2. Corporations play a large role in what we see and how we see it because it is the large corporations that put out so much advertising in the media, and we as the public, then take in all the commercials and marketing that we see all around us. For example, in the “Subliminal Advertising” video with Derren Brown, he hires two professional designers from an advertising agency to come and design a poster to advertise taxidermy stores. They have to design a company name, slogan, and a logo. In the end when they present their ideas to Mr. Brown, the two professional designers have an almost identical design to the one that Derren Brown made. The last clip of the video shows that all the ideas that the hired professionals had were based off things they saw as they were driving: the London zoo, school uniforms with gates, harps, signs, etc. This proves how large of a role corporations play in what we see and how we see it because even the expert designers are influenced by the corporation advertisements they see around them. We can also see how corporations play a large role in what we see with the Sprite company and their advertising. By signing a basketball player to advertise the product, throwing large parties with the Sprite logo and the drink itself all around, the company was able to make the soft drink seem “cool” and thus, increased sales.
http://www.davescooltoys.com/davesblog/?p=412
http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2010/09/28/real-vs-advertised-food/
These two advertisements show how commercials can falsify and make products look better than in reality. This also shows how consumers easily fall for advertisements.
3. There are several brands I identify with. When it comes to clothing, I go for stores that are affordable but have cute clothes, such as Forever 21, Wet Seal, Papaya, and sometimes Kohl’s. The reasons why I identify with these brands are because not only are most of these stores located near my house, but their clothes are not ridiculously overpriced. As a teenager, I do not have a lot of money at my disposal, so finding stores that have cute yet affordable clothes are the ones that I identify the most with. When it comes to drinks, I do not like soft drinks very much, however, I really like coffee, thus, Starbucks is a brand that I like very much. Although the coffee is rather expensive, the reason why I identify with Starbucks is because the coffee is made quickly, which is very convenient, there are stores all around so they are easy to find, and of course, their coffee tastes delicious. Since I do not like bitter coffee, the fact that Starbucks makes very sweet coffee (sometimes it can’t even be called coffee) is a major reason why I identify with this brand. Lastly, when it comes to food and the like, I identify with brands such as Lindor (chocolate) and Lays (chips). The reason why I identify with these brands are because they are tasty an affordable. It is very easy to just grab these food items off of a shelf from my nearby King Soopers and by on my way.
http://www.forever21.com/Default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1
http://www.papayaclothing.com/shop/
http://www.starbucks.com/?gclid=CLW0rIaAy6kCFYcaQgod7lP-NQ
http://www.wetseal.com/home.jsp?gclid=CPfsyvb4yqkCFRxrgwodRW_jMA
(explained in paragraph)
4. “Cool Hunters “are like colonial powers in the sense that they use the knowledge they have to make products that will be most tempting to ignorant consumers who do not notice the trends and patterns in their spending and the kinds of things they buy. Cool hunters use the power they have in controlling books, music, media, or anything that can be seen by the public as forces of, as said by Derren Brown, “subliminal advertising.” By using these methods, they are able to keep us, the consumers, as slaves to economy. That being said, the difference between “Cool Hunters” and colonial powers are that people can choose whether they want or do not want to purchase something. Unlike the colonial powers who forced the Africans into submission, we as the consumers have a choice in whether we want to purchase things or not.
www.everydaystorage.net
This example is of a woman choosing what she wants to buy at the grocery story. Although all the food looks appealing, she has the power to choose what she wants to buy.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093908/
This movie is the story of a woman who cannot stop herself from shopping; she is just too addicted. This is an exaggerated version of what teenagers of our generation are like.
5. In my case, MTV does not know me because I am not interested in the majority of performances that were shown in the video. For one, I do not like slipknot because I’m not fond of music where all the person does is scream at you. Not only that, but I find the MTV spring break party rather appalling, and pretty much disgusting. However, I do like the music that is currently playing on the radio, minus the screamo and heavy metal. Basically, if MTV were to cater to my musical preferences, it would have the kind of music that is currently on the radio such as hip hop, pop, rock, and so forth (I like musicians like Bruno Mars, Train, and so forth because I’m those girls who like the typical girly music). If MTV was really based on understanding me as a person, it would also play music videos because I enjoy watching those. The one thing I did like about MTV was that it allowed its audience to choose what song would be played next; in my eyes, that shows that MTV is taking into consideration the interest of its audience.
www.israbox.com
This shows how MTV uses women as explicit objects to draw attention.
www.celeb.wohoo.co.uk
Although MTV doesn’t have much class, they often ask performers who are currently very popular to come and perform for the audience, showing that they take into consideration what the audience members want to see.
6. I am manipulated by brands to an extent. For example, there maybe be advertisements of cute clothes that are very appealing to me, from say Forever 21, however, it is my choice as to whether I go and buy what is being advertised or not. Although many people give in to temptation and buy whatever they want, everyone has the power to control what they do or do not purchase. At times, it is hard to say no because the advertisement is made to specifically grab our age group’s attention, however, everyone should be able to muster the willpower to say no. Companies make great ads to market their merchandise, and ultimately, persuade and attempt to manipulate us to buy their stuff. Though many people fall for it, it is not impossible to stay clear of buying these corporations’s merchandise.
www.icareremote.com
Mac is one of those products that look really nice and make you want to buy them. However, I choose not to have a MAC computer because I know that I do not know how to work them well and I can work much more efficiently with a computer that has windows (even if Macs are really pretty).
www.shoesandbags.tk
Jordans are a popular shoe brand, and although they have some nice looking shoes, I choose not to purchase shoes such as these because I know that I could buy perfectly fine running shoes for a much cheaper price than what these kinds of shoes can go for.
7. Corporations go after teenagers by playing up the “cool factor.” They base their advertisements off of ideas, objects, or people that they know are considered cool and will catch the attention of their main target: teenagers. However, what teenagers consider cool is always changing, so it is hard to always advertise in a way that will be most catchy to teenagers. For example, in the case of the Sprite Corporation, they initially were not as popular as other brands such as Coca Cola and Pepsi, however, the corporation came up with the innovative idea to hire a well-liked professional basketball to take part in their advertisement. The commercial was successful, but after the idea of using famous athletes or stars to advertise products became a bit tacky, the company improved their marketing tactics by paying people to host parties, all the while distributing Sprite merchandise (the logo was displayed everywhere as well). This helped improve the “coolness” of Sprite, and so their company began to do exceedingly well. So basically, corporations go after teenagers by advertising their products in a way that will be most appealing to teenagers. Although it is difficult to say what is cool (after all, it is always changing), corporations use their knowledge of teenagers and their preferences to their advantage. By using what teenagers find most appealing, corporations are able to go after our generation (and our money) quite efficiently.
www.newlatestwallpaper.com
This is a sprite advertisement that uses a famous athlete to promote their product. The girl is dressed up in athletic, yet somehow fashionable and appealing clothing, making the ad itself more likeable.
www.shinebox.co.cc
In this add, Nikes are being advertised. Not only is the product being advertised by an athlete, but he is jumping through the air and dunking the ball into the hoop, giving a “cool” effect.
8. Watching these videos has changed how I perceive myself. Before watching these videos, I believed that each person could have their own unique style and personality, however, these videos express that the majority of teenagers are just part of this marketing ploy by corporations to make teenagers spend money on their products. Instead of brands being part of a person’s identity, a person’s identity consists of brands. Brands and marketing have become so intertwined in our generation’s culture that it is now a dominant defining characteristic of who we are.
Question I have are:
• How will our incredibly marketed and advertised world affect future generations?
• How and when did marketing become such a large part of our lives? When did it begin?
• What have been, are, and will be the positive and negative impacts of the highly marketed world that we live in today?
• What would life be like if we did not have bazillions of brands and advertising all around us?
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