Quiz 2- Part 2

This clip gives a great sense of the “socio-cultural meanings the consumer bestows on the brand in the process of meaning creation” (p.176). In the video, we see the typical handsome jocks playing rugby and the good-looking ‘girly girls” standing innocently on the sidelines. The girls are dressed in high socks, heels and skirts, while the men are in polo shirts. While it is clear that the men playing rugby are the ones who get to talk to the cute girls, we also see that the scene in which this video takes place appears to be that of a prep-school atmosphere. By including all of these aspects in their campaign, the rugby brand allows us to believe that by wearing their products you exude wealth, happiness and independence. The stereotypical gender norms and beauty make this advertisement what many wish to desire.

Quiz 2- Part 1

In the chapter “Patriarchy Gets Funky,” Klein discusses the idea of Gen-Xers. The “acceptance of alternative lifestyles will become even stronger and more widespread as Xers grow up and take over the reins of power, and become the dominant buying group in the consumer marketplace...” “Diversity in all of its forms-culteral, political, sexual, racial, social- is a hallmark of this generation” (p.111). The Gen-xers believe that if the types of images and language use were to change within the media then so would the reality. The two advertisements I chose to examine are a Levi Jeans and a Pepsi Max video.

The video above portrays a male figure in his bedroom pulling up a pair of Levi Jeans. While doing so, the ground erupts and another male figure appears from the ground in a phone booth giving him a rather sexual grin. The man pulling up his jeans lowers the jeans back down to his feet until finally pulling up his pants completely, breaking through into new street side scenery as well as the man in the phone booth. The two then walk side by side down the street together in their Levi Jeans.

This next “Pepsi Max” advertisement portrays homosexuality in a more comical way. In the video, two men are trying to convince their third friend that he is being “checked out” by someone standing at the bar. The clip then shows a woman with glasses starring at him. As the two men urge him to get up and go talk to her, he is given a Pepsi Max and immediately gathers the courage to head to the bar. While we think he is heading for the girl in the former clip, he continues to move past her to an even more sexualized woman standing at the bar. While it is clear that this woman wants to talk to him, he moves past her as well and ends up at the end of the bar talking to a handsome man. The video then turns to his friend’s baffled faces and the clip ends. While each of these two videos seems to portray homosexuality completely differently, they are also somewhat similar. In the first clip, it is clear that the Levi Jeans give him the confidence to break free from his dark apartment and walk down the lighted streets with another man. The Pepsi Max commercial does this as well. Although the whole time we assume he is going for the stereotypical ‘hot’ female figures at the bar, he ends up talking to the guy instead. This type of bold action was only possible after the energy given by the Pepsi drink. Each video breaks away from typical social norms and explores a sense of diversity. While each of these ads portray both positives and negatives, they each stir a reaction from us that allows the brand to be recognized. As Klein states, “If diversity is what we wanted, the brands seemed to be saying, then diversity was exactly what we would get” (p.111).

Quiz 2 Part 2

Through reading "No Logo" it has become infuriating to watch advertisements. I already stopped watching television almost all together thanks to the CMC major, but after reading these chapters it is crazy how exposed and controlled and how smart advertisers are. The one thing that has always been in the back of my head is, what is the future of advertisements? While I was in London over the break, I got a taste of that future. Moving posters. The Green Hornet was to be released soon in the UK and all over the tube stations there were corners that had video displays - similar to what is now popping up in malls - that show an animated movie poster or motion poster (sometimes referred to as a mopo). You can view The Other Guys' mopo here.

I have also seen mopos for the independent feature "Buried" and as previously mentioned "The Green Hornet." So, this is the immediate future for movie posters, but what about the distant future for advertisements. I've always thought of it as going something like this:

Science fiction films inspire real technological advances and quickly become science reality. I do not think that we are far off from advertisements being highly personalized such as the ones seen in the clip above.

Quiz 2 Part 1

In this first advertisement, we see AT&T try and construct the belief that if you do not posses a fast smart phone on the AT&T network, life will pass you by and you will be left in a miserable lonely life. "Every second counts" is what the commercial tries to sell you.

I remember when I first saw this ad, I was very upset. Here's a struggling dancer with an AT&T phone and one without an AT&T phone. Using the split screen convention, the advertisers lets us instantly see how horrible the dancer's life becomes just because her non AT&T phone was a few seconds slower. AT&T has come out with many of these ads (a similar one can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xAJmdhQzJ4&feature=related) where they end with their new campaign slogan "Rethink Possible." This ad is an assault on the viewers emotions. Your initial reaction amy be that its a cool cyclical commercial or that it is even a cute romantic commercial, but upon further review you see that the ad is blatantly saying, "Get AT&T or be left behind." Rethink possible my ass. How about a true advertisement: overpriced and spotty network connections. The Real AT&T.

In our second ad, we turn from a romantic cyclical commercial to a commercial for the cultural fascination of vampires and werewolves. SyFy has recently remade for the states the UK BBC show Being Human. Since Twilight's unfortunate success advertisers and show writers have been trying to cash in on this supernatural phenomenon. In Being Human (the American version) you have it all, mysterious vampires, brooding werewolves, ghosts, and the typical alternative rock score. This is the commercial for the series premiere:

Additional Post 2

The clip I chose to include for my second post is a Nike commerical called 'Stand Up' which is a Nike commercial against racism. The commercial features prominent footballers (soccer players) including Thierry Henry and Rio Ferdinand and consists of the footballers holding up signs in silence that illicit an anti-racist message. The message is that although these players are the best in the world they are still victims of racism. The challenge is for the viewer to stand up and speak out against racism.

I found this commercial interesting for two reasons. The first is because I had never seen it before and found it to be a very effective commercial. The use of the world's best players preaching an anti racism message was very powerful to me. The second reason was because of who put forth the commercial - Nike. Nike has been in trouble a number of times for racial controversy. An ad campagin put forth in the 90's for a high-top sneaker targeting the African American demographic led to a number of thefts and murders of civilians for their Nike sneakers. As the ads were targeting the African American demographic of low socio-economic standing and the popular culture of basketball players of the demographic associated with crime, Nike created a campaign that essentially led to a series of illegal activities to gain the sneakers. An example of this is the 'flaite' which is a classist Chilean Spanish slang term used to describe the urban youth of low socio-economic standing involved in crime who are reknowned for wearing Nike Dunks. Another example of a racially charged Nike dilemma occurred in Britain, one of the countries this commercial targeted, and involved the Nike sneaker the 'Air Stab' being pulled from shelves and production as it was found to be connected to Englands prominence of knife related violence (i.e. stabbings). That shoe was first launched in 1988 but the socio-cultural climate in England in 2008 and prominence of knife related violence led to the product being pulled and banned. The 'Air Stab' targeted hip-hop culture, whose memebership in England consists of the bulk of crime related persons.

Another example of a race based Nike advertisement is an advertisement for the 'Hyper Dunk' sneaker that consists of an African American basketball player dunking over a white basketball player. This commercial plays with stereotypes of white and black basketball players visually drawing the conclusion of African American basketball dominance. The African American basketball player pictured is obviously the better basketball player and athlete as he is clearly jumping over the white player but the ad line 'Now You Know' hammers this point home. The imagery put forth in the ad is interesting as there is a lot of racial subtext to be read in many different ways. The sexual subtext seems to be implied through the African American basketball player having his hand around his crotch and the white basketball player having his hand on the African basketball players butt reads with the text 'Now You Know' that there is a certain homosexual subtext to the image. The white players facial expression is also suggestive of this. The text itself directly suggests 'Now you know I'm better than you' but could also be read as 'now you know what it feels like to be below someone of another race'. The construction of the image has many interpretations and that is what I find the most interesting part of it. My personal reading of the image was that the sport basketball is predominantly dominated by African Americans and now the white guy pictured knows that. I found it to be almost a satire of the athletic ability of white basketball players against that of black basketball players, the image depicting to me the dominance of African Americans in basketball.

I found both the 'Stand Up' advertisement and 'Now You Know' advertisement to be interesting examples of the shift in hegemony alluded to by Klein that is capable of redefining the cultural representations of race. At the same time however I could not help but notice that as these ads attempt to do this they still perpetuate racism and stereotypes as the best footballers in the world still experience racism and the stereotype of African American basketball prominence and aggression is perpetuated by the 'Now You Know' ad.

Quiz 2

In this Starbucks commercial we see the construction of support associated with Starbucks products. "Hank" quickly takes down a Starbucks beverage at the beginning of the video, than magically a fan section appears who follows him to work, and into the office. This video is not selling the fact that coffee in the morning will make you be more successful throughout one's day, it is saying that Starbucks coffee will be the energy you need to succeed to be a better human. The branding of Starbucks is all over this video, from the color's of the sweatshirts, to the green themed posters throughout the commercial. This tries to embed the color (hunter green) in our minds so that we automatically think of Starbucks when we see it.

In this Target commercial we are presented with professional snowboarder Shaun White riding a skateboard in a very fluid manor throughout an outdoor themed warehouse skatepark. The song being played in the background is "Dream City" by the up and coming band Free Energy. This commercial is a marketing ploy for Whites new clothing brand which he is distributing through Target. This commercial is selling the care free lifestyle that this clothing line (and Target) offer. This advertisement is directly marketed towards young "hip" people who would normally think of target as "the man" or a brand that marks a sellout. By showing a celebrity, and an indie rock song, Target is trying to re-invent themselves as "fresh" and "young".

Quiz 2 Part 2

I think that the constant bombardment of advertising will only continue to get worse in the coming years. The next generation of children will be more technologically advanced, and will thus end up being exposed to more advertisements thanks to the recent use of advertising on popular websites. This constant in your face advertising has a largely negative impact on how children construct their identities, because they are shown so many opposing viewpoints. This video, or video of an image, reflects on this notion and uses a child to enforce their point even further. This culture jam is an excellent commentary on how constant advertising can impact the identities of many young Americans.

Quiz 2- Part 1

When this commercial aired, I got more excited about the world cup than I already was last year. However, as a CMC major, I looked a bit deeper into the ad. The ad calls for us all to be fans, to identify with our countries as we try to be the best of 32 nations. The World Cup is a competition, just like every other facet of international politics. The message of the ad was strong, but at the same time, it never really is about animal rights, human rights, hunger, poverty, etc. Our media does an excellent job of masking these salient issues, making sure we are staying focused on entertainment rather than tuning in to real world news. It calls for people to be sports fans, thus creating a certain identity.

In this video we see Kanye West as the in power male, with subordinate females hanging all over him, touching his body. In some instances they are depicted as unconscious, resembling mannequins that he can have his way with. Music videos on the whole can be very problematic because they present identities that we should follow. One of the strongest identity issues is most certainly the line between masculinity and femininity. We live in a man's world, and although women have made strides in terms of power, they are still not close to men. This video is an example of how children are influenced to act masculine or feminine by a popular artist within our society.

Quiz 2 Part 2

For the second part of my quiz dealing with the construction of identity discussed in Klein's "Patriarchy Gets Funky" I chose to use the examples of Robert Downey Jr's performance as Kirk Lazarus in the US film, "Tropic Thunder" and Matt Lucas' performance as Ting Tong in the English television comedy series, "Little Britain". These two examples both exemplify what Klein discusses as the absence of visible role models for minorities, and most importantly media-perpetuated stereotypes embedded in the very fabric of language reinforcing the hegemonic supremacy of the white, heterosexual ruling class. Klein argues that all of the social problems she discussed were that of media perpetuated stereotypes acting as collective social mirrors reinforcing prejudice.

The first clip, is an interview with Robert Downey Jr. in response to his role as Kirk Lazarus in the Ben Stiller film, "Tropic Thunder". In the film Downey plays an australian actor, Kirk Lazarus, reknowned for his Oscar glory for taking unconventional roles and his method acting, getting into and becoming the characters he portrays. In "Tropic Thunder," Downey plays Kirk Lazarus playing the African American Sergeant Lincoln Osiris. For the role, Downey dons the historically racist and controversial 'black face,' - a white actor playing a black character by covering his face in 'black' makeup. The concept of 'black face' came under an enormous amount of political and social scrutiny in the past for its blatant racism and the debate was reinstated over this film. The only actual controversy over the film "Tropic Thunder" however was not the contempt by the black community over Downey's performance but by the Disability Advocacy Community for Ben Stiller's portrayl of a mentally retarded character, "Simple Jack." In the segment embedded, the two discuss the political incorrectness of the role and how it was so politically incorrect that it may have been acceptable - this divulges from Klein's text as she strives to enlighten on the damaging social affects of such portrayals to the ethinicities depicted.
The second clip is from the English comedy series 'Little Britain' and depicts British comedian Matt Lucas as an asian mail order bride named Ting Tong. The clip is full of negative asian stereotypes as Lucas speaks with an accented English dialect portraying Asian immigrant linguistic difficulties of pronounciation. The clip also personifies the Asian stereotype of Asians having enormous families who all live together as Ting Tong shows her family photos in her wallet that unfolds numerous times and says she hopes to bring them over to live with her and Mr. Dougray in the near future. The clip plays off the notion of the Asian mail order bride industry, which sees Asian women immigrating to foreign countries in exchange for money to marry men to gain a green card.
First and foremost the most evident direct parallel between the two clips is that both Lucas and Downey are white, English speaking actors portraying another ethnicity through costume, makeup and dialect. Downey's character speaks in a racially stereotyped 'Black English' as Lucas' character speaks in a racially stereotyped 'Asian English'. The use of white actors to portray other ethinicities was a huge social problem historically, as white actors in 'black face' portrayed African American characters when African American actors were negated by the media industry. Tied to this notion were white male actors portraying female characters in drag before female actors became socially acceptbale. Klein discusses these notions in her passage as social problems of media-perpetuation and oppression as well as terming the on-screen performances as new sources of 'carnival-esque imagery'. The carnival-esque imagery prevelant in both examples here is the overtop stereotype ridden performances of Downey and Lucas. Downey's character soothes his actual African American comrade with a racially charged speech about black oppression which consists of the lyrics to the 'Jeffersons theme song,' making a mockery of the historical oppression of African Americans. Lucas' carnival-esque imagery takes the form of the body suit he is wearing to become Ting Tong which includes female shape and slanted eyes. Both characters make a mockery of the ethnicity they represent by making jest of the circumstances of each ethinic group - Downey makes fun of the oppression of African Americans and Lucas the family structure and immigration of Asians.
The differences in the characters are that Downey's role is playing an Australian, white actor who is a method actor playing a black character. Lucas by contrast is a white English actor, playing a distinctly Asian character to be accepted as a portrayal of an Asian mail order bride. Both of the characters interactions with their supporting cast also differ: Downey is kept in check by his actually African American co-star Alpa Chino who is furious with the mockery of his ethinicity that Downey is putting forth. Lucas' character is an asian mail order bride and is met with contempt and annoyance by her co-star, Mr. Dougray who ordered her as she does not fit the advertised image of herself which he ordered her because of. Mr. Dougray also changes tune and interaction with Ting Tong when he realizes there will be an implied sexual benefit to keeping her around.
Both characters relie entirely on the perpetuated mass media stereotypes of the Asian and African American ethinicity and background and although both are done as comedy or satire, the damaging effects of these stereotypes does not go unnoticed. Although the audience watching each example know that both actors are white males, the stereotypes being used to convey otherwise are stereotypes that have damaged and continue to damage both ethinic backgrounds. The inclusion of these damaging stereotypes perpetuate them regardless of their satiric nature and attempts not to do so. The fact remains that each actor is using negative, media perpetuated stereotypes of each culture to create the character - as these stereotypes are immediately and easily recognizable the damage to each ethnicities cultural mirror remains and broadens as both examples have won awards.

Quiz 2 - Personal Pick

Interactive Display Window from Marcus Wallander on Vimeo.

While the first video doesn't make me scream like Marty McFly, it's interesting to see how interactive ads are becoming a reality. And it ain't even 2015 yet! The ad for WeSC clothing company caught my eye because it's a part of a new generation of ads that directly interact with the "viewer" or "consumer". It's an interesting change in the mentality of advertisers. They are no longer content with us being able to see their product, they now rely on us to move it. How ironic is that? A clothing company that acknowledges it's own need for street cred so it needs the viewers of the advertisement to "move" the clothing. A ridiculously intelligent marketing scheme. This isn't the first kind of ad like this that I've seen, some moving wall advertisements in New York have similar effects, but none go to this length. What's interesting to me is that there are no visible brand images in this video. No Lacoste alligator or Abercrombie moose to be seen, simply the extended name of the company (rather than WeSC) and a credit given to its creator. At first glance, this seems completely harmless, but after reading Marcus Wallanders portfolio, we can still find evidence of the "brand mentality" at work.

Regardless of whether or not this advertisement is doing anything evil, its worth noting that traditional advertisements are changing. While the ad execs haven't quite gotten to the same level as "Jaws 19" yet, the way ads reach our senses and appeal to us is evolving. It should be important for us to discuss how these interactive ads are changing our perceived notions of what an advertisement does to our minds.

Extra blog post quiz 2

i noticed that many of the high end fashion have very non progressive commericials. It is very interesting to see that their brand has so much power that they rarely need to change and their brand name progressive. The coco chanel brand has always stood for upper class hig end clothing. It has a euopean feel and has year of history. It is interesting to watch the new commerical and see how their brand has been set in their ways fo ryears and still makes alot of money.

Quiz 2 part 1 question

"So, of course, if the market researchers and cool hunters all reported that diversity was the key character trat of this lucrative demographic, there was only one thing to be done: every forward-thinking corporation woul have to adopt variations on the theme of diversity as their brand identities." klein 112

Brands adopted the id marketing to fit in witht he new wave political movements which strived to create political change within society. By adopting their ideas about change they could then sell these people their own ideas through their brands. In this commerical by Jean-Paul Gaultier they use two people kissing to display regular gender roles. But when there women flips the man over their gender roles are obviously switched. This kind of commerical proves to challenge traditional gender roles and ad some diversity to their brand name.









this commerical for honda explicitly calls the "hipster" subculture and sells their brand progressively.

Quiz 2 - Part 1

This is a video from Levi jeans's "Go Forth" campaign. The video features "American Youth" moving quickly, from running in fields, to biking, to visiting waterfalls. The sound in the video is from Walt Whitman's "O, Pioneers!" The Levi company is attempting to sell the same identity that Barack Obama's campaign so successfully spearheaded: success in the face of struggle. As an unemployed college student, I want to feel that my "struggle", as self obsessed and narcissistic as that "struggle" may be, is actually going to bring about positive change not only for myself but for the world around me. The Levi company is playing on my hopes for a better world by saying that if I buy these jeans, I will be adopting an identity the portrays that. It's extremely ironic, considering that few pairs of Levi jeans actually come from the United States. Far from their San Francisco headquarters, in areas like Costa Rica, China, Korea and Mexico, Levi's jeans are assembled.

Klein discusses how "complicated motivations and stark inconsistencies" are a troubling facet of modern corporations in the "Patriarchy Gets Funky" chapter of No Logo. If Levi Jeans are selling an identity that we should be young, hardworking, prosperous Americans by buying Levis, while essentially selling the exact opposite by exploiting cheap overseas labor and poor working conditions, that seems to be a stark contrast.

Even if Levi Jeans were a positive, American corporation (they aren't by the way, especially if you happened to be in a Chinese prison in 1992) they are still playing on the same "un-stereotypes" that have become the norm in our advertisements. Guys making out with one another, racially diverse people joining hand in hand to run around a fire, etc. All of these constructs make it into the ad, via quick shots that could easily be missed. I'm conflicted because on one hand, I think it's a great thing for a national tv ad campaign to be promoting issues that we would never have seen 20 years ago, and on the other hand, I realize that the only reason these constructs are included in the ad is to sell me the identity that I'm not biased against homosexuality or a racist... if I wear Levi jeans. Klein quotes J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman's Rocking the Ages "Diversity in all of its forms - cultural, political, sexual, racial, social - is a hallmark of this generation." (p.191) This has remained true for my generation, as evidenced not just by this ad, but with Barack Obama's presidential campaign, American Express's "Start Booming" ad campaign, and countless others playing on "poor hope".

When it comes to selling this identity successfully, this ad owns it. I do like this ad and many of my colleagues do as well. The original piece was directed by one of my favorites, John Hillcoat, and his camera work and imagery are brilliant. The selection of Whitman is perfect both in tone and in resonance. I don't even know if i disagree with many of the ads messages. I honestly do want to feel that if I'm a hard working person, I can bring about positive change. I just don't want to have to wear Levi's to do it.



This is a promotion for the MTV show "Skins". The show is an adaptation of a British television show that depicts underage kids engaging in sexual and drug related situations. This could be viewed as one of two things. It could be: A) A "concrete advantage" that Klein discusses. If there are no existing positive representations of high school students that are clearly discovering their own sexual identities, then possibly this show could at the very least be a way for kids to see some of the pitfalls of a wild sex and drug life, as exagerrated as MTV will surely make them. Or this situation could be: B) A gross exploitation of youth by selling advertisements through insinuated child pornography to a demographic that is in serious need of actual, positive sexual identities.

Based on how fucking awful MTV is, my current guess is that it's the latter. Many of the shows sponsors have since pulled their funding for the project, but given our nations love of controversial garbage, it will surely find an annyoing Progressive Auto Insurance saleswoman or some Free Credit Score douche bags to fill it's spots. The whole debacle is a shame because the British version of the show is a critically lauded expose on what is actually going on in the lives of kids. While American politics have traditionally ignored the realistic plights of the youth, the situation is exactly what Klein discusses when she says "The backlash that identity politics inspired did a pretty good job of masking for us the fact that many of our demands for better representation were quickly accomodated by marketers, media makers and pop-culture producers alike, though perhaps not for the reasons we had hoped." (p.190)

Even if the original intention for this show was to be a positive space for young adults to learn about sex and drugs, leave it to America's marketing whizkids to bastardize it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that sex sells, but it's going to come at a serious cost when our politicians preach abstinance to kids and our media parades them having sex left and right.

Quiz 2 - Part 2

Here's a commercial from 1985 for the company Roots Canada. It is a perfect example of what Klein talks about how brands are trying to sell more than just commodities - there selling a lifestyle. Roots sells the beauty of nature, being active and doing sports outside, camping and much of the 'Canadian lifestyle' and its natural beauty. And as journalist Michael Posner says is that 'Roots is less a company than it is a summer camp'. Roots goes from summer camp to branded camp; from lifestyle marketing to the lifestyle itself.

These kind of a pattern is revealed in any big brand name - with Disney we see it in Celebration, its 'perfect' little town, in Nike we see it in its own sports-themed cruise ship and in again we see it in Roots when it launched its own hotel in British Colombia.

Quiz 2- Tommy Hilfiger

As Fournier writes, “This connection is driven not by the image the brand contains in the culture, but by the deep and significant psychological and socio-cultural meanings the consumer bestows on the brand in the process of meaning creation.”(Klein 176).

The Tommy Hilfiger add above is a great representation of “The consumer and the Brand” an understanding within the Framework of Personal Relationships,” encourages marketers to use a human-relationship model in conceptualizing the brands place in society”(176). The Tommy Hilfiger commercial represents this through its portrayal of happiness, freedom and independence. It also represents psychological and socio-cultural meanings through the images of the men and women in this add. Clearly the add is trying to state that, if you make this brand your lifestyle you will be living in “The American Dream”. You will experience nothing but happiness and freedom. Furthermore you will be glamorous and wealthy!

Quiz 2 "Patriarchy Gets Funky"

With the beginning of the 20^th century came extreme movements concerning race, gender and sexuality. This could largely be seen in advertisements of corporations such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Benetton, the Gap and Diesel (Klein 112).

Klein mentions how the Gen-Xers compared to the boomers, who valued individualism, valued ‘diversity as a key fact of life’ (Klein 111). The Gen-Xers believe that if the typecast images and loaded languages changed in magazines, in books and on television that they would hopefully change in reality too. Corporations caught up on this and so started to portray racial, gender and sexual statements in their adds.

I will be showing two videos below that are clearly representing what Klein mentions about the portrayal of racial, gender and sexuality statements that are shown within their adds.

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The above add portrays a chocolate M&M and a pretzel. As they continue to talk about putting the pretzel inside the chocolate their statements are clearly representing the idea of sex. As the M&M states at the beginning of the add, “I don’t care if I am the new official spokes candy for the new pretzel M&M’s, there is no way that you are putting a GIANT pretzel inside me. The pretzel then replies and says, “Listen buddy I’m not too thrilled about this either. Next the commercial transitions to the M&M looking inside him with x-ray vision. The camera transitions back to an image of both the pretzel and the M&M’s back facing the camera. As they are both looking at the paper showing an arrow from the pretzel to the M&M, the pretzel cracks his fingers and says, “Alright lets just get this over with”. This commercial represents not only the portrayal of different races through the portrayal of a “pretzel” and “chocolate”, it also represents the gender and sexuality that is being played out through their statements made back and forth between one another, each referring to the idea of putting this GIANT object inside the chocolate M&M.

The above add of the PSP advertisement opens up with a love song playing in the background about “carrying our love together” as it fades in the background the camera shows a male going to the bathroom and another one walking in. The male that walks in goes up to the stall next to the other male. As the other male looks over at the male who just walked in he says, “Can I play with it…. when you are done?” the male just smirks back at him and the other male rolls his eyes and walks away. The commercial finishes singing “just you and I” and flashes to an image of the PSP that reads, “Love at First Sight”.

Although the PSP add is very similar to the M&M add it is also very different. The PSP commercial is very similar to the M&M add with the way it uses sexual statements as well as gay gender to portray sexual ideas for the viewer. However it is different from the M&M add with how it connects both gender and sexuality together along with music. This add uses music and language to make its connection with gay gender and sexuality, whereas the M&M’s commercial does not use any music. PSP implements love music with their add to help create an overall connection of the PSP and the experience of, “Love at first sight.” Making connections between the music, images and language with this add represents what Klein discusses about images, music, and loaded languages that are structured in a way we can recognize the coding.

Quiz 2 - 'Patriarchy Gets Funky'

With the beginning of the 20^th century came extreme movements concerning race, gender and sexuality. This could largely be seen in advertisements of corporations such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Benetton, the Gap and Diesel (Klein 112).

Klein mentions how the Gen-Xers compared to the boomers, who valued individualism, valued ‘diversity as a key fact of life’ (Klein 111). The Gen-Xers believe that if the typecast images and loaded languages changed in magazines, in books and on television that they would hopefully change in reality too. Corporations caught up on this and so started to portray racial, gender and sexual statements in their adds. My two specific examples that I will show and discuss are the Diesel and Dolce & Gabbana commercials I found online.

The above Diesel add portrays a 'guys camp' where they are all dancing (in a gay manner) in their Diesel jeans to German music. Next they have to learn the 'mouth to mouth' drill where a handsome looking guy steps forward thinking he might be giving a 'hot girl' mouth to mouth and instead has to do it with an old man. As he gives the old man mouth to mouth he is imagining the hot women...the commercial clearly shows him 'blowing' into the old mans mouth with his eyes closed. While this commercial portrays some potential homosexual 'attractions' it at the same time makes fun. All that matters is that Diesel here is doing something different and out of the ordinary and it clearly draws attention to their message.

This 2009 add by Dolce&Gabbana commercial portrays quite the opposite of the Diesel one - it is very revealing and sexual. It shows the girl making out with one man as another one joins them. While it makes the women seem in control and the dominant one it at the same time makes the women seem like an object that anyone can easily 'kiss'.

Either way in both the Diesel as well as the Dolce&Gabbana one they are both portraying something rather shocking while at the same time they can be looked at in a negative light. Certainly they bring attention to these two brands and are telling the public 'to be free' and 'diverse'.

I like the Talking Heads. Weeeeee!

Stephen Wright Relevant to the Reading

What was once one of my favorite shows to watch is quickly becoming average due to certain stunts such as this one. It is hard to not give in to advertisers for a quick buck, but I wish that some of the better shows available would refrain from doing so.

I have a few select shows that I make sure to watch on a regular basis. I find that the first few seasons are typically the strongest as the shows have something to prove. The more popular/mainstream they become, the more likely they are to lose some of their edge, and thus their appeal to me. Season 4 of Californication, one of my favorite shows, started a few weeks ago. Last night the third episode of the season aired on Showtime, and I was extremely disappointed with both the episode and one particular scene. One of the characters said, "If you need anything, you can call me, text me, skype me, tweet me or even Facebook me." This show has never been one to advertise like this, although I have seen this occur in many other shows and movies.

Quiz part 1

Klein explains that earlier marketing strategies relied on the quality of the product and the faithfulness of the customer to believe that the product was worth buying because of the brand name. But as advertising progressed there was explosion of advertising firms and money put into advertising it began to turn into selling not only the name, but a lifestyle and concept behind the product. Gap specifically took counterculture figures and put the in khakis too show and sell there khakis. "The campaign was in the cookie-cutter co-optation formula: take a cool artist, associate that mystique with your brand, hope it wears off and makes you cool too." By selling the artist with the brand name of their khakis, they began to sell an exclusive lifestyle.

Stephen Wright Quiz 1 Part 1

Klein discusses that the earlier form of advertising was geared towards displaying the product through its' use value, while the latter form of advertising focuses on presenting a lifestyle that is linked to the product and/or brand.

The earlier form of advertising isn't necessarily less effective than the more recent form, just more oriented on the actual use of the product. The first thing I think of when I consider this form of advertising is the various infomercials that are shown during the early hours of

the morning.A perfect example is the Shamwow, which dries spills and objects. There is no lifestyle aspect attached, making this a prime example. The ads are a bit obnoxious, but really they are just selling the product.

The latter form of advertising is best represented by the Old Spice ads from this past year. The ads were centered around "the

man your man could smell like" or something of that nature. They were putting forth an extravagant lifestyle that would be achievable through using old spice body wash and deodorant. Moreso than the product, a lifestyle was being sold, which encapsulates the latter form of advertising Klein discusses.

Rich Ford Relevant to the Reading 1

Something I found interesting and relevant to the Klein reading is the use of product placement in film and on television to solidify the lifestyle-centric brand marketing of contemporary advertising. The most interesting example I could find of this was one that stood out to me since I was a child and saw "Back To The Future Part 2". I remember seeing the movie and loving it but what stood out to me was when Marty McFly reaches the future and gets his Nikes. The shoes looked like improved version of the contemporary high top but had a number of technological advances such as tying themselves. I remember wondering to myself what the future would be like and what sneakers would be like - in retrospect I was thinking about the future but through product placement the brand of the sneakers I would want in the future was already prominent in my head - I would want Nike's.

Looking back at films like this and reading Klein it became evident to me that, this type of thinking is exactly what these brands pay their advertising agencies for - to put their product and brand at the forefront of consumer group-think. I would be hard pressed to find anyone in the world who did/does not want the Nike's from Back To The Future but where the brand succeeds is in making the sneaker of the future synonymous with Nike.

The success of advertising is to get the public talking about your product and the success of contemporary advertising is to take that one step further and have the public associate a lifestyle with your product. Nike shoes are associated with athletic apparel prominence and have been through the revelation of the companies trivial business ethics and the 1990's ad campaign that caused a number of deaths in under developed neighborhoods over the sneakers.

Throughout the trials and tribulations, Nike however has come out on top. It is a global corporation with a synonymous marketing scheme, brand identity and brand association. This is due partly to product placements like that in Back To The Future, as well as the sponsorship of sports and sporting events.

Rich Ford Quiz 1 Part 2

From the Klein reading, Klein discusses the early form of branding as the product centered approach in which the advertisements revolve around the product. The shift in this to the 'lifestyle' form shifts the advertised focus from the actual product to a 'lifestyle' image associated with the brand identity and product. Choosing an example that exemplifies both forms, I have chosen to use the AMC television show 'Mad Men' as the show is about the early days of advertising and specifically the product centered approach to advertising. The show however, is sponsored by Banana Republic and coincides with 'Mad Men' themed Banana Republic in-store sales and cross promotions.

To exemplify the first product centered advertising paradigm, I have selected a clip from Mad Men in which the shows protagonist, Don Draper, pitches an ad campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes that is entirely focused on product differentiation from other cigarettes and emphasis on the strengths of the Lucky Strike product.

This link can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0L8f1IY1Vk

The shift to the contemporary form of advertising as argued by Klein to 'lifestyle-centric' advertising can be seen in the second clip I have selected titled 'Get the Mad Men Looks'. This clip features the cross promotion and sponsorship of Mad Men by Banana Republic featuring clips from the show paired with interviews with Banana Republic employees and stylists telling you how to make that 'Don Draper Look' of the slick, dominant businessman and sexual icon through commodification of Banana Republic branded products. Also of interest is the fact that Mad Men takes place in the 1960's and the Banana Republic products creating the costumes for the show are of our generation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaVK7YCX5Lc

The differences in the two approaches are the selling style and product commodification. The original, product-centric form of advertising is just that, focused entirely on the product and making it recognizable and desired by the populace. The contemporary form or brand-centric advertising is focused less on the product and more on creating a mythology around the brand that specifies a certain lifestyle to the consumer and is understood by simple mention of the brand. For example, now whenever someone says 'Banana Republic' many people think 'Mad Men' or 'Don Draper'. The shift from what Draper does in differentiation Lucky Strike from the other 7 major tobacco companies is strictly product central marketing whereas selling the lifestyle of Draper and his Mad Men (Madison Avenue Advertisers) is brand-centric lifestyle marketing.

Quiz part 2 - Polyvre - Stephanie Posner

Polyvre is a website that features specific products and allows users to create a collage of their favorite items. I personally use Polyvre for my blog, and after reading Klein's "No Logo", I am going to use it as my example!

Klein explains that branding is becoming more interactive with new media- online product placement is becoming entertaining to consumers. (Klein 40). Klein says the future of branding will be in corporate-sponsored media projects. Polyvre is a perfect example because they use promotional products and encourage consumers to use these designs to create their "original" collages. After to user has completed a collage, Polyvre lists the products they used, how much they cost, and where to find them.

With corporate-sponsored projects, new media is on the rise and opening the door for product placement in new and unique avenues.

Quiz 1- Stephanie Posner - No logo (pg. xi-87)

Klein's message in No Logo is about the progression of companies changing their marketing strategies and branding their products. She explains that earlier ads focused on products and their ability to satisfy needs of the public. Products were advertised with the intent to fill a specific action, but did little to help the consumer. Klein explains that today, products are much more intertwined with personal-relationship building between the brand and the consumer. Consumer experience is the main factor in branding, and brand loyalty can build out of the "experience".

A wonderful example of this theory is the idea behind logo clothing. Klein writes that until the seventies, clothing company logos were generally hidden on the inside collar of shirts. (Klein 28) Aside from sporty, country club attire, logo shirts were kept to the conservative parent and their preppy children.

Through "lifestyle" branding, we see logo shirts everyday. Companies have successfully branded themselves to reflect the lifestyles of the people who have brand loyalty in their product. However, logo shirts are now branded to consumers of all demographics, selling the idea that by wearing the logo, one can feel emotionally connected to the way of life of conservatives and "preps", and whatever else the brand promises to promote (wealth, class, "whiteness").

An example of this modern "lifestyle" branding can be found in the contemporary Polo ads. Klein urges that brands like Polo understand consumers will pay to keep the price tag up if they feel emotionally connected to the brand and what it represents in their benefit.

Quiz part 2 - Nike video example - Geena Krueger

These adds for Nike are perfect examples for when Naomi Klein talks about 'Nike and the Branding of Sports' and step number 1: Create Sport Celebrities. This is a shoe company that is determined to unseat pro sports, the Olympics and even star athletes, to become the very definition of sports itself. Through adds such as those listed below Nike convey the idea of sports, as opposed to simply representing the best of the athlete's own team sport.

In the add with NFL superstar Ray Rice the add is focused more on his personal struggles of life and how his sport has made him succeed in life and overcome his problems in a positive way - yet it hardly ever shows the actual product Nike sells. The same goes for the add with the NHL hockey player P.K. Subban who talks about the difference of becoming one of the best hockey players and just ok is the difference of how much pain you can take to keep going - hence he talks about a form of lifestyle. Through adds like this viewers become motivated and inspired by these celebrities and we I believe build this unconscious positive connection to Nike.

http://www.funkfactoryfilms.com/2010/12/nike-ray-rice/

http://www.funkfactoryfilms.com/2010/12/nike-pk-subban/

Quiz 1- Geena Krueger - No logo (pg. xi-87)

Naomi Klein begins her book by explaining to us how corporations produce brands and not products (Klein xvii). By using Nike as one of her major examples - 'it isn't a running shoe company, but it is about the idea of transcendence through sports' (Klein xvii). To start off with branding is not the same as advertising, but instead advertising, logo licensing and sponsorship all fall under branding. Naomi Klein discusses how the earlier forms of branding came with invention-based ads and hence ‘the factory’. With the machine age came production and reproduction of sameness. (While reading this I couldn’t help but continuously refer back to the theorists Adorno and Horkheimer and their text The Culture Industry: Entertainment as Mass Deception and how they argue how our culture today, specifically major corporations make ‘everything’ the same.) So the role of advertising changed from delivering product news bulletins to building an image around a particular brand-name version of a product (Klein 6). The earlier form of branding hence realized that brands could conjure a feeling and that they were hence not only scientific, but spiritual, inspirational…A great example I found that Klein gave us was thinking of Aunt Jemima’s syrup. Whenever I saw Aunt Jemima a feeling of warmth and comfort flowed through my body and I probably couldn’t explain why.

Whereas I didn’t understand much of this as a child walking by an Aunt Jemima syrup bottle other corporations such as Nike did. Nike is now a perfect example of latter branding and the “lifestyle” form as well as all other major corporations (Starbucks, Cola, Pepsi…). The ‘lifestyle’ form has made corporations such as Nike become cultural accessories and lifestyle philosophers. As mentioned above Nike is no longer just a running shoe but it is about the love of sports and ‘idea of transcendence through sports’. Hence to a sports and fitness fanatic like me reading the slogan “Just do it” or seeing a pro athlete wearing Nike clothes inspired me and unconsciously probably make me like Nike. I remember when I was little I used to love buying new runners. I used to automatically be drawn to the Nike logo and when putting them on for the first time to go for a run I thought of the pro athletes who also wore them and thought they were cool – in other words it made me feel good.

Phil Knight explains, “Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool…its mission is not to sell shoes but to enhance people’s lives through sports and fitness and to keep the magic of sports alive.” (Klein 22) So the latter form of branding is focused on bringing the brand, whatever it may produce, into people’s lifestyle. They shall not look at Nike as a company that produces commodities but it ‘produces’ a lifestyle that you want to have.

Quiz 1- Heidi Lacks "No logo (pg. xi-87)

Companies were constantly on the lookout for new meaningful ideas, as well as pristine spaces on how to project them, because creating meaning was their new act of production. And of course jobs were getting crummier: these companies no longer saw producing things as their ”core” business. In short you were talking about how the world works.

The, “shake weight” is an example of what Klein would refer to as the earlier form of branding because it is being presented as a commodity, simply trying to deliver this particular product.

Reebox is an example of latter “lifestyle” branding because it establishes “emotional ties” with its customers through the “experience”. On page 21 Klein states that, “There is a deep emotional connection that people have with sports and fitness. With Reebox we see how this easy tone has woven itself into the fabric of peoples interest, because of the opportunity it gives to shape butts…A great brand rises the bar—it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it’s the challenge to stay fit and look good or the affirmation that is given with the shoes you are wearing , not even knowing that you are getting a work out in.

This was the secret; it seemed, of all the success stories of the late eighties and early nineties. What was changing was the idea of what- in both advertising and branding-was being sold. “The products that will flourish in the future will be the ones presented not as “commodities” but as concepts: the brand as experience as lifestyle”(Klein 21)

Below are two videos that express how the role of advertising has changed from delivering a product to building an image around a particular brand-name version of a product.

"The people who line up for Starbucks, writes CEO Howard Shultz, aren't just there for the coffee. 'It's the romance of the coffee experience, the feeling of warmth and community people get in Starbucks." (Klein 20) I find it incredible that a company like Starbucks can actually bring about feelings of the warmth and community that Klein speaks of. Now that I think of it, I can completely understand what she is saying. I frequent Starbucks now and then, and what I sometimes notice are people just sitting in the couch chairs talking away without anything to eat or drink in their hands. They are simply there for the social aspect of it. A good friend of mine back home often goes to Starbucks just to play games on his computer, and does not buy anything to eat or drink at all. The fact that Starbucks offers a wireless internet connection has a lot to do with the fact that people go there simply to socialize, which is unlike any store or company that I know of off the top of my head. What is going to be interesting is how this will affect the company down the road. For example, there is no rule or law that states that a customer that walks through the Starbucks door HAS to purchase something, so what I think might happen (if it does not already) is that people will abuse the privilege of the internet connection, and choose to sit there and socialize or surf the net instead of buying Starbucks products. By doing so, its not as if Starbucks is actually "losing business," but when the employees see people coming in and leaving without buying anything, a sense of frustration will be created. But then again, because of the way the store is set up, it definitely has a community feel to it, with a lot of couches and comfortable places to lounge, as the following picture for my blog post will show...


http://www.fredonia.edu/prweb/ucommons/images/starbucks.conversation.jpg

Who wouldn't want to lounge here for a while?

What really resonated with me the earlier form of branding, was something like the Aunt Jemima picture that appears on the bottles of syrup. According to Klein, not only can Brands simply be something to look at or identify with, but: "Brands could conjure a feeling-think of Aunt Jemima's comforting presence..." (Klein 7) In all honesty, after reading that quote, when I imagine Aunt Jemima's face on the syrup bottle, it does, in a sense, give me a feeling on comfort and contentment, so I can definitely relate. In addition, GM took a similar approach when they claimed that their automobiles were "something personal, warm and human." (Klein 7) Interestingly, a vehicle itself is not at all warm and human, but those words conjure a feeling of safeness and reliability, which are two very important characteristics a vehicle should have, and two characteristics that consumers are looking for. For the "lifestyle" form of branding, I found that the Tommy Hilfiger company was going more for the "lifestyle" brand. For instance, Hilfiger actually started out as a preppy clothing line, but they found that there style of clothing became very popular with inner cities and the whole notion of "living large," which, in my opinion, is a lifestyle habit that kids from the inner cities were acquiring by wearing this brand of clothing. I think that the main difference is that things like Aunt Jemima's presence offer a feeling, which is TEMPORARY, whereas the Tommy Hilfiger and the idea of "living large" is more of a habit and behavior, which is much more permanent and long-lasting.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16eBbYUufKI


This video replaces the "Hey there Delilah" song with Hey there "Jemima"

No Space

In this advertisement, Pepsi uses counter-culture of the old and new, and co-opt's it into the mainstream light of television commercials. First in this advertisement we are presented with Bob Dylan (counter-culture figure of the 60's, and 70's) and his song "Forever Young". We than see Dylan make reference to his ray ban sunglasses, and the screen changes to Will.I.am making the same action. There is than a turning wheel that suggests that Will.I.am is the "Bob Dylan" figure of the current generation. In "No Logo", Klein says "the cookie-cutter co-optation formula: take a cool artist, associate that mystique with your brand, hope it wears off and makes you cool too". (Klein 46). Pepsi is setting themselves to do exactly this in this commercial. After Dylan, and I.am are shown it cuts to american soldiers hugging family (old shot, followed by new shot). The rest of this commercial follows this formula, showing skateboarders, surfers, and fans at concerts. All of these activities illustrate seemingly "cool" counter-culture ideologies, which pepsi has now associated themselves with. This commercial is saying drink pepsi and you will be "forever young" and hip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfrdRgpKfI&feature=related

Paul Bennet post 1

This video is a directly related to the part of no logo that speaks on sponsorship. Just as they have used everything else, Corporate companies, have used culture to advertise their products. In this ad diesel, advertise its new concert series and set of interviews paralleled with their brand new "Only the Brave cologne". Diesel uses the "only the brave" slogan to sponsor brand new hip hop artist, who serve as cultural icons, to show portray their only the brave lifestyle. Because they are using brand new artists, who deliver brand new styles to hip hop and culture, through their music and their fashion sense; diesel is sponsoring them to show how brave you have to be to function and be "brand new" in this society. In line with their new cologne diesel uses them creatively, to display their " only the brave" compaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNdcj0E1jIs&feature=related

This Video clip is a perfect example of how (Dove) is trying to use their brand not through, “Direct advertising, but in the context, is viewed as a rather clumsy intrusion into a much more organic approach to image building”(Klein 20). For instance (Dove) is establishing emotional ties with their customers through the idea of “self esteem”(20). Which “Has fostered a powerful identity by making their brand concept into a virus and sending it out into the culture via a variety of channels; cultural sponsorship, political controversy, the consumer experience and brand extensions” (20).

Dove Evolution
Uploaded by Masterfill. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Welcome!

Hi everyone, I thought it might be useful to post my YouTube tutorial channel online, which doesn't have all that many videos on it yet, but a few that might be helpful. See in particular the "Creating and Editing Blog Posts on Blogger" video, which is also above. Enjoy!

P.S. There's a useful video on how to use the wiki on the main wiki page, as well, but it isn't on YouTube for privacy issues.