I have decided to change my ad campaign to United Colors of Benetton. I am going to use 4 of their print ads, each from a different one of their campaigns. McCann Erickson is the ad agency that Benetton uses to produce their ads. Each of their campaigns deal with different issues of global concern.

In my last post the ad dealt with racism, in their new campaign, called Microcredit Africa Works, they tackle issues dealing with the economy. Benetton has linked up with the company called Birima which was set up by the singer Youssou N’Dour. This program gives small, low interest loans (micro loans) to farmers and artisans in Senegal. Benetton has given Birima a large amount of money that they loan to the people and in turn Benetton’s logo and name is plastered on all the images. This provides a symbiotic relationship between the two groups, Benetton’s image is boosted and Birima has money for loans, they both win.

In this campaign, Benetton deals with issues of poverty and taking steps to change the ways of the world. This campaign definitely uses emotion to connect with the consumer. Their focus is completely away from their product, yet it makes me want to buy their product. If we had a Benetton store in Albuquerque, I would want to buy something from there, rather than somewhere like Target, just because I know they support causes like this.

This might not be the same use of emotion that Williams talks about in his article on the The Six Tugs of War, but I think it still applies. I also think that because they don’t use their clothes in the campaign they are pretty much completely relying on consumers emotions and curiosity to sell their clothes.

What I really like about the Benetton Group is there website. They have so much information about the actual company on their website, from past ad campaigns to press releases, financial statements, future projections and tons of other information. I like that they aren’t trying to hide anything from the consumer like many companies try to do today. I don’t think that they legally have to put that information on their website because they are not a publicly held corporation but they do.

I love the artistic qualities of the ad, it is so bright and colorful, yet simple and striking. It shows real people and what they do to make a living and I think it has real potential to change the way people look at Africa and it’s a great start to ending poverty.

I think this is more of a music video than a tv commercial but either way, it’s promoting Birima and Benetton’s message about Microcredit Africa Works. I am going to do a wide campaign analysis and stick to print ads but the animation in this video makes me smile so I wanted to share it with you.