that the statement itself is false advertisement. Right after the commercial was aired, my roommate and I got into the argument, which truck was better. He is a Chevy guy, and I have driven both trucks. Personally I think their both good, dependable trucks, but he hates Ford trucks. Everyone has their own opinions so obviously many people love driving a Chevy truck, but their is just as many people who dislike Chevy trucks.

Social vs. Email

 Marketing is becoming so popular in today's society that it is literally everywhere. With technology changing so fast, marketers are having trouble figuring out where to spend most of their money. I was recently reading an article that posed this question:

Mobile and social vs. email: Where should marketers spend their limited dollars this year?

Personally I think that marketers should spend their money on mobile and social. This is because the use of mobile and social devices is larger than ever before and expanding. Yes, millions of people have email, but this is used for so many other things besides marketing your product. I believe the use of social and mobile devices is far greater than email and that is where they should spend their money.
Where do you think marketers should spend their limited dollars?

In Response to Emma...

Can you think about the last product or service you really enjoyed and may have told your friends about? Do you think marketing by word of mouth has a big impact on sales?

I think that marketing by word of mouth is very influential. Personally I would value my friends opinion on a product or service more than anyone else because they know who I am.
The last product or service I thoroughly enjoyed was Bud Light Platinum. This new beer has more alcohol, 6% than the regular Bud Light and a different taste. The first time I heard about this beer was two weeks ago. My brother asked me to pick him up some Bud Light Platinum's on my way home from work. Since I had never heard of them, I decided to get myself some and greatly enjoyed them. When I returned back to school my roommates and I decided to grab some one night and they all enjoyed them as well.

I think marketing by word of mouth has some impact on sales. After you tell someone/are told by someone about a product, it is up to you as to whether you want to buy that product or service. Some people just brush off what you have just told them about a particular product or service, while others will value that opinion and buy into it.

Superbowl

On Sunday the football season will come to an end. The Patriots and Giants will play to see who will be world champions. This television event is one of the most watched programs of the year and every company wishes to have one of their advertisements aired during the game. However only the companies that can afford to pay for their air time will have their advertisements played. In previous Super Bowl commercials many companies will tarnish their rivals, show false advertising, others use beautiful women or men to try and sell their products, some use humor, and some are just normal. 
One of my favorite Super Bowl commercials from the 2011 game was from Doritos...

 

This commercial is clearly showing the wrong message here portraying that Doritos could be used as great dog food. This commercial is clearly false but was a favorite among viewers.

What are some of your favorite commercials from past Super Bowls and why do you like them?

In Response to Todd..

Do you guys think companies completely influence our wants? Or do we already have an idea before we see an add?

This is a very interesting question. I think people have an idea of something they want. Example, if  someone needs a new computer, then after doing their research, they have an idea of the price range and brand in which they want to purchase. However I also think companies do influence our wants to an extent. If we see a commercial for a nice pair of sneakers or shoes, our desire to buy them could increase. An example from my personal life could be when I was in high school, I played lacrosse. Before I even started the season, I knew what brand of stick I wanted and needed. Therefore I had an idea before I even began seeing adds for the kind of Brine stick I used. I was also planning on buying a pair of Brine cleats for that season. However after seeing adds for different brands of cleats, I ended up buying a pair of Nike cleats. Nike did not completely influence my idea to buy the cleats, the comfort was a reason.
Does anyone feel that some companies advertisements turn us away from their products?

Why Would a Course in Marketing be Helpful?

Why would a course in marketing be helpful even if you don't pursue marketing as a career?

Marketing is used everywhere in today's society and is a main aspect in running or working for a successful business. Literally everywhere you look, on the t.v., computer, magazines, billboards, etc. there is some form of marketing. Therefore, I personally think that a course in marketing would be very helpful to anyone even if they don't pursue marketing as a career. Many other majors for college students today also teach ways to market a product. I work at a landscaping company over the summer. The owner never graduated from college, but has one of the most successful businesses around. However he does very good work and has to make sure that he continues to do quality work so that he can keep his customers coming back. In another course that I'm taking, called Management Information Systems we have a student who is trying to come up with a product for all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes. He wants to have two products, a high end and low end product. In order to make this product of his be successful, he will have to market his products at different shows and hope to attract clients.
Do you think someone starting a business with no marketing knowledge could be successful? Should there be more marketing classes available to students?

Marketing, advertising, and propaganda are similar in the fact that they deal with business and how businesses run.

I believe that Marketing is the term used to create a product or service. Once a company has an idea for a product or service then their next step in marketing is to make that product or service.

 My definition of Advertising is the active selling of a product or service. In other words convincing people to buy your product. Marketing is similar to advertising but is different because marketing is when you have a desired product for the customers. Advertising is then selling that product.
An example of an advertisement would be something like this:

This advertisement is by the snowboard company Forum. Here they are advertising one of their new bindings and in particular the "the good vibes" you feel when wearing these bindings.

 Propaganda, I believe is the biased opinion used to promote something. An example of this could be the political elections.

Does anyone else think marketing and advertising go together? Do you have similar definitions?