NBC is counting on "The Voice" to increase its ratings

Ever since the end of "Sunday Night Football" and the season finale of "The Voice" last december, the TV network, NBC, has been struggling to aquire good ratings. According to Adage.com, NBC has been seeing more and more devastating lows in their rating each week. Because of these ratings, NBC is highly anticipating the return of the singing competition "The Voice." NBC hopes that by starting the fourth cycle in the coming weeks, ratings will show a dramatic increase. The network is highlighting "The Voice" more than ever, by moving around other shows, such as "Smash"to different times and days. Not only is NBC going to air the signing competition on its viewing day, but also show re-runs on Sundays.
Having two cycles of the show during the year could be detrimental to the show because it will be increasing its burn out rate. This is a risk that NBC is willing to take. In order to keep the show new, the network plans to rotate in different judges every so often. Hopefully the extended promotion of "The Voice" will help NBC to increase its ratings once again, although they should try to take in other interesting programs because counting on one show to carry its ratings to the top may be difficult. 

Taco Bell's Spanish Speaking Ads

As Taco Bell begins to launch their new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos taco, one might recognize the tune in the commercials as the famous Lionel Richie ballad from 1984, but the words going along with it may not be so easy to understand for those who don't speak spanish. According to adage.com, the launch of this Ad is going to be a part of Taco Bell's largest ever campaign. Brian Niccol, CMO of Taco Bell, says that, although the song is translated into spanish, it is a song that can pretty much be understood without knowing the words. The song's translation is expanding on the larger "Live Mas" campaign, which according to Niccol, shows that Taco Bell's food "not just as fuel, but food as an experience." The main focus by Taco Bell in having spanish intertwined in their english commercials is to help blend cultures. As Taco Bell is a mexican inspired brand, they are taking the next steps to really incorporate what that cultural influence means. The use of spanish language in the new campaign can be seen as a new approach in their advertising, but a smart one at that. By doing this, Taco Bell is catering to spanish and english speaking cultures, which will help to expand their already large consumer base. 

Oreo launches new ad through social media

"You can still dunk in the dark." Those few words were stated by Oreo through twitter just moments after the lights went out at this years 2013 Super Bowl. According to adage.com, this tweet caused an alarming amount of attention in a very short period of time. The phrase received thousands or retweets and facebook likes within the first hour. The tweet itself drew in much much more attention than the cookie's tv commercial itself. Oreo has been using social media as part of their advertising for a while now, and it has had a very big impact on them. By using social media, such as twitter, facebook and instagram, Oreo is tremendously expanding on their advertising by getting the consumers involved. Oreo has created contests on twitter and instagram by getting their followers to hashtag which part of the oreo they like better. They also had a special event on instagram on Valentine's Day which allowed followers to send a picture of an oreo with a special saying or image shown within the oreo filling. Oreo's use of social media is a very creative form of advertising that seems to be working very well for the company.