When Religion Meets Advertising

As I continue to sift through countless site on the web about advertising, I came across one that particularly interested me. Wonder Cafe,  a site based out of Canada, is all about religion.  As my blog continually discusses controvresial advertising, this site is particularly fitting.  Wonder Cafe has developed and advertising campaign that is intended to be controversial.  The idea behind the advertisments is to get people to discuss religion, and it is very successful.  I am unable to show the advertisements in my blog post, but go check them out!

Wonder Cafe Advertisments (click on the link entitled “Ad Campaign” in the bottom left corner of the home page)

 As a born and raised Catholic (not to mention 12 years of the Catholic school system), some of the advertisements go again what I was taught to believe.  The website strongly encourages individuals to talk about the advertisements, with discussion forums created for each ad.  I enjoyed the advertisements, and I think that they provide a good focal point for the ever-dreaded topic of discussion: religion.  I found the forums on these advertisements to be particularly interesting. 

 In my opinion, I beleive that Wonder Cafe does an excellent job of using controversial advertising to promote discussion about religion.

It’s All in the Name

For a project in one of my college courses, I have joined a group of students in creating a website designed for an audience of college students.  One thing I have learned in my previous research about advertising is that a product’s, or in this case, a publication’s name is very important.  The name is so powerful that it can draw unsuspecting visitors to our site as well as deter individuals who might actually be interested in the information provided.

 Thus, search for our publication’s name is a difficult one.  I am asking if you have any ideas that you would please help us!  I have provided a little background information about the project and audience, so if any bright ideas come to mind, your comments would be greatly appreciated.

The audience is local college students in a small city in Western Wisconsin.  The city has three college campuses that the publication would target.  The publication itself will include sections on the following topics in the local area: entertainment, health, travel, relationships/dating, and the bar scene.