Propaganda Assignment: Commercial

Commercial

Testimonial

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_U2lEgvMq0

        A.      Covergirl created this commercial. They are trying to help themselves promote their own products by creating commercials that make it seem like their products are amazing. The producers hope to gain consumers by promoting their products on television. This will help boost their sales and help their company.

B.      The target audience is most likely females aged 13+ because it is a cosmetic product. Girls and women start to wear makeup as they grow into their teenage years, and continue to do so and they enter the workforce, and even into retirement. The majority of people who use cosmetics, especially mascara, are females. This advertisement can be seen on television on channels that are geared towards women, and also general-audience channels. It can also be seen in print ads in fashion magazines and celebrity gossip magazines.

C.      This advertisement shows the testimonial technique because they use a celebrity, Drew Barrymore as the face of the product. She narrates the television commercial, and is the face on the print ads. This technique is effective because people will think “If a famous person can look like that with this product, so can I.” Using testimonial to attract the audience is a very easy to persuade the audience to buy a product. It also promotes how popular the product is, since a celebrity is actually using it too.

D.      To protect yourself against testimonial propaganda you can ask yourself the following questions:

1.       What does the Drew Barrymore have to gain by endorsing this brand of mascara? Of the entire make up line?

2.       Who likes, celebrates or is a fan of Drew Barrymore?

3.       Does she have any specialized knowledge about the mascara? CoverGirl?

E.       Drew Barrymore for Covergirl Spring/Summer 2010 Ad Campaign. Popbee http://popbee.com/beauty/drew-barrymore-for-covergirl-springsummer-2010-ad-campaign/attachment/drew-barrymore-covergirl-summer-spring-2010-ad-campaign-170510-3/. February 28, 2011.

Andblah. Re: “Drew Barrymore in Covergirl Lashblast Commercial.” Online posting. October 31, 2007. Youtube. February 28, 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_U2lEgvMq0>.

Propaganda Assignment: Political

Political Issue
Fear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urPwfuOWRSE

A.      The Conservative party of Canada created this commercial. They are promoting themselves, using their competition as bait to their supporters. By creating this commercial, the Conservatives are trying to gain votes and support their party. This in turn helps them create a majority government.

B.       This advertisement is directed at people who are affected by the issues of a coalition. In this case, it is specifically targeting those who are against a coalition. They are saying that Ignatieff could support a coalition, and that this would not be good for the general public. They are using fear to get to the public, because if Ignatieff is elected into parliament, a disaster might occur across the country because of the proposed coalition said in the advertisement. This disaster could affect everybody in the country, and that could be a fear of the public. In general, this advertisement is targeting the public, specifically those who can vote. Because they can make a change by voting, and supporting specific parties, the general adult public can be affected by this commercial.

C.      Fear can be seen in this advertisement because the Conservatives are trying to scare you away from the Liberal party. It is especially seen at the very end where it says, “Michael Ignatieff. He didn’t come back for you.” This is showing fear towards the audience because the creators are trying to persuade them to go the ‘safe’ way so that you do not end up in the wrong hands. They are using this technique usefully because when fear is involved, people will second guess themselves and move towards the party where they feel most safe.

D.      To defend yourself against fear in this commercial you can do the following steps:
1) There is no direct threat; it is an implied threat that the government may become a disaster
2) They are trying to win my support for the Conservative party
3) If you do not vote for Ignatieff, then the government may stay the same and the issues that are being brought up will not be an issue anymore
4) Try to research what Ignatieff really believes in; what his plans are, seeing it through the eyes of a liberal.

E.       CPCPCC. Re: “Ignatieff Coalition.” Online posting. Jan 24, 2011. Youtube. February 26, 2011.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urPwfuOWRSE>

CBSC Codes and Contradictory Programming

Please note: This video contains scence of intentional violent nature.

Bully Beatdown is a MTV programs based around the idea of using violence as an act of resolution. According to the clause of the CAB Violence Code 3.1.1, "The issue of violence in our society is one of real concern to the public, and by extension to Canadian private, over-the-air broadcasters who are involved with, and committed to, the communities which they serve." Violence is our society can be seen in many different areas: schools, communities, at home. However, it does not necessarily have to be portrayed in the media. Although violence of mature nature must be played after 9pm, this television program hits the border of our CBSC codes. The issue about bullying in Canada has recently been addressed with positive feedback from those who support standing up against it. Yes, Bully Beatdown is in support of taking a bully down, however it is using extremely violent actions to do so. According to the CAB code, violence is a concern to the public and its broadcasters. Around 9:30pm, when this shows airs on television, there are most definitely teenagers still up watching the show. It is easy to influence youth with programming on television. And since this show is 'reality tv' they may use violence as a way to fix a bullying problem - which is a very  ineffective way to solve anything.

Please note: The commercials contains scenes of sexual and violent nature. Please be advised.

This particular commercial for Folgers coffee starts off with a little boy preparing breakfast for his parents. However, as it goes on, the commercial shows the boys parents in a bed, with two males figures and one woman. This carries an implication that these adults may be having some sort of affair. One man also begins to yell at the young boy, and so does his mother. This is a type of verbal violence against the child, which goes against the code. Although there are areas which adhere to the code such as roles of women, where the female in the code is wearing clothing as if she is preparing to go to work, much of the text involves, violence and sexual implications. The child looks scared, and scarred, which could be one reason this commercial was banned in Canada. The inital acts of abuse against the little boy carry implications that Canadian society would not want to show to its citizens.

Insecurities in Advertising

Female insecurity: Clean and Clear ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmTzulIBOMM

This advertisement for Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Control was created in the UK by two popular celebrity girls. The advertisement is tsaying that within one day, the treatment worked well for the users portrayed in this advertisement. The insecurity that females feel about their skin is that if it is unclear or filled with acne then they feel unattractive, which in turn makes them feel unwanted by male counterparts. The advertisement hits a vulnerable area for some girls, so the effect of this advertisement may get females to go out and buy it. The before and after pictures make it seem like the product truly works well, however in reality, these girls could just be made-up and have tons of powder and blush on their faces. And the use of celebrities is appealing due to the fact that celebrities do have an influence on society. Young teenage girls, are susceptible to giving in to be pretty, no matter what it takes to get there.

Male Insecurities: http://gotoshell.com/male-insecurity-and-jealousy/

This article is directed at males, targeting their insecurities about jealousy and also of keeping their girl. It explains a situation is which guys become jealous because they are constantly worried about their girl seeing other people when he is not around. The article gives reasons as to why the male may feel this way, and it also gives reason for solving the issue. This insecurity of being jealous probably happens to all guys because once they are in a relationship with their dream girl, they do not want to lose her. Oddly enough, the last paragraph of this article targets other insecurities that males feel as well, such as a nice body image, or being athletic because it's just the 'guy thing' to do. This article is probably effective on males because they may be able to relate to it easily, and anything that targets a guy's soft spot I think definitely has some type of influence on how they feel about themselves in that situation.

Female insecurity: These photos here came off a fashion designer's website. It is obviously targeting teenage females because it is about: 1) getting the perfect dress and 2) PROM. Girls carry this dream about having the perfect prom: the dress, the hair, the date. However, the general insecurity involved with prom, is the overall worry of looking pretty, and being inolved with a guy. This specific advertisement is showing that for a girl's 'big night' (other than her wedding) she must look pretty, and to look pretty you need an outstanding dress, the cutest shows and the right accessories. It is an effective advertisement because it shows girls that they can look pretty with the right clothes. A good portion of teenage girls love shopping, and love clothing, so targeting that area of females will help the advertisers. And since it is also targeting an area in which girls worry about their whole school-aged lives, the insecurity about being pretty is what makes an effect on young women.

Male insecurity: "Wear your face." is the slogan for the Braun series 7 shaver. It is intended for men to be confident in their faces, beause that is what they have, and cannot change. Unlike females, this advertisement is saying that fashion does not define a man, it is his looks. In the previous example, the advertisers were all about looking pretty with the right clothes. This advertisement here is about using your looks to look good. The insecurities between males and females are the same when it comes to looks; but they are different in the sense that you can target each gender in different ways. This is an effective advertisement because it shows that males just need to be cleaned up in order to look good. The insecurity of not looking good without the whole clothing ordeal is what is being targeted in this advertisement. In conclusion, males carry the insecurity of looking good naturally without the fashion and clothes that females use. If they cannot look good naturally, they may feel that they do not look good at all.

Media Ownership

The author feels the merger is so harmful because it seems like it would be taking away his freedom of speech as a citizen who is enveloped in the media. His understaning is that this AOL-Time Warner merge is going to dominate the media industry, pulling away the "notions of a free, diverse and independent press". As a civic issue, this merge affects the society in the way that the views of this large media influence may be biased and not include the views of the country as a whole. It could be controversial because citizens may not share this point of view, however as a large media conglomerate, the views of Time Warner may perceive that their views are the views of the country. As a journalist, the issue with the merge between AOL and Time Warner would take away their freedoms of writing and voicing their own opinions. The bigger issue is that what is being written may be the opinions of the conglomerate company, which may not be shared between the journalist, thus showing that the freedom of an indepedent press is out the window. The issue of taking away this freedome affects the press in the sense that their own voices would be muted. Everything could be right-wing, where the opinion of the AOL-Time Warner company merge would influence much of the media, having a biased opinion, proving that they have power over the media, which may be a main reason for the merge. The author believes that the AOL-Time Warner merge creates these issues and takes away these freedoms, harming society as a whole.

The danger of not having a free and independent press is that the individual opinions of the people of the media, would be silenced. This would go against their rights that were given to them years ago by the presidents of the past. If there was not a free and independent press, controversy could erupt because of the potential unshared opinion between the press and the citizens. A free and independent press is a central aspect of democracy because a democratic government allows its people to have a say in how the country is run. Without an independent press, a branch of freedom of speech is gone, thus creating a controversial state where the media and the people do not get along.

The ideas and opinions on the internet I think are screened, but are relatively free and outspoken. Because the internet is a public source, anybody can post their opinions without being pressed by the media to write what they believe should be written. You can get news on the internet on news websites, online newspapers, blogs, etc. News can be found anywhere on the web because it is a public knowledge source.

Privacy in the Age of the Internet

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929052

The article is about the privacy on social networking sites. It explains how advertisers and developers use these sites to gather personal information from the users. This happens through surveys, apps, data updates and photos on profiles. What we do not see is this happening; we agree to the terms and conditions, however as we click that little box, we have just sold our information to the world. What we do not consider is that the information we put out there on the web can be retrieved by anyone, anywhere. The privacy that social networking sites have is limited, and unclear. It is private to those we perceive them to be private to, but it is the people we do not know - advertising companies, business, etc. - who use our personal information as a gain for themselves. The articles also describes that users need to be more aware of the fact that their personal information is made public, no matter what settings you set for your profile. It also provides examples of how personal information on social networking sites is used in the real world - from employment opportunities, to divorce evidence used in a courtroom. Privacy on social networking sites, does not exist. Any information, comment, photo, or status can affect what happens in your future.

One issue that was raised in the article was the price people are willing to pay to use a social networking site. It has nothing to do with monetary donations from a user, it is the personal information a user provides is what the companies want. Although it is most likely written in the terms and conditions, nobody reads those. They text is so small, and the whole contract too long. So, people just click and accept. We should be aware that our information is being sold to the public, but they cover that up with privacy settings. No matter what, anybody good with computer could hack onto our account and see all of our information. This information can hurt us the in the long-haul which is why I think there should be some sort of warning that companies give us before allowing us to sign up. Yes, that will hurt their business, but for the users, it will help people think twice about what they are signing up for. We all know that the internet is public, and we should always remember that when clicking that tiny little box and hitting 'I accept'. Privacy in our digital age is out of sight; we may perceive that our profiles can only be seen by friends, however they are open to the public, but we cannot see that, which is why we believe everything we do is private. In reality, privacy is gone, and the only place to find it is on your person, in your possession.

Radio Advertisements

The advertisement listened to in class used a variety of techniques and conventions. One advertisement presented to us a dialogue between two girls getting ready for a night at the movies. One friend was looking up show times on the internet as a window popped up about online gambling. The other started getting defensive, and started to regret the idea of going out because of financial difficulties. This implied that one girl had a gambling problem, but wanted to keep it a secret. The structure of the story allowed a conflict to occur when they started having an argument. The use of heart-strings was used because the advertisement provides an emotional connection with the audience, targeting both the gamblers and the friends of gamblers. The tone of the characters could be seen through their emotions, by the way they spoke and put emphasis on particular things. This tone created a mood for which the audience could feel the tense atmosphere between the friends. During the dialogue, before the statistics, there was an echo that created a dream-like state, where you felt you had to think twice about what was said. This also included repetition, where what was said stays with you, and it makes you think because you've heard it more than once. Going back to the use of statistics, that convention allows the audience to believe that the facts are real, and that this advertisement was not a joke. This particular advertisement would appeal more to females, because of the female voices being used, including the voiceover, whereas the next advertisement would be more appealing to males.

Another radio advertisement for youth with gambling issues dealt with a gambler playing poker and trying to go against the odds and win enough money to pay for his college life. We know that the audience is targeted to college/university student because of narrator's lines. The male talking in the advertisement makes it seem more appealing to males because they can relate to him more easily than females. However, the use of jargon towards the game of poker would be the key factor to a connection for the audience. Without understand some key words in the advertisement related to poker, you may not understand what it going on. The tone of desperation from the character's voice provides a sort of fear coming from his ability to win, because he realizes that maybe it will not happen, and won't be able to pay rent. From this advertisement, we have captured the mentality of the gambler, like we are inside his head, hearing exactly what he is thinking. The use of exposition, when he says, "I need money for last month's rent," explains to us that he's used up all his money gambling, is behind on his rent, and desperately needs to win to pay it off. This is effective because this one line provides the audience with a full story without having to say much. Also, the use of sound effects is effective to set a mood for the story to play on. The advertisement could have added a "For more information," line during the voiceover so anybody looking for help can find it after listening to the advertisement.

When creating a radio advertisement there can be difficulties that a producer may face. The conventions used must be specific to the target audience. For example, the use of jargon will probably appeal mostly to those who understand the terms. Anybody who does not see what the advertisement is about because of those terms, probably will stop listening afterwards. The use of SFX is particular to the audience because you have to find something that is appealing, but sets the right mood and setting for the advertisement. Other difficulties include time management and technical difficulties after the production, such as layering sounds by accident, or awkward pauses, which can all be fixed with editing.

Group	Conventions used	Strengths	Areas to improve
1	-          Music -           personal experience -          Uses statistics	-          Sympathy towards the audience, using personal experience, very easy to relate for the audience. -          The mood allows you to think twice about what is being said	-          No echo, or fix the echo.
2	-          Narrative (denial, conflict, they argue) -          Heart strings technique -          Mood -          Statistics -          Voice over -          Dialogue -          Repetition	-          Easily relatable -          Tone can be seen through emotions -          Echo creates dream-like state -          Identifiable with females	-          Make the voice over clearer -          No need to say thank you
3	-          Uses repetition (says gambling and problem and help) -          Narrative -          Uses voiceover -          Audience shown more to males (mention of sports gambling)	-          Clear on message -          Demographic is not only for teens -          Effective, informative	-          More of a transition into the piece, set more of a mood
4	-          Narrative/dialogue -          Large range of audience (gamblers and friends) -	-          Boom represent realization -          Feels as if your pulse is beating with it -          Good use of ambient sounds for setting	-          Make dialogue more clear -          Music too loud, could tone it down
5	-          Narrative -          Target audience is gamblers themselves -          SFX, wind and door slams -          Provides thoughts of characters to audience	-          Background music sets pace (of walking)
6	-          SFX used to create setting -          Uses male and female voices for a wider audience	-          Easily relatable to teens because of school setting -          Good use of different voices -          Use of fear prominent “don’t let your friend be a statistic”	-          Slow down narrator’s            information
7	-          Bell sets setting -          Ambience background as being at a school -          Narrative is different than voice over/dialogue	-          Good setting -          Easy to relate to	-          Does not apply to female perspective -          Not clear gambling message at the beginning
8	-          Avoided use of SFX -          Targeted towards an older audience -          Narrative	-          Use of story -          No SFX used because of purpose of message -          Good use of voice-changer -          Good use of different voice	-          Not clear on who the target audience is
9	-          Use of music to set mood -          Heart-strings -          Target audience is: teens – adults -          Accent used -          Cinematic – setting up a story -          Use of SFX	-          Serious tone sets ‘dark’ mood -          Message serious, but easily understandable -          Good slogan, don’t start, otherwise you won`t stop -          Direct address to audience	-          Music a little loud -
10	-          Hearing the thoughts of the gambler -          Narrative -          Uses fear for the character -          Use of jargon -          Use of exposition “I need money for last month’s rent” -          Use of SFX	-          Target audience: college/uni students; pay for rent -          Can be easily related to because of lines used such as “all or nothing” -          Tone of desperation -          Mentality of gambler captured	-          Could add “for more information” -          Could use “echo”
11	-          Used SFX of dice -          Dialogue -          Directly addressing -          Repetition -          Use of fear	-          Good use of repetition; leaves an impact -          Clear message -          Target audience?	-          Better SFX -          Make it seem more attractive
12	-          Use of heart-strings -          Repetition -          Personal use -          Direct addressing -          Use of music (changes the mood)	-          Target audience: teens (females/males) -          Imagine and change of music changes mentality of gambling -          Good use of music	-
13	-          SFX used -          Dialogue/narrative -          Plays on heart strings -          Ambience effect -          Statistics	-          Use of phone number instead of website -          Over pronounced tone -          Personification of being a teenager -          Gives message that gambling gives you nothing -          Shows relationship between characters	-