Ad Presentations

The presentations today were all direct to the point they were trying to accomplish. Every group used a different style of getting that point across and they were effective. At first when I saw everyone else’s Ads I thought our commercial wasn’t going to be that great. However, after reviewing the responses it turns out we did pretty well. I think Jordan’s, Tony’s, Eli’s, and Christina’s group was very funny and their commercial definitely got everyone’s attention. Their use of the “crazy, over-energized salesman” worked well for their selling of hats. I wasn’t quite sure how hats really targeted our class, since most people don’t wear them to school. However, after watching their Ad I would say that many people would probably buy a hat from them. Its all about the “Wow” factor. If people are shocked or think something is stupid that person is doing, then they will pay attention. Their group proved this. Overall I compliment everyone on his or her commercials. They truly were great.

Pottery Barn Style

The article was pretty good in my mind. Pottery Barn seems to be doing very well, and it is booming with great strides. I personally have never been in a Pottery Barn store. I’m not sure if we even have one. We could and I just don’t know it. Celia Tejada, Pottery Barn’s Senior VP, seems to have the company figured out to a “T”. She talked about how with all of their products the board sits down to discuss them, and if they wouldn’t buy the product or give it to their best friend, the product is dismissed right away. Tejada is dedicated her job and the people who work there. She believes her co-workers should not become “workaholics”. They need to have a life.
Pottery Barn’s main competitor is Target. Tejada admitted they can not compete with Target’s prices, but they can compete with style and showing customers the total look of a product. Pottery Barn takes great pride in their customer service. They attribute a majority of their success to that.

Target layout.

Stores do use many tactics to keep people in the store as long as possible and to coerce them to not leave without buying something. I have noticed this in many places. The store I go to a lot would be Target. Like most stores the temperature is just right and usually no matter the weather, you want to stay in the store because its better than outside. The main persuasion in the environment is the customer service and all of the deals. Saving the all mighty dollar is the bottom line, and if you need assistance you don’t want to wait. Another big deal is the layout. Target for example keeps everything that is related together in sections. This makes things easy to find and builds on the customer service part. They also know that electronics are the hot items of today. That is why they are in the front of the store right as you walk in. Stores aren’t stupid. They will do what it takes to make sure you buy something while you are there.

Super Bowl ads

Godaddy.com produced the first commercial I watched. It showed people watching the Super Bowl and talking to a guy about why he doesn’t watch the game anymore. He says he used to watch it for the commercials, but since they wouldn’t let Go daddy air theirs he doesn’t care anymore. The commercial then proceeds to tell you to go to their website to see Danica Patrick exposed. Of course people are going to flock to their website, because sex sells. Guys are like, “Yes I wanna see that”. I in fact went to the website, and I can see why they wouldn’t allow it. It was kind of crude with the references to “beaver”, but it got attention. Go daddy appealed to the audience through sexual appeal and they got people to go to their website because of it. They accomplished their goal greatly. The other commercial I liked was the one produced by SoBe Life water. A girl is walking out provocatively, and a lizard is following her. The girl drinks Life water and the lizard catches a drop of it. “Thriller” a popular song by Michael Jackson starts to play, and a bunch of lizards start to do the dance of song with the girl. It appeals to the audience not only by using a well-known song, but also like the first commercial it uses sexual appeal. The way the girl is dressed catches your eye.

Class discussion on sex sells

The discussion in class Wednesday was very good I thought. My opinion on the whole topic is that yes women are demoralized by ads, and men do seek the dominant power, and yes women are in more violence related to sex then men, but I do not think that a commercial can affect the minds of men so greatly that they will react to the way the commercial wants them to behave. I am still sticking to my belief that people do not do what the commercial says. Although, I really liked Tony’s statement that society has to be shocked by the ad for them to pay attention to it. People will remember the commercial about Snickers and the two guys kissing compared to infomercials that just repeat a slogan over and over again. I do see how the women in the class are offended by the different ads presented in the article we read, but they must also realize those women chose to be in those ads. It is a job, and they must not have felt exploited by them. I believe that if it weren’t for this article we read, the majority of people would/do not talk about this on a daily basis.

Sex in the media

While reading this excerpt about advertising and sexuality, I tended to agree with Kilbourne’s argument. Sex does sell, and it is very useful when trying to promote a product. Men do seek power and domination. However, I wouldn’t say that the majority of males want to go out and just have sex with every girl they can. Advertising may say this or promote it, but not everyone listens. I personally never watch commercials. I am a channel surfer. So, last night was kind of hard for me to sit and watch just one channel for half an hour. The commercials to me are boring and full of crap.
I do agree with Kilbourne that women are portrayed as the “prey” or accomplishment of a challenge. Women are exposed in these ads, but the women that are modeling chose this. Men are exposed in the media as well. The use of sex goes both ways, but I do think that women are targeted more. I personally think that it is wrong, but honestly its just a commercial or ad. Most people don’t pay attention. If people took everything they saw on television seriously, our world would be full of lunatics.

Commercials

The commercial that I found very appealing to rhetoric was aired at about 7:30 Monday night. It was on Comedy Central and I was watching Scrubs. It is a television show about young doctors and the lives they live. The shows appeals to younger adults and teens. This is what made the commercial right for the crowd. It started just like a Scooby-Doo cartoon. There was a man sitting in a chair with a mask. The whole Mystery gang stood around him and took off the mask. The “bad guy” turned out to be the cable man. DirecTv was the company that made it. The creators were smart by using this cartoon. It catered to the audience of the show. The audience will remember the crime fighting comrades and relate to them as the “Heroes”. If the Mystery gang catches the bad guy, and he is the cable man then cable must be bad. I give props to the creators for their ingenuity and their appeal to the audience. I would compare this commercial to the one we watched in class about coke. It did the same thing by using the Grand Theft Auto scene.