Final Reflection

Well everybody, it's over. I must say, that I will never forget doing these weekly blogs, as I have grown as a person, and learned that the common advertisement isn't just something simply thought of within a matter of minutes, it's something that takes much thought and effort.
The Media that I consume completely overpowered my life. I'm sure that many other people can vouch for the fact that most of what they do is directly based off of Media. What I buy, eat, or drink is mostly based off of the advertising that goes along with it, and yes, I have to say, that it works. If I see a commercial on television for the new iPhone, something sparks inside of me saying that I MUST HAVE THAT PHONE, even though it's not much better than the one I have now. It's the idea that I will have something that was shown on television, or at least that's what I think.
Being aware of my media consumption does change my view on marketing and advertising, however. For example, the new ads on TV for the SPCA, where they portray to cats to be like orphaned children. Before I took my critical thinking class, I had no idea that the creator of the commercial was picking my brain by using the need to nurture. But now, since I understand what the need to nurture is, the commercial does not have as profound an effect on me now than it once did. I'm not sure whether or not this is a good thing, because companies might be losing my emotional side, and I will consume less.
My media consumptions have changed this semester. I no longer am immediately hooked on to the hottest and latest product. This is mostly because I realize that this "hottest and latest product" is only going to be that for a couple months. Then, something better will role around. Advertisers will always make their products better than the last, because they are in a competition with other advertisers to become the best, even when something like this is impossible. It's like setting a world record. World records are always broken, but eventually, at this rate, won't they keep getting better? Swim records have been broken year after year, and, at this rate, the records could become 0 seconds. It's the same with advertising. All of the products will always get better, and there is nothing that anybody can do about it.
It is important to have media literacy so that you are not tricked into doing anything stupid by an advertiser. For example, most infomercials out there usually have a product that they will sell for $19.99, but then they will bribe you by giving you another product for the price of one. However, what most people don't see, are the tiny words that are not legible that say, "just pay processing and handling." So, in reality, you aren't getting a deal at all.
Being an educated consumer is important because giant corporations will take over the world if you are not. If you are not an educated consumer, they will dig into your brain until they are your brain. They will become you and control you.
Keeping this log helped me become a better consumer. I now pay attention to the media around me, and I understand when it is not the media that I should keep an eye on.
I must say that taking this class was very important for my life. I see everything in a new perspective, and it is up to other people to judge whether or not it's a good thing, because it only matters to me. Thank you Mr. Maxwell for successfully becoming a critical thinker.
It is time to sign off,
Jesse

2012 Olympic commerical

Now this is a commercial. I love olympic commercials. Maybe it's because that means that Summer is just around the corner. I'm not even sure if this commercial was supposed to advertise the olympics or Coca-Cola, as both of them advertise themselves in this commercial. I think that it is very clever that they made every sound of the olympics a beat in the song, as it makes the music intense. I'm a little disappointed that this Olympic commercial did not feature Morgan Freeman as the narrator, as that would've made the entire thing much better.
In this commercial they use Gestalt, because in the entire commercial there is an oddness and intensity to all of the colors, and there are really weird camera angles. The music is a bit over the top, but hey, it does add some intensity to it. I think that the audience for this commercial is people who watch the Olympics, because the whole commercial is targeted around athletes and their fans. The whole slogan, "move to the beat," doesn't sound right to me. I think that they were trying to get a way to connect the music with the Olympics, because the music in the commercial wasn't that great.
The need to affiliate is used in this commercial because everybody is holding a Coca-Cola bottle so it makes you think that by drinking Coke and watching the Olympics you'll be just like every other mainstream person out there. They might have also used the need to satisfy curiosity because some of the sports in the commercial I have never seen in my entire life. I had no clue what they were.

Media Blog- Star Tours commercial

The first time I saw this commercial, I was in the kitchen on the phone when I heard the commercial come  on. I heard Darth Vader's famous breath, and then his song came on. I told the person on the phone to hold on and I sprinted into the TV room. My eyes were glued to the screen as I watched one of the longest commercials I've ever seen. However, this shows how great of a job Disneyland did advertising their new Star Tours ride, by using Darth Vader as a testimonial.
In this commercial they use simple solutions, because they show you that if you go to disneyland you will be happy and dance around everywhere, even when you are an angry old cyborg. They also use plain folks, because most of the people in this commercial are middle class families having fun at disneyland. I believe that the target audience for this commercial are Star Wars fans, because Disneyland tries to use a Star Wars ride to get more people to go to Disneyland. Wit and Humor is also used because they put Darth Vader and the storm troopers on babyish rides and they still had a great time. This gives the audience the idea that no matter how old they are, they are still going to have fun on the rides, and nobody will care how they look.

First Ever Geico Commercial

This commercial makes absolutely no sense to me. First of all, Geico has never failed at making bad commercials. Nowadays, everyone who watches Geico knows what it's for because of the cute Gecko and the world-famous slogan, "15 minutes could save YOU 15% or more on car insurance." However, back in 2006, I don't think anybody knew what Geico was. This commercial doesn't even tell you what Geico is! It's shot in an airport with absolutely no information about cars. The only remote hint that you get that it has to do with car insurance is in the phone number, where the last four digits spell out "auto."
I think that the target audience of this commercial are young men and women looking for a simple way to get care insurance.
In this commercial they use wit and humor because they try to make it funny by adding a dumb caveman. I also thought it was clever that Geico advertised Geico within their commercial. Geico never fails at having a "commercial mascot," ranging from cavemen, to Geckos, to juices.

Media Blog- Charlie Sheen Fiat Commercial

First of all, Charlie Sheen's mullet is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. After the big ordeal that happened with him last year, I am clueless as to why a huge brand like Fiat would ever use a man like Charlie Sheen to do their commercial, even if he's rich and has a big house. The audience for this commercial is definitely middle aged men who have a lot of money.
In this commercial Fiat uses snob appeal, by setting the commercial in a mansion with a huge pool and tons of wealthy people there. This gives the audience the idea that if they drive a Fiat, they are rich and popular. They commercial also uses the testimonial appeal by having Charlie Sheen in the commercial. The audience gets excited by the fact that they see this man in a mullet driving a car, and they too want to be him. But wait, there's more. A super model comes out of the car with him, giving the commercial even more spunk. What I want to know is, why would they pick Charlie Sheen over Jennifer Lopez? Charlie Sheen is one of the stupidest men I have ever seen, whereas Jennifer Lopez is not only attractive, but has also been working with Fiat for a while.
This commercial satisfies the need to affiliate, because let's face it, with a Fiat, you are getting into the mainstream, and you are going to be cooler than everyone.

VW Star Wars Commercial- Media Log # 8

This commercial is hilarious. Anything that has Star Wars in it is my kind of thing. Star Wars is awesome. Anyways, I think that the audience for this commercial is upper middle class parents, because the house is extremely nice and so is the car. The colors in the commercial are just pure white, and this is to give the commercial a Star Wars feel to it, because the first scene that Darth Vader is in the entire room is white to contrast the black costume.
In this commercial they use the need to nurture, because they have a cute kid who is the main character of the commercial doing funny things. They also use the need for prominence, because with this car people will look up to you and admire you.
Volkswagen uses Avante Garde in this commercial by showing how pushing a button can start the car, making the people feel ahead of their time.
Volkswagen also makes the car look extremely shiny in the commercial. When the dad pulls up, it almost has a glimmer to it that makes it look even better.

Droid Commercial- Media log #7

This is my new favorite commercial of all time. After Pablo showed it in class I went to go watch it like 10 more times. The action is soooo cool. The target audience of this commercial is definitely middle class MEN. I mean, the commercial is for a smartphone, which most middle class families have, and it's action packed from the beginning. There isn't a single girl in this commercial, and I think that this is due to the reality assumptions that, "All men control the phone contracts in the family." and that "all men like it when things explode."
The needs that this commercial fulfill are the need to aggress, because there are things exploding. The need to achieve is also demonstrated because we get the feeling that the main character needs to do the job in this commercial, and when he does, I got the feeling that in some way I helped him succeed.
Droid uses avante garde in this commercial by making the Droid Razr look extremely ahead of its time.

Media Log #6- iPod touch commercial

In contrast to my last media log, which was the first ever iPod ever created, this is newest iPod ever created. Right away in the commercial they start with plain folk, as they show a guy in the latest "hipster" fashion, to make the audience think that having this iPod is going to make them be ahead of the time and better than others. I think that the audience of this commercial are teenagers, because instead of really advertising the product for its music, it's being advertised for its games and its ability to surf the web and communicate with friends.
The music in this commercial is really really happy, and when I hear it, I get happy, because it's the song Tongue Tied by Group Love, which is an amazing song.
The background of the commercial is pure white, and this is to not only represent Apple's color, but also to make the colors of the iPod more vibrant. The commercial doesn't even advertise the fact that the iPod touch plays music, it only focuses on the fact that it plays games and it allows you to connect with the social media.

Ipod Commerical. Media Log #5

This is the first ever aired commercial for apple's product, the iPod. I remember when it first came out, I so desperately wanted an iPod, and I never listened to music ever. It was just the sheer idea of being able to have the awesome white headphone cable and the glistening iPod itself. However, I'm glad that in the end didn't, seeing as I was five years old.
Right off of the bat, you know that the commercial is for an apple product, because the first shot of the commercial is a guy on his macbook computer, which now is seen as extremely out dated, but back in the day extremely high-tech. However, seeing as I was five, I didn't really have a super solid reaction to the product. That being said, I think that Apple does a really good job advertising the product, because they make the sound quality seem so much better than it is, and they make you have the urge to dance by showing this dude go crazy after putting in his headphones. Apple uses facts and figures in this commercial when they say how 1,000 songs are able to fit on the iPod, but the harsh reality is that it only holds around 800 or so before it gets extremely slow and runs out of space. Also, I recognize Avante Garde, because back then, if you had an iPod, you were definitely seen ahead of your time.

Media Log #4 - Daylight

This is one of my all time favorite songs. I mean, when you listen to this song, how can you not just start to feel extremely happy? The song is all about how you need to take advantage of the things in life that will make you happy, and live these things at the fullest. In this instance, it's daylight. Furthermore, I like this song a lot because I can relate to it. The lyrics to the song's chorus are:

 "And in the daylight we can hitchhike to Maine, I hope that someday I'll see without these frames
And in the daylight I don't pick up my phone, Because in the daylight anywhere feels like home."

What I get from this verse is that if you're happy then you're doing just fine. Also, I can relate to this song because I like to see myself as an all around happy person. I like to get involved, talk to people, and most of all, be happy. 

All State Commercial

This is one of the few commercials that I can actually stand to watch. I think that it's quite funny the way they switch the two men's voices to All State's commercial narrator. The commercial states when a Hippie looking guy hits a successful looking man's car, and then jumps out saying how sorry he is. Then he goes on to say how it's okay because he has All State Insurance. I think that with this commercial All State is trying to get it's car-owner audience to realize that every type of person is able to buy their car insurance. They also try to divert the audience by switching the characters' voices every time they talk about All State.
The use of repetition in the commercial of the name All State makes sure that the people watching the commercial understand exactly what is going on.

I probably see this commercial six or seven times when I sit down to watch the Giants game. In my opinion, Magic Mesh is the stupidest product in the world, and an extreme waste of money. However, the commercial does give me a good laugh. In the beginning of the commercial, the very condescending narrator says, "The secret isn't really magic, it's magnets!" Wow, I'm pretty sure my four-year-old neighbor could figure that out. Also, to promote a jolly good feeling throughout the commercial, almost every single person who walks through the magic mesh has a giant smile on their face. Later in the commercial, the narrator points out that it puts an end to slamming doors. How? Isn't the idea of shutting the door in the first place to keep the outside air out? I feel like in every add I see on TV these days the price is always $19.95, a reduced value from what the price was before. Maybe the price was cut because nobody bought the product? I also thought it was funny that to try to avoid saying that the Magic Mesh product is only good when the weather is warm, they tell us that we need to just store it away until next year. What are you supposed to do until then? In this ad, there is a total weasel phrase. The narrator says, "Call right now and we will double your offer!" and then in an extremely fast quieter voice he says, "Just pay separate processing and handling." This being said, it never specifies to how much processing and handling will cost, but then again, what commercials are very specific?

McDonald's ad

I saw this advertisement as I walked by a McDonald's once, and I couldn't help but think how stupid it is. I went home and typed in "angus third pounder" into google, and found the ad. The first thing that caught my eye after I saw the fake burger was the giant, bold printed word, AWESOME. When a person reads this their self-esteem shoots through the roof, and they can't help but crave the delicious, fake burger inside of the fast food restaurant nearby. Then, the creator of the advertisement uses words such as "deluxe" and "revel" to make the audience think that it is an elegant thing to eat a fast food burger. However, what the audience does not see, is the phrase at the very bottom in tiny font, just so that it doesn't catch the eye at first read. For anyone who can't read it, it says "weight before cooking, 5.53 oz." That made me think, "Huh, so what's the weight after it's cooked?" Is it still an angus third pounder? I also found irony in the small description of the Angus third pounder in the last part where it says, "Something this special demands your full attention." Well, if it demands my full attention, why did I read that sentence? Shouldn't I be marveling at the fake picture above, drawling at the sight of the glazed onion and plastic lettuce?