Reflection.

The amount of media I consume started impacting my life before I even knew about it! I don’t think that I became aware to how much media impacts my life until I took this class. Media kind of impacted me subconsciously. I realized that the other day a lot when we were watching that movie, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, when I became aware of that Mane and Tale shampoo. Even though that movie was supposed to be criticizing media while using big companies to fund for the advertising in it, I still became very interested in that product. I’ve never even heard of it before but the idea strikes me as odd because it is used on horses too! I honestly felt like I needed to buy it after, even though I don’t even need shampoo at the moment. It made me think, what other products have won my attention before? I think that maybe now that I know about my media consumption, maybe I won’t be so vulnerable against buying things that are unnecessary for me. Now I will be able to think about what attracts me to certain products and I can use this thinking to ask myself, does this product really fulfill this need I feel? Now that I know about the media tactics, I can understand what people these ads are targeted for and why. Before, I didn’t even know that there were certain advertising techniques that are used or I never even paid attention to how manipulative commercials can be or who they are meant for in terms of their audience. I think my media consumption habits have changed because now I find myself less interested in products that say that they are the best or better than any other product because those statements are so vague and not very reliable since most products use those weasel words. I think it is important to have media literacy because you really get to understand why companies try so hard to put every detail how it is in their ad, the way it is. Every word, every sound, and every picture they put out there for us to see, when it comes to advertising, has a specific purpose whether we are aware of it or not. It helps us realize how precise companies work to manipulate their consumers to buying their products, because they really can have that power! And I think that being an educated consumer is important because now I won’t be buying so many products that are really unnecessary for me and I will understand that none of the products will really make a difference in my life. From keeping this log, I learned what kind of advertisements really interested me and got my attention as well as why they did. This log helped me put ideas together from what I’ve learned and kept me open to what other people’s opinions were on the same log I did. I really found it interesting reading from what other people got from different blogs and what they thought of mine. This assignment was actually really fun in my opinion, because I love to take things apart, piece by piece, to understand what advertisers are trying to convey or make me feel. Media is very important in our world today because it surrounds us and impacts us in ways that we didn’t know it could so I thought this subject was fascinating.

Media Log #12--Colombia Ad

The little writing says, "Omni-Heat is 20% warmer than an ordinary lining. It breaths and regulates temperature so you don't  get overheated. That's because it's made with a patent-pending silver dot pattern that reflects your heat back to you. All you have to do is put it on. Visit colombia.com/omni-heat to see the warmest jackets tested by some of the coldest people in The Greater Outdoors."

I found this ad when I was flipping through a skiing magazine while looking for other magazine articles/pictures for the group commercial project. I really liked this ad because I thought it was a little funny. She could wear the jacket to not be so cold but she's posing for this photo to advertise this jacket. I don't think the jacket could make her legs any warmer though. The target audience for this ad is definitely teenagers ranging up to people in their later twenties because the girl is in her early twenties I'm assuming and whenever I go skiing, I notice a lot of the people there are in their twenties so they would be most likely to buy this product. I like how the lighting is all black and white, making the jacket and the omni-heat symbol stand out. I really liked the use of words in this ad too; they almost associate this jacket with the human body because it breaths and regulates temperature. The techniques used were Facts and Figures, Magic Ingredients, Wit and Humor, and Simple Solutions. They used Facts and figures because they said that omni-heat makes it 20% warmer, instead of saying that it is a lot warmer, making the product sound superior to others. They use Magic Ingredients because they say that this omni-heat lining is better than any other lining because it is omni-heat. The ad uses Wit and Humor because the picture is of a girl who is freezing because she is not wearing the jacket and the caption says: Omni-heat: 20% warmer when applied correctly. The ad also uses simple solutions because it gives us this idea that if we buy this jacket, we won't ever need to deal with overheating or being cold because when you are in the snow, it is very difficult to have a perfect temperature. It is either too cold or too hot because you're wearing too many clothes and it's a little hard to change clothes when you're up on the mountain. The main appeal I found was the need to achieve because this product makes us feel like we won't ever need to deal with difficulties in temperature while wearing this jacket.

Media Log #11--Cheerios Commercial

I chose to do this commercial because Janelle said that my sister looks like the girl in this commercial, which she kinds does because they have the same haircut. Overall, I think this commercial is super cute. The target audience is definitely for middle-class mothers because they use this little, cute girl to appeal to mothers. This is middle class because the house in the background is like an average home for the middle class people. I noticed that throughout the add, there are a lot of dull pastel colors, which makes the product stand out in the end of the commercial with the bright yellow and red.
Some of the main techniques I noticed were plain folks and simple solutions. This was plain folks because they showed average, ordinary people to make it apply for any other average person. This was simple solutions because the little girl didn't want to associate herself with anything for babies, which was literally everything in this ad. Until she sees the Cheerio box, she finds something that she wants. The ad uses a lot of repetition to get emphasize that everything is for babies but in the end there is one thing that is for everyone--the cheerios. She says "That's for babies" about four times and says babies itself five times. The main appeal was the need to nurture because they use this cute little girl that makes the audience want to take care of her or a child. Overall, I really liked this commercial. The little girl is so cute!

Media Log #10--Target Ad

I was flipping through a People magazine when I came across this ad. I thought that the picture was very effective, targeting mothers who clean their home. They show a variety of different types of cleaning products provided by the Target brand. One of the techniques I noticed was Simple Solutions because if you have a messy or dirty house, you can go to Target and find any product you want to 'keep a tidy home'. Another one is Bandwagon because it mentions how Target has over 1,000 quality products you can't live with out, at prices you can happily live with, so basically you'll be on the winning side when you go to Target. They use facts and figures by saying that there are over 1,000 quality products, to give us this idea that Target has everything. I noticed that there are mostly cool colors (other than the arrows in the bucket), but like the big arrow and the text are both cool colors, making the Target logo stand out from the rest of the ad. I don't really know what the deal is with the arrow, whether they are trying to put more logos out there associated with Target because I have noticed many of their products have that arrow on it. Some of the emotional appeals I found was need for affiliation because it says that there are over a thousand products you can't live without, giving us this idea that if we don't buy their products we will be left out. Target seems to make this assumption a lot, that everyone knows what that logo stands for, which I think most people really do know that that is a Target logo. Overall, i liked this ad because I liked the picture and the idea of it.

Media Log #9--Loreal Paris Ad

I was browsing through a few magazines the other day while getting a pedicure with my mother and I came across this ad. The target audience for this ad is definitely women, but I think it's targeted towards younger women more because as women get older, they don't really wear these 'intense' shades. The ad uses a lot of weasel words like incredibly, infallible, and intense, incomparable to make the product sounds extraordinary. I noticed that all of the words that I found as weasel words start with an 'i', making the adjectives more memorable maybe? The ad uses facts and figures by saying that this intense color lasts a full 24 hours. I don't quite understand why anyone would be wearing eye shadow for that long, but I imagine that if it lasts that long, it must be hard to remove. I noticed that the palette the eye shadow is in is this silver color, which stands out against the purple, and the purple eye shadow even shimmers a silver color, so I thought that was pretty cool and effective. This ad also uses Simple Solutions because it states that this product is 'fadeproof, waterproof, sweatproof, and it even resists creasing'! By using the word 'even', it makes the product sound like it is the best eye shadow ever, especially because it resists creasing. The emotional appeals in this ad is obviously need for attention. By wearing these 'intense' shades, I think this is supposed to make you look more noticeable. Overall, I thought that this was a good ad, even though I wouldn't by eye shadow that is this 'intense'.

Media Log #8--Pepsi Commercial

This is a Pepsi commercial from last year that I thought was very funny. It makes this assumption that women are very controlling over their boyfriend/husband. I thought that the target audience was for men because I think that maybe women could be offended by this ad because of this assumption that it makes. I think it is a little weird that the only thing that his girlfriend or wife is controlling is what he is eating, which makes the Pepsi look healthier than all of the other food he was about to eat. I thought that one of the main techniques used was Wit and Humor because it is kind of funny how the girlfriend gets all mad and accidently hits the girl runner in the face with her Pepsi can while aiming for her boyfriend. They also use facts and figures by saying that there is zero calories in this drink, Pepsi Max, which I think is a little unbelievable. Some emotional appeals made were the need to aggress because the girlfriend tries throwing her can at her boyfriend after looking at someone else, because she wants to 'get even'.  Overall, I thought this was a funny commercial.

Media Log #7--Snickers Commercial

I remember I saw this commercial about two years ago when I watched the Super Bowl and I thought this one was very funny. I think that Betty White is great. I think the target audience is men who know who Betty White is and who like to watch or play football. This commercial's advertising techniques used are Testimonial, Simple Solutions, and Wit and Humor. This is Testimonial because they tell one of the players they are playing like Betty White so they use her in this commercial to show that when you eat this product, you will play better. They use Simple Solutions because they are are attacking the problem of hunger and playing bad football with a solution--a Snickers bar. They use Wit and Humor because it's funny how Betty White says, "That's not what your girlfriend said!" when someone tells her that she plays like Betty White. It's also a little funny that this grownup man is taking down Betty White and she falls in the mud. The emotional appeal used is the physiological need for eating. The assumption made is that if you eat this candy bar, you will play football better and you won't be hungry. I don't think that this assumption is very realistic because Snickers is only a candy bar! Also they assume that without a candy bar, you aren't yourself, which I think is also unrealistic. Overall, I really thought this commercial was successful in getting my attention because I still remember it today!