According to Marketing An Introduction Ed. 9 book, the definition of advertising and public relations are as following:
Advertising is “any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.”
Public relations is “building good relations with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events.”
Cover girl is a brand of women cosmetics consisting mascara, lipstick, facial powder, etc. I want to talk about this cosmetic brand because its advertising and public relations have been successful in promoting its products and broadcasting good company image.
Cover girl does not only advertise its products through television commercial, but it also sponsor through American Next Top Model (ANTM) show. This is one way to advertise to a specific target market and to use public relations in the media.
By sponsoring ANTM show, consumers can see the transformation of models before and after using Cover Girl products. The advertising message speaks for itself through the transformation. This helps Cover Girl gain attention and communicates its message to the viewers. In addition, Cover Girl use product publicize through one of the challenges in ANTM show by having the top three models use their products and act in a commercial. A Youtube video below showed the Cover Girl commercial
challenge in one of ANTM cycle.
Since the models in ANTM show are normal everyday women, Cover Girl’s sponsorship has created awareness of its products to consumers, persuading them that they can be as beautiful as these women in the show by using the products. The ANTM’s winner also gets to be a main Cover Girl commercial. By helping a normal everyday woman achieve her dream, Cover Girl gain favorable publicity and build good company image.
In my opinion, I think Cover Girl did a good job in communicating its advertising message and publicizing its brand name.
Jessica Chayavichitsilp, section G
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Be5GIPLA9w&NR=1