Reinvention and What it Means to Be an Entrepreneur

By Kaira Strudivant Rouda
General Motors - fresh from Monday’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy announcement - unveiled a new 60 second television spot titled Reinvention. The spot is full of Americana images - baseball, big cities, folks hugging, sports fans, a tattered American flag, some familiar product shots, and the now, also cliched, nod to going green: [...]

Real You: Time for another reality check in advertising

     I find quite often when I sit down to tackle my weekly column for Reaching Women Daily, that I have a nagging ad that forces me to rant. I’m sort of a Bob Garfield in the Reaching Women Daily community. Can’t help it, it’s just that I’m surrounded by ads and sometimes they bug me. This [...]

Real You: When everybody’s selling fear, is anybody buying?

Have you hear enough of the ”buy x and if you lose your job we’ll do y” deals? It’s a popularmessage and now, it seems, “everybody’s” doing it. There are way too many Xs and Ys. The Xs include: cars, houses, furniture, suits, airline tickets, gym memberships. And the Ys? Payment for a year, taking the item back, [...]

Real You: Now that context and connection are possible, we expect it!

     Here’s the new reality: Now that women consumers are accustomed to instant gratification and a wide-web of social relations and networks, if you’re a brand, you need to find us there. And if you’re a brand I’m doing business with, it’s even more crucial.
     My debit card was in France yesterday, trying to book a [...]

Real You: The more things change, the more they don’t

     International Women’s Day is Sunday, March 8th. Founded in 1911 by Clara Zetkin, the goal of day was to get women together to press for equality. In many countries, it’s a holiday more important than Mother’s Day. IWD celebrates the accomplishments of women, while spotlighting how far we need to go. If you’re still thinking [...]

Real You: When ads distract from editorial’s message it’s less, not MORE

     I love women’s magazines.
     You could almost say I’m an aficionado. But when I buy a magazine, I buy it for a reason. For a tone, and a point. When I’m reading People, for example, I want the ads to complement the content, which would be a completely different tone and ad than i [...]