TATTOO AD CAMPAIGNS

Tattoos have different meanings and implications for different people. For some, it is a way of beautifying the body, for some it is a modification ritual. Some tribes in the Amazon consider tattoos as prints to instill fear in other tribes. Some tribes liken the human skin to a canvas and paint on it to impress the gods. Now, we have a new meaning to add to those old values. People have started using tattoos for ad campaigns for smartphones. Is this totally a new trend? Has this trend resulted in selling more smartphones? Read on to know.

The Internet is a platform where people can become famous if they can do very strange things willingly or by accident. Remember how the iPhone factory girl became so famous after her accidental photo was revealed to the iPhone community? That was accidental fame. A man who got Zune logo tattooed on his arm became famous overnight and also made news when he ditched his Zune for the iPhone. He used his arm to campaign for Zune and iPhone to attain a celebrity status. That was an innovative and a successful ad campaign and something that was strange then.

Back in November, 2008 RIM launched a contest asking “What would you do for a BlackBerry Storm?” A man who tattooed the BlackBerry on his leg won the contest. That was the most effective ad campaign for the BlackBerry Storm. However, the campaign could not make much turnover in terms of sales for RIM. Rumors has it that the tattooist refused to tattoo the same person when requested to tattoo “iPhone sucks.” The tattooist turned out to be an iPhone fan.

It was never strange seeing people with Nokia tattoos on their arms in the street few years back. The logos of Zune and BlackBerry were the next famous tattoos sighted. Apple logo tattoos ruled the later part of 2007 and the whole of 2008. The iPhone still rules in terms of tattoos and sales.

2009 brings in a new smartphone tattoo. Natalie has started a tattoo campaign for the android. Did she do it for fame, for money or simply for the love of Android is not known though?

Tattoo ads thus directly reflect the booming sales status and popularity of smartphones. Tattoo ad campaigns has become as effective as any other known ad campaigns. Human skin has become a very effective platform of advertisement!

http://www.iphonefootprint.com/2009/01/tattoo-ad-campaigns-for-nokia-blackberry-android-zune-and-iphone/

INK NOT MINK

Ink Not Mink is an ad campaign for Peta2, PETA's young adult division. PETA, the largest animal rights group, is an acronym for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals."

http://www.peta2.com

A list of various peat campaigns against animal cruelty

http://www.peta.org/MC/printAds_clothing.asp

THESIS STATEMENT

THE PRACTICE OF TATTOOS HAS A 5000-YEAR HISTORY influencing the cultures and civilizations of the world including, Egypt, Japan, China, Polynesia, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Africa, India, Thailand, Africa, Ancient Greece, Rome Celts, Incas, and Native Americans. Tattoo stereotypes are associated with sailors, criminality, and circuses. Despite the social sciences growing fascination with tattooing, and the immense popularity of tattoos themselves, the practice has not left much of a historical record. Presenting a brief history of the art and practice of tattoos would be interesting and useful information to provide to people interested in the subculture of tattoos.

Despite taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world. In contemporary culture, the popularity of tattoos has evolved into televised series, testimonial storybooks, and magazines. The marking of bodies provides an interesting sub culture related to art, social relations, social interaction, and deviance.

Educating people interested in tattoos, and inspiring the next generation of tattoo artists are key concerns in preserving the culture of tattoos. To educate people interested in tattoos, provide information concerning choosing the tattoo artist, choosing the perfect image to tattoo, offer information and history of common styles of tattoos, map the human body to provide information about tattoo placement, provide testimonial stories of tattooed people, and deeply discuss the tattoo process and aftercare instructions. To inspire the next generation of tattoo artists, create an in depth how to tattoo guide including instruction manual for tattoo equipment, provide flash art, and include interviews with tattoo artists. This information can be compiled and organized into a website. Also, because there are 2 general issues, the information can further be separated into two books, one for people interested in tattoos, and another book to inspire the next generation of tattoo artists.

This topic is directly related to my passionate interest in the art of tattoos and relates directly to my experiences as a tattoo artist/graphic design student. Educating myself about different styles of tattoos will further enhance my technique as a tattoo artist, while benefiting my clients. Also, my studies will also make my experiences as a tattoo artist more memorable.

Research Methodologies 2: Case Study Group Contribution

WINSON TSAI 2263763

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES 2

GROUP CONTRIBUTION

As a group we decided that every member will participate in field research, as well as the presentation aspects of this assignment. My specific assigned role to the group is being the note taker. My task is to be present at every group meeting and to record all ideas, information discussed, and post it on my blog, so that other group members can access the information easily.
I have conducted extensive filed research for the Wintercity Festival 2010. I began my field research by taking photos of the various advertisements for the event around the city. I didn’t find too many, however I found a few bus shelter ads, and 2 newspaper ads. The second part of my field research was to attend the event on Jan.29th in order to experience it. While at the event I observed and recorded notes concerning the event. In addition I also captured 98 RAW photos and edited them down to 84 high-resolution photographs. I then uploaded the photographs to a flickr account , which will be accessible to all my group members. These photos can be used in the report, final documentation, and presentation of our case study. Furthermore I also conducted roughly 20 taped interview while attending the event. Most of the interviews I conducted were group interviews. However I interviewed one designer, and one representative from the RBC. In exchange for some of the photos I have taken that night they both agreed to participate in further interviews if necessary. The data I collected will be interpreted and organized by the data interpreter of the group.
After further inquiry with my group, we will design 2 more questionnaires specifically directed to the RBC representative, and the designer that worked with them.

Wintercity Festival 2010

So i attended the Wintercity Festival @ Nathan Phillip Square last night.

I made notes of the event which will be included in the blog entry.
I captured 98 RAW photos that need to be edited before i can publish them.
I conducted roughly 20 interview. Most of them were group interviews, couples. Amonst the interviews are 1 interveiw with an RBC representative, and a designer.

Luckily i met a designer that works for various RBC campaigns, and my interview with him went off tangent. Should be fun for the data interpreter in my group to record everything and turn it into concrete info for our case study. So i got his contact info, in exchange for some of the photos i took of the event, he will participate in further interview when the questionnaire designer in our group designs specific questions to ask him.

The RBC also sponsors the 2010 Olympics. Now i know.

I also interviewed the contact from the RBC that worked directly with the designer to design the RBC 2010 olympic sponsor campaign. this is not directly related to Wintercity Festival. However it deals with RBC sponsorship. I can also get her contact from the designer for further questions.

From what i remember,
Everyone supports corporate sponsorship
Some people think there should be more corporate sponsorship
Most people agree there should be more advertising.
Few people saw the bus ads, most people heard about it from City TV channel 24. No one noticed the newspaper ads.

**RBC provided a warming station at the wintercity which was where many people gathered when performances were not occuring.

So here are my notes. I will filter through those for concrete information later as well:

Food is provided $5 for peameal bacon
Warming station looks like an inflatable igloo.
Provided by RBC Public firepits provided Middle of the NFsquare is chinese lanterns.
In the center of the lanterns is a giant lantern filled with riddles. A chinese tradition.
Spnsors metioned by MC Warming station is warm.
Many people gathered in igloo.
Couches provided.
2 signs with RBC olympic sponsorship facts.
wall for public to to leave a msg for candaian athletes.
Tv shows random footage of RBC supporting team canada.
Purpose of this station is to warm people and provide info about rbc sponsorship.
*Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Wintercity Festival 2010: Ads pt.3

So i found more wintercity ads in the newspapers.

They are 5" x 10" inch ads. Relatively small compared to the normal full sized RBC newspaper ads.

I found one in the Friday January 29th Metro.
Also another in the Saturday January 30th Toronto Star LIVING section. Which is the last section in the paper.

This is very surprising since i found out that the Toronto Star is sponsoring the event.
They couldn't even sponsor a full page ad for this event. Or at least a few more ads in the weekly papers.

However the ad is there. Just harder to find.

Corporate Sponsorship

So we narrowed down our case study question to...

"Does corporate sponsorship have any impact on the overall communication success of Toronto events, more specifically, Wintercity 2010?"

So while reading the Toronto Star today i noticed an article in the business section concerning corporate sponsorship. This article is not related to Toronto...but it made me realize the impact of corporate sponsorship.

LeBron James has just added McDonald's to hist list of corporate sponsors which inclue, Nike Inc., Statefarm Insurance, and Coca Cola.

Celebrities get sponsored, or endorsed all the time, musicians, athletes, etc. Also Vancouver 2010 Olympic sponsorship is also very interesting.

So Linking this back to my case study. Toronto events seem to be sponsored by banks. Further research will clarify this assumption.

Nuit Blanche was sponsored by Scotia Bank
Wintercity Festival is sponsored by RBC

It could be interesting to create a list of various Toronto events, and the corporations that sponsor them. The next question would be, the effect the sponsorship has on corporations and events.

The formula seems to be: Lebron+McDonalds=$$$
McDonalds earns Lebron fans
LeBron fans remember McDonalds
*Both get more publicity
**Unless your Tiger Woods and you get bad publicity??
***Tigers still got Nike lol! Kobe also has Nike!

Toronto has...