Post #9: Applying Semiotic Analysis

Apply semiotic analysis to three ads. 1 print, 1 TV, and 1 outdoor.

Outdoor Billboard Ad 

The outdoor ad that I picked is from a don't text and drive campaign billboard. Looking at the denotations of this ad we see a dead body on a silver table, the words "Was that txt worth it? Don't text and drive, a sad face emoticon on the dead persons face. The background color of the billboard is dark gray. The connotations of this ad is the idea that if you text while driving you will die. The myth behind this ad is that all people who text and drive die. Texting and driving at the same time is obviously dangerous, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who does it will die.

Print Ad

The print ad that I selected was a Herbal Essences product advertisement from a beauty magazine. The denotations of this ad is the famous Nicole Scherzinger, her long beautiful hair, the pink and yellow Herbal Essences products at the bottom, and the pink colored background. The connotations of this ad suggest that if you buy this Herbal Essences hair product, you will become beautiful like Nicole Scherzinger. The myth behind this ad is that all consumers who purchase this product will have beautiful hair like Nicole. However, this isn't true and this is just a common advertising strategy of using celebrities in beauty advertisements. 

TV Ad

The TV ad that I selected is one of Nike's Find Your Greatness campaign ads. The denotations of this commercial are the main actor who is running towards the screen, the clothes that he is wearing, the shoes that he is wearing, the grass field on the sides of the road, the clouds in the sky, and the horizon in the background. The connotation of this ad is that the overweight person running is trying to find his greatness. The use of the voice actor speaking in the background creates a powerful tone that leads to greater determination. The myth of this ad is that wearing Nike shoes will help you find your greatness and give you more determination to become a stronger person. 

Post #8: Consumer Behavior

A product that was recently re-launched successfully was Hostess's Twinkies in 2013. In January of 2011 Hostess filed for bankruptcy. This meant that Twinkies were no longer going to be produced. Once this shocking news came out in the media people went crazy and proceeded to buy all the Twinkies in stores. Fast forward two years later and Twinkies was bought out of bankruptcy by Apollo Global Management. The successful relaunch of Twinkies can be explained by multiple reasons.

First off the new managers of Twinkie dubbed the return as "the sweetest comeback in the history of ever". Playing off the nostalgia card is a powerful marketing tool. Twinkies have been around since the 1930s. This meant that the Twinkie's return campaign targeted all age groups, not just younger audiences. Age is an example of an external influence that can possibly affect consumer behavior. Another example of an external influence that affects consumer behavior is gender. When Twinkies returned they labeled it as "dude food", in a brilliant strategy at getting more guys interested in the snack.

An internal influence that affects consumer behavior is memory. By using the nostalgia approach, Twinkies were able to capitalize on peoples recent memories of Twinkie production being discontinued. When people saw that Twinkies were coming back their memory triggered an emotional response. The mental image of eating your favorite childhood snack is powerful enough to compel consumers to go out and buy Twinkies.

Post #7: Character/Ethnic Stereotyping

1. Does the show or movie you've chosen reflect racial and gender diversity? Why or why not? Explain why this kind of diversity is important in media.

The television show I have picked to write about is Breaking Bad, an American crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan. Breaking Bad is my all time favorite show. The show tells the story of a middle-aged chemistry teacher, Walter White, who is recently diagnosed with lung cancer. With little time left to live and a family to support, Walter makes the decision to work with his former student, Jesse Pinkman, and turns to a life of crime. Walter and Jesse produce and distribute the powerful drug known as crystal meth. The show is a great example of gender diversity. There are many characters of various genders present throughout the show. In regards to racial diversity the show is a little lacking in its variety of races. Majority of the characters in this show are caucasian. However, the show makes up for it by having deep and complex character stories. Having a wide range of racial diversity is especially important in today's media because of the multiple ethnic/gender groups that have access to these media channels. With the advancement of technology people of all ethnic/gender groups have access to view these TV shows. If TV shows restrict themselves to only having one race or gender present in the show then certain groups can be offended. Offending certain people and creating controversy might lead to higher viewers, but the morally right thing to do is to have a diverse cast of characters.

2. Are there any racial or gender stereotypes present in the show or movie you've chose? If so, identify them and describe how they are stereotypical. If not, describe what elements would prevent the portrayal of a female or ethnic minority characters from being stereotypical. 

There are multiple cases of racial and gender stereotypes present in Breaking Bad. First off, the villain of the show, Gustavo Fring, is one of the few characters in this show who are of Mexican descent. This type of characterization reinforces the stereotype that Mexicans deal with drugs. Normally I would disagree with this type of stereotype, but if you've watched the entire show you realize that the directors purposely did this to improve the story.

The leading female actor of this show, Skyler White, is a great example of a female character not being a gender stereotype. The gender stereotype for women in television shows is usually that of a weak damsel in distress, who needs to be rescued by the main male character. Skyler White is the exact opposite of that. She is a strong independent woman who takes care of her family without the assistance from her husband Walter. This type of female characterization challenges the stereotype of the damsel in distress.

Post #6: Environmental Campaigns

Explore and discuss one current Environmental campaign using digital technologies. 

One current environmental campaign that uses digital technologies is the National Wildlife Federation. I picked the National Wildlife Federation because I have always been interested in the preservation of our world's wildlife. The organization's slogan is "to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future". This slogan is similar to my own views on wildlife. According to their website, at nwf.org, the "National Wildlife Federation works closely with those who span the social and political spectrum, but who are connected by a common commitment to conservation. Our ability to meet the needs of wildlife is inextricably linked to the amazing individuals, groups, organizations and corporations we call our supporters." In order to create an effective campaign the Nation Wildlife Federation made the decision to use social media as a platform to share their goals, ideas, and interests. 

By using social media as a platform to spread their ideas, the National Wildlife Federation is able to target a much younger audience. Through social media the organization is able to share pictures that tell the story of wild animals being saved. 

The picture above was found on the National Wildlife Federation's Facebook page. Along with the picture was a link that tells the story of how homeowners can live peacefully with wild predators living near their homes. This type of social media campaign educates readers on how to peacefully co-exist with predators. Overall, the National Wildlife Federation's environmental social media campaign has been used effectively. By broadening their media platforms this organization is able to advertise their stories to multiple age groups and educate a larger audience.

Post #5: Gender Stereotypes

The ad above shows the issues surrounding gender stereotypes in advertising. A common controversy with advertisements is the issue of depicting women as weak. Throughout advertising history women have  been depicted as the housewife who's only job is to cook and clean for her husband. This tide commercial informs its viewers of the new stain release features of its detergent. The person who demonstrates the cleaning ability is a girl. Constant ads like this one reinforce the stereotype that women are lesser than men. This ad forces women into the cleaning role. I understand that the creators behind this ad may have purposely used only a woman in the commercial because thats who their target audience was, but that doesn't make it ethically right. The creators behind this commercial could have easily added a male which would of solved the problem. 

Another gender stereotype that is a common theme is the depiction of women as sex objects.  Up above is a print ad for Dolce and Gabbana. This is one of the most disgusting ads that I've ever seen. In the ad we can see a man overpowering a woman on top of her while three other men watch. This type of display is known as ritualization of subordination. This is when an image shows women lying on floors or beds while men are above them. This type of imagery is ethically wrong as it reinforces the stereotype that women are below men. The creators of this ad were going with the whole "sex sells" approach, but in doing so they created a print ad that is offensive to all women. 

Post #4: 2015 Super Bowl

Discuss the SuperBowl 2015 commercials. Choose a favorite, how do you feel the brand story is communicated via this one piece of storytelling? Also consider how important the SuperBowl is as an advertising medium.

The 2015 Super Bowl commercials were great this year. I really enjoyed the Kim Kardashian T-Mobile commercial and the Esurance commercial featuring Breaking Bad character Walter White. The creators behind these ads are smart for targeting our society's fascination with pop culture. As soon as I saw my favorite TV show character, Walter White, appear on my TV screen my eyes were fixed on the ad. My personal favorite ad however has to be the Bud Light which features a real life game of PacMan. The commercial begins with two friends casually walking into a bar. The bartender offers one of the guys a Bud Light and their adventure soon begins. They walk out the bar and stumble upon a real life PacMan inspired maze. The man happily enters the maze and has a fun night filled with great memories. None of this would of happened unless he drank the Bud Light at the beginning of the commercial. What really stands out to be in this commercial is the brilliant strategy of targeting an older audience with the PacMan style maze, but still targeting multiple age groups by showing the fun Bud Light can create. The Bud Light brand does an effective job at showing their viewers that people of all age groups, old or young, can enjoy a fun night by drinking Bud Light.

Overall the Super Bowl is extremely important to the advertising world. People of all age groups and ethnic backgrounds watch the Super Bowl, and therefore watch the Super Bowl commercials as well. Super Bowl commercials have a reputation as being the most innovative commercials to ever be broadcasted. These commercials are held to a higher standard and are known to spark heated debates among advertising critics. If you ever have a commercial air on the Super Bowl you know you've done it big in the advertising world. 

Post #3: Racism in Advertising

1. Is it ever right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes?
2. Is racism in advertising a thing of the past?
3. Do advertisers have ethical responsibilities?

I don't believe that it is right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes, however I do see the reasons why ad agencies may choose this approach in their campaigns. Racism in the media is a big red flag in todays society and anything that even closely resembles racism is sure to raise eyebrows. Edgy and shocking ad campaigns may catch viewers attention more effectively, but it is unfair to the ethnic groups that are being portrayed in these ads. Take for example the infamous Mountain Dew commercials that featured Tyler the Creator.

As evidenced in this recent Mountain Dew commercial, racism is definitely not a thing of the past. Racism is alive and well in advertisements of all types. In this commercial Tyler the Creator plays the voice of Felicia the Goat and is arrested for a DUI. In the lineup the goat is standing next to four black guys. Although some may argue that the black people in the lineup were just Tyler's friends, the advertisers who made this commercial still have the ethical responsibility of being sensitive to all ethnic groups. Other viewers might see this commercial as enforcing the stereotype that African Americans commit crimes. Advertisers must find ways to create effective ads that also aren't too offensive. Boundaries can be stretched, but once a group of people are offended thats where the line should be drawn.

Post #2: Favorite Ad Agency

We view ads multiple times throughout the day. We see them when we watch TV, surf the internet, listen to the radio and even when we are just casually walking around in public. However, never have I once thought about who was responsible for creating those ads. In order to learn more about ad agencies and find out which were my favorite, I decided to research a few of my favorite ads.

Here is one of my favorite ads. It is a Playstation 4 commercial that highlights the new features of the PS4 console. This commercial really stands out to me because of the unique approach the ad agency uses to inform the viewers of the PS4's new features. In the commercial they show a live action scene that is supposed to represent gameplay from a game. The main actors in this commercial are supposed to represent the players. The players are under attack from the enemy and seek shelter behind a barricade. In order to prevent themselves from dying the players talk about the three different options they can do. The first option they talk about is to use the PS4's new share button option and hope that someone online can give a good tip. The second option they mention is the PS4's ability to send online messages and ask their friends for help. The third option is the PS4's new feature of inviting friends to play the game with them in co-op. The creative approach the ad agency uses to inform viewers of the PS4's new features really makes this commercial stick out. The brilliant ad agency behind this commercial is 180 Amsterdam. They are also known for their work with ASIC athletic commercials and Replay jean commercials. This ad agency really succeeds in standing out because of their creative method of relaying information to its viewers.