The New Black (Friday)

I just learned about Cyber Monday today, on Cyber Monday. It has taken over every bit of screen space I have today, there is no escaping it. On Youtube there is a huge ad for Target's Cyber Monday deals, sure okay Youtube has just started a trend of large ads that take up more than half the screen on the home page, but look in the right hand corner:

Under "Spotlight Videos" there is a whole section on Cyber Monday! The videos featured are shopping guides for the people who want nothing, everything, and everywhere in between. Maybe there has been a massive increase in shopping guide videos uploaded and Youtube is paying tribute to that, but I highly doubt it. Youtube sells mostly advertising space, it looks like a corporation has bought the 'Spotlight Videos' as advertising space. Another new trend is sending free new products to video gurus to test out and review the products online. The combination of large Cyber Monday advertising space, hidden advertising space, and product placements lead to a shove for more unhealthy consumption.

Christmas, unfortunately, has become a holiday about consumption instead of a holiday about family. I am glad that the hysteria of Black Friday has decreased, and now the popularity of Cyber Monday has increased. Truthfully I would rather hear about the debits that people have gone into for Christmas presents than hear about the people who were trampled to death at Walmart on Black Friday.

Starbursts & The Whistle Song

I remember humming the song in this 2003 Starburst Fruit & Crème commercial incessantly when I was in middle school. I’d also admired how “cool” the trio eating Starbursts acted while they strolled throughout the ad. I love watching the juxtaposition of chaotic events with the whistling song and the relaxed aura of the trio. Even though the events presented are implausible, the craziness makes the ad that much more enjoyable to watch. I think that this commercial exercises some great advertising. The catchiest background music ever, and a message that suggests that Starburst Fruit & Crème will keep people calm and collected during the most extreme circumstances has me sold.

Kinect adventures ad 2010

During my thanksgiving break, I was catching up on some of my tv shows and came across this cool new technology, Kinect, from Xbox. Kinect is technology that uses the player's body as the "control". There are no remote controls like Wii to communicate with the TV, and instead the motions from your body is captured from a sensor. The commercial flashes to multiple players from different backgrounds to convey the message that the game or software is easily comprehendible and accessible. Also, the idea of us being the controller is appealing to people because it allows more power and freedom to the player. I know for myself, I was interested in Xbox Kinect after I had watched the commercial because it took gaming to a whole new level. The idea of not using a remote and being in control caught my attention. Does anyone else feel the same?

It's a Miracle!

Ever wished for not going to work or school, but have no excuses? Tada! Act like you're dead! This dude in the coffin piled up with doritos is all set. His friends envy him because the "dead" friend can eat doritos while watching the super bowl without going to work for a week. But when this "fails," one of the friends yells "It's a Miracle!" So if you guys don't want to do something, I'll help you by 1. placing you in a coffin, 2. pour doritos all over you, and 3. if it fails I'll yell "It's a Miracle." But just thinking of getting buried in doritos is disgusting!

Famous Slogans

"Don't leave home without it." ~American Express
"The power to be your best." ~ Apple Computers
"When you say Budweiser, you've said it all." ~ Budweiser
"Have it your way." ~ Burger King
"It's the real thing." ~ Coca Cola
"They're great!" ~ Kelloggs
"Just do it!" ~ Nike
"Moving forward." ~ Toyota
"The ultimate driving machine." ~ BMW

And there are so many more slogans that we will recognize. It's scary how everybody knows at least some of the slogans out in the world today. These are there to lure consumers in, and the marketers are promoting specific brands and products through slogans that are easy to remember. But, I'm sure that there are so many more slogans that are very familiar to us even if we are not aware of them right now.

Skinnier than Zero?

Following the same concept of the movie "Killing us softly", this commercial shows what the author of the movie tries to explain. When I saw this commercial, the first thing that came to my mind was "that girl is super skinny", well, that's the whole point of the ad, she is skinny because she drinks Sprite Zero. In addition to this, she is wearing sport gear and looks tired and sweaty.What I think marketers want us to believe that in order to be good-looking (skinny) and to feel sexy, we need to exercise and drink Sprite Zero.
As the ad goes on, we see that she takes her shirt off because she has no limits after she started drinking Sprite Zero. Besides for the fact she is extremely skinny, she looks sexy and there is a man who sees her. Again, Advertising is making us guilty that we are not beautiful or perfect for the public. Commercials like that should not be on TV because they put down women. These commercials imply that women are important only if they are beautiful and skinny.
 

BBC Bra

This is a really funny ad about 5 new radio stations of BBC. The boss of the office is really efficient since she saves 32 minutes by not getting dressed. Notice of course the boss is female not male. You wont see male exevcutives get stripped of their dignity.

Animals?

Wrangler, a jeans company, thinks that humans, at the core, are animalistic. They have an advertising campaign dedicated to this concept, complete with a disturbing, and in fact animalistic, portrayal of humans thrashing about violently. The whole idea is way overconceptualized and melodramatic, and I think this company takes themselves way to seriously thinking that this stuff is "art.". Um, I don't think so.

In the ad above, the woman reveals just her bare back and her rear. Only part of her body is shown, but it is safe to assume that she is a corpse, perhaps by murder or drowning. We don't know-and therefore, we create a story. Her death is exaggerated by the dirt on her skin (perhaps "animalistic?")....but it screams more violence to me. It seems like she was manipulated or mangled during her death.

This ad is just sad, plain and simple. When I saw this, I felt defeated. How does our society let this stuff pass by? Do people not see how utterly depressing this photo is? To me, it doesn't scream animal behavior. In the end, it all comes back to violence against women.

Photo from: http://www.adrants.com/images/wranglerad2.png

Baby on the Road

During Thanksgiving break I found myself watching a bit more television than when I'm at Smith and this was the first advertisement I saw. I think this ad is adorable and hilarious from the baby's facial expressions to seeing him cruise down a busy road unscathed (thank God!) in his little walker. I could relate to the song in the ad from my childhood because my mom and I used to sing it together and I connected more to the ad. It took me a while, though, to understand what was going on in the ad because at first I thought the baby traveling was irrelevant to the marketing of the HP printer. Now I realize the baby is traveling from one house to another for the printed image to send wirelessly. Anyways, I think the concept is cute but not many people will understand what is occurring in the ad unless they watch it a couple times, which may benefit the marketing of the printers even more.

Circle K

I became interested in Circle K’s advertising after seeing an ad outside of one of its franchises in Georgia. The ad suggested one should “start their day off right” on Black Friday with a cup of their coffee. I became curious about what makes the convenience store chain’s coffee so special, and researched some ads online. This commercial in particular stood out most to me because of its outlandishness. Circle K is attempting to prove that its coffee is reliable and high quality with the lethargic man trudging into a store, presumably right after getting out of bed. The store’s bold marketing in this commercial has piqued my interest even more and has caused me to wonder how its “premium” coffees became so reputable.

The Aware Consumer's Jackpot?

Black Friday everyone.

A conscientious consumer's most awaited day of the year. Just got even more intense. With stores opening at THREE or FOUR am, early Christmas shopping has evolved into a strategic race.

To me, it seems as if Thanksgiving has turned into an event where people can watch football all day and eat massive quantities of food without feeling guilty about it... Not to mention everyone's gearing up for a full day of blackout sales. No holiday is consumer free.

Happy Thanksgiving and Avoid the Ads!

Despite Thanksgiving being one of the few non-consumerist American holidays, companies and corporations are sure to create and/or tie their names to any one of their products to make it "Thanksgiving Themed". Most notably, of course, would be major food brands, such as the Pilsbury advertisement shown here. But the large department stores, including Marshalls, Dillards, and even Target, send out thousands of catalogues to assure a customer that there are bound to be a list of endless, one-time-of-the-year decorations and products that he or she should be sure to buy before the holiday begins. It's bad enough to have Black Friday, the annual day of major sales for all stores across the country, but is it ever going to be possible to make any religious or cultural holiday consumer-free?

Bathroom Really | New Windows Phone 7 Official Ad

This is the new ad for Windows Phone 7 and just goes to show how much we value our cellphones. The man is playing on his phone as he is in the bathroom and when he drops it into the toilet surprisingly he picks it up with his bare hands! I was disgusted that he would actually pick up his phone with his hands and wipe it off and continue to do what he was doing before. Does it make me want to get a Windows Phone 7? No, because I don't think the commercial was effective enough for me and if I had dropped my phone in the toilet I surely would not pick it up with my bare hands. Did this commercial make you want to get the new Window Phone 7?

Sexist Vintage Ads

When I was looking at old magazines, I found extremely interesting vintage ads because some of them were very sexist. They displayed gender roles generated by the society such as women cook and take care of children while men go to work. Although most of them seem funny and illogical (like the first one), it is sad to realize that women did not have any kind of control in their lives, because they were either controlled by their fathers or their husbands. For instance, the four ads display women that do things to make the man happy instead of men making the women happy. The third ad even shows that men have more power over women by abusing them.

Nowadays, times have changed and women have a more active participation in society. However, gender roles still exist, for example when we see on a Kool-aid commercial a mother instead of a father giving children something to drink or on a food commercial we always see women. Also, the fact that most advertising display sex scenes instead of the product should give us a hint in which women still play a role  in the society. Therefore, has advertising changed? 

So Many Choices

Since because America does have a consumer economy, where people have a variety of choices for one product, there are wide price ranges for the same product as well. This is the same with almost all products but the brand name costs a lot. I have been looking at some of the prices for cosmetics and a consumer can buy one Revlon lipstick for as cheap as $3.99. But an average Chanel lipstick costs around $30. I'm sure that there are some differences to those products but how much difference?

rent a wife

This is a commercial about renting a wife. I suppose men in the West can do this when they get bored with their wives and need they variety. The marketers have a weird sense of humor. I guess this is a step up from viewing possible candidates for dates at the back of the guys magazines.

Guilty Gucci

After watching Killing Us Softly 4, I was first amazed that the video was filmed at UMass Amherst (should've been at Smith!) and secondly amazed that there is other advertising out in the media that I have never been aware of. From the ads that 'eroticize violence' to those that are altered to create a perfect woman, I was dumbfounded. Jean Kilbourne does a fantastic job of pinpointing all the wrong that ads are creating for the world and I think she will have great success with changing the way people view advertising. I could not stop laughing after her mention of a "menage a trois with Ben & Jerry" and I can now see that food is becoming more sexual. Not so funny, though, is this Gucci ad. The male model is idolizing the woman's vagina where her pubic hair is sculpted into a "G." This ad has gone too far and makes me extremely uncomfortable. Why is such a pornographic image okay to use as a marketing tactic?

Check out This Blog!

This blog has a lot of advertising related to hyper sexuality and gender stereotypes, I saw similarities in the ads we have posted and I liked some of the comments written on the advertisements themselves. Here check it out:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/gwss1001/assignment_posts/weekly_assignments/8_adbusting/

Kellogg's Special K: Then and Now

In relation to many of the advertising techniques described by Jib Fowles, I thought that it would be interesting to compare the messages and techniques used in an old advertisement versus a new one. I found this old Special K ad on Youtube, and I could not find the original date, but I'm assuming that it is from the '50s. I also found a more recent Special K ad, so let's take a look at how they are similar and different.

According to Fowles, this ad, in my opinion, features the need for guidance because of the guy on the TV advising the quality and health benefits of Special K. However, maybe it's just because I'm exhausted from seeing the Harry Potter premiere last night, but I don't see much of the others on Fowles's list. The ad is very straight forward, Dennis James emphasizes the importance of protein (I love how he pronounces it pro-te-in!), so perhaps they are pitching this product with science.

This advertisement is so obnoxious. One, the girl is already SO thin. Why does she need some low-fat cereal that is used as a weight-loss food? Even more annoying is the line, "Because we all know, a girl needs variety to look good". It's stated as if it is some universal secret for women that we need options, and we must use all of them, to fit into that size 2 red dress. It is also expected that there is a need for autonomy here-now women have the freedom and choice to make the best diet purchase for them. If someone who actually NEEDS to lose weight wants to diet, whey can't she have REAL food instead, as opposed to this many ingredient-laden, HFCS filled "food"?

I'm noticing a trend in these Special K ads: each one begins with a sad, down-trodden woman, either wearing gray clothes, or a long coat, in a wintery or cold setting. By the end of the ad, once she discovers the joy of this diet, and the instant gratification of wearing a sexy red dress, everything is sunshine and rainbows. It's saying as if you go on this diet, your life will be happier and more cheerful. I also see a need for affiliation here: by the end of the ad, the woman approaches her friends who are complimenting her. Subconsciously, it is seen as getting the attention for your new body. Coinciding, this is the need for attention, to be looked at, and as Fowles says, "an object of fascination." In the end, these feelings are fleeting, and women are left cold and depressed again-only to look for some other futile dieting method.

Of course one of these ads has to have a guy in a gravely voice, as a pint of ice cream, tempting the lonely woman who is desperate for a late-night (and according to magazines, indulgent and forbidden) snack. There are also sexual undertones with the ice cream saying, "You know you want me", and while it's funny and very corny, the message still lingers. The line, "It gets you your chocolatey fix without undoing your day," tells women that if they do have a pint of ice cream, they are going to ruin all of the restrictive eating habits they had earlier....and therefore, feel guilty for the rest of the night. The more we restrict ourselves, the more we want to binge, and society tells us that losing control once in a while is forbidden: we have to keep ourselves in line, all of the time. It's a vicious cycle that is encouraging by the dieting industry. And of course, an average cereal with "chocolate" (not even good quality chocolate) is NOT going to turn off those cravings.

What do you think of these ads? Especially with how they compare to the old-fashioned one? Interesting that these feature women and not men.

News with Consumerism at it's Core & Violation of Privacy

ttp://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/15/travel.holiday.safety/index.html?iref=allsearch

This is from CNN :

"Federal transport authorities are ratcheting up security measures just ahead of the holiday travel season with an awareness campaign intended to make passengers more proactive in their own safety.The "if you see something, say something" campaign is the government's latest effort to bolster transport security, showcasing advertisements in airports, movie theaters, gas stations and local radio stations, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement on Monday."It is important to remember that every individual has a role to play in keeping our country safe and secure," DHS chief Janet Napolitano said in the statement.

...

"The campaign comes amid growing controversy over airport screening measures that some passengers have complained are intrusive.Over the weekend, a 31-year-old man was fined $10,000 after refusing a pat-down at a San Diego, California, airport.

Sikh advocacy groups in the United States are also publicly opposing airport passenger screening measures they say require hand-searches of turbans, despite the use of electronic imaging technology."

ME:

But is this advertising not only violating our right to privacy and civil liberties but also provoking fear? Should they be able to see a naked image of anyone?

Should the TSA be spending money to advertise about being alert in movie theaters?

I think we have gone way too far!

Also

Also who is promoting these machines:

A man who is working for and financially benefitting from this technology.

Introducing the BlackBerry PlayBook

After the release of Apple's IPad, Blackberry creates Playbook. While Apple ads target young people, Blackberry seems to target those in the professional field. The ads tend to be more modern and professional than Apple ads. I like both Apple and Blackberry and use both but I tend to go for Blackberry more due to their theme of being "professional" and business-like (If you get what I mean lol). Sometimes I feel like Apple is just too mainstream and toy-like (?) because I think of a businessman or woman carrying a blackberry rather than an iphone. What do you guys think!?

The Beatles + iTunes

I was reading the NY Times this morning and one of the most popular articles of the day was about the new founded partnership between Apple and The Beatles (Which seems somewhat odd to say, considering only two of the four Beatles are still alive). Apple is now selling a complete Beatles album for around $150 on iTunes. I don't know whether to be happy because the younger generations can "discover" (if they haven't already) and access this great rock 'n roll music, or a little skeptical that Apple is just using one of the greatest bands of history to further increase revenue. Apple also made a minor comparison in one of their promo ads, stating "In 1964, they came to America. Now, they are on iTunes". I don't think you can compare the arrival of a British invasion band of the '60s to the arrival of their 40 year old classic songs on an online store.

Get Real

Image Credit: YouTube

I saw this ad last week in the corner of the YouTube while I re-watched Consuming Kids for my Sociology class. It was unsettling that while I was watching commentaries unfold about child obesity in America due to less at-home cooking and lack of free play, this ad endorsed much of what the documentary opposes. Also, the notion of Easthampton bank paying its customers to shop blatantly feeds into the consumerism of our society. I assumed that with a “Get Real” Checking account, there would be some sort of catch that entailed spending exorbitant amounts of money to be paid to shop. I found that the bank’s website instructs “Get Real” customers to “use [their] debit card for purchases ten times and earn $5” every month. I do not understand why people can’t just learn to save their money, instead of using the ill-willed logic to spend money to get very little back in return.

Porsche commercial

This commercial is Porsche is terrifying how it presents brand loyalty in children. The boy rushes to the auto dealership after catching a glimpse of the car, to get a better look and feel of the car. As he sat inside the car, the music is scary almost as if it was out of a horror film. He was immediately drawn to the car and imagined himself driving it one day. He got out the car with a satisfying grin and that in itself just goes to show it only takes seconds to win a child's loyalty. The voice over in the end states, "it is quite simply, the purest expression of who we are" uses the popular strategy that the featured product is only real or possible product capable of our expression.

baby's need play station

I just saw this weird advertisement about a doll getting excited about playstation 3. Are they actually saying that babies now need play station instead of rattles and soft toys? Since babies cant actually process this information, it seems like they are telling parents to get videos games for their babies.

Made in China

The other day in class one of my professors showed this video:

This is an effective political commercial, I was a little panicked when it ended. Our teacher explained how this commercial is actually bogus seeing as the United States spent a fraction of what the Chinese government spent on economic recovery packages. Still the fact remains that this commercial, like many other political commercials, was so believable and how much it played on fear. Despite being more media educated than most Americans this commercial still worked on playing with my thoughts. So next time, don't instantly accept the facts that are presented in a political commercial, even if the commercial presents ideas similar to your own. Look up the facts and decide for yourself how you feel about an idea. The most important thing about being a media literate person is not to be able to see what a commercial is trying sell, but being about to form your own informed ideas and opinions about what information is being presented.

(video credit: youtube)

Keeping up with the Kardashians....Literally

I think American pop culture, or culture entirely, has hit a new low.

It's all over the internet now-the news that Kim Kardashian is backing a new prepaid Mastercard that is targeted to YOUTH. I'm not a financially savvy person by any means (and I should probably learn to be especially now that I am in college), so I don't know a lot about prepaid credit cards except that the parent can put an amount of money on the card and the child cannot go into debt on these cards with only a fixed amount of money on them. However, it is the fact that marketers chose the Kardashians, particularly Kim, to market this new product.

If anyone who has seen the E Reality Show, "Keeping up with the Kardashians" (who hasn't?!) they see that this family spends most of the 20 minute time slot arguing, spewing obscenities, and acting overly sexual. Kim is known for making a sex tape and shopping. She wears so much make up and is rumored to have plastic surgery done on her face. She is the symbol of American pop culture: crassness, shopping, and degrading sexuality.

The last thing we need is some vapid celebrity being marketed to children and teenagers. Sure, with this card, teens cannot spend thousands of dollars on clothes the way Kim can with her regular credit card. However, as we know marketers use the "cradle to the grave" ploy, these kids may grow up and use regular credit cards the way Kim might.

There are a myriad of other ways to teach youth about financial responsibility. We don't need a trashy celebrity's help to raise our children. Let's do it ourselves!

Photo courtesy of: http://jezebel.com/5684516/awful-kardashian-prepaid-mastercard-targets-innocent-children

Become a Rocker

This commercial for Power Gig is both funny and disturbing at the same time. It's refreshing that, for once, a brand is marketing to the whole population rather than just a specific group of people. I like the beginning line, "To be a real rocker you don't need..." and then the commercial continues from there. I think this will be a big sell come Christmastime and many different age groups will be interested in purchasing. I think that it was important to finally address that you don't need to be good-looking or have many friends to be a rocker. What I disapprove of, though, is the final line when they say "and the rest will come," because the brand is putting false hope into being a rocker by saying you'll live a better life if you buy this product...it takes a lot more than knowing how to play the guitar to live a wholesome life.

Hungry?

Have you ever asked yourself why food looks so good on commercials or ads, but it doesn't look anything like that when you buy it? Here's the explanation how they do it. It isn't just Photoshop, but it's a whole crew behind the scenes that is actively involved in making burgers look perfect and tasty.

The first comment posted on youtube.com was "My whole life has been a lie", and I'd like to answer to that comment saying, technically yes. There are so many people involved behind a product that sometimes is hard to make up our own minds about something because those people are manipulating us. They are people like us and they know what we like and what we want.

If you guys are interested to see more images about food, I found a great blog called "Food in Real life" http://foodirl.com/ where the author eats something (pretty much anything, from gum to microwaved food) and compares the picture of the product with the real image.

Courtesy of http://foodirl.com/

Lipstick & Lead

I read once that the average women consumes between 5 and 10 pounds of lipstick in a lifetime. The lipstick has to go somewhere when it eventually "comes off". In October of 2007, the campaign for safe cosmetics tested 33 popular brands of lipsticks at an independent lab for lead content. The results? 61 percent of lipsticks contained lead, with levels ranging up to 0.65 parts per million.(http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=223)

Then last year, The Food and Drug Administration released a follow-up study that found lipstick lead levels ranging from 0.009 to 3.06 ppm. All the leading brands are to blame: Cover Girl, L'Oreal, The Body Shop, Maybelline and Revlon. There is no safe level of lead exposure. The FDA has yet to respond to protect consumers. Be careful ladies!

Family Time

Yesterday, I was absolutely astounded when I saw a Wii ad in Good Housekeeping. There was an American family in an upper-middle class living room, playing the Wii. At the bottom, there was a very professional looking grey box(not shown above) that read:

The average person sits for nearly eight hours a day.

Get up and get playing with Wii.

Get informed. Learn about the benefits of being physically active.

Get empowered. Make proper choices to create a healthier lifestyle.

Get active. Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort can play a part.

Then at the bottom is says, Nintendo and The American Heart Association are "working together to promote physically active play as part of a healthy lifestyle." This makes my blood boil. What is interesting about this ad, is that it takes itself so seriously. "Get informed. Get empowered. Get active." are phrases that non-profits would use to promote awareness of the genocide in Sudan. Marketers are stealing the vernacular of ethical, conscious people and manipulating it to sell products. There is no cause! If the cause is being physically active, then video-game obsessed children will go from sitting to standing. This does not change the fact that they are still pickling their minds in front of a screen. Maybe their parents will join in. Will this actually work on adults? One would think that reasoning adults would not be persuaded by an ad like this. However, superimposed on the image, is a quote(not shown above) that reads, "It is the perfect way to bring all the ages together." It's as if the marketers are saying, "Want family time? Play video games! It's the only way you'll be able to connect with your kids." This message may be enough for parents. We'll find out soon enough.

A Good Comeback

I thought the PC response to Mac's "I'm a Mac vs. PC" ads were quite smart. While the popular Apple inflicted a negative, boring stereotype on PC users, Windows took the initiative to celebrate that stereotype, without backlashing Apple. I also came to realize these Mac vs. PC commercials in particular don't exhibit much diversity besides the age difference. They are two Caucasian men from the US. Whereas the Windows ad features a variety of people from across the globe, varying socioeconomic backgrounds, and both genders. Despite being a Mac owner, the Windows's commercial definitely did a clever job in response to Apple, without getting too aggressive.

"If Slaughterhouse Had Glass Walls"

WARNING: Please don't watch this if you are uncomfortable with gruesome, bloody, and brutal images.

Find out more at Meat.org.

While watching this video, I cried. I just couldn't believe how merciless and gruesome people were. I am personally enjoy meat but now I do understand why some become vegetarian after watching this. How can humans be so cruel to these innocent animals? Paul McCartney, before each section, introduces characteristics of these animals, starting from chickens & turkeys to fish & sea animals. I was aware that meat we see on plates are from animals killed in slaughterhouses (bloody indeed), but I was not aware of how they were killed or treated.

Animals were caged or locked in side by side with no space to move. Their limb muscles slowly deteriorate or they are fattened too quickly that they get crushed...yea...by their own bodies. For chickens and turkeys, necks are twisted or stomped on while they were still alive; For cows and pigs, throats were slitted while they were hanging on the ceilings...and yes while they were still alive. Calves and piglets were separated by their mothers. Some piglets in the video were slammed on the floor by one of the workers. These bloody and alive piglets were then thrown into small boxes to be thrown away. Pigs and milking cows were constantly pregnant. Milking cows were also fed special foods that kept them bloated. They were milked several times a day and when they couldn't function as "milk tanks" they were sent to slaughterhouses.

At the end, Paul McCartney warns that keeping meat out from our plates will not only prevent the obesity epidemic, but also decrease the green house effect. I then realized that this was an advertisement. An advertisement made by the PETA. However, this video did make me realize what was going on inside the slaughterhouses, but it didn't make me a vegetarian. Am I just cruel and insensitive as those people working in the slaughterhouse or am I just selfish? I never thought consuming meat was a bad thing. Of course I don't mind eating vegetables, but now that I've seen the video, what am I suppose to do? What do you guys think?

Response to the Miley Cyrus Phenomenon

This is in response to Esther's video and the Miley Cyrus phenomenon: Alright so have you ever noticed how some people love to point a finger at rappers and say look at how sexist pop music is? However what I find ironic is that there is not emphasis on pointing a finger at self-oppressive pop musicians. Isn't it horrible that women are painting themselves as whores( possibly their producers are the ones doing this, but they/ or their parents are allowing it) and usable in some pop music? This objectification in pop music videos highlights serious cultural flaws, but neither type of cultural images are helpful for girls coming of age in western society.




Song name: Party in the USA
Singer: Miley Cyrus Genre: Pop

Some of the Lyrics: “I hopped off the plane at LAX
With the dream, my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame excess…
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
And the DJ dropped my favorite tune
And a Britney song was on
And the Britney song was on(x2)…
So I put my hands up
They're playin' My Song
The butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Movin' my hips like yeah (x6)
Yeah It's a party in the USA
Yeah It's a party in the USA”

Imagery/ summary of the video: An under aged girl comes out of a car wearing short shorts on,she is touching her hair and body in a way in which many would call sexually suggestive. The camera angle then focuses in for a few seconds on her bare legs and crotch. She then walks around with a low-cut shirt which reveals her black bra. Then she jumps on the bed of a pickup truck with a bunch of other girls wearing similar outfits and dances, she is “moving her hips like yeah” (you can probably guess what the phrase “like yeah” seems to verbally and physically imply). She and the group of dancing girls then move their hips in a synchronized movement that one may expect to see in a movie focusing on strip clubs rather than a girl coming of age. She then dances against a wall and then in front of a huge American flag. She dances suggestively, once again, in front of the oversized flag. There are various camera angles which subtly show her breasts accented because of the low-cut tight shirt . Then she stands on a swing and females dance on playground equipment, the playground equipment is a series of poles, possibly linked to pole-dancing. The whole thing is ended with background dancers with revealing attire dancing suggestively in the background with huge American flag and the letters USA on the top of the image.

So the message I get out of this song is that it is patriotic and cool to be a white 16 year old dressed in tight revealing clothing dancing to hits even if you are nervous.

What do you think?!

Deodorant

The First video is an Arrid commercial from 1980 and the second one is an Arrid commercial from 2002. Despite the time gap of 22 years, it is interesting to notice that a company still uses the same underlying idea of a couple "getting closer" to sell their product. People would think that we would get more sophisticated or creative but apparently there is no need for innovation.

Um...

Image Credit: ohlalaparis.com via Google Images

There are so many things wrong with this D & G by Dolce & Gabbana ad from Spring/Summer 2007—the half-naked, overly airbrushed and oiled men, the completely nude model lying in a sacrilegious pose on what appears to be some sort of…torture chair, the model on the far left “seductively” holding onto the leather strap that’ll probably end up tying the naked model to the chair, the unnecessary nudity of the naked model, and the uncomfortable feeling of viewing a pornographic photo when I look at this. So much attention is drawn to the nude model by the bright, gold lights that it detracts from what is already barely being advertised (which I am assuming are jeans and that fancy fringed vest). This ad is so offensive; not only to Christians, but also to any potential viewers who will see the nude model’s pose against the chair and wonder why there was a necessity felt for him to be positioned in that manner.

Hannah Montana!?

Here is Hannah Montana, I mean Miley Cyrus, who is not yet 18 trying to look all sexy. I do understand that young Hollywood starlets always tend to mature faster than ordinary children BUT Hannah Montana (Cough I mean Miley Cyrus)! What are you wearin and why are shakin your booty like that!? Isn't she too young to go to a club anyways? I felt like this whole music video was giving the wrong image and message to younger teens who love Hannah Montana.

Here's a great example:
CraziestAngelEver stated, "my goodneses... I was watching this and my parents told me to stop watching it because it is too inappropiate. REALLY?!" (Youtube.com)

Yes, yes CraziestAngelEver...if your parents think it's inappropriate, then they're right. No "REALLY?!" necessary.

Even Models are Photoshopped

A lot of people believe what they see in magazines, especially the fashion magazines. But, not everything should be trusted because even models are not perfect. The pictures that they take for advertisements are frequently edited by photographers. A good example to let people know that pictures that appear in advertisements are not the originall picture would be the one with Emma Watson's missing leg in a Burberry ad. I'm sure a lot of people have already seen this, but I still don't understand how marketers can make this kind of mistake. It does support the point that photographs are altered to make them seem more appealing.

Photo found on google.com

Sexy Hilfiger?

As I was reading Vogue, I saw this provocative ad and immediately looked for its brand. To my surprise, it was Tommy Hilfiger. I was surprised because Tommy Hilfiger usually sells the preppy style or the family image. This ad is selling sex to be accompanied with the shoes and that it seems as if the shoes give off this sex appeal on its own. Hilfiger is presented to be sexy with this ad, different from what the classy image Hilfiger usually projects. Another difference to Hilfiger's brand image is the ideology that sex in a car is seen to be promiscuous and for Hilfiger to be using this in their ad, it goes against their image as a brand.

Ads that make you think

       Long time ago someone sent me an email with tons of ads against cigarettes, I thought they were very smart. They were the kind of ads that make you think. For instance, I thought that the ad where the kid is smoking was awful; however, if someone looks closely one can see that the child's hand is an adult's hand and it has to do with the fact that many adults smoke in front of their children and make them second hand smoker.

      The other ads were also very smart, they don't say "smoke is gonna kill you" like most of the ads against cigarettes, these ones make you think about other consequences of smoking because it seems that people don't care if they die sooner or not, they care about how they look like, and their consequences in society. I hope these images were as interesting as I though for most of the people because they make you think.

    
 Another interesting factor about cigarettes is that although they kill people slowly, they are an important part of the tax revenues in this country. In addition to taxes, cigarettes companies also pay a small percentage of their sales to the government because cigarettes make people sicker and increase health care. Do government care more about its revenues or about its citizens?

Pushing the Limits

One of my favorite websites, Jezebel, points out interesting or degrading ads that we should be aware of. The other day, I came across a post about this Dutch clothing company for men.

http://jezebel.com/5677811/advertising-that-will-make-you-want-to-shut-your-legs

I am horrified! These ads are just so strange. They don't seem like real people and in fact, the whole campaign is rather cheesy. But even more, the messages are so blatantly sexist and obvious that it's a shame that we don't get more riled up about this.

The fact that the campaign is also titled "Shameless" adds another message. Being rich and elite is not enough anymore, being those as well as being shameless is the new thing. This message tells men, "As long as you are wearing a 259 euro suit (aka something around 400 American dollars?!) you can get away with looking up some chick's dress and still be 'respectable'." As for the woman, we are generalized as a being objects for men's viewing pleasure only. Men and women in advertising no longer interact. They simply stare or fondle. It's hard to come by advertising that shows the two sexes just talking. It always has to push the limits.

Photo: http://skittishskies.com/wp-contents/themes/bigfeature/library/timthumb/timthumb.php?src=/wp-contents/uploads/2010/11/Suit_Supply_Shameless.jpg&w=568&zc=1&zcp=1

Cleaner Balls?

As funny as this ad may be, it is extremely dirty and suggestive. From one quote to another it is obvious that these women are speaking about balls, but the type of 'balls' they actually refer to is a bit confusing. "Well, how can guys clean their balls so that they're more enjoyable to play with?" They don't specify any type of sport that involves a ball(i.e. soccer ball, basket ball, foot ball) so this commercial is much more gruesome than necessary. A company that caters to men's body products now also has a product that 'details' the balls...in the small white print at the bottom of the screen at 13 seconds (when one of the ladies has 2 golf balls in one hand) says, "take care when using on sensitive areas." This detailer, then, is for men's genitals? After Denise plays with the 'clean balls' for about 6 seconds I'm sure that this commercial is trying to sell their new product for other purposes. And the man who comes in at the end asking about his 'ball sack' seems to tie up loose ends...yet another very sexual (and quite vulgar) commercial.

The Language of Coffee

"Delicious lattes from Dunkin' Donuts. You order them in English, not 'Fritalian'."

The word "Latte" is an Italian word for espresso with milk.

I wonder if Dunkin' Donuts ever came to notice this. Either that, or it just shows how ignorant the people behind this advertisement really were. With ending on the line "America runs on Dunkin'" I feel like this gives a bad image to Americans, because of the fact that the commercial shows a man sipping a latte and claims he must of ordered it in English from Dunkin' Donuts. To be honest, I found the song for the commercial rather catchy, but the "Latte" catch line was not an intelligent move.

Make up time

How to Apply Makeup For Kids Modeling -- powered by eHow.com


This is a link to an add which generally wont stir complaints like the anti feminist ads. However the fact that we accept make up ads for children just tells us that our entire mind set is messed up. Marketers take advantage of our silence. ``This is a segment of the marketplace that is gigantic, that is predisposed to brands and has money to spend,'' said Lynne Robertson, VP-general manager of KidCom, a unit of Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis, which specializes in marketing to children. The marketers have taken a simple childhood hobby of girls of dressing up and acting like grown ups and made it into an entire new segment which has a consumer body of 72 million and this is just kids.

Inspired by Hayley's post.. I decided to search the web for some other artsy advertisements. The ones I have posted I found kind of humorous but these do not even come close to possessing the beauty of the bouncy ball ad.

Weird Febreze Advertisement

this odd advertisement shows two people acting in ways individuals usually would not in public. But what's interesting is that the advertisement is clearly targeted towards women because almost all of the individuals smelling the product in the commercials are women. So is it mainly women who notice bad odor and want to change it?

Evian Roller Babies

When I fist saw this commercial I thought it was hilarious. However, it's a weird commercial! Even some people on youtube have made comments of this. These babies are acting like teenagers and adults, and it's scary to imagine that children have been marketed so young to become older at a younger age. This ad is just another funny ad that doesn't allowed people to think, people just think it's funny and they like it. However, the catchy lyrics and the funny baby faces might stay somewhere in people's brains when they make their next purchase.

Courtesy of youtube

Calbee

I have almost no words for this ad, from the Japanese Potato Chip company, Calbee. I saw it for the first time this summer and laughed at its bizarreness, and lack of correlation to the product being advertised. In comparison to ads in the US, I think that if an American company used the same approach, audiences would be annoyed with and bewildered by the humor and be less inclined to buy the product. I feel like the type of humor exemplified in the Calbee ad is... interesting.