I'm a Walking Ad!

This weekend, I participated in a tennis tournament over at Laguna Creek Racquet Club. As we were driving there, my mom told me that we would be getting long sleeve shirts for participating in the tournament. I was so excited, because I love getting random clothes for free. Anyways, I went up to the coordinator of the tournament and he gave me my shirt. I loved everything about it! I only skimmed the front, because I was anxious to see what was on the back. Once I turned it around, my smile faded. Was this shirt really a way of making the participants feel good about participating, or was it just an advertising technique? They included a telephone number for contact, so not doubt about it, this shirt was meant to advertise. We, the participants, were manipulated by the advertisers to become their walking ads. How did they hope to convince anyone of coming here, though?

The shirt includes a picture of two snowmen hitting snowballs at each other with racquets, which so conveniently goes with the time of year. This picture satisfies the viewer's need for affiliation. Because the two snowmen are together, having a good time, the viewer will get the feeling that by going to this club, they will be able to have a hitting buddy that they can smack snow balls at (not really). This picture also satisfies the need to escape. Snowmen are built when you're on a break and have free time. Snowballs are thrown when there's nothing else to do except have fun. The picture shows that by going to this club, you will be able to escape the stressful life and do things that you can only do when you're free.

A couple advertising techniques used are wit and humor/sex appeal, specifically humor, and gestalt. Who doesn't want to smile when they see two snowmen hitting snowballs at each other? This funny image triggers the attention of the viewer, which leads up to them wanting to be a part of the humor and join the club. Gestalt is used because the actual shirt is a very odd color of green. It stands out from other colors, so one couldn't help but look at the shirt. It would take time to realize that you're looking at the shirt because of the color, not just because you're eyes happened to settle on it.

This shirt targets those who play tennis, because the snowmen are playing tennis. It also targets those who just want to have a good time, because these snowmen look like they're having a blast. In my opinion, this tool of target marketing is effective because I know that if I saw this shirt, I would be interested in learning more about the club based on the picture.

The odd shade of green, the snowmen, the racquets, the snowballs, and everything else makes this an ad that will catch the attention of many. Although I do like the shirt and I am thankful that's its a long sleeve, I hope that next time they put the ad on a poster or something instead of on me, because I just hate the idea of being a walking ad.