Media Blog Reflection

I can't hide it. Media undoubtedly consumes much of my every day life. I cannot remember a single day where I have not checked my phone or gone on certain social media apps such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. There is also hardly a day where I do not watch at least a bit of television and go on my laptop to watch videos on Youtube. Being exposed to all these different forms of media in my every day life really affects who I am as a person and how I perceive the world.  I am a product of modern media.

I do not believe that keeping this media blog has changed the amount of media consumption I expose myself to. However, I do believe that my perception of what I am watching, seeing, reading, viewing, and listening has changed. Prior to keeping this blog, I would just see an ad and not think much about it. Now, I have a tendency to really notice the certain ways in which advertisers manipulate their audience. One of the biggest things I have learned about myself is how susceptible I am to the certain implicit messages advertisers are sending my way. I really thought I was immune, but such is not the case. I love Nike products, including clothes and shoes.  I have been so inundated with creative and effective Nike advertising that I have come to blindly assume that Nike gear and clothing is better than that of their competitors.  But I have no empirical evidence to support this.  I have simply become a victim of the Nike advertising.

Having media literacy is a key component to being an educated consumer. When one has media literacy, he is more aware of the certain pressures and messages advertisers are sending to him. One effect of having media literacy is understanding how companies will persuade you to buy a product when the product is not actually important at all--or at least not necessary. Another thing to add is how companies try to attack an insecurity of the consumer and explain how their product will fix that insecurity (but in reality it does not actually fix it). For example, a certain makeup company will persuade women that their product will give them more attention and be more desirable. I do not believe that I will never be susceptible to media messages, however, the concepts I have learned in class this year helped me gain a certain media literacy that allows me to question the messages that advertisers are bombarding me with.

It is impossible to live in a capitalist society and have no media. Capitalism goes hand in hand with advertising. The whole goal of advertising is to sell some sort of product. The question that has really been bugging me for quite a while is whether we should blame the media for sending us certain messages or whether we should blame ourselves for being so gullible and falling for these messages. I cannot say I have a clear answer to this question. However, the thing I am most grateful for in taking this class is understanding that it is the responsibility of each individual to think and be aware of messages that are directed at us from the from the media.

It would be easy to blame the advertising industry for creating insecurities.  It would also be easy to blame the advertising industry for playing on these insecurities.  However, I am big on personal responsibility.  Just like I am unwilling to accept the easy way out that violence on television or video games is responsible for violence in real life, I am also unwilling to accept that advertisers create and corrupt our collective societal values. We have been given free and it is our personal responsibility to exercise it prudently, intelligently and responsibly and not blame external factors like the media when we fail as human beings.

Janet Yellen

I saw this funny cartoon the other day.  It features the former head of the Federal Reserve of the United States Ben Bernanke and the current head of the Federal Reserve of the United States Janet Yellen.  Bernanke's solution to the financial crisis of 2008 was a fancy term call quantitative easing, otherwise known as printing money.  He printed money for 7 years.  He did this day after day.  He did this until the Federal Reserve printed over 3 trillion dollars.  That is right trillions not billions. What happened to that money.  Well the cartoon depicts big Ben dropping the money from the sky as he flies around on his broomstick.

Janet Yellen took over the Federal Reserve when big Ben retired last year.  The cartoon suggests that she will follow the policy of big Ben and continue printing money.  In fact, the cartoon suggests that she is "new and improved."  I guess that means that she is going to print even more cash than he did.

Not so fast.  She initially did continue printing cash.  But then in December she stopped.  Not only did she stop, she raised interest rates for the first time in 9 years.  She only raised rates a tiny, tiny, little. little bit from 0 percent to 1/4 of 1 percent.

No big deal right?????????????  WRONG !!!!!!!!  The stock market is down almost ten percent in the first 15 days of the year-- its worst start to a year in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.

What now?  I think Yellen better get back on that broomstick of hers and start dropping cash out of the sky again before the sky itself falls.

Nike and Speed

Nike is omnipresent.  It has grown from a small niche shoe company in the late 1970's into a multi-national company with a 100 billion dollar market capitalization. Ever since I started playing basketball, I wanted to wear Nike shoes and apparel.  I even like the feel of Nike basketballs more than the feel of basketballs of Nike competitors. If the goal of Nike advertising is brand loyalty, they have definitely succeeded with me.  

Nike is such an iconic brand (and the swoosh logo is so universally known) that it is not even necessary to feature some sort of product in their ad. There are not a lot of companies like Nike that can publish an ad without featuring its product.    

I love this simple advertisement. The ad features a cheetah seemingly flying through the air with a superimposed Nike logo prominently displayed on its side.  The ad rhetorically asks the reader what is the secret of speed, and then says lets "Ask the Master." The master is the Cheetah-- the fastest creature in the animal kingdom-- able to achieve a speed of 75 miles per hour running up to 500 feet.
The question seems so understated because the lettering is relatively small, not in bold print, and a dullish white in contrast to the Nike logo. But of course the answer is so significant.



What is interesting about the ad is the cheetah never directly answers the seemingly rhetorical question what is the secret of speed.  Instead, the reader needs to make the connection that the secret must be Nike products because the famous swoosh logo is superimposed on the cheetah.  I imagine that Nike is trying to selling running shoes with the ad--though it is possible the ad is promoting all Nike shoes.  We have the typical faulty analogy identification in the ad. The ad is effectively saying buy Nike products and you too will run fast like the cheetah.  Of course we know that logically that it is not the shoe that makes one fast--it is genetics and training.  Nevertheless, there is always the chance--however remote it may be the shoes make a difference.  Just in case the shoe does matter, you better go with Nike.  I certainly do.   

The photography of the ad reinforces the message of the ad on two fronts. As briefly mentioned above, the Cheetah is presented in the air almost like it is flying, which is true speed. Also the photograph of the cheetah is is crystal clear, but the background (primarily empty space and what looks like grass) is intentionally blurry. The cheetah is therefore so fast that what is around it is just a blur.

The colors of the ad do a great job of highlighting the message. The orange and brown cheetah stands out nicely against the blurred green grass and the black background. Thus, the reader is focused visually on the cheetah.  The white swoosh logo also stands out boldly along with the capitalized NIKE letters.  

Miss Representation in the Media

The media is undeniably everywhere. It is almost impossible to escape from it. My generation, without doubt, has the largest number of media consumption than any other. Because of this mass media consumption, we are more susceptible to the messages it sends our way. The media ultimately shapes our brain and the way we perceive the world; in whole, it shapes our society. Advertiser's goal is obviously to sell their product. In order to do so, they make us feel insecure, and imply that their product will fix that insecurity. In reality, that does not seem to work so much. 

The documentary our class watched recently called "Miss Representation" digs into what the media says about women. Overall, the whole documentary was very intriguing. Watching this film made me much more aware of what is going on in the media. I really had not paid so much attention towards women being dehumanized until now. Honestly, I am sick of what the media is doing. The objectification of women is truly disgusting. This attitude in our society poses a huge problem.

When the documentary, "Miss Representation", was released in 2011, teenagers spent an average of ten hours and forty-five minutes on media consumption a day. This immense consumption of media heavily molds the minds of people at a young age, influencing their views on themselves and the world around them. At a young age, girls get the message that their value is on how they look. The way media portrays women in T.V. shows, movies, commercials, etc. over sexualizes women and dehumanizes them. This type of media creates anxiety and makes women feel self-conscious. Advertisers can tap onto a woman's insecurity of their appearance, and attempt to give them a product that will make them more beautiful. As stated in the film, women spend $12,000 a year on cosmetic products.

The consumption of media that projects negatively on women leads boys to get the message that the value of women is less than their own value. Boys are also taught to over-exemplify masculine values such as strength, and undervalue ideals seen as feminine; such as feelings and emotions. The media's influence on how men perceive women and how women perceive themselves leads to the self-objectification of women. Self-objectification is when other people look at you as if you are an object which leads you to think you to think you are and feel like an object. The effects of self-objectification are detrimental: 78% of women are unhappy with their body by the age of 17, 65% of women and girls have an eating disorder, and rates of depression among girls and women have doubled within the last 10 years. 

Since the film was from a few years ago, some of the information could be outdated. As of now, it seems that there is evidence of women being better represented in the media. One T.V. show called "The Fall", and a recent movie called "Joy" both feature female protagonists that are not hyper-sexualized, which gives more hope to women being represented better in media. Women such as Jennifer Lawrence, Angelina Jolie, and Emma Watson also give hope to the future of the media. 'Celebrities' similar to them have strong influences over the media, and are using that power for the better. They speak against self-hate, in support for women's rights, and strive to improve the lives of women in the US and globally. 

However, although there are improvements in women representation in the media, we still have a lot of work to do. Even though there are more women running for government positions, they are still viewed more materialistically and by their appearance than their male opponents. Globally women are often treated more fairly in government. Other countries including Iraq and Afghanistan have more women in government than the United States. This is shocking. A country that is supposedly on the forefront of progression is yet so far behind when it comes to the representation of women. 

Hawks and Hornets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwmRMCC1L7A


State Farm recently created a series of commercials about a family known as "The Hoopers" which features famous NBA basketball players Chris Paul, Deandre Jordan, Kevin Love, Kevin Garnett, and Damian Lillard.  Each of basketball player is portrayed as a particular member of the family (Chris Paul is the dad; Deandre Jordan is the mother; Kevin Love is the son; Kevin Garnett is the grandpa; and Damian Lillard is the baby). One of the more prominent advertising techniques used is Testimonial because all of the actors are NBA superstars.

Most of us have had that awkward conversation about the "birds and the bees" with our parents, otherwise referred to as a conversation about sex. This particular State Farm commercial makes a spoof out of about this uncomfortable coming of age conversation. The "Hawks and Hornets" commercial focuses on Chris Paul and Kevin Love.

Overall, the commercial is extremely hilarious and witty. Chris approaches his son Kevin and tells him that he noticed he is starting to grow up. Chris tells him that he has been acting like a "cavalier." It was very clever to use the word "cavalier" because it has a double meaning. On the one hand, "cavalier" in this case means somewhat wild and uncaring; this is the attitude typically stereotyped about how most teenagers act. On the other hand, the word "Cavalier" is used because Kevin Love in real life plays for the basketball team Cleveland Cavaliers. Another example of wit being used, is the title of the book Chris wants to read to Kevin. The book is called "Hawks and Hornets" which is a phrase that has a double meaning. The book title is really just a satire of the "birds and the bees" conversation. It is also in reference to two NBA teams: Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets, both of which are in the same conference. 

The ad gets high marks for creativity but I wonder how effective it is.  This is because the product that is being endorsed is overwhelmed by the content of the ad.

Bring Your Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NggcX99Edi8

On ESPN and other sports stations, this commercial has recently popped up many times.

The whole plot of the ad centers around four kids trying to figure out who their favorite basketball player is (including NBA and WNBA). These players are: Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Kyire Irving, Paul George, Anthony Davis, and Elena Delle Donne.

The target audience in this particular ad is kids. A playful tone is established throughout the whole commercial. The Need For Escape is primarily used because these kids are willing to do whatever it takes to figure out who their favorite player is: this means getting on a plane and actually visiting each player. They try to judge who their favorite player is by how much fun they have and the overall experience being with them (their character) as opposed to their actual talents in basketball.

I thought it was interesting how these superstars were depicted somewhat as normal people. Take Durant or Lebron for example who open their doors to their house for the kids which is somewhat unusual because most of them would have a butler or maid. Durant is the first player visted.  KD dunks on the kids and the consensus among the kids is he is to be feared. Next to be visited is Paul George on a yacht.  He is cool and quiet.  Next up is Kobe.  He is depicted as somewhat of a Zen master.  From there the kids catch a flight to see Elena Donne. She treats the kids to home made sundaes and then a girl's night out even though one of the lead kids is a boy.  Nike is not afraid to show strong empowered women.  On to see Kyrie Irving who makes the kids pancakes as he dribbles.  Finally the kids get to Lebron's home who welcomes them in.

In the commercial, these basketball players were made fun of in their own way. This makes the commercial very humorous. For example, since Kyrie Irving is arguably the best ball-handler in the NBA, they have him dribbling the basketball 24/7. Kobe Bryant meditates in real life and in this ad they exaggerate his meditation techniques.

In the end, the kids cannot decide who is the best player, just like most of us cannot. It is a wonderful, playfully creative ad.

Uncle Drew

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

About three years ago, Pepsi started a campaign called Uncle Drew where NBA superstar Kyrie Irving takes the persona of an elderly man who goes to different parks to "school" people in the game of basketball.

The whole campaign is extremely entertaining and clever because it appeals to both younger and older audiences who watch basketball. In the beginning, Uncle Drew (an old man himself) refers to players such as Oscar Robertson around the 1960's and 1970's. The pickup game also takes place on an old playground with wood baskets.  The campaign is using nostalgia to attract older viewers who can better identify with playground courts and old NBA legends who appreciate basketball because it was a game of skill not a game of athleticism.  The ad also sends the message that older generations can be cool just like younger generations.  The ad appeals to a younger crowd because everyone else in the ad is around their 20's-30's, including the players and those watching the pickup game.

Throughout the four different episodes, they feature other NBA and WNBA players dressed up as elderly people. It was pretty cool to see these players that I watch currently (I won't spoil who appears).

The whole campaign follows a simple plot: Uncle Drew is trying to find his fellow high school teammates and put the team back together. What is most interesting to me about the whole plot is Uncle Drew constantly saying the most important thing about basketball is "getting buckets"(It basically means scoring). However, this basketball slang term has a pretty huge effect on the younger generation of basketball players. A bit after the first episode came out, I would constantly hear from kids wanting to "get buckets." After paying more attention to the commercials, I realized Pepsi pretty much created this term and it somewhat went viral throughout the basketball community.

When I first watched this about three years ago, I believed that the people in the audience were real and not actors. Now, I am pretty skeptical that this is true. One peculiarity is that the plot is so interesting and the filming is so well done I lost sight of what the commercial is about.  My dad also loves the commercials,  I asked my dad yesterday what product the ad was trying to sell, and he had no idea.  This is because he became so engrossed in the ad.  This is great for the viewer, but I am not sure it is the best way to sell Pepsi Zero.