Ipod

Ok, So last week i mentioned in class that there is a apple vending machine at Macy's.  Here is a video of how it works and what it looks like. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSeTEz1JwQs

I personally think this is weird. I mean what is stopping us from selling computers this way. We do the same thing with movies, who needs a Blockbuster when we have

a local REDBOX on every corner. These new vending machines are going to one day take away jobs. Everyone complains about how illigal immigrants are taking out jobs

but isn't it really ourselves. We have ATMs so we don't need tellers. We have the apple vending machine so we do not need salesmen, and we have the REDBOX so we don't need clerks.

What is next on our list.

Just because!

Im gonna be honest, I just thought these two were really funny and wanted to share them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYOgaaAPuM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhE7uMbPP3w

REAL MEN OF GENIUS

Ok so we have talked about Budwieser and their strategy to sell "REAL Beer" . I am sure that everyone has heard the "Real Men of genius commercials on the radio trying to relate to men who do the jobs that no one else thinks of. Of course they do this is a comedic way. Here is a clip of one their Real men of Genius commercials.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Rm5SEmaKs . And here are some more just for fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETrWZsYYJOQ. Their goal is to relate to the everyday guy. I found it interesting that most alcohol commercials only try to relate and entice men.

Blame Canada

Canadians say they are thankful not to be americans. They say that we messed up. Well a little show called South Park got them back with this little tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSYipouABI . This explains America's view on Canada, kinda. I just thought this was funny and how they showed it on the Oscars. I'm not sure how the Canadians felt about this but I am sure they weren't completely happy. I think it's funny how Canadian's are thankful they are not American and American's are thankful that they are not anyone else.

Free Canada

This video is pretty interesting. After talking about Canada today it got me thinking about what it would be like living in Canada. Honestly I don't blame them for wanting seperation from the U.S.... With our war, faltering economy, and global animosity.

Nationalism

When talking about Canadians and how they don't want to be associated or thought of as Americans it reminded me of how Spanish speaking people get lumped together as well.  Often it is only because of their language and perhaps sometimes their profession and or skin color.  In a scene from the movie Clueless Cher tells her maid that she doesn't speak "Mexican" and the maid is immediately offended because she is from El Salvador.  These are very similar situations and show how just by referencing another country someone can be immediately offended.  

Here is a clip from the movie, the actual quote is about 8:30 into the clip (in case you want to skip ahead).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA5dudU47xQ

Whassup commerical

I was curious as to what exact commerical they were referring to in our readings so in case anyone else was... here is a clip of the commerical:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W16qzZ7J5YQ

Reality Shows

I am a big reader of the headlines on yahoo, and this one caught my attention this morning.
It may not relate to what we have been learning but I thought I would post it, and those of you who are fans of reality tv may get a kick out of it.

http://tv.yahoo.com/show/28908/news/urn:newsml:tv.reuters.com:20090330:us_fox__ER:28527

I think this an interesting direction to go in for the bachelor. They are going to get average looking women to go on the show, instead of the classic size 2, beautiful model. If they are going to use an average woman, then shouldnt they also be using an average man? Instead of a "Biggest Loser" meets "the Bachelor", how about "Average Joe" meets average woman?
"More to Love", this title can be taken in two different ways. There is "more to love" than beauty and looks, or you can see it as more to love of the woman, because there is more of her in a sense.
Way to go Fox, always finding a way to insult those who may not be the best looking.

Role models have insecurities too

Role models are hard to define because they are different for everyone.  Previous blogs talked about celebrities and famous people starting out as role models, but then failing.  I think this is because just about everybody, even celebrities, have insecurities.  I was looking around on the Internet I came across a quote by Miley Cyrus talking about her insecurities.  She said, “I hate my long legs and smile.”  Now I don’t know the validity of this quote, but I am would not be surprised if she does have insecurities, even if these are not them.  She is a pretty big role model for younger girls, yet because she has insecurities, she does whatever it takes to make herself feel better, even if is not a good example for younger girls. How can people be perfect role models in they have insecurities?  There must be something not perfect about them, or so they think, so I do not see how they can be role models.  I agree with Tina; people are not perfect and do make mistakes, so can there be role models?

Media's the corner stone of role models

Interestingly, last night I ended up watching the movie Role Models with my boyfriend… not exactly my type of movie, but he enjoyed it. For those of you who haven’t seen it- it’s about two men who are court-ordered to volunteer at “Sturdy Wings”, where they are matched up with a kid (their ‘little’) and they spend quality time with them. All in all it’s not a thinker movie, but we’re discussing role models and that movie is fresh in my mind, deeper things can actually be found. I like how they chose to use ordinary people to be the role models for these kids. In past blogs it was said how Barbie or famous people have been set on a pedestal to be role models, but in reality it is the people that we see every day that truly affect us. However, the whole movie isn’t like that. One of the role models mentions the band Kiss that plays a role in the movie as well. Kiss influences one of the final scenes in the movie and forms a bond between one of the mentors and his little. So, I may be going off on a limb—since it wasn’t that deep of a movie, but can any role model exist without the influence of the media?

falling role models

I think that role models are like any great nation or great ruler of the world. In Batman, The Dark Knight, one character said, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." I think this is true concerning role models as well. I've noticed that, usually, the longer a star stays in the lime light, the crazier & the more problems they seem to have. As Jenna said, stars like Brittany Spears, the Olsen twins, and Lindsay Lohan are now not the best of people to look up to. But when they first started out, they were. Brittany Spears was in the Micky Mouse Club, The Olsen twins were in their own Disney show, and Lindsay Lohan was starring in the Parent Trap. Maybe like UV light too much lime light is bad for you too.

Role Models????

Do role models exist anywhere?  When I was a teenager the Mickey Mouse Club had just spit out there group of Teen "Role Models" and look were they ended up.  Most notably is Britney Spears, but the rest of them I wouldn't exactly call role models either. 

If you look at sports, you got football players running dog fights, and baseball players taking human growth hormone.  The one athlete I would've called a role model has lost that title in my mind.  Lance Armstrong overcame cancer and proved to be the best of his sport numerous times, and then he left his family for Sheryl Crow????   That's a great message for anyone!  Overcome disease, prove to be a success and then leave the people that stood by you when you were down! 

Politicians....Not even going there.

 

I would love to say religious officials, teachers, and parents should be the perfect role model but sadly anyone could pull numerous examples that prove otherwise.

Role models are made, not born.  No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.  Anyone you call a role model probably has done, or will do something reprehensible that makes that title null and void.  

What Happened to KENT

All this talk about barbie but what about Ken?  What about how girls think guys should look like after seeing a Ken Barbie doll.  I mean we always talk about how guys think girls should look like with perfect body's and nice ass with big tits, but what about what girls think about guys.  What about MTV.  Anytime you see anyone on MTV they always have the same image. 80108078_0039.jpg.  Here is Kent 2465493347_26922a1009.jpg .   So first girls grow up with this plastic image of a male figure with a six pack and then they watch MTV with guys that have a similar fake phasic. Let me tell you. It's not easy. I have gained lost and gained again my six pack and i think its overrated. Anyway there's my not so serious argument but here is also something to ponder.

Role Models in general

I think it’s interesting that Caitlin brought up how Barbie is seen as a dumb girl and sets a bad image for what is expected of real girls. When I did my textual analysis of Barbie I found that Mattel created a talking Barbie and she said phrases like “Math is tough” and “Let’s go shopping”, giving an image that shopping is the only thing girls are good at. The doll ended up being recalled and Mattel apologized for it. I don’t think Barbie is the only bad example of role modeling, a lot of the celebrities that teenagers look up to, or at least monitor their latest news through magazine and E! television, set a bad example as well. People like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, the Simpson Sisters, the Olsen twins, etc.

Barbie as a Role Model

I found an episode of The Simpsons that represented Barbie as Malibu Stacy. About 6 minutes into this video, Lisa gets a new Malibu Stacy doll. When she pulls the talking cord, the doll has several sayings such as, "Let's buy makeup so the boys will like us," "I wish they taught shopping in school," and "Don't ask me, I'm just a girl." She then goes on to say how millions of girls who own this doll are hearing this and thinking that this is the way they're supposed to act. This episode is a dramatization of Barbie and the message that she conveys, but the effect still remains the same. Barbie dolls are a representation of girls and women, so when girls see or hear them they think that this is the way they’re supposed to look, act, dress, and/or behave. So, in a way, the toys in kids' lives can have a very real effect on them.

WEEK 1

Nathan said...

I found both of these videos very interesting. I actually had previously seen the Dove commercial in my University seminar class last semester which was about interaction in the community. I found it interesting on how much makeup and Photoshop can do to one’s face to make a person seem flawless. The second video was quite interesting on how photographers use lighting of the day to better their portraits. After searching YouTube I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP31r70_QNM. It shows how they can not only change the look of someone’s face but their entire body. It says that over 99.9% of photos in magazines and build boards are touched up. In fact most models have personal Photoshop “touchupers “and none of their pictures are released until they give the ok. After watching this video I started to think about how Photoshop is used to make us look perfect in pictures. Beauty and the perfect body is a myth as said before. Technology has changed our ideas on beauty and our view of what exercise can actually accomplish. In the video that I found the photographer says that even if someone was to work out as much as we are supposed to it would still be nearly impossible to look like what the models do in the magazines because what you see is not real. This leads me to think of how some people take this perfection to another level. It takes us to plastic surgery. Plastic Surgery is the next level of Photoshop. It is taking what is done on the computer and putting it into action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Art3m4yqJqQ This is a link to a video that shows how some famous actresses did just this and took Photoshop literally.

January 20, 2009 10:21 PM 

Asian Cartoons create "perfection"

I thought that video was really funny.  It really shows how barbie does not represent just perfection of the body.  Barbie is for younger girls to play with, so they are having this idea of perfection at an early age.  I started thinking about other things that younger girls see, and I thought of cartoons.  Cartoon network has several shows made by Asians.  This picture is from one of these shows.  Perfection here is the tiny waste, big eyes and small nose.  These girls also know how to fight (i think) and can be independent.  The boys also give an idea of perfection.  The guys in the picture not only know how to fight, but are always there to save the day.  This gives boys the idea that they need to fight and save the day like these characters.  Cartoons are drawn, so they can be drawn to "perfection" giving children an idea of what perfection is, even if it is not perfect for them.

Jonas Brothers/Disney vs. Barbie

After watching the crazy jonas brothers episode of south park, i realized how other companies do the same thing as disney when it comes to promoting a "perfect" image of what they are promoting. My dad recently sent me a video from saturday night live that did something simmilar to the south park that we watched. This video is making fun of barbie. Although barbie is looked at as a very clean cut and responsible idol for girls, however it is also promoting many other things to these girls. The idea of perfection, and that you must look like barbie to be attractive (which is impossible). Barbie is seen as a very successful woman, so there is the idea given that even though she is a woman, she can still be very successful without being married or having suport of her husband. So perhaps she is not promoted as much as disney, or be branded nearly as much, but there is definetly another side to the "barbie" image.

Here is the video:

Levi's Jeans

I found your progressive commercial very interesting. I liked it because it was subtle while this levi’s commercial is not. I found it on YouTube and I had never seen it before even though I had seen its strait version. . This is a commercial of “progressive”. The note on you tube said that levi made two endings. They made the commercial ending with two gentlemen because they wanted to try something out of the ordinary. They wanted to embrace a different community. The commercial that I actually saw on T.V. which I am assuming is the one that they untimely decided to go with was the exact same commercial but with a female. Here it is: . My question is “Why did they back out of their original idea? Is society still that naïve that a simple jean commercial can’t express an idea in a commercial. Then on the other hand why does a jean commercial feel the need to place that kind of message in their commercial. Are they trying to sell a life style, maybe that’s why they decided to change the commercial. Maybe they were afraid of what it would do to their sales, in which case just brings us back to the same old everything is money game. Maybe the commercial was just trying to be different in saying Levi’s jeans make you look sexy.

Progressive gets Progressive

Saw this on tv, found it pretty intresting. First openly Gay ad I have ever seen.

Cool stuff.

"Coolness" changing rapidly

I agree that people tend to buy more from what is “cool” like using celebrities, but not only is cool different for different groups of people, but it is always changing.  The book also talks about culture trends emerging and fading quicker with new technologies.  “Cool hunters” are able to find new trends faster with technologies like cell phones, the Internet and text messaging.  This is good for companies like the cell phone industry because people have to constantly buy a new phone often in order to be “cool.”  I found this news clip about the iphone 3G; I remember when the iphone came out in 2007, and a year later, a different iphone is introduced.  This iphone is thinner and faster, and in order to be up to date, you have to buy it, even if you already own the original iphone.  I work with a girl who gets a new phone every two months just because she wants to be up to date.  I honestly think that is ridiculous, but there are other people like this girl I work with, and advertisers know this.  Therefore they use the marketing of coolness.

the "Wow" Fasination

I completely agree with Caitlin, I am ashamed to say it, but if I see someone like Penelope Cruz using some type of beauty product I want to have it with some outlandish fascination that I will put it on and look like her. I have to wonder though that if advertisers used real people (not people like Dove is trying to use) but real people that you would interact with in their ads if people would feel this unnecessary burden to look/act/be a certain way. I also wonder if that would affect sales, but what would happen if advertisements did use this method? Do you think there would be a difference in self-esteem, especially in teenagers? Or do you think the economy would be better because there wouldn’t be that “wow” factor in the models and that desire and belief of I must have it! may not be there.

got cool?

Chapter 7 talked a lot on the marketing of coolness. This got me to thinking of all the ways companies try to entice us as consumers to buy their items. Particularly in the youth generation, it seems to me that one of the biggest ad themes is marketing through celebrities and other popular and well known faces. For example, all of the milk ads ("got milk?") that I've seen have directly used celebrities with milk mustaches. They also use a wide variety of celebrities ranging from Batman to Miley Cyrus to KISS in order to appeal to a greater amount of viewers. When we see our favorite celebrities in any ad we automatically make a connection with it. Therefore we are attracted to the item and may be more inclined to purchase that item. This is because we typically aspire to be more like those we look up to. So by buying the products the celebrity is endorsing, it gives us the impression that we, too, will have the wow factor that the celebrity does.

"American Dream"

Hey All,

I saw this on tv this morning.  Kinda creepy how much it uses all of the aspects of the "American" ideal, isn't it?  Notice the framing of each of the people like we talked about in Nathan and Jenna's presentation, especially at the end in the elevator.