Pop Culture Project Self Evaluation

Children's Media            

            Going into this project, I knew that the ideals were going to change for the ways that children’s media was broadcasted in the United States throughout the decades. Just from seeing things that my mom and dad grew up with, I knew that the television shows and games that were geared towards children used to have an essence of innocence and purity in times such as the 1950s and the 1960s. I also had an idea that the things that I grew up watching or listening to were starting to show hints of sexualization in the children’s media.

            After completing this project, I am left questioning how parents today think it is alright to let their children watch certain programs and play with certain toys. The things that children are now exposed to encourage them to grow up at a much faster pace than previous generations as well as promoting a lifestyle that is extremely lazy. This all came from comparing the 2000s and 2010s to the 1990s. I know that if I could, I would stay in the 90s forever because I feel it was a perfect transition from the extremely guarded childhood to one that is much too free. It is here that my bias towards 90s cartoons came into play. While I was presenting the piece about Rugrats, I could tell I was not being very objective cause this show was a huge part of my childhood and growing up. I can relate so much to the characters in the show, even though they are, for the most part, babies.

            Looking through our project, I can see that we left out a lot of the pieces of media that had an impact on boys in particular. I think this happened subconsciously because I was working with two other girls and we were picking things that we had direct contact with. However, I think this omission had more of an effect on the audience than it did the actual project itself. This is mainly because there are a lot of louder and more opinionated boys in the class and seeing things like Bratz dolls and a Britney Spears music video may have caused an overall lack of interest in our presentation. With the dolls, it was clear that the company who manufactures and markets them is going for a certain look. They play into the idea of younger girls wanting to look older by wearing make up and promiscuous clothing, and I think our presentation talked a lot about this.

            I think that my personal beliefs on where children’s media has turned played a significant role in this project. Even just in the way that I was presenting my specific areas of the project, it was clear that I was a lot happier with the overall messages of the earlier media. The three of us all felt the same way with a lot of the personal beliefs that were weaved into the project which makes it, as a whole, not very objective. We looked at everything through the eyes of 18 year old girls who are not too happy or thrilled with how children today are turning out.

Club Spongebob

May 11, 2012

1. What does this episode have to say about being one of the group?

   This episode says that being in a group is better than being on your own. That if you are in a group and abide by that group's rules, you will have more success. 

2. This episode can be interpreted as a commentary on institutionalized religion: what is it saying?

   It is saying that as long as people have something to give power and have faith in, they will do whatever that item or person says. Also that any good fortune they have could be attributed to that thing that has all the power in their lives. 

3. Writers and creators are increasingly using the medium of animation to communicate adult themes; how/why does animation create a different effect?

   Animation creates a less serious effect when trying to portray a strong message. It also brings in a much wider audience because children do not pick up on the adult themes. 

4. Spongebob is a show created for young children. Do you believe that communicating adult, political, or social messages belong in shows marketed to children? Does it matter that the children don't actually know what is being said?

   I do not think it matters if there are adult messages in children's shows as long as it is done tastefully. With a show like Spongebob, it would take a lot of explaining to get a child to see and understand all of the subliminal messages that are being given. All they see is the innocence that is on the surface of each plot line. 

Gender Reflection

May 9, 2012

Media plays a huge role in the way that different genders are portrayed. Women were previously the ones who were being seen as sex symbols in the media, but recently this is changing. Now, it is not uncommon to see different male celebrities being put into commercials for their good looks. While we are the ones who decide what we do, the appropriateness of our choices depends on our gender. For example, a woman may want to wear a dress one day, but a man cannot without looking like an outcast in society. The influence that media has on portrayal of gender is just about equal to the influence that gender has on what is put into the media.

Viral and Guerrilla Advertising

May 3, 2012

Viral Adversising

• uses pre-existing social networks to increase brand awareness as well as achieving other marketing objectives such as product sales
• can range from things such as word of mouth, video clips, interactive flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or text messages
• tries to reach as many people as possible 
• Old Spice used viral marketing techniques through commercials like this one. The "Old Spice guy" seen in this commercial became a very notable figure because of the abundance of the commercials that were on the air. This sparked their idea for the summer of 2010 to run a three day campaign where this man, Isaiah Mustafa, replied to almost 200 questions or comments posted to various different social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Digg, and Youtube). He was sitting in a bathroom set in Portland that the crew created and ended up with the fastest growing viral campaign to date. The had 6.7 million views after 24 hours, and after 36 hours this number sky rocketed to 23 million views

 Guerrilla Advertising

• low cost advertising strategy that utilizes different and unconventional ways of getting a message across
• some examples of this are graffiti, flash mobs, and sticker bombing
• this website shows about thirty example of what guerrilla advertising is all about. They are all clever ways to get a point across that, without looking very hard, would be difficult to pick out as marketing techniques. I have always recognized this form of advertising as my favorite because it takes so much thought to make them work well and they are all so creative that it is hard not to appreciate what the marketers are doing.

Branding Research

Nike Vs. The World

• Young athletes develop a preference for the "swoosh"
• before there were popular athletic brands, top universities were based on location and facilities
• Nike became associated with the athletic success of the top universities leaving them with the image of the elite sports brand
• it is not just the function and the feel of the apparel, but the look as well
• young athletes want to play using the top equipment and looking good while doing it
• trends are started by the professional athletes the Nike pays each year to represent their brand
• kids want to be just like their role models, and look like them too
• ones who grow up without the ability to pay for the "Nike swag" like the other kids, may pick a college that can give them the apparel for free
• the brand has an effect on the recruiting process
• Nike is successful because of the allegiance they have gained from their customers, not just the quality of their products  

 

April 20, 2012: Pop Culture Poetry

Twitter World

Everyone will see

Everything you tweeted

Never deleted

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Nothing interrupts Twitter

Making some bitter

April 18, 2012: Advertising Techniques Journal 

M&Ms "Sexy and I Know It" Commercial

Give a brief description of the ad:

This is an advertisement for the candy M&Ms where the brown M&M girl is talking to two other women at a party. She notices a man across the room is laughing at how she appears to be naked and sees that assumption as ridiculous. Soon after, the red M&M appears and exclaims, “So it’s that kind of party!” rips his red coating off, and begins to dance to the LMFAO song “Sexy and I Know It.” The ad ends with the M&M candy with the phrase “not your average chocolate” underneath and closes with a short dance move from the red one.

What propaganda techniques are used? Point out where/how each technique is used.

The propaganda technique that was used throughout the commercial was humor. This is seen when the man across the room thinks the brown M&M is naked as well as when the red M&M strips and starts dancing.

What effect do the techniques have? In your opinion, do they do their job?

This technique did exactly what a humorous ad was supposed to do, it makes people laugh. M&Ms have had very funny commercials throughout the years and it keeps the candy in the minds of people when they are at the store or they make the connection when they hear the overplayed LMFAO song.

Who is the audience for this ad, and how do you know?

I think the audience for this ad is mainly the younger people who listen to the mainstream radio the most, just because of the song choice. But I also think it can be projected to everybody because the humor is not something that only kids or only adults would understand. For the most part, it is funny no matter who you are.

What is omitted from this ad? What is the effect of the omission?

The only things that are omitted from the ad are price and basic nutrition facts for the candy. This omission does not really have much effect because of how well known of a product M&Ms are and because they are generally not very expensive.

Would different audiences have different reactions? Explain!

In general, I do not think that different audiences would have different reactions. I think that based on the simplicity in both the humorous aspect and the commercial in its entirety, it would have the same effect on all different types of people. It is not something that would go over the head of a small child, it is not offensive to any specific group of people, it does not have any controversial connotations, and it is not too “dim-witted” for the older crowd.

What message, lifestyles and values are encouraged and/or portrayed through the ad? Make connections to what is in the ad.

I think in the beginning, this ad portrays elegance and a certain level of formality when the brown M&M is talking to the two other women. Then it shifts and shows the more outgoing and crazy lifestyle when the red M&M starts to dance around “naked.” When the phrase of “not your average chocolate” comes up at the end, the whole commercial can be summed up into a meaning that can be interpreted as something along the lines of M&Ms being a candy that a sophisticated person can enjoy M&Ms in a peaceful manner just as easily as the life of the party can.