There has been significant anxiety in recent years about the typical American diet. As John Gennaro wrote in HealthNewsDigest.com back in April 2009, many Americans have three choices when eating: 1) They can look to fast food, which is heavily processed and though inexpensive often leads to obesity and other health problems; 2) They can resort to low-fat, healthy-living diets which sacrifice taste, cost too much, and often lead to people quitting their diets; 3) Best of all, Gennaro argues, Americans can simply resort once again to eating the “real food” that sustained people for many years (like steak, potatoes, and vegetables).

“Real” food, like other “real” products being pitched these days, is on the rise, according to Advertising Age’s Emily York. Originating in the 1980s, “real food” campaigns target people who are increasingly conscientious about what’s in their meal. Apparently, using “real” to describe a product conveys that it is natural, not “processed,” and sometimes even “homemade.” In short, “real” appears to be the new God term in marketing.

To see how one company has emphasized the real-ness of its product in recent years, watch the following advertisements for Hellman’s Mayonnaise from two different decades:

Discussion Questions:

1.  What has made Americans so anxious about their food in recent years?

2.  Does calling something “real” always have power in marketing?  When does it not work?

3.  How does the second Hellman’s commercial (above) reflect our modern anxiety about what is in our food?

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygeine has organized a new public-awareness campaign to tackle obesity through targeting consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. The agency claims that Americans now consume 200 to 300 more calories each day than we did 30 years ago, and that more than half of these calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks. With many New Yorkers forgetting to count their liquid calories, NYC Health has created a new advertisement – which has recently “gone viral” on the internet – showing a man guzzling a can of fat. The point: consuming one can of soda per day leads to gaining 10 pounds of fat per year.

Not everyone is a fan of the advertisement. The American Beverage Association, for instance, claims that the campaign is irresponsible. The ad is sensationalized, the organization says, and ignores fat-free beverages as a simple alternative. The fact that the ABA is responding, though, indicates that the campaign has had significant success.

To see the ad yourself, watch the following video:

Discussion Questions:

1.  What is it about NYC Health’s recent advertisement that has made it wildly popular on the internet?

2.  What barriers did NYC Health face in convincing people to give up soda and other sweetened beverages? What were their major strategies in the advertisement above, and how were they used to overcome these barriers?

3.  Is the ABA correct?  That is, is NYC Health’s advertisement unfair and unethical?

According to Advertising Age’s recent monitoring of viral videos for public campaigns, Evian’s dancing baby commercial has been viewed over 2 million times in the last week, a 79% hike over the previous week. Other notable viral videos include Victoria’s Secret’s popular ad produced by Michael Bay (985,000+ views this week), and GAP’s recent commercial for its “Ready for Holiday Cheer” campaign (586,000+ views this week).

As anybody with an email account knows, videos go “viral” online when they are widely passed around and viewed during a short period of time. For advertisers, viral videos are yet another way to reach certain kinds of consumers. One question has long been asked, though: What kinds of videos go viral? What characteristics do these videos often share? Pete Cashmore, the founder and CEO of Mashable, which is a popular blog about social media, recently argued that there are some clear commonalities for viral videos in general: they are usually “cute,” humorous, and/or extremely emotional, and in many cases focus on something novel.

To see a few of this week’s viral video ads, including those for Evian and Victoria’s Secret, view the following videos:

Discussion Questions:

1.  After viewing the ads above, what might be some other common characteristics of viral videos?

2.  Why has the Evian advertisement (see above) been so successful?

3.  Why has the Victoria’s Secret ad produced by Michael Bay been so successful?

4.  What audience demographics do viral videos target?

We now have the ability to see that Tiger Woods probably did not deal with his public relations crisis the way that he could have. Following news that he was facing a sex scandal, Woods released a statement on his own personal website at the beginning of December 2009 that contained the following statements:

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.”

“I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”

By most accounts, Tiger’s statement was supposed to be a success. Michael Bamberger of Sports Illustrated, for instance, argued that the golfer’s admission to “transgressions” was perhaps too ambiguous but that the act of confessing would ultimately gain him public forgiveness. In Bamberger’s own words:

“[Now] he’s done what he shouldn’t have to do: admit it in public, just like Bill Clinton. Kenneth Starr trapped Clinton and the tabloids trapped Tiger. Both men were put in a corner where they had no choice but to confess. Many sane people will hold Clinton to a higher standard — he was the president of the United States — but Clinton has remained a beloved figure to many. I think Tiger will emerge mostly unscathed as well.”

For more on Tiger’s initial apology, see the following discussion that took place on The Golf Channel in early December:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why were some initial evaluations of Tiger’s apology so positive?

2.  Knowing what you know now, why was the apology problematic for Tiger Woods?  What was the apology missing that invited more scrutiny?

3.  Had Tiger consulted you before writing his apology, what might have you suggested that he do differently?  What would have been the short-term or long-term consequences of your own strategy?

Pop music star Rihanna’s luck seemed to get worse after she was assaulted by her boyfriend, and fellow music star Chris Brown in early 2009. Once signed to lucrative marketing deals, Rihanna’s image was researched by Revlon, which later dropped her from its marketing campaign after she appeared to reconcile with Brown.

According to Advertising Age’s Andrew Hampp, Rihanna has experienced a resurgence thanks to Steve Stoute, the founder-CEO of music marketing agency Translation. Hampp attributes Stoute’s efforts to rebrand Rihanna, to improve her image for marketers, as the reason why she now has a string of No. 1 hits, is appearing on the covers of many magazines, has a new long-term contract with Cover Girl, and touts her own line of umbrellas. Stoute supposedly figured that Rihanna’s problems meant that she could better identify with certain audiences. So, he recommended that she come clean about her abusive relationship with Brown, which she did in a number of televised interviews, and become a spokesperson for victims of domestic abuse.

See Rihanna in a recent backstage interview for a new Cover Girl commercial in the video below:

Discussion Questions:

1.  What was it about Rihanna’s involvement in an abusive relationship that made her a controversial spokesperson for Revlon and other companies?

2.  Why might it have easier for Stoute to repair Rihanna’s image, versus the image of the average troubled celebrity?

3.  What lesson could somebody like Tiger Woods learn from Rihanna’s triumphant return?

The news for Tiger Woods keeps getting worse. The golfer’s silence following his car accident in late November sparked great interest in his troubled personal life. Reports now suggest that he was intoxicated the night that his SUV hit a tree and fire hydrant. Several women have also come out to acknowledge affairs with Woods; the number has recently hit seven, including a Las Vegas model, a porn star, and a Los Angeles cocktail waitress, among many others. While this news has been breaking, reports suggest that Tiger’s wife, Elin Nordegren, has moved out of their family home, and that a blond woman was recently taken from Tiger’s house and rushed to a local hospital.

For more on Tiger’s ongoing scandal, see the videos below:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Tiger’s situation appears to be getting more and more out of control. How could he address the crisis in a way that would prevent further damage to his image?

2.  How has public perception of Tiger’s troubled personal life changed from the time of his accident to the news of his extramarital affairs? Has this news done irreparable damage to Tiger’s reputation, or will he still be able to rebound?

3.  So far, Tiger’s sponsors have reaffirmed their commitment to him. How might this change in the coming weeks? In other words, what kinds of details need to emerge before sponsors start distancing themselves from the troubled star?

U.S. health officials have declared that there are no serious side effects to the swine flu vaccine after recording only 3,200 complaints from the 22 million people who have been vaccinated. Nevertheless, a recent Fox News poll suggested that more than a third of Americans are afraid of getting their H1N1 vaccines, and that around 40 percent think it was produced too quickly to know whether it is actually safe.

In hopes of convincing the reluctant members of the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible, the federal government has launched a new nationwide public-service advertising campaign called “Together We Can All Fight the Flu.” The campaign currently consists of seven 30-second commercials, three radio spots, online banner ads and outdoor ads. The recent ads feature average people talking about their reasons for getting the vaccine, which differs from early strategies of using high-profile figures to push the public to act.

See the following video for a representative example of the video ads in the new campaign:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why are Americans not getting the H1N1 vaccine? What kinds of messages would work to effectively address their concerns?

2.  Why do you think the “Together We Can All Fight the Flu” campaign has decided to use everyday people rather than celebrities to push their message?

3.  What persuasive strategies are used in the video above? Are they effective? Why, or why not?

After news broke of the accident that left Tiger Woods unconscious and scraped up in his own yard on Thanksgiving night, the tabloids began to speculate what might have led to the mysterious event. TMZ, for instance, reported that Tiger’s wife had confronted him about rumors that he was having an affair and scraped his face before smashing his SUV with a golf club as he tried to flee.

Theoretically, Michael Bamberger of Sports Illustrated argued early on, Tiger’s initial silence might have worked as an effective response to the situation; he had a clean track record, the details of the incident were fuzzy, and high-profile athletes like him had eventually fallen out of the headlines after finding themselves associated with a scandal. Bamberger, and likely many PR experts, questioned the effectiveness of Tiger’s silence as more information about the accident emerged. Stonewalling when too many things did not make sense about the accident, these critics argued, only fueled curiosity. When one piece of news about the event leaked, there was more incentive to keep digging.

For more on Tiger’s silence, see the following video:

Discussion Questions:

1. When does silence work as a strategy in dealing with a scandal or crisis? Why is it risky?

2. Why did Tiger’s initial silence not work in repairing his image?

3. Is silence a better early image repair strategy than denial?  Why, or why not?

A University of New Mexico women’s soccer player, Elizabeth Lambert, found her character under attack in November after segments of her team’s match against Brigham Young University were circulated on the internet. The video, from a short story aired on ESPN, showed Lambert shoving, tripping, hitting, elbowing, and even pulling the hair of her opponents. As the video became “viral,” Lambert had no choice but to address the controversy in an interview with The New York Times.

In her interview with the major newspaper, Lambert confessed that she felt bad about her behavior. At the same time, though, she made many excuses for her physical performance during the game. The aggressive plays, Lambert argued, came during an especially contentious match, and as such may have confused viewers unfamiliar with the sport. Lambert added that some of the clips were taken out of context, and that her rough defense may not have been scrutinized if she were a man.

Lambert’s comments, however, further infuriated some critics. Many argued that the clips showed behavior that was so out of line that it could not have been taken out of context, and that any man caught doing the same would have faced the same criticism. Lambert’s “that wasn’t the real me” defense also upset critics, who were hoping that she might accept responsibility for her actions.

To see the viral video that caused Lambert to go on the defense, watch the following clip:

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think Lambert felt that she needed to address the controversy?

2. What strategies were present in Lambert’s “apology” to The New York Times?

3. Why did Lambert’s apology lack authenticity?

4.  What was it about Lambert’s actions that made it seem like her behavior was intentional? How did this perception function as a constraint for her apology?

Former American Idol star Adam Lambert shocked the country at the American Music Awards recently, with a sexually charged live performance in which he kissed a male member of his act and put his crotch in the face of another. Even though Lambert recognized backstage that he might have offended some people, he refused to apologize. “I admit I did get carried away,” he told CBS’ The Early Show the morning after, “but I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

Lambert has since gone on record accepting blame for the scandal, stating that nobody else knew about his actions beforehand. However, the growing controversy means that he may need to defend himself again, or apologize in the coming days. Not only has ABC received over 1,500 complaints since the performance, but members of the gay community in the United States have been arguing that he did a major disservice to gay people currently struggling for rights and respect.

To see Lambert’s post-show response to the controversy, and why some people were offended, watch the following videos:

Discussion Questions:

1.  Has Adam Lambert been negatively affected by his sexually charged performance? If so, how? If not, how has he helped his career with this controversy?

2.  Was Adam Lambert’s response to the crisis well-considered, or should he have made a more sincere apology for offending some viewers?

3.  What conditions might lead to Adam Lambert making a more complete apology in the coming days?

4.  If you were managing Lambert’s public relations, how might you try to repair his image in the coming weeks?