Clearasil launches new campaign

If you want to communicate with the kids, then you have to use the tools that the kids are using today. That’s a simple lesson that marketers are starting to take very seriously. Today’s kids don’t absorb ads like those of a decade ago. Today, you have to target your message in a high-tech way.

Clearasil is trying to reach young users though a new marketing campaign designed to use nontraditional advertising venues. Instead of newspapers (who reads those?) and television (quickly becoming passe in today’s “I want it when I want it” entertainment culture), Clearasil is using video clips designed for viewing on smartphones and PC tablets. The hope is that the message will go viral, allowing it to reach millions of potential buyers in a short period of time.

Another benefit: using these marketing methods could cost less in the long run. Traditional marketing schemes already knew where the hot real estate was. You want advertising time during the Super Bowl? You’re going to pay a hefty fee for that privilege. You want a full-page advertisement on page 3 of the New York Times? Better get your checkbook ready.

When it comes to viral marketing, though, it’s largely about making content that people want to share. The more that people share the ads, the more people it reaches. In this way, it’s less about prime real estate and more about quality content.

Clearasil is taking this approach seriously, too, by sponsoring a concert by singer JoJo and incorporating her music into the ads.

My first pimple

I don’t remember my first pimple. It must not have been a big deal for me. I can remember one night during my freshman or sophomore years in high school when I was really worried about this huge zit on my nose because I was meeting a girl at some party. I can even remember using Clearasil or something like that a few times.

Honestly, though, I don’t think that acne was a big part of my life during middle and high school.

It wasn’t until I turned the ripe age of 18 that I started to get concerned. Not surprisingly, that’s around the time that the pimples started to get serious about colonizing my face.

Even then, I can’t remember the first moment that it seemed like a big deal to me. It was a gradual thing that invaded my mind, probably as the pimples gradually took over my skin.

Looking back on it, I wish that I could have the same attitude. I didn’t know that they were going to steadily get worse over the next couple of years and that they would become a part of my life that would come and go for the better part of a decade.

I try to feel satisfied that my acne seems to have hit its peak. They’ve been at this level for a couple years now, so I don’t see them suddenly exploding into those deep grooves that you see on some people. Some days, that seems like a small thing to accomplish. Other days, though, it seems impossible to find that perspective.

Clearasil loves some Skins

Skins, the MTV show that has become controversial for showing the actual issues that teenagers face in their lives, lost a lot of advertising revenue after it debuted. General Motors and Taco Bell both decided that they wouldn’t support the show any longer because the content was too racy.

Clearasil, however, had a much better idea. Instead of pulling out, they created an ad campaign that addresses many of the issues raised in the show. It’s a kind of public service to show teens that they can decide not to use drugs and alcohol and that they don’t need to feel pressured into having sex. Clearasil is calling their campaign “Make the Clear Choice.”

This isn’t to say, of course, that all teens will change their ways. Honestly, who would want to give up memories of youthful sex and rebellion. What Clearasil has done is show kids that it is up to them to make their choices in life. Telling them about the potential consequences of uses drugs and having sex gives teenagers the information that they need to make choices. After all, just doing what adults tell you isn’t making a good choice. It’s just following rules. Teens can only make choices when they have information to weight consequences and decide how they want to live their lives.

I’m glad that Clearasil has stuck by Skins. The show isn’t as bad as many conservative groups make it out to be. Calling it pornography is just absurd.

I’m also glad that Clearasil has decided to offer more than just an advertisements. Their ads have made them a part of the conservation rather than just a company pedaling acne treatments.

Treat your skin like a Hollywood starlet (treats her skin)

When I want serious, groundbreaking news reports, I always head to Hollywood Life. Especially when I want to feel really self-conscious and bad about myself for not living up to impossible standards. If only there was a way to Photoshop skin blemishes in real life…

According to a recent post on Hollywood Life, starlets turn to four quick fixes when they need to get rid of a pimple in a hurry. So, what are the hottest acne eliminators in the biz?

• Sonya Dakar’s Drying Potion
• Murad Acne Treatment Concealer
• Zeno Hot Spot Blemish Clearing Device
• Clearasil’s Ultra Rapid Action Treatment Gel

Personally, I’ve never tried any of these products, so I won’t pretend to know whether they can really eliminate pimples as quickly as they claim. I do know, however, that these are spot treatment products that you should use sparingly. They contain high concentrations of their active ingredients (well, except for the Zeno device, which doesn’t have active ingredients, but still…) that people can only use on small areas of the face. If you were to rub these products all over your face, you would get the worst side effects. We’re talking about excessively dry skin that flakes off, redness, puffiness. Basically a bunch of stuff that looks worse than your pimples.

That means that these products are basically made for starlets. The chosen few who never have more than a blemish, maybe two. Those of us with real acne can’t get anything out of these treatments. They’re simply not made for us. If you only get the occasional zit, then good for you. Go ahead and give these a try. If you have real acne, though, forget about it. These will only make your troubles worse.