Iceman1190's Blog

Advertising. Does it Really Influence?

In everything we look at today, we see slogans and catch phrases and pictures of all of the products made today. On television we see advertisements. On the radio we see advertisements. On the internet we see advertisements. On cars windshields we see advertisements. On billboards we see advertisements. And in video games we see advertisements. Advertisements are all around us. But do advertisements really influence us to buy certain products?

Upon looking at the T.V., I see ads on the sides of it. HDTV, HDMI and others because they want you to know that they are part of the T.V. I have a Vizio television and I see Vizio ads all the time with watching my favorite shows. Take me as a case study for this argument. I say that advertising doesn’t affect me, but that’s not the case. I tend to watch many “young adult” television shows. On those shows, they advertise things young adults would buy. Things like axe, video games, and other man products. These commercials do influence me because if anyone looked at the products I use, it’s all the same brand, Axe.

Movies are also a big factor for advertisers. They feel that if someone’s idol is wearing or using a certain product, then that person will want it as well. In the Matrix there were Cadillacs; in Tranformers there were Cheverolets but mainly GM cars. In Edward Epstien’s piece “Dumb Money”, he explains how much money advertisers put into movies and how the new moguls of Hollywood use this to their advantage. They know that the products movie-stars wear the regular people will want.

In this picture Tropic Thunder is being advertised in a video game. Rainbow Six Vegas is a multiplayer game where the developers put ads in the game to make the gameplay more realistic and to make money. The people who put the Tropic Thunder ad in the game put it there because they knew an big amount of people would see it, consciously not realize it because they’re focused on the game, but sub-consciously see it and want to view the movie.

Advertising is now one of the largest industries in the world. They have an enormous amount of influence because they put advertisements anywhere its possible to influence people. We unknowingly see advertisements in everything we view. From the articles we read in class and the one I showed, advertising goes undetected until someone is buying something that they saw on a billboard or on the television or internet.

RE: The Melting Pot

This a comment to Erin’s post

After reading Erin’s post, I thought about it, and also realized that there are so many different looks in America. Basically anyone could look American. If you were to go to a mall and check out all of the stores, you find many diferrent styles of clothing stores that reflect many different ethnicities. Alot of Hispanics wear Ecko and South Pole. These cloths looks similar to what you would find in their native country, except not designer brands.

Erin brings up a good point about immigrants and the process to become a legal U.S. citizen, but I disagree with that statement. I believe the system is supposed to be hard because I don’t want it easy for someone who is a terrorist to get in to America. Because we are so popular with the Islamic people of the Middle East, we need the process to protect us and ensure our well being.

RE: Lyrics Run My World

This is a reply to Sam’s post

I’m a big music kind of person and I truly believe that certain lyrics can define you at the right moments. For decades music has been something more than just noise. Artists create music to convey their emotions and use certain lyrics to express their feelings. Inspirations, motivations and experiences give the lyrics and music the meaning behind it. Whenever any artists are interviewed, they are asked about the meaning behind their songs and what they are supposed to represent.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTs9n-zxJIc]
Here are some of the lyrics to “Underclass Hero” by Sum 41
“Well I won’t be caught living in a dead end job
While praying to my government guns and gods
Now it’s us against them
We’re here to represent
To spit right in the face of the establishment.
And now i dont believe (ain’t got no faith in nothing)
Stand on my own (ain’t got no sympathy)
Wasting the youth (while being young and useless)
Speak for yourself (and dont pray for me)
Well because we’re doing fine
And we don’t need to be told
That we’re here doing fine
Cause we won’t give you control
And we don’t need anything from you
Cause we’ll be just fine
And we won’t be bought and sold
Just like you”
In this song and in the entire album Deryck Whibley is expressing his feeling towards his father. I was at X-Fest in 2007 when Sum 41 was there and he talked about how he never had a father figure and this album shows the hardships that he’s gone through.

RE: That 70’s Mom

This is a reply to Erika’s post

” That 70’s Mom” does show the difficulties of a working mother trying to support her family. Erika brings up many good points and i believe that “That 70’s Show” is the most accurate portrayal of the working housewife. If you look at the other family centered shows at that time, there weren’t many. The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, and Good Times are some of the family shows that show the unrealistic housewife role. I see it all the time when I’m out walking on the streets. There’s a lady walking down the street with her hand completely full and a cell phone on her shoulder. I overhear that she’s on the phone telling her husband how to work the oven because he doesn’t know how to. Housewives today have ACQUIRED the ability to do pretty much everything that needs to be done, the cooking, cleaning, working, and child raising.

RE: Beauty is in the Eye of the Be(er)holder

This is a comment on Andew Schrock’s post

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. People interpret this in many ways. But the majority of today have skewed views of what beauty really is and Adrew brings this point up in his post. Cosmo Magazine and other feminine magazines have told people what beautiful is and what isn’t. Pictures are the main way to prove this and show what it has made women turn into. I agree that some women in those magazine are beautiful, but most are pretty sluttish looking. Even though these magazines have modeled what beauty is, natural beauty still trumps it all.
Paris Hilton is one of today’s leading women who portray the “new” beauty. All I see is a mirror from all of the make up she uses to hide her true face.

Unlike Paris, I believe Jennifer Aniston portrays the natural beauty that they don’t show in the fasion magazines.

RE: Feeling Let Down

A comment to Jake Nemeth’s post

Jake brings up a good point about the sequels. I feel that many directors are continuing stories not to make the move good, but for the money the sequel will produce. If you look at most of the sequels in 2009, there are only a few that continue the story line without making the movie completely terrible. For example, Transformers 2 was a letdown. Even though I felt the special effects and action sequences were flawless, the movie lacked a plot. Of the 5 or so sequels released there were only 2 good ones. These bad sequels do so something about today’s culture. I feel the reason many sequels are bad is because the general public doesn’t want a good complex movie that keeps the audience thinking throughout the movie, all the want is explosions and fighting and hot chicks running in slow motion. Though these movies are good, they shouldn’t be put at a higher standard then the better more complex movies.

Cougars? Desirable?

Today’s society is very different from what it was 50 years ago. There is a much more “open” view in today’s culture than in the past. Some people are now publicly homosexual and many women are going for very young men. These women are known as cougars. Cougars have become a big thing in Hollywood. Older women like Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Madonna, and etc. have started the cougar trend. Now we see many older women at bars and clubs trying to pick up younger guys. In class we talked about cougars and why they do it. Does that make older women more desirable? For some reason many guys try to “get” with older women. Is it for sex? For a more mature relationship? Or just to see if they can?

The New York Times bring up a good argument that arose about Cougar Town. Andrew Newman wrote about a new Cougar dating site called CougarLife.com is like eHarmony except with cougars and cubs. They match cougar with cubs, or younger guys. ABC did’t want to air Cougar Life’s commercial because they thought it was too inappropriate for their family network. This shows that the majority of the population is still against cougars.

Poeple might think that cougars are wrong, but is this any different in the reverse way. The Girls Next Door is a television show about the girlfriends of Hugh Hefner. Hefner is 83 and he’s dating girls in their early 20’s. This is what i would call the opposite of cougaring. He is a tiger! Grrrrroooowwwweeellllll. Hugh makes it look normal because the masses are used to what he does.

Cougars are breaking through the age barrier and there’s no stopping them. Cougars will eventually become undetectable in society because everyone will be used to the local cougars trying to act younger. Hefner did it. So why can’t they?

Whose in Control?

Often times men say that they are the dominating gender. Is that really the case? NO. Women are in control today. They can make men do whatever they desire with the flaunt of a body part. There are many women who do this and when a man tries to get in their way, they feel that’s not right.

This video won’t post so i put a link up.

Family Guy: Innocent Spoof or Reliable News Source

People often refer to Family Guy as an innocent spoof. Family Guy is meant to be funny, but does it also show the Zeitgeist or “Spirit of the Times”. Family Guy does this by poking fun at what’s going on in today’s news. For example, in one of the episodes Peter is a very pro-American person against illegal immigration. This shows how the people in America felt toward the immigration problem. Family Guy and many other shows portray the feelings and actions of today’s society.

More Than Just A Book Cover

Every show, whether it be a drama or on the news, has shown stereotypes for certain individuals. This is a very common perception, but it’s not the truth. After people venture into the real world (after high school) they realize that the head cheerleader is also involved in the symphonic orchestra, the skater punk is really a biochemistry major, or even the genius on the dean’s list smoke marijuana. Today’s culture has turned society into book covers, not full books. People make judgements about people based on how television perceives them, not how they actually are. It started with the high school television shows and movies from the 80’s that started to define each and every type of person (Freaks and Geeks as an example) to today where characters tend to be a little more than just a book cover( HSM 3).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvkh29RKFRY