Mercy Olaka
24, June 2011
1. Morgan Superlock had such difficult time finding sponsorship for his film because the brands/ companies didn’t want to be involved in it especially since they wouldn’t have control. It’s not their product that is being sold, so they didn’t want to have anything to do with it. For example, when Ted talked about how the companies wanted him to tell his story, but they want to tell their story as well. Since they weren’t in charge of this video, then that’s why they didn’t want to help.
2. The roles that cooperation’s play in what we see and how we see it is that they get ideas from other companies, and they use that idea as their own except they add some changes and transform it to be their own. They have no creativity when it comes to designs because they just use ideas from others; make it their own by adding some kinks to it. For example, many of the shows on Disney channel are very similar.
3. The brands that I identify with are Apple, computer, Adidas, and Costco. There are many others out there, but these are the basic ones.
"In much the same way that the British Empire tried to take over Africa and profit from its wealth, corporations look at [teens] like this massive empire they are colonizing And their weapons are films, music, books, CDs, Internet access, clothing, amusement parks, sports teams." -Robert McChesney – Merchants of Cool
4. Yes, “cool hunters” and those who use the information they supply are similar to colonial powers because they use the information that they find to get to the kids. They exploit teens by finding what they know that they love, and they create more of that because they know that since teens love it, then they would purchase more of that product. Teens think its cool that they are offering more of what they like, and in term, will spend a lot of money to get that product.
"They don't call it "human" research or "people" research, they call it "market" research." - Douglas Rushkoff - Merchants of Cool
5. The marketers in “The Merchants of Cool” did not get this right because the teens begin to think they are the enemies. All they want to do is to be able to figure out who the teen is, and what kind of things they like, and then try to go out and advertise that to them. Also, MTV understanding you as a person would look like them not trying to take your money. They would provide the things that you like and that fit your need to make you happy as a person. They wouldn’t try to get you to pay for the things they’ve created. For example, they would get the time to know you, and who you truly are instead of trying to bargain for your money.
6. Yes, I think that I am manipulated by brands, because you see something that you like, or want, and you have to buy it, if you don’t, then you feel bad. It’s like you have to get it because you love it, and when you see others with it, you feel jealous because you’ve always wanted what they had. For instance, if you see someone with the new Nike shoes, and you’ve been dying to have them, you would go out and work hard to make sure that you can get some Nike shoes.
7. Some examples of the way I think that companies go after teens through advertisement is by either telling them that they will get paid to just try on their product, and advertising it, or when they buy the item, then they begin to advertise for that company because their friends might see what they have on, and tell their friends, and so on. For instance, using the same pair of Nike shoes as the example, once your friends see you in that, then they’ll want to buy it as well. It’s like you are a walking talking advertisement for them.
8. Yes, seeing these videos has led me to thinking about how I express my identity because when I buy that brand, or product, then it shows the company how foolish I am that I feel for their advertisement. It also makes them successful because now they know how to get to their audiences. They know what would increase the profit of their products, and in which way they should advertise it to get the best of the people watching it.
The question that I have about these topics is how do some of the people feel knowing that they are exploiting teens in a negative way? Mostly what they try to use to reach out to the teens is sex, parties, and drugs. Even though they sell their products, and are successful in doing it, do they feel happy in the process they took, and knowing that the teens future may be destroyed?
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