Reflection

Before starting the media blogs, I didn't really think much of commercials or different kinds of advertisements. I definitely didn't believe they had any kind of significant impact on my life. I was actually pretty naive, thinking that I had never been persuaded by ads or that just because I only watch Netflix, I was immune from the media.

But after learning concepts and having discussions in class, I realized that just the fact that I could recall what kind of puppy was used in the Budweiser ad or that the Darth Vader kid was in a commercial for Volkswagen and not Honda means that I am affected by the media. The media blog made me so much more aware of the world around me.

 I started noticing product placement in songs, celebrity endorsements during baseball games, and I could point out what demographic was being used in a toothpaste commercial. I finally understood that demographics were the reason that there are beer commercials during football and not during gossip girl. Being aware of this has helped me realize  how much power the media has in society. I think it's important that I have learned how to be media literate so that now I won't let the media have power over me.

Das Sexism

So I was researching Volkswagen ads for the second part of our media project and I stumbled across these pictures. Both are apparently from an advertisement on a bathroom mirror. The ads are both for Volkswagen, same car, same price, everything. Above is the ad in the mens room: "if you look like a million bucks in this mirror, imagine what you'd look like in one of these." Below is the ad in the womens room: "even if you're having a bad hair day, you can still look like a million bucks."

It's kinda subtle but this is a perfect example of sexism in media. Both ads are trying get across that buying this Volkswagen will make you look cooler. But for men, its only to add to how great they look. For women, it's to compensate for their apparent insecurity.

This ad is based on the age old stereotype that men are powerful, confident and need a car that makes that more evident and women have such a low self image that they need a car to make them feel better. What makes this ad sexist is that there didn't need to be a different message. They could have kept the womens message the same as the mens and still get across the same idea. But Volkswagen instead made a very conscious decision to prey on the insecurity of women.

The fact that you can't even go into the bathroom without being confronted by the media creeps me out so much. Literally nowhere is safe. Especially messages like these aren't even advertisements but a constant reminder of the media's goal to make women feel a constant sense of anxiety and insecurity. Now looking in a mirror is another opportunity for the media to send this message.

MissRepresentation

While watching Missrepresentation and all the ads that were used as examples, I thought that they were so ridiculous I actually had a hard time believing they were real. Then I remembered this from a few years back.

First of all this commercial is so unrealistic its frustrating. No one looks like this eating a burger. No one. No one looks like this eating anything. I'm lucky if I look like a human when I eat a burger and not a starved dinosaur. And its annoying because I'm sure even she doesn't even look like that while eating. But regardless, instead of selling Carl Junior's new whatever, all this commercial does is make women feel bad about something that doesn't exist and will never be able to control. It drives women to compete with an enigma. Just like it was mentioned in the documentary, the increasing frequency of overtly sexual advertising is making poor body image among women a cultural norm.

This form of advertising so primal and barbaric.Carl's Junior actually has to dangle a half naked woman in front of people to get them to buy their burgers. Her body is literally being used to sell meat. This ad and others like it make people think its okay to make women equivalent to huge piece of cardboard on the side of the road. Even though this ad was banned, I can't believe that it was even allowed to air with camera angles that were aimed directly at her chest and even up her dress with out even trying to show the burger.

Not only is this commercial unfair to women, but its unfair to men as well. According to this commercial, all men are capable of is drooling over boobs and being unable to respect their girlfriends enough to turn around and watch the movie.

To further add insult to possibly the worst commercial ever, it wasn't even effective. I watched the commercial a few times and I literally could not remember what company this was or what they were even advertising.

500 Days of Ikea

This weekend, while watching one of my favorite movies of all time, 500 Days of Summer, I realized how huge the presence of Ikea was. In a movie so seemingly low budget without any other product placement, its almost a little strange how a company could be such a big part of the movie.

The most obvious presence of Ikea is the incredibly cute scene in which Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are running around, playing in the set up rooms and just being adorable.
Here's the scene for those unfamiliar with the movie:

 Even a part from this scene, there was still more Ikea influence. With some researching I found out that a lot of the props and sets from the movie were furnished by the company. For example, the plates that Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) breaks in the first scene are indeed Ikea brand plates. In Summer's (Zooey Deschanel) apartment, her wallpaper was also being sold at Ikea at the time (around 2009). The characters also name drop Ikea in a few other scenes as well.

While Googling the product placement, I discovered that the Ikea-ness of the movie spurred a whole quirky/romantic revolution. There were pictures of couples recreating the scene, in outfits similar to the characters and everything. There were even some videos of women being proposed to by their boyfriends in front of Ikea.

This is probably the most successful product placement I have ever scene. I too also love Ikea and in all honesty, part of my love probably comes from the movie. Every time I watch 500 Days of Summer I feel a passionate need to go to Ikea. I can only assume that the movie has done wonders for their business. I think it has created a whole market and brand for Ikea: the quirky-cool young adult in their late twenties/early thirties (such as Tom and Summer) who wants cute home furnishings but at a reasonable price. Even more so, people who wish they were quirky-cute and shop at Ikea in order to feel like they are (which is me).

Godzilla vs. Fiat

At first glance, I couldn't really tell if it was a trailer for Godzilla, or a Fiat advertisement.  But as the commercial went on, the presence of the Fiat was so obvious that it became clear that is was mostly an ad for the car, only featuring Godzilla.

The colors of the Fiat really led me to this conclusion. The Fiats showcased were red, light blue, and yellow, colors that really standout against the mostly black and grey scale background of the Godzilla trailer. All the other cars shown in the street scene were also black and grey, and the Fiats were the only source of color in the whole commercial. The colors are also very upbeat and loud which would naturally draw attention to the car in any setting, especially an apocalyptic, monster infested city.

I first thought that the advertising pair of a Fiat and Godzilla was pretty random, but now I realized it was actually really strategic. The main message of the commercial is that a Fiat isn't as small as you think. The fact that Godzilla couldn't even swallow the car really shows this loud and clear. By comparing and contrasting the car to Godzilla, the Fiat seems way bigger than it actually is. The camera angles also add to this. The monster is almost always shot at a distance or from above, making it seem smaller to the viewer. The Fiat is always shown up close at eye level, making it seem bigger.

The target demographic for the two also makes the pairing seem perfect. By using fun colors and showing young people in the commercial, Fiat is trying to market to people in their early to mid twenties, the same crowd that is known to rush out to see the new summer block buster.

The technique most likely used for this ad/trailer was bandwagon. Combining Fiat and Godzilla was an attempt to get Godzilla fans to think that Fiats are super cool and vice versa. I think that the concept that Fiat is the only source of color in the black/grey commercial world goes towards the need for autonomy. The cars not only stand out against but survive Godzilla, making them unique.

Apple in California

 

 For Apple's new "designed in California" campaign they set out to capture the California vibe and in my opinion, they got it. 

The colors really add to the fresh new angle that apparently comes with the new iPhone. The bright greens in the background mixed with the warm brown of the cars interior make everything seem natural and California-esque.

The girl in the ad makes me think that this ad is designed for teen girls just because she looks kinda familiar, like a typical girl you could see walking past you in the hallway. Even her outfit could be pulled right out of my closet.

Because the girl and the scene looks so averagely attainable, not only does the ad make you want an iPhone but everything that seems to come with an iPhone. I feel like it I ran out and bought the exact iPhone that she has then my life will automatically be filled with one smiley road trip after another. And who doesn't want that life?

This is definitely plain folks in action.  

Even the white print on the side makes the image looks so clean and simple.

The text says: "This is it. This is what matters. The experience of a product. How it makes someone feel. "

Apple is no longer trying to sell a product, but a feeling.

Mission accomplished, Apple.

The Return of the Midriff

With her Clueless inspired music video, not only is Iggy Azalea bringing back the 90's, but she is also bringing back the midriff.
First of all, the video takes place at high school, yet the song mentions "champagne spillin'", "trashing hotels", "chandelier swinging" and other typical teenage things. This mature content targeted for teenagers is essentially what the midriff is all about.
 Like most music videos these days, mostly everyone in the video is scantily clad. This was meant to attract the teen female demographic, just like the midriffs in The Merchants of Cool. Everything about the video and lyrics is made to appeal to teen girls who wished that they lived and dressed like the girls in the video.