Ad Analysis

Ad Analysis

To commit ourselves to evaluating the old vs. new we have to first find examples of the two. What I chose to compare and contrast are ads that focus on capturing a particular audience, that audience would be the athletes on the hardwood. Pony has long been in the running for shoe corporations and has, as long as I can remember, made a decent focus on comfort ability and style amongst the ball players. “Just Do It” has never failed to get in the minds of every and anyone willing to lay on the line their sweat and grit in order to better their abilities in their particular sport or life. The products inspire those to just do what they need in order to get where they want to go. Nike can easily claim itself the top producer of athletic apparel around this nation and maybe even the globe. When comparing the Ads its easy to see the approach each product was trying to focus on. One was focusing on the competition and the other was focusing on looking ahead and setting the bar. In concluding a better ad I had to look deeper into each ad to find a winner.

The Pony Corporation has been around since 1972, and has claimed the stakes on no particular athlete and has yet to make a shoe deal or apparel contract with an athlete or model figure since its debut. As trend setting as the organization has been in the past, it finds itself in the unique position of hitting the market where it was first established. The ad introduces the “Back In The Game” mentality that Pony is trying to stake. Obviously the throwback trend that has become so relevant in the clothing, shoe and apparel market is what the Pony Corporation is after. Along coast lines and deep in the hearts of cities kids to adults are finding their roots in clothing, sneakers, hats and even haircuts and nowhere can you find a better example of this than on the basketball court. Dr. J jerseys to Wilt Chamberlains to Magic Johnsons to Larry Birds can be found almost without doubt on any and every court around the globe. What a great time for the originators to bring their company back from the ashes and maybe take over as the juggernaut of the hardwood.

On a critical side of the evaluation, the piggy back move Pony established was without a doubt lame in street terms. The biggest print on the ad attempts to poke fun and maybe even gain their audience by taking shots at the actual leader in footwear in the court, Nike.

“They Inspired Us To Do It. So We Did.”, Reads the ad in white print on the top left corner of the flimsy page. There isn’t a better way to take a shot at Nike then to mock the logo/hook that gave Nike its claim to fame. With the words “DO IT” in red it’s plain that the message was to come in and take out whoever isn’t belonging to the Pony organization. As to the persuasion of the reader, a hundred or so new shoes, cleverly Pony’s, envelope an athlete who not only appears to have been knocked down by the numerous shoes that lay on him as if they fell from a top like a looney toons cartoon but, happens to resemble a player who wears Nike. Another obvious theme is the ability to take out the competition with their distinct product, a throwback feel, appealing to the new era with a new look and a trendsetting reputation. Very Persuasive.

It seems almost to the point where Nike can put a picture of their shoe on any ad in any magazine and they’ll end up in the black on that product. Also established in the 70’s, Nike has pretty much demanded the throne when it comes to athletic apparel. Their resume is quite impressive and can practically contend with the fact that they