Blog week 9- show and tell

For this specific activity, i felt like there would be no better experience then the ones that people have at the flea market, myself especially. One specific memory that comes to mind is when i went to purchase a blanket, a specific type and pattern for my grandmother.
To begin, the purpose of this blanket was for my Nonna to use while she slept because it was extremely thick and she was very vulnerable to cold weather. This blanket was the perfect fit for what she needed and the pattern choice was to match her room design. But when i went to the place to purchase this item, there were multiple options and i needed some assistance. There were different cover textures, materials, and similar but different designs. Though they would all get the job done, i was searching for that perfect one.
This specific message was delivered from two different parties, word of mouth from who ever told my Nonna about the blanket, because there are no commercials for this specific product; that i have seen. And word of mouth from my Nonna to me. The way in which i remembered the product was one: because she told me the specific, and two: because she is my Nonna and i have to listen to her. Though this way of sending and receiving messages is not the typical way, it still gets the job done to have the products purchased.
At this market the way that they advertised their products was by having samples of the different blankets hanging; there was no music or special slogan, just the full visual. This product and way of advertising the products relates to everyone because if they were looking to buy a blanket they are all laid out for them, and if not, they still may do a take over because the product is right there out in the open and are very appealing.
When i decided to ask for help it was very interesting in how the do everything in there power to have there products purchased, and bargaining is the biggest thing. They tell you everything you need to know, like: what its made of, where its made, quality, etc. Going to the flea market is always an interesting experience, especially for someone like me who is very interested in the field of communication.

Week 9 - regulary used product - class blog

A product that i feel i would not be able to do without, or have trouble letting go would have to be my cell phone. Cell phone commercials are now being, more noticeably than ever, directed at college/high school students. For instance the most recent commercials have a reporter taking the latest information from places like twitter and facebook, that he was able to check from his phone. (an example is tagged below) The commercials are targeted towards the student based on the simple fact that they are using the most commonly used sites to sell their product. Being able to use twitter and facebook is very appealing, especially to students who are bored in class.

The reason that this product would be so hard to let go of is because the cell phone has become so reliable and convenient, whether its for taking notes, contacting anyone from anywhere or all of the applications that keep coming out for peoples entertainment. They more the product offers they more likely it is to sell and the more addictive it becomes to consumers.

The immediate impact that the commercial messages send out are that their is something new and interesting on the market that will hopefully fulfill our needs as a consumer. People become interested and decide to try the product. If the product is successful, then the future of the company is to keep the consumers pleased and interested by always finding and adding new things that makes the initial product even better. The more they keep adding, it just becomes harder for people to let go of that product.

Also, since technology is so relied upon these day, a cell phone is the most handy and portable piece of technology that now can basically achieve any goal. To be without it, something feels missing and you feel disconnect from the rest of society. If the messages the companies keep sending out, make consumers feel that if they do not own the product, they will not be fully connected, then the product will be purchased and this is a vicious cycle.

Week 8- In class bog - Rhetoric (5 cannons)

A cultural topic i am choosing to criticise is the athletic culture and the way advertisements are directed towards their niche. Take nike, adidas, and rebok for example: their main goals are to find new and improved products to make an athletes performance better. The focus of this blog will be around the fittness/running shoe. It seems like every day or week their is a new style of shoe on the shelf. This is because companies are constantly inventing and creating a shoe that will improve certain areas that the previous shoe did not have; that is why in commercials, the companies even compare their own shoes to one another (older to newer).
Brind part of the athletic culture, when i come across these messages through the media, these ads catch my attention. Also being fact that i like the nike brand, i would more likely pay closer attention to the newer product and probably want to try it out, depending on what it is offering me. Basically, the way that we structure the message being delivered to us is putting it as a positive for what we are interested in and need it for.
Since nike produces and manufactures shoes for all ages, their styles vary in order to reach out to each section of their audience. Although they do not have an age range, the simple fact that most hard training athletes would probably be in their prime years, their ads usually revolve around star athletes and modern happenings. The style of the shoe is also made very catchy/attractive to the eye, and they make the sam shoe with different colours, patterns, and designs in order to try and please everyones taste. When they advertise their products, by showing other athletes wearing and using the brand, it makes us feel that if its good enough for them then it may just work for me, especially if they are a successful pro athlete.
I feel that nike commercials and advertisements are very clear and to the point. They indicate what the product does and usually shows a person in action with the product on. This makes the consumer more certain that the product will benifit them in some way. Though Nike's main audience is athletes, the everyday person also wears their product so their ads can be found everywhere and aired at anytime. In the athletic culture, nike is one of the most popular brands and it is expanding outwards due to their successful products and advertiseing methods.
The way that nike's messages, or any athletic brand for that matter, are remember are by association with certain people or spectific sports. For hockey, rebok sponsors the best player in the nhl Sidney Crosby; Nike sponsors/ed the best ever player in golf Tiger Woods; Easton has a ton of mlb players on their list; and for basketball, adidas sponsors Tracey Mcgrady. Depending on what sport interests you, or what brand you prefer, each ad will have a different effect on the consumer and provide them with a different memory for that product.
For the athletic culture, the simplest way for attracting their consumers is by continue to have advertisement and the media providing them with products or ideas that they can relate to.

Culture Jamming advertisement - adidas

From what i have learned, culture jamming is taking an advertisement and turning its original message around and having give another message; usually makes it negative or makes the unseen more noticable. This Adidas advertisement shows naked athletes sporting the companies shoes in two different positions. Though they may have them naked to highlight the product that is not the first thought that struck my mind. Fit naked men on a poster is definitly a "sex sells" attemp at making their product popular.
Another interesting part about this is that ADIDAS is supposed to stand for All Day I Dream About Sports but in this specific ad, that is not what first crosses the mind, Sex is the primary thought. By taking a simple ad such as two men posing with shoes on and adding the word sex and making it quite visible, i believe draws the attention to the extent of the message of this ad.
It has been in this class where i have learned to try and read deeper into media messages and look beyond the brand of a product. This ad caught my attention at first glance because i could relate it to myself being an athlete and also using this product. There are many ways for an athletic brand to be popular using creative advertisements and in adidas case i think they pulled away from their product and dove into the social norm that 'sex does sell' and took a shot at 'showing' what the product can create; nice, toned bodies. They definitely were able to turn heads wih this ad whether it was hegative or for the better.

Blog for week 3 > Design a poster for an audience

I chose to design a poster that related to the niche audience of athletes, with a focus on hockey players. As i myself am an athlete i created a poster where i felt it reflected my likes and desires.

Hockey is a sport that i have played since i was a child and nike/bauer has always been a main supplier for the sport. The players fighting does not only show that hockey is a rough sport but that athletes tend to never back down from a challenge or obsticle; reasoning for the quote "never back down" at the top of the poster.

The poster is very simple but i feel sends a very strong message both physically and mentally to those who play the sport, and even other intense athletes. A punch in the face should not stop you from fighting back.

Not only do i feel that this shows an athletes desire to win and defeat the opposition, while promoting a brand that sponsors the game of hockey, it shows the passion an athlete has for a game that they love.

In class blog week 2 - Superbowl ad Gatorade "the journey"

I found this ad to be perfect for the Superbowl. Yes it includes football players and it is a football event but that is just stating the obvious. The advertisers were very smart to promote a product like gatorade during this event because of the majority of viewers that watch the event. We all know that some advertisements are created to draw in niche audiences, ann this ad related to everyone for a variety of reasons but for different ways attracted different niches.

Most of the people watching the Superbowl know at least a thing or two about football and this specific ad told a summarization of what a football season consists up leading to this specific game "the Superbowl." This storyline included in the commercial was able to draw in people's attention.

Throughout the commercial the product was flashed in the players hands, before the game, and after a hard faught battle, trying to show that it is what hydrates and replenishes you as an athlete. I feel that the product itself is directed towards the niche audience of athletes. But, others watching are able to appreciate the ad because it includes the athletes that participate in the sport that everyone is watching.

This commercial also seems to set a mood for the event itself. While it shows that passion and heart of the players, it builds a feeling of intensity and admiration for the game of football which gets people more into the game being played.

Though there are not really any women in this commercial, that does not mean that a female athlete does not appreciate what it takes to get to the championship game, for any sport, and how nothing comes easy in the world of sports. Seeing that football is a male sport, it was only right to use male athletes.

This commercial send a very positive message and Gatorade was very smart in the way they chose to advertise there product.

Blog for week 2 >Don't be Stupid: Condoms

This advertisement was chosen simply because it was able to grab my attention and interest first glance; isn't that the purpose of an advertisement. Before reading the slogan that went along with this ad, the picture alone made you want to know more about the product. Since it is a picture of war, the initial thought was that it was a serious topic which in reality it is but just about something different. Yes, because it is a condom ad the idea of sex is exposed but the photo does not persuade you to want to have sex it does a great job at saying unprotected sex can be dangerous; for me the message is clearly stated through words and the image.

The meaning of the advertisement is to make sure they 'wrap it up' in order to prevent std's and unplanned pregnancies. Using a photo of war, being an American advertisement, people can relate war to being unsafe just as unprotected sex is. Because this advertisement does send such a bold and strong statement it then becomes the audiences choice how they deal with their sex life; personal decisions. The audience that this advertisement targets is quite large because today having sex has become more popular within youths, approximately 14, and still remains normally with those who are adults. When a person is old enough to make a conscious decision to have sex, then this advertisement effects them and plays a role in trying to send a positive message regarding the dangers and consequences of unprotected intercourse.

The main point of this advertisement is for people to buy condoms to avoid everything that comes along with not protecting yourself when having sex and their slogan, i think, says it loud and clear, "Condomshop.ch: Don't be stupid. Protect yourself!" This sums up there intended message, with the soldiers and being in a dangerous environment; unprotected sex, to the condom in the bottom right corner making it obvious that sex is the topic at hand. This was very well thought out and done to catch one's attention.

In class blog week 1 > commercial jingle and how it helped build my life

This is the advertisement jingle that I chose. It is a Canadian commercial and I could not find a commercial that dated back more than 30 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNxAzEuuycs&NR=1

The jingle that i chose has helped build my life in such a way that it was important in the relationship between me and my father. You may be thinking to yourself how does a hardware store build a relationship between father a daughter? but the answr is actually quite simple. Almost every weekend my dad would have to go there because his job required him to have specific supplies being in the construction buisness, and i was always the one he would ask to go with him and that would be the time we bonded, going to canadian tire, and even to this day when im home we go on our little trip. He would teach me about the tools that he was buying and what they were used for, Afterwords, as we were leaving, there was a hotdog vender outside and we would have one of the best sausages, and then head home to hear from my mother that dinner was almost ready and she would nag at us because she knew by now that we had eaten. Canadian tire may not be anywhere special for anyone else but to my dad and I it was a place where we were able to build our relationship.

Blog for week 1 >who owns the media

Today it seems that everywhere we look the media is flashing something new in our faces. Billboards, television, Internet, benches, and the list can go on for a great length, but who is the real owner of these images and catch phrases we see everyday? In my eyes there is not one specific owner but that their is a certain class (wealthy) that have the control. The large corporations which own multiple franchises and chains of stores are the ones who use the media the most and they have the funds to do so. The government also controls a large part of the media and they use it to distract society of what is really occurring around the world. The amount of messages that flow through the media is so enormous but yet very thought out to the point that the people that do control what is sent out knows what will capture the attention of larger groups of people. Some may even say that it is not specific people that own the media but simply money and power; where ever these things are found is where the control lays. Because media is so broad and found in so many different places, almost everything has an effect on the media. When you are in a super market and at the check out magazines are starring at you and all of the stories revolve around people with money (celebrities) but when you truly think about what is being advertised, there really is no importance; once again this is a form of distraction. When all is said and done, those who control the media will send out what they please and society will buy into it. Money+power=control!