Date: Sunday, March 8, 2009
Time: 03:41

My first impression of the Colossal U Ad campaign was that it seemed as if it was a joke. It’s unbelievable that any University would use advertisements with negative slogans. They used phrases like, "Every Colossal U student will turn out exactly the same. We guarantee it", "New ideas? New thinking? Not at Colossal U." and "Student number 237, your teacher will see you now." After reading blogs about these controversial ads, I began noticing them every time I travelled on the TTC bus or subway. It appeared like they were trying to discourage people from enrolling in their University. Next I thought the actual University was using Colossal U as a comparison, and tried bringing down Colossal U's reputation. I spent quite some time thinking about the true meaning of the advertisements, and I asked my brother about his interpretation of it. He read the slogan, "Every Colossal U student will turn out exactly the same. We guarantee it", and he thought that the University was trying to inform the public that every student will succeed. I considered his opinion, but a part of me knew that it had an alternate meaning.

I visited the Colossal U website and it looked pretty legit. I continued to observe the webpage until a woman appeared. Then the woman pushed away every thing on the screen, revealing a completely different University. Algoma University was introduced, and it is completely opposite from Colossal U. There were videos of professors and students from Algoma University. They described the programs and advantages of student teacher interactions. Each of them is treated as individuals and not numbers. They receive an adequate amount of attention and guidance from professors. The students who attend Algoma University are able to reach their full potential, and are well prepared for the future.

I think that Algoma University used clever techniques to promote their school. The ads are unique, and are simply short phrases and slogans. It raises curiosity from the public, which leads them to do additional research. Algoma University definitely caught my attention, like they intended. However, I think they took a risk by using the Colossal U ads because there’s a large chance that many people wouldn’t even bother taking the time to research about it, and would continue believing there’s a University with negative beliefs. Algoma University will surely be recognized for these interesting ads.

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