This advertisement is clearly targeted at stay at home moms who might get cut while doing household chores. It emphasizes the fact that it’ll stay put as they go about their business, stating that they are “the most trusted name in surgical dressings”. Another, more minor point of difference is the fact that it’s “flesh-colored, almost invisible”. That was probably rather important to women who had to constantly take care to give off a perfect appearance. This ad ran in 1956 and is clearly a persuasive ad as it compares its product to others on the market and hopes to convince consumers to switch brands. Additionally, given that the parent company, Johnson&Johnson, is still prominent in the commercial, the company was most likely trying to appeal to those consumers who were already using some of their products, thereby leveraging loyalty. While bland for our days, this commercial set out to convince mothers to switch to Band-Aid products by outlining why it’s better than the competitors.
The new Band-Aids campaign features children singing a catchy jingle, clearly still aimed at mothers. The jingle easily gets stuck in the viewers head and can be very useful when trying to remember what brand the consumer should pick. In 2007, Band-Aid relaunched its antibiotic Band-Aids and its “I am stuck on a Band-Aid” jingle ad series. Band-Aid, and more generally Johnson&Johnson, does well at maintaining brand consistency through this reminder ad. The product is clearly very successful in the United States as most consumers refer to plasters as Band-Aids. Nonetheless, Johnson&Johnson probably aims to boost sales by focusing on the antibiotics POD, thus encouraging mothers to use the Band-Aids for their children because it will not only protect the wound but also help heal it.
The difference between the two ads is evident. While the vintage ad provides very rational arguments as to why mothers should by the product, the contemporary ad provides duality, including both head and heart. It aims to make parents, and mothers in particular, think that with Band-Aids, their child will play happily outside (which may be every mothers dream, especially in the era of electronics). It also has a more entertaining feeling as opposed to the infomercials of the 1950s.