Brand image management Marlboro vs. Camel in Germany

Résumé du document

Let us look into the projected image by the brand Marlboro. This advert shows a man or a Cowboy, galloping in his horse through the woods. This action gives the movement to the picture and brings life to the advert. There is not much text, and the only word that can be read clearly in the advert is "Marlboro" in big white letters at the bottom right of the advert. On the bottom left, one can also read in small white letters: "The quantity of tear and Nicotine that you inhale will vary depending on how you smoke your cigarette". By displaying such a statement, Marlboro clearly states that it isn't Marlboros fault if the smoker can't smoke properly and inhales more than he should. The Cowboy is wearing a white hat (symbolizing purity), a blue shirt and he is holding a riding crop in his right hand, hitting the horse to make him gallop faster, which is a symbol for power. This is the only thing that can be seen in the advert. There are no logos, or pack of cigarettes. The reason for such an advert is to throw light on the brand's heuristic attitude which makes the consumers make quick and easy choices based on the brand name/recognition, which can be done because there is a low involvement of the consumer when buying Marlboro. If we look at the projected image by Camel, in the advert, one can see two male fingers holding up a card with a laughing couple on it who are dressed in a very stylish way. On the background, we can see a big metropolitan city by the sea; with a blue sky on the horizon. The color that predominates in this advert is blue.

Extraits

[...] Both brands are top of mind brands[6], even if Marlboro gains more customer awareness. The Camel add tries to show that they are marketing a different product (Camel travel-card) in order to overcome strict tobacco regulations, while the Marlboro advert hasn't totally lost their well build up cowboy-western image. Marlboro is relying on their brand image and therefore merely reinforcing their position via this advert to increase the brand notoriety, not needing to show the cigarettes nor the logo, as the consumer has a very strong brand association[7]. [...]

[...] (Schiffman & Kanuk, page 176-177) Marketers have also found out, that blue is the color most sought by men and also one of the most popular colors in general (Teoría del color, page 8). According to Kardes, color has three properties, hue primary colors), chroma (saturation, intensity and amount of pigments) and value (lightness). (Kardes, page 188) The wordplay with pleasure up your life is also important to consider because it could be interpreted in two ways: either “give your life a change and benefit from the great opportunities the Camel-Card can give or more pleasure while smoking Camel”. [...]

[...] Brand image management Marlboro vs. Camel in Germany Marlboro vs. Camel Projected image by Marlboro This advert shows a Men (Cowboy) riding his horse in gallop through the woods, which gives the picture movement and brings in life to the advert. There is not much text, and the only word that can be read clearly in the advert is “Marlboro” in big white letter at the bottom right of the advert. On the bottom left one can also read in small white letters: quantity of tear and Nicotine that you inhale will vary depending on how you smoke your cigarette”, which wants to show that it isn't Marlboros fault if the smoker can't smoke properly and inhales more than he should. [...]

[...] darker blue) arouses a feeling of excitement which results in a more favorable attitude towards the product. Another color used is yellow, that is supposed to link the advert to Camel and because people register the color faster, hence the reader even if he flicks through a magazine will see the name Camel because it is positioned on the right side of the page. This color also symbols novelty and warmth, which is supposed to make the reader sympathize with the young men on the card and also with the brand. [...]

[...] But again, stricter regulations have obliged them to find new ways of marketing their product, resulting in the here analyzed advert[45]. Furthermore it can be said, that reference groups are also an important factor when being a smoker, as can be seen with Marlboro, which has a considerable impact when choosing a particular brand/product[46]. The Camel advert might me the most affected by the reference groups, as it can be seen in the advert, where one could imagine that the girl portrayed on the card, was not totally convinced about the idea, but the young men convinced her to try it out and takes her with him, hence here again the symbol of social acceptance comes into play. [...]