We all see advertisements, they have been incorporated into our lives and minds through many forms over the years. Be it from a simple advertisement on television, billboards and park benches, to writing on the back of your cereal box and product placements in movies. The tag lines have become part of our common speech and the impact has been worldwide. So the question is, what makes these campaigns successful? What are the differences between the flops and the successes? Do we as the viewer have any say, or are we told what to like and disregard? This blog will take a look at advertising campaigns, both current and past. Each posting will discuss a previous post regarding an advertising campaign, in which we will ask you, our readers, what your thoughts are on the campaign itself or the product(s) that are advertised. At the bottom of each posting you will be able to write your review for the upcoming posting, tell us your thoughts, whether you like the campaign, or just think it is going to be a failure. Check back with us every month to see if you agree with our audience on advertising's best and worst.

For over ten years Coca Cola to give a delightful expression of the cool refreshing taste of Coke has used the polar bear icons. This is a classic use of a marketing tool, icons that are overused.

LifeLock is an identity theft prevention company that detects fraudulent applications for credit cards, mortgages and car loans placed in their clients' names. LifeLock CEO Todd Davis was so confident in the company's ability to protect sensitive information that it publicized its services with a brazen television advertisement, in which a van drives by with his real, actual social security number emblazoned on the side, all but daring criminals to use it. A number of identity thieves not only took the dare, but used the information successfully multiple times. In two cases reported in the Phoenix New Times, a Texas man used the social security number to take out a $500 loan and another in Georgia used the CEO's information to open an AT&T wireless account. Davis knew nothing about either instance until the collection agencies started calling him.

Dig2Go (advertising is unknown until you read the tag line)

For Microsoft and mobile, it's a familiar phrase: There's always next year! This year Windows Phones didn't do anything to halt Microsoft's sliding market share in the mobile world. Next year it will be all in with Nokia. In theory that should help change the market share equation. We'll see what happens ...

Another consumable billboard that was destroyed by onlookers rather quickly is this penny creation, advertising the Chevrolet Aveo. The billboard featured a car made entirely from 20,000 one cent coins which were picked off by passersby within 30 minutes.

Some things are edgy because they are cool; some things are edgy because they repulse and revolt. And much like the McDonald's "i'd hit it" campaign, Jones made the mistake of thinking that things that disgust people would be a winning combination with things we put in our mouths. This was the case with their new, "cuh-razy" flavors that included such lip-smacking offerings as "Perspiration" and "Dirt"-

When Pfizer decided to get a famous face to advertise their cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, they knew that few TV pitchmen would have more credibility than a doctor. So in 2006, they rolled out a new television advertisement starring Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart, and he instantly lent a degree of gravitas to the proceedings. "Just because I'm a doctor," he said in the spots, "doesn't mean I don't worry about my cholesterol. " Technically, the statement was true. However, there was one small problem -- Jarvik had never for a day in his life been licensed to practice medicine. In fact, he had never even completed a residency or an internship. The advertisements became the subject of a congressional investigation, in which lawmakers determined that the spots amounted to medical advice from someone who was not a practicing physician. Pfizer withdrew the ads in 2008.

Best: 'SURGERY'
January 2007. PC, seen in a hospital gown, explains that he is upgrading to Windows Vista, which requires "major surgery" internally. PC admits he is worried about the process and bequeaths his peripherals to Mac should he not survive.

Worst: 'TREE TRIMMING'
December 2008. Animated Mac and PC are seen decorating a Christmas tree. Much as they did in 2006's "Goodwill," they appear to be setting aside their differences in the spirit of the holidays. But once again, PC ruins it, this time by writing "PC Rules" in lights on the tree.

First released in November 2006, the Zune was Microsoft's answer to the iPod. While it had some nifty product features that the iPod lacked (like sharing music from player to player), the Zune, despite an expensive marketing effort by Microsoft, never really caught on. At its best, it was able to crack into low double-digit market share while the dominant iPod took about 65%. More ominously, in a filing with the SEC in January, Microsoft disclosed that it had seen Zune revenues decline 54% in the preceding quarter. (At the same time, iPod revenues increased by 3%.) Of all MP3 players listed on Amazon.com currently, the first Zune model comes in at 36 behind an army of iPods and a few Samsungs.

Why did it fail? On a design level, the Zune lacked style and the simplicity of Apple's interface. The Zune seemed clunky in comparison. More importantly, the Zune could not be used with Apple's iTunes program, an even more dominant product in its market than the iPod. By integrating the music experience (from cradle to grave, so to speak), Apple created strong disincentives to any competitor that just could not be overcome.

Back in the day (2003), Blockbuster unveiled what seemed like a revolutionary and economically infeasible strategy: no more late fees on their rentals. The marketing campaign was tremendous, every store featured giant banners, and the airwaves were peppered with ads for the new Blockbuster. But remember the part about it being economically infeasible? It still was, but they never told customers the whole truth. At the time, Blockbuster was the rental behemoth, the port of call if you wanted a movie. The "no late fees" campaign was supposed to cement their place at the top of the market; instead, it most likely killed them. In reality, customers had a certain period of time after the return date. If the item wasn't returned before then, they were charged the whole value of the movie. If they thereafter returned it, their money was refunded in store credit only. This campaign's duplicity ended with several lawsuits and alienating just about every single one of Blockbuster's customers, leaving them incapable of competing with Netflix. Blockbuster re-instated late fees recently this year, which coincidentally will probably be the last year most people set foot inside of a Blockbuster.

As In our previous posting on August 13th, we asked your opinions on the buyout of Commerce Bank by TD Bank. As discussed by over one hundred and fifty responses, we confirmed our thoughts on the advertising campaigns of Commerce bank and color scale. Commerce Bank, as we all know, uses Red and Blue strong colors with an undertone that we could not put our fingers on. When they became TD bank our responders blogged about the colors remind them of grading in school , how red was harsh and turned them away where the green and cool colors of TD bank made them feel more drawn in. To top it off, our responders could not even mention an ad by Commerce , where the use of celebrities made TD bank feel more "homey"; advertising that relates. Again, another reason why we here at New Web Design keep not only our clients in mind, but their targeted audience. So the question is Bloggers, what do you think?

What makes a good advertisement? Something that is catchy? Keeping people guessing? Does color count? Why not start with one of the more famous would wide companies, McDonalds? Early this year, the company started a campaign in Chicago, using a billboard that not only shows their new breakfast menu, but accentuates different products depending on the hour of the day. The company used the basic billboard design and took it to a three dimensional level with the addition of a sundial. This dial points to various products. So Bloggers, think back. What ad sticks in your mind? What ads have you seen that have been used too much?

In our first blog session we talked about the McDonalds Advertisement and ads that serve multiple purposes for the not only a cost saving but a aspect but a something that makes the viewer look at twice. We asked what advertisement comes to mind when you think of overused campaigns. The responses came back in the droves, leaving one clear "winner". This image is known by most people growing up worldwide after 1945. This advertisement was originally designed to show that women can be in the work force and that the Axis powers and Allies are still in this war, Rosie the Riveter. At the time this campaign was good, but was later used over and over again, on T-shirts and billboards, and has made the impact decrease to have little to no affect on the public. This is a good example of an ad campaign that shows things work until a certain point and do not have an impact after over saturation in the media.

It may be hard to fathom today, but just a few years ago, not every person on earth owned an iPod, and other companies still believed that they had a shot at snaring customers for portable mp3 players. SanDisk manufactured their own in 2006, the e200, and they advertised it in a unique way - by launching the "iDont" campaign, which depicted users of the iPod as conformist drones and labeled them "iSheep"