Starbucks & AT&T

I was walking through the mall yesterday and I passed by an AT&T stand with a a prominently placed advertisement. The advertisement was promoting AT&T's coverage network. The advertisement featured a smiling Starbucks barista in a green apron who had lined up 4 sizes of Starbucks cups, from small to large, to represent having "full bars" when you have full network service on your cell phone. This ad is similar to other AT&T promotions; however it caught my attention because Starbucks' logo was prominently placed in the advertisement for another company. I assumed that Starbucks and AT&T had formed some type of a business partnership. Upon further investigation on the Internet, I discovered that in 2008 Starbucks and AT&T reached an agreement to bring free Wi-Fi to Starbucks coffee shops. This partnership further expands AT&T's Wi-Fi network, while benefiting Starbucks' Card holders who take advantage of 2 hours of free Wi-Fi service per day.

Old Spice Swagger Commercial

I was watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday when an commercial for Old Spice came on. The advertisement was for Old Spice's new product, Swagger. The advertisement featured LL Cool J who claims that Swagger helped him with the ladies. The ad shows a younger LL Cool J awkwardly approaching a beautiful woman and then squealing as he nervously walks away. He claims that was the old him before he started using Old Spice's Swagger. Now he is nicely dressed in a white suit, full of charisma, and has classy music playing. All thanks to Swagger.

In addition to being funny, I thought this commercial was interesting because I generally associate Old Spice with being a product for older men. With the introduction of this new product, Old Spice is trying to reach out to a younger market, and do so by using LL Cool J as a spokesperson to appeal to a younger audience. Through this advertisement and new product introduction, Old Spice is trying to change its image.