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Blog #9- Advertisements targeted towards men and woman

 The first advertisement I chose to use, that is directed to men is the Axe (body wash- Get a Girlfriend ad. The one print advertisement I chose shows a teenage/young man: who is “nerdy” looking, building an Egyptian king in a throne out of Lego. The insecurity that is being exploited in this ad is being alone (without a girlfriend) and being uncool. This ad is saying (in the pink box) that using Axe body wash will make girls like you, ergo you will be popular and “cool”.  I think the effect it’s having on the audience is pretty clear, and overall, what I explained above. Not using Axe will mean you will be a “loser”, at home, without a girlfriend, playing childish toys; like a little boy. And as we know, teenagers/young men do NOT want to be looked at as if they are little boys. I think this ad is actually very effective. It is humorous, which with attract people to it, it uses bright colors that will draw in people focus, and had a clear message. Though, the message of the ad is clearly overly exaggerated, it still is clear and will make the audience (consumer) believe that this product will bring them luck: in terms of girls and “coolness”.

The second advertisement that is directed to men that I chose analyze is the Ford truck print ad. I believe this ad represents power and control because it says, “Man, trailers are like wild animals. They’re always trying to get away from you. Until now, trailer sway control, standard.” It is suggesting that this truck gives you control and power. Therefore, since its promoting control and power, it is addressing the issue of men and their masculinity. And how they like to have power and control (aka its important too). I think the audience (men) would like this advertisement, because it’s very manly, uses darker colors that relate to men, it’s rustic and the slogan includes words that appeal to men: wild, control etc. I also think the slogan has a double meaning, it says they’re always trying to get away from you” relating to the trailer and woman. Then it continues to say, “Until now, trailer sway control.” I think this advertisement would be fairly effective, not as much as the other one because the message isn’t as clear. But it has a rustic and manly appearance that would attract males to it.

For woman, it is common that the ads directed to them feature things about beauty, looking good and fitting. in Proactive is exactly that. It’s a skin care wash. And most of the advertisements include celebrity endorsers. Having a celebrities face behind a product just farther implies that it is necessary to have good skin, to be pretty. Therefore, the insecurity this print ad addresses is the fact that woman feel they need to look a certain way to be pretty in today’s society. These advertisements give the audience the idea that they should use this product (Proactive) to look like celebrities. Katy Perry is a signer, and fashion and beauty icon, to have her be a spokes person for proactive, has audiences believe that she uses it and it makes her look the way she does. And that they can be like her if they use it. I think these ads are very effective. Anything with a celebrity behind it always makes me want to buy something. It is a great way to sell products because all people want to be like famous people.

The second advertisement that I think is targeted to woman is the clothing ad for French connection. This ad features a well-dressed woman walking down a side walk/street. The insecurity that this ad addresses is the fact that woman want to be desired by men. I think this because it says “pity the ex-lover who sees the woman today”. This shows that she is dressing like this to make the man jealous or want her. It gives the woman a feeling of confidence and that if they buy these clothes guys will want them, or want them back. Hence, it will make them beautiful, attractive and desired. I personally enjoy this ad, because I think it gives woman; power and confidence, because it suggests you will have power and confidence, and all eyes on you when wearing these clothes. Woman want to be desired, so what better way to show that in an ad then saying the ex-lover will want you back if you look like this.

Blog #8- Article questions

Article questions

Question 1: The main thesis of the article is that the Time Warner Merger is "a civic and journalist issue" as well as a "nightmare for those who believe in historic notions of a free, diverse and independent press.” In your own words, describe why the author feels the merger is so harmful. Try to touch on the three main arguments: civic issue, journalist issue and an issue with a free and independent press.

The author feels that the merge would be very harmful because then the majority of our information will be coming from only a few sources and is potentially at stake of not fairly representing different or unpopular points of view. This would be very harmful, as it will give the public a biased point of view, and therefore negates the historic notions of having a free, diverse, and independent press. This is a civic issue, as one may question if this corporation will really care about the public’s interest, or rather about which story will give them the biggest profit. Will they fairly represent unpopular points of view, or challenge the government and political agencies that they are lobbying? If this is not the case, then this is the exact opposite of having a free, diverse, and independent press. This is also a journalistic issue, as journalists must report on stories based on the view of that corporation. This will limit free expression and diversity if the majority of journalists are reporting for one big corporation. Do we want mass marketing and the bottom line to be the only ethos of journalism? This will also make it difficult for smaller, independent media companies to compete with them, going against the very notion of having a free and independent press.

Question 2: What is the danger of not having a free and independent press?

If there was not a free and independent press everyone would not be giving their input or having the opportunity to think their own thoughts, believe what they choose and do what they feel like is right (not what the media/advertisers say to do, feel, buy, believe). When there is not free and independent press society will become run and ONLY influenced by media and advertisers. Therefore, the danger is the media and advertisers will be influencing people on biased opinions, with only money in mind, not the best interest of the people in mind.

Why is it a central aspect of democracy?

Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially:  rule of the majority, or a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. Democracy allows freedom of speech and input from the people. We live in a democratic society, so with not having a free and independent press then we would not be being democratic. We would be being drived and influenced by only one high power, that being the media and advertisers.

Question 3: The author argues that ideas and opinion on the Internet have stayed relatively free and outspoken. Do you agree? Can you list some examples of alternate ways to get news on the Internet?

Yes, I do agree. I think though the Internet contains many things that are biased, it still contains information, ideas and opinions of everyone. So yes it has not restricted certain people from saying things, and the Internet lets everyone freely write and speak their minds. Some alternate ways to get news on the Internet are through blogs and, Facebook and MySpace. Also websites like Wikipedia lets anyone freely post information to pages. 

Blog #7- Radio advertisement

     In the radio advertisements presented in class on youth gambling, there was a variety of different ideas and ad techniques that were used. Some groups chose to create dialogue and stories in their advertisements while other used statistics and facts to create an informative ad. 
     For example, i will compare/contrast a female groups advertisement and a males group. A few advertisements were done like this one; where one groups radio ad consisted of a dialogue between two friends. One of the friends is on the other's computer when an online gambling website comes up, the friend questions the other about it. At this point, the friend with the gambling problem quickly tries to cover it up, denies it and tells the friend that they should go. The ad ends with a voiceover with a bit of information and a place to get help and more information. This used the "pulling at the heart strings" technique, uses repetition to enforce how gambling is a serious problem, that people who gamble need to get help. They use some statistics to show how gambling effects many. It uses two young females in the narrative which makes me think that it would be directed to teen girls. Overall, I think this kind of advertisement is very effective; it is very relatable situation, it intrigues the audience by using a dialogue between two people and music, it effects people by making them feel sad/touches peoples hearts about the problem of gambling and, it has strong, clear message that is repeated about the effects and outcomes of gambling. A radio advertisement like this one applies to both gamblers and the friends or family standing by. 
     Another popular idea for the advertisements was one where it is all voiceover and very informative. These used slow/ambient music the set the mood/tone for the ad and also used direct address (directed to audience). By using one speaker giving information about gambling, it is more addressing gamblers not friends or bystanders. It also used slogans or a strong ending message, like; "Don't start or else you will never stop".
     Considering that creating a radio ad is sort of difficult i think both forms of advertisements are effective. But my personal opinion would be that ones that use dialogue (with teens) are more relatable for the youth gambling audience and have more of an impact on teens when they hear it because it would be things they have heard before and things that happen in their day-to-day life. I think creating a radio advertisement is quiet hard because first you obviously have to come up with an idea that audiences could relate to but it's extra difficult since you must get your message across in a quick amount of time (30 seconds to a minute) and it must be very clear and basic, so people listening will understand it easily. I thought that making these advertisements was a bit difficult in class too, because you had to have some knowledge of recording and working audacity (or garage band). Overall, i thought it was really interesting and a cool thing to learn how to do and be able to hear what other people created.

Group	Conventions used	Strengths	Areas to improve
1. Sarah and Katharine	- Music - Dialogue/ narrative (conflict, tension) - Relatable experience - Serious mood/tone - Heart strings technique - Echo - Statistics - Voice over, no echo - Repetition	- Relatable situation - Clear message - Realistic situation - Echo creates dream like, imaginative state - Repeating words enforces a hidden message, of how gambling is a repeating action	- Make voice over different, from narrative - Voice over louder and clearer
2. Brook and Chris	- Informative - All voice over - Narrative about what gambling is and isn’t - Relatable situation, targets males - Heart strings technique - Low tone “sad/serious” music	- Serious tone through creates mood - Full voice over - Directed to males over females by stating situations in which gambling is common - Repetition of help and problem to enforce it	- Speak with more tones/levels to intrigue audience into listening
3. Karen and Emma	- Statistics - Dialogue - Sound effects to feel closer to characters, to create setting - Good picture given to audience - Strong message	- Good impact line/slogan - Intrigues audience to situation - Good story line, plot	- Transition to narrative - Change in voice from dialogue to information/statistics
4. Anja and Mia	- Stories, narrator - Personal feelings of outsider and gambler - Easy to relate or compare to - Different P.O.V.	- Pulse and music makes you feel in the moment, has an intense feeling - Good creation of setting - Boom represents realization - Different possible views on ad, for gamblers, bystanders, friends etc - Good fade out and beeping at the end	-Make voices more clear/unmuffled for better effect
5. Sonya and Melanie	- Female and male speakers, very relatable - Male speakers voice in his head - Targeted to gamblers, to point out problems and thoughts - Wind and door noise sounds cold, isolated etc	- Two points of view on same story - Sympathy for male speaker - Good idea for gamblers to relate to the voice inside another gamblers head - Convincing - Good pacing sound and music - Denial and excuses used	- Slow down speaker 1 to create better mood/feeling
6.  Ayesha and Nikki	- Relatable to students in school setting - Male and female characters - Shows how gambling is holding you back - Sad/misery feeling	- Clear speakers and voicing - Good setting/environment created - Good situation for teens to relate and compare themselves too - Good punch line, serious meaning	- Slow down information from narrator - Less information from 2nd speaker
7.  Connor and Daniel	- Dialogue/ narrative - School setting, relatable to young people - Good separation between narrative and voice over - Applies to teens by word choice - Story line	- Voiceover stands out well over dialogue - Diverse tones - British voice, has an authoritative affect - Half info/ half story - Voices come from different sides	- Not clear gambling message/situation at the beginning - Does not apply to female perspective
8. Lp and Mike	- No SFX - Targeted to older audience (not teens)	- Change in voice from personal story to narrator - Stronger message, because of no SFX in background - Good message for older audience	- More tones in voice at beginning
9. James	- Sad music/song in background- rain noise - Good message - Direct address - Created mood/setting with music and tone - Cinematic (story…dramatic)	- Effective message and use of information - No narrative worked well for this ad - Ending line (don’t start or else you won’t stop) - Starting sound peaks interest	- Music too loud - Voice tone a bit low
10.	- Narrator and small voiceover to sum it up - Desperation - Setting created by sound and story - Young adult audience (rent, money) - Thoughts of a gambler - Use of fear and sympathy - Male target	- Good personal story, from gamblers P.O.V - Directed to gamblers with a problem (poker players) - Good story in narrative - Easily relatable	- Needs more pacing and tone in personal narrative - Needs contact information to get help
11.  Vinny	- Dialogue (gambler and dealer) - Voice over at the end - Repetition - Fear - Direct address - SFX of dice	- Good overall message - Strong point - Relatable - Leaves impact	- More sad tones in voice
12. Gillian and Nichola	- Heart strings technique - Direct address - Music gettings stronger (start is quieter and dreamy, then creates new mood and setting as is changes) - Targeted to teens and things they would want and have	- Relatable - Changing mood to create the story and get into the mentality of a gambler - good sad, low music to intense music when voiceover comes on	- Clearer voice
13. Nick	- SFX used (phone ringing) - Dialogue to voiceover at the end - Plays to heart strings and, wants and desires - Targeted to teens - Statistics	- Good information voiceover with background music/sound effects - Targeted to gambler and outsider - Hanging up of phone leaves strong impact - Energetic and intriguing tone, draws in audience - Shows relationship between two people and how gambling effects them	- Shorten phone call dialogue

Blog #5- Representation of Teens in the Media..continued...

Media text Creation

     If I had the opportunity to create any media text I would probably make a music video. I think it would be really cool to make a music video because you would have so much freedom and so many things and people to work with. If this text were going to be including teenagers, I would include values, wants, desires and fears such as; young love and friendship. I think these two things are both things most teens strive for but at the same time are scared of. When people think of teens I think they usually think of having fun, careless, no responsibilities, partying etc. So I would include things like these in the video too. I would do this because it would be relatable for teenagers, who are watching it, and if not relatable it would include desires and wants that they have which would attract them to watching it and hopefully liking it. I think that parents and older people would relate to the music video because this is the impression that they have of teenagers. 

     Most media pieces use a lot of the same signs and symbols, some like: wealth, glamour, good-looking people, love, power etc. I think some like; good-looking/attractive actors/actresses, love, money and glamour, would be affective in the media piece I would be creating because these signs and symbols are things that attract audiences. They are all factors that people like to see, because they are values and wants’ that people look for and believe. If it was any music video I was creating I would want it to be for a young up and coming teen star, who I believe is a role model and not a celebrity who influences the world negatively. The music video would be the story of how a friendship, between a guy and a girl at the start of high school, grows into a relationship by graduation and the song would be something about growing up and changing. It would show friendships, high school cliques, steps of a relationship, and other things that are affecting teenagers between ages 14-18. I think a video that could include this sort of thing would do really well, because if it shows a story it will attract more people watch and pay attention to it, and if it included such things a ton of teens would enjoy it because it would represent a variety of things that we all are going through/facing. 

Blog #5- Representation of Teens in the Media

Name of Media Text

Gossip Girl

It represents teens as . . .

High class, private school students, socialize all the time, lives full of drama between one and other, provocative and the view of teenagers is portrayed as them acting/being much older (mature, experienced etc.) then they are

It is accurate/inaccurate because . . .

Completely inaccurate because there is only a small group of teens who probably live like this, this is an exaggerated description of a teenager, since not all go to private school and are wealthy

Symbols and signs

- Fancy appearance

- Wealthy

- New York

- Attractive

- Power (high class people)

- Older, mature

Name of Media Text

Miley Cyrus- Who owns my heart, music video

It represents teens as . . .

Very sultry and sexual, girls are provocative, seductive and promiscuous and dress very scandalous, shows young people going out and clubbing and living glamorous life styles

It is accurate/inaccurate because . . .

This is both accurate and inaccurate, it is accurate because a few teens live like this; they party and go out and dress up, but there is also a huge amount that don't live like this. The way teens are portrayed in this video is such a typical view of what others think teens are like

Symbols and signs

- Love/Lust

- Sexual tension

- Girl and guy contact/relationships

- Acting older

- Shows female desires (wealth, men, dressing up, going out)

Name of Media Text

The Cool Collection, 2007 Prom (Seventeen magazine ad)

It represents teens as . . .

It represents teen girls as people who are dependent of guys, this is shown because the girl is leaning on the guys, it also represents that teens are in relationships with the opposite sex, this ad also gives people a image of what teenage girls and guys look like. It show two good looking people, they are both American/white, the girl is very typical looking wearing pink and she had blond hair and the guy is an average looking guy

It is accurate/inaccurate because . . .

It is very inaccurate because many teenagers are not in relationships and are not dependent on guys at this age, it is also inaccurate

Symbols and signs

- Classy

- Attractive people

- Wealth

- Guy and girl attraction

Blog #4- Reflection

      I worked with Gabby Lucey on this assignment. We decided to do an advertisement for an energy drink. We thought that this advertisement would work well on the side of a bus so it could be seen by a variety of people. Our ad uses olympic athlete Emma Snowsill to advertise for the drink. In our ad we chose to market, empowerment of women. We show Emma Snowsill throughout her life competing in some races and being behind the boys/males. We show her as a black figure to emphasize that she is in the shadow or dust of the males. But in the last picture, it is Emma Snowsill winning first place with our energy drink, Ambition, in her hand. We used media constructs reality and media contains value messages. Media constructs reality in our advertisement because we suggest that by drinking our energy drink you will have the power to win first place when obviously in reality one will not defiantly always win. Our ad also contains value messages because it implies that winning is the most important thing, winning is the thing everyones strives for and that being in the background is not good enough. I also believe we included the ad techniques properly in our ad. We used testimonial and bandwagon. Testimonial is when you use a celebrity or icon to endorse your product. We did this by using runner, Emma Snowsill to convince people that to win races she drinks our energy drink. Bandwagon is when you make people think they will be happier or cooler if you have the product you are selling or when you apply it to anyones desires (such as winning, like we did in our ad). In the layout of our advertisement. We put the main focus on the girl athlete, she is larger then the other characters in the images, she is a black figure and she is in the foreground in each picture.
     We equally contributed to the project and split the work very equally. We worked together on the proposal, as i created the product and idea for our media piece, Gabby did the target market, client and main drawings for our advertisement. We put it all together equally, and i think it turned out pretty well. I think we worked very well on this together on this assignment, created an interesting idea and planned the proposal of our advertisement well.