DOVE

I think that the 'Black Box" comment is very interesting.  How the theaters are trying to make people focus on just the film but yet they sell distractions.  They are working against each other.  This kind of reminds me of DOVE and their commercials.  We talked about how Dove is trying to sell beauty but while doing so they point out the women's faults.  I started looking on youtube for more commercials, and I found this commercial that was banned by the United States because it showed too much skin.

They are selling Pro Age Cream. I looked up what exactly that meant and what it is http://www.drugstore.com/qxp165708_333181_sespider/dove_pro_age/cream_oil_lotion.htm , A cream for dry skin. It seems that the only difference between Aging Cream and Pro Age Cream is the name.

Dove Changed the name of there product to seem less profiling to there older consumers. But in the commercial they are saying the reason is that if they did not change the name of the product then the models would not be able to be used to sell there product because they are too old.

I just thought this was a clever commercial...

very smart kid...

Rebellion is a difficult thing to master.  It's almost never rebellious or unique unless you are the originator.  Just like it was said before those who patronize Hot Topic are no more a rebel than I am for shopping at a department store.  

To the left is a picture of a bar in South City, Venice Cafe.  It is most unique in every way shape and form.  This is a picture of their stairwell, which is a mosaic of mirrors, with neon lights on the ceiling.  Now if this bar was taken out of St. Louis and transplanted to San Francisco or Greenwich Village in New York, it wouldn't be anymore rebellious than owning a cell phone.  I think the idea of rebellion depends on context as much as it does on the originator of the concept.  Once it is out there, whether in clothing, music, advertising, or anything really it no longer becomes rebellious as it is just waiting to be duplicated.

Sneaky sneaky corporations...

I, too, have been noticing the current trend of "rebellion." I'm no expert in this field, but I believe those rebelling are rebelling against society's norms as well as corporate America. I've also noticed that many of those who dress the part of a rebel tend to shop and buy their clothing at stores such as Hot Topic.

The only trouble is, Hot Topic is a chain of stores that is being run by a money-grubbing corporation. Those running this corporation must have realized at one point that there are always going to be people who rebel against society and what ever else, and realized there was big money in selling stuff to advertise that fact to others.

I agree that when people rebel, they typically try to define themselves as individuals. Their way of doing this is by buying clothing and accessories from a store; a corporate company where millions of other people shop for the exact same clothes, with the result that those rebelling and attempting to individualize themselves end up looking the same as the rest of those trying to rebel as well as supporting a multi-million dollar corporation.

The unfortunate result of this is that all of the things people were rebelling against are now a huge part of what characterizes them as a rebel. In short, they are now a part of what they're supposed to be rebelling against. They've fallen for the exact same corporation trap as the rest of us. So is rebellion in this way actually possible?

Americans saving more... spending less

I agree that Americans are addicted to shopping, but that is changing right now.  I was recently sent this article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_bi_ge/savings_frugal_society_4

This article explains the economy from a macro-economic perspective. Because consumers use credit cards to purchase flashy new things that they cannot afford, they have become deep into debt.  Americans have come to the realization of this debt and become afraid to spend money.  They have started to save money, causing the economy to go down the drain.  I don’t think this poor economy is going to be an easy fix.  People need to spend money in order for businesses to survive, yet people are saving their money to pay of debt.  This causes businesses to close; therefore employees get laid off.  These employees are then without money to put into the economy.  It is a downward spiral that I see, and the only way to fix it is if people start spending money again.  This economy down spiral is going to bring out the strong businesses.  The weak businesses are going to be weeded out of the economy.  I used to work at Linens and Things and saw the store close down six months after I left.  I am not surprised that they went bankrupt because the business was run poorly, at least from what I saw.  Right now business are in need of strong structures and good advertising.  The goal is to get people to push beyond their fear to spend money and use it towards their services or products.  We need to start having better spending/ saving habits to get better, but until then, it just may be painful.