This media blog is a project of the COMM 1061: Introduction to Mass Communication class at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Friday, March 28, 2008
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This is a Toyota Tacoma commercial, which uses the game World of Warcraft as a setting. So in a way this commercial is advertising two things; the Toyota Tacoma and World of Warcraft. The myth Toyota was trying to say is that the Toyota Tacoma is tough stuff, tougher than a dragon. The characters are a dwarf warrior, a nightelf hunter (although it is actually noticably a warrior character) and a human warlock. The trio need to take down a dragon, so they are getting ready by equipping strong items (for those that dont know, the only thing better than an epic item is another epic item or a legendary, which there are only about 7 legendary items in the game). The conflict is that this dragon is tough, so they need to combat it with other tough things. As they go through the items they are equipping, the warlock comes up with a solution to their dragon problem. He pulls out his Toyota Tacoma, drives in and takes down the dragon.
The recent Saturn commercial advises viewers to think over aspects of their life such as interactivity, strength, and the idea of home which may be misconstrued. Throughout the 30 second ad there were alternative options to such things as energy, beauty, and strength. Instead of relying on a nuclear power plant for energy the ad advised solar. Alicia Keys was placed in the ad to deliver the fact that beauty is not in actresses but instead in motherhood and childbirth. Also, an image of a body builder helped reiterate the fact that strength does not need to be that noticeable and instead can be in a cancer surviving person like Lance Armstrong. The last part of the commercial tells the viewer that they must rethink status, perhaps ditching the gas hogging hummer and buying one of five new Saturn highbred. The ad also has an underlying point of thinking American because of the American made Saturn. Jordan Langer
In this Swiffer ad, a distraught woman sits in a therapy session in her home with her mop, which she expresses great frustration with. Her problem is that the mop just doesn’t do enough, and she wonders why it can’t. At this point the therapist steps in to help. And then comes voiceover woman, telling us how the Swiffer with the scrubbing pad can do everything you need it to, pitting the old against the new. Of course your old mop can’t do that—it’s outdated, and doesn’t come with this wonderful scrubbing strip, nor can you just toss it out when you’re done. In this way, the Swiffer is the hero, saving the distraught woman from the perils of her old mop that just doesn’t cut it.
Eating food is an everyday necessity and we as college students sometimes don’t have time to feed ourselves. When we do make time, we tend to grab the quickest most convenient foods there are. It is a decision made quickly and our hunger is solved! However, this type of repetition in the long run, may lead to health problems in the future. Most restaurants or fast food places don’t give health information when advertising their products in commercials. Most of them focus more on explaining the product: what is in it, what type of bread, whether it was toasted or baked, and etc. Subway, a restaurant that is well known for serving healthy sandwiches does exactly that AND they give out health information. Take a look at this funny, but true commercial.
This commercial consists of an average middle-aged couple. They are in a car and are ordering food through the drive thru window of some unknown fast food restaurant. The man orders first and then the woman orders next. You don’t hear the type of order you would normally hear through a drive thru: a double cheeseburger and large fries. Instead, the man orders love handles, double chin, and double blubber. She orders the same thing he does, but instead of the blubber got thunder thighs and badonkadonk butt. The commercial reaches out and tells you exactly what you are doing to yourselves when you order from fast food restaurants. You order loads of fatty unhealthy foods that add to thighs, stomach, gluteus maximus, arms, legs, everything! The ironic thing is that these people are hurting themselves. So why would anyone ask for thunder thighs or a badonkadonk butt? It makes people realize that they are hurting themselves by eating fast food. Instead, if they want to make the right decision, they should treat themselves to Subway. Subway shows this image of the Subway Fresh Fit Meal. The name says it all. The meal is supposed to fresh and keeps you fit! Unlike the greasy junk food, you can have fruits along with a sandwich that consists of healthy greens and lean meat. Subway always advertises how low calorie their meals are. The real message here is to save yourself, eat healthy, and come to Subway.
In this other commercial, Arby's, a fast food chain advertises their new sandwich.
Unlike the Subway commercial, this Arby's commercial did not give off the healthy vibe. It took on a more traditional stand and represented its sandwiches. The scene takes place at a construction site; it looks like it can possibly be downtown. The main characters are three construction men who are taking a break and watching people walk by. There are two beautiful women who walk right past these workers and they don't even stop to notice. All of a sudden, this older man who looks nerdy and is carrying an Arby's bag walks by and all the guys start cheering and checking him out. You will notice that the Arby's symbol, which is a cowboy hat, is right above each of their heads. This symbolizes that the men are all wanting to eat Arby's. Arby's is trying to come off as a manly burger/sandwich. It's saying, "Hey if you're hungry, think like a man, get some Arby's. We can satisfy your hunger."
These two commercials represent themselves in different ways. It's okay to eat fast food, just don't have too much of it. Look out for yourself. Get the message.
The good old Kia Spectra commercial. In this commercial, the characters are portrayed by several different drivers, all driving Kias, of course. These drivers pull into a gas station but when they get out of their car to pump the gas, they realize the door to the gas tank is on the other side of the car. Getting back in their car, they proceed to struggle to get the gas tank on the correct side. The purpose for this ad is to relate with the buyer. Everyone can relate to this commercial because weather you want to admit it or not, this or something closely related has more than likely happened to every single person who gets behind the wheel of a car. The conflict in this commercial is simply showing how much trouble some people have remembering what side their gas tank is on. The product then goes onto say “with fewer fill-ups, you just might forget what side it’s on.” These few words make total sense of the commercial and basically make Kias sound like the God of fuel efficient cars. I thought this commercial was very clever in the way of showing something that most drivers can relate to then bringing it all back to the main point which of course is the advertising of the Kia Spectra.
In this ad I can only assume that the character would be the hand. Every movement of the hand is intentional and fluid in motion. It opens the seal of the envelope and slowly reveals the Macbook Air. Pushing the screen up with one finger and the notebook doesn't move. The setting is a white room that has nothing in it but the Macbook Air, and the envelope that it was in. The plot would be the unveiling of the new Macbook Air. The worlds thinnest notebook. The music being played is a song called "New Soul" by Yael Naim. It has an upbeat temp and I feel it could be described as light.
There isn't a real "conflict" in this ad that I see. There is an idea that there is a need for a new notebook for the user that doesn't need much to a notebook. This is for the user that wants to be able to use the Internet and use the laptop for small things like maybe photos (because there is no disk drive), but there is a usb 2.0 port.
Apple shows that there is a notebook for the purpose listed above, and they have it. They show that it is brand new and its the thinnest. This laptop is ready for Internet 2.0 (but that isn't what is being advertised). The envelope would show that it is the ideal notebook for travel, and it an easy carry-on for flights. The finishing of the add is the symbol of Apple over the closed notebook. A simple ad that I think had a main goal to peak peoples curiosity.
In this Mountain dew ad you see different people from around the world from different countries in city apartments all playing Halo 3 screaming as they are loosing the game all playing against each other. Finally it shows the guy winning, of course an American because that is the target audience for the commercial, and the only reason he won was not because he was naturally the best but because he was drinking “Mountain Dew Game fuel” he was given an edge to win. The commercial does a good job showing many different cultures, all in the same class, setting, and age. It is a short, quick commercial with a simple message.
This commercial does a good job at describing the first myth. It features many different characters, all from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. All of them were wearing casual clothes, in a city/ urban setting, males around the same age, and all are wealthy enough to have the latest technology, an X-box 360 with Halo 3. They were all connected though the internet, gaming on an X-box 360, all loosing, getting all worked up about it. Except the last guy, an American sitting in his living room playing the game, winning while drinking a specific drink made for gaming, especially the new Halo 3.
The Conflicts are pretty obvious in this ad. Eleven different people from 11 different counties, backgrounds and cultures are loosing in Halo 3 to one American who is using Mountain dew Game fuel to defeat all the rest. As far as the social values, I really think that this ad is saying that no matter the background, culture, or nationally, any one can be an expert gamer with the right tools, specifically one tool, Mountain dew Game fuel. To me this ad does a good job of covering many cultures and types of people. Now because this add was meant to be viewed in America, it has an American winning in the end which is not surprising looking at it from that angle. I do however believe that anyone who watches this add would see it as being very diverse, even though all the characters are middle class city boys.
The conflict in the ends is resolved by showing who was beating everyone else in Halo 3. It was the one drinking “Mountain Dew Game Fuel.” The ad made it very clear that this was the only reason that the gentleman in the end was winning.
Overall I think this was a good ad because in 30 seconds you are able to advertise to a diverse male gaming audience in America advertising Halo 3 on Xbox 360 as well as “Mountain Dew Game Fuel.” I thought that the ad was very creative, fast paced, with a clear message. It follows the rules of the myths described in our book very
It’s amazing how the general themes of commercials are so universal around the world. The idea that a product can save you or at least your image from embarrassment is something that is fairly common. “Oh save me, I’ve got yellow teeth, toenail fungus, a junky car, clothing from last month’s fashion”, says the average person (or at least that is what we’re told the average person thinks). Surprise surprise, the average person gets a product or service the commercial that seems to say, “Never fear, this will save you!” There are plenty of examples of this in print and on screen that I come into contact with while living here in Minnesota, but I decided to reach back to where I used to live for an example. After seeing this perhaps we can appreciate the similarities that consumers of other places face in the marketing world. So I’m going to take a little trip back to Indonesia (I lived there for a while), and we’ll start with a personal product whose name is ubiquitous through all of Asia, Sunsilk Shampoo.
So now that you’ve seen the commercial let me translate the words that were sequenced to the action. I must confess I had a good bit of help from a friend; over the years my Indonesian has collected some mental dust. So, the young man strokes the woman’s hair and the female voice says, “Hey, who knew? My anti dandruff shampoo is showing some results.” Naturally, he is so distracted by her luscious black hair (can’t say I blame him), that he doesn’t pay attention to his driving and causes an accident (I would say that sending a baby sailing through the air counts as an accident). Then the commercial stops and rewinds and we hear, “Surprise, new Sunsilk Double Care: with Vitanol to take care of dandruff and wheat oil to keep hair soft.” Then the next scene is quite impressive, our raven haired heroine is able to evaluate the situation, get out of the car and catch the baby before he hits the pavement. The young man breathes a sigh of relief (no lawsuit or prison time for him) and is obviously so glad he’s got a hot athletic girlfriend who uses Sunsilk. The last lines of the narrator are, “New Sunsilk Double Care, didn’t expect that did you?”
So here we have it, a personal product that can literally stop traffic and give a woman superhero reflexes. No I didn’t expect that to be honest. This is a fairly obvious message, this product, Sunsilk, will make the user lovely and desirable, but let’s move on to something a little more nuanced and more subtle. My next example of Indonesian commercials is a thirty second spot for the country’s national airline called Garuda, the name refers to a mythical bird deity of Hindu mythology. I believe Garuda Air is no longer allowed to land at US airports due to their appalling safety record. My slogan for Garuda would be something like, “Fly Garuda and we’ll turn you into a praying person even if you’re an atheist,” but I digress. So let’s see the commercial and then go into greater depth.
One of the first things you will notice is that there are no words spoken, none even written for that matter. Second thing you might notice is the music, and then the strange stylized animation. Besides that, does it seem confusing or pointless? Let me give a little explanation on the truck load of symbolism that is going on in this half minute of time. First off the music mimics the style of classical Javanese orchestra known as Gamelan. This type of music is played for high culture events such as: weddings, circumcisions, and royal court performances of the Javanese Sultanates. So we have a music that is quintessential of high culture in Indonesia. Our second reference to this indigenous high culture is the animation style. It mimics a style of performance known as Wayang Kulit, or simply translated, “shadow puppets”. These flat leather puppets are used behind a cloth screen in countless Hindu and Islamic epics; again this is something that is very unique to Indonesian Javanese culture. Both of these art forms are highly revered, have been in existence for about a millennium, and would be some of the first things a foreigner would be exposed to when learning about Indonesian arts and culture.
The second thing I will point out is what actually is happening in the animation. We see a bird (the mythical Garuda) fly through a collage of images. I’ll just try to mention them in brief so I don’t take up another 8 paragraphs. First, standing next to a tree are two wayang people exchanging a flower, a lotus which I believe is a symbol for Thailand. Then the pointed spires seen are a symbol for a massive Bhuddist monument in Indonesia known as Borabudur, which is a huge tourist attraction. From there Garuda flies past the Great Wall, obviously a symbol for China; then we see a Sumo wrestler which is obviously symbolizing Japan. A three wheeled pedicab moves by, which I believe could be a symbol for Vietnam. This pedicab cycles by an image of a fish with a lion’s head, this being a very famous landmark of Singapore. Finally we see a multi tiered Hindu temple which would only be found on the Indonesian island of Bali. The two wayang humans from the beginning appear again and then the Garuda bird transforms into the Garuda Airline logo. So the collage starts off in Indonesia, weaves through various symbols of a number of Asian countries, and then finally comes back around to Indonesia again.
OK, wow, I tried to cover what was there without being too detailed, but seriously, I could write a research paper on the imagery and symbolism in this commercial. You really need to watch this one a few times to catch it all. We have very indigenous art forms that make Indonesian culture special associated with a company, an airline. Not only does this airline identify itself with Indonesia, it also makes “tie-ins” with all of east Asia. Let me try to give a broad interpretation for all of this. Garuda Air is not only the carrier that is part of Indonesia, but also Asia at large.
So let’s summarize. The basic formats of advertising that we see here in the USA, are also the same templates used in advertising in other countries of the world. In one example we have the hero myth played out very blatantly where a particular product brings about a happy ending to the narrative. In another example, subtle cultural references encourage a person to associate that culture with a particular brand.
I choose to use a Pocari Sweat commercial for my subject for the myth analysis assignment. Pocari Sweat is a Japanese sports drink which has become popular all over the world because of it's unique and odd name. Most Pocari Sweat commercials feature a beautiful young woman as the main character, so I found this one to be quite entertaining and different.
The main characters for this commercial are two young men, probably in their early 20s. The first image you are presented with is of one man having his head shaved bald by his friend. Immediately you think these guys are a bit goofy. Are they the male stereotype known as the "Mook"? Well certainly they are underdogs types. Next we see them pedaling quickly on their bikes to catch up to the tram passing by. We now see the young herione sitting inside the cabin of the tram. She is lovely, but we don't know where she is heading. Will she come back, or is she leaving town for good?
The young man now lifts his hat to reveal a heart that he had shaved on his head. The heroine seems bemused by his new hairstlye and flashes him a quick victory sign. We assume this is proof that she accepts his love as the next scene we see is the young men jumping for joy on the beach. This commercial is simply an against the odds love story. The young goofy guy is able to do something expected to win the lovely young maiden. We can't be sure of the ending to the love story, but we get the feeling that it's positive!
This commercial is the stories of three different guys who own cars but have a similar problem. The first guy is shown in his driveway having just completed washing his car. The second one is waiting in his sports car for a stoplight to turn green. The third is placing at order at a fast food restaurant drive-through window. All three are stopped in their tracks by the dreaded sludge build up in the engines of their cars. This sludge is not only causing their cars to not perform at their peaks but also causing a loss in gas mileage. The moral of the story is if they had been using Castrol GTX, sludge would not have built up in the engine providing better performance. The produces of this commercial used three types if people to show how Castrol GTX can be used in your car no matter what you drive. The first guy looked like your average middle class guy washing the family sedan. The second was a hip guy trying to impress a woman with his fast sports car. The third guy looked like a young guy just trying to get by in his compact economy car. This commercial infers that no matter what you drive, Castrol GTX will benefit your vehicle.
The commercial I chose to do for my blog post is an old Mentos ad from the early 90’s. In this ad, there are only two real main characters. One is the young guy, who has to solve a problem. The other is the older, upper-class man who unwittingly causes the problem for the younger guy. The setting for this advertisement is in a street crossing in an unknown big city. It starts with the young guy and his friends and they are about to cross the street. However, the young guy gets separated from his pals by a nice car, which is driven by an older gentleman, who appears to be of higher social status. The young man is stuck on the wrong side of the street. Luckily, he has some Mentos with him, which gives him a burst of ingenuity. He decides to go right through the car, instead of taking the extra time just to walk around it. At first, the older man looks confused, as the young gut moves through his car, but the young guy shows his Mentos to the old guy and he seems to understand by his smile. The values that are put up against each other are freethinking, portrayed by the young man, and the standard thought process. Instead of taking the longer way around the car, the young man decides to go through the car. He is trying to make a statement that says he doesn’t need to be grounded by conventional thinking, not when he has got Mentos to help him out. The old man is supposed to represent the old way of doing things, for instance, going around the vehicle. The commercial uses Mentos as a tool that can help someone find a way out of a dilemma. The young man is separated by his friends and isn’t sure what to do. When he eats the Mentos, he receives a great “fresh” idea that will easily solve his problem. This commercial is pretty lame, but shows how ads use a product to make it appear as the savior of our problems
I thought this was a great ad because it has the usual Mac style but a different character. It stars Chris Pratt by himself with a white background and that simple little piano tune playing. He is portryed as the "cool funny guy" and tells how he would never EVER buy a PC because 5 of his friends were killed using a PC! Usually in these commercials they have another man to play the role of PC, but in this one they basically have one random guy telling us that PC suck and to buy a mac. Apple has taken their already very simple ad format and made it even simpler, one man telling you to buy a mac over pc or you will die! That would be the myth, that PC's are extremely complicated to use. Now obviously people know that you wont die or get AIDS if you buy a pc, DUH, but Apple assumes you've seen the other commercials and can guess what his friends really died from, PC complications overload! Thus again showing the simplicity, easy-to-use, cooler, newer, and better overall computer that is a MAC. So even when pc isn't represented by an actual person, it's still the enemy (it even kills people its so complicated), and if you simply buy a MAC (hero) all will be well. The ad finishes with the Apple logo as always and a website apple.com/switch to encourage you to swith to apple. Then he says his name and that he's an actor and gets paid to say what people want, which serves as a disclaimer to the people diing of aids thing, but its also funny to alot of people.
For my blog post I chose to do a myth analysis on a Super Bowl ad from this year. The commercial is for the German automotive manufacturer Audi, and their new super car the R8. Two characters are featured in this commercial; the rich old man, and the perpetrator in the R8. The setting of the commercial takes place in the old man's very expensive mansion. The man wakes up in his huge bed alone, and appears apprehensive. He then sees his hand covered in grease and oil. He looks for the source under the covers and finds the front end of classic luxury car removed from its body. He screams in horror and the camera switches to the R8 out front as the car turns on. The car speeds off like OJ and the Audi emblem finishes up the commercial. The commercial is actually a remake of a scene from the movie The Godfather, except that a man wakes up to find the mob has placed his prize race horses head at his feet. The two values pitted against each other are old and new. The conflict is between the old luxury cars, and a new and different luxury car from Audi. Traditional luxury cars are considered slow and looked at more as a limousine to be driven around in. Audi is suggesting why not have luxury, but kick ass and takes names while doing it. Audi shows this old vs. new also by the characters. The man in the bed was very old, and so was his car. The driver in the R8 who we never see, is in a brand new car. This makes the viewer assume the driver would be young, especially with the way the R8 blasts away from that mansion. Audi resolves this conflict by removing the grill off the old luxury car, and speeding off in their new one. Audi also heeds a warning, "Old luxury just got put on notice." The hero in the end is the R8 and its driver. They take care of the old car, and speed off brilliantly to the horizon. Audi is asking its drivers to chose a different type of luxury, and buy their new product. Audi didn't really need this commercial to sell this car, it already sold itself in my mind....what I wouldn't give for $110,000.
For this post I have chosen an identity theft commercial by CitiBank. This credit card company ran a series of commercial like this one playing on funny voice-overs while filming the everyday victims to reflect the ever increasing problem of identity theft. In most of the commercials it shows an average person performing average routines, sitting on the couch watching television, mowing the lawn, getting your nails done, etc. This commercial in particular captures a fairly simple seeming man sitting on the sofa in his living room, watching television. I find this commercial out of their series to be particularly interesting because of the setting for the commercial.
As you can see, it is set in the man’s living room, which I think by most people’s standard you could say is fairly outdated with the wood paneled walls, the really old television (on the floor mind you) plastic over the chair he is sitting in and simple looking table stands, curtains and rug. Within the picture you see the actual guy who, without being overly critical, seems a little pathetic, eating his sandwich on a paper plate with a beer, and not just any beer but a beer in a koozie which is especially funny to me because it isn’t something I have experienced most people utilizing in the comforts of their own home… maybe outside on the beach during a hot day or something of that sort. Overall the scene tells the viewer that this guy probably doesn’t have a lot of money and doesn’t seem to care too much about appearances, which makes what is being said in the voice-over all the more effective in portraying him as a victim. Onto the actual voice-over that is portrays a girl who in a very dense, snotty, “valley girlish” kind of way. Right away as the commercial begins you see the man is looking at the camera and talking but instead of the voice being a man’s it is that of the girl, talking about how she first emptied the checking account, then hit the mall and found a leather boostiea and “oh my gosh” she just had to have it! She then goes on to talk about how it was $1500.00 but she didn’t care because she wasn’t paying for it. The irony of how different this girl must be, shopping at the mall for a “sexy little outfit” and the plain guy sitting in his home watching television in sweatpants and drinking a beer really drives home how bad this guy has it. The other part to note is that this is also done in a very funny way. The advertisers were able to use a little comic relief to portray a very real scenario that can ruin a person’s life in a light way that allows the viewer to bounce back to accept the simple solution that CitiBank is offering. I really love the guy’s facial expressions throughout because they just don’t fit with the voice that is being heard, but the actions and mannerisms are right on, at the very end he is laughing with the voice then abruptly turns into a very dead, dull stare that it no longer amused in the least bit. But then in comes our hero… The happy, upbeat music comes as well as the soothing, neutral female voice (not annoying as the previous) that introduces Citi Identity Theft Solutions! The visual is also quickly changed to that of the Citi card and the spokeswoman goes into how the solutions are free with any card and implies that the way to get your life back is by using Citi Card. In this commercial there really is not an example of someone using their card and thereby being the “hero” of the mythical ad, they are changing it a little bit and saying if you had our card, then you would be just fine. In the end though it really does feel like if you have the Citi card, life will be happy again, it is a very happy positive ending to a very unpleasant situation that anyone who has a credit card which is the majority of the people in the U.S. is at risk to.
In this comercial, people are nodding to sleep during their normal rutines, it shows people at work, out to lunch, and even celebritires nodding away at an award cerimony. After they all drink the product and wake and start dancing to the music in the backgroud. Pepsi makes the conflict the fact that people do not have energy and do to the lack of energy, they all nod to sleep. The resolution to the conflict, is every one drinks the pepsi and are suddenly brought back to life. The consumers are then able to carrie on their lives thanks to Pepsi.
In this commercial for Careerbuilder.com, a truck full of employees is put in a pit to compete for a promotion with a row of board members watching. They use office supplies for shielding as well as weapons. Towards the end a delivery guy comes in and joins the fight for the promotion.
This is one of several of Careerbuilder.com’s jungle themed ads, where survival of the fittest is taken literally and applied to a business situation. This commercial focuses on the real difficulty in attaining a promotion, where in most cases there are several candidates fighting their hardest to attain. It also shows that outsiders can come in and take that job that you’ve been working so hard for. This is where the conflict lies, in that competition between each other for status and pay.
The resolution comes in a few comforting words, “A better job awaits at Careerbuilder.com.” It gives hope, that there is a job that isn’t survival of the fittest. They offer the opportunity that many people can’t find for themselves. A job that is right for you, that you may even like being there.
Starring: The beautiful young girl. The watchful mother. The hardworking father. And special guest: the Latin culture. Cue the dreamy background music.
The little girl is playing dress up. Awwww. She wants to be a princess. The mother watches her and then grabs the father, who was just passing by. The parents watch their daughter in a misty eyed fashion. “Someday” her first quinciera. A college education. Then her wedding. She’s our little princess and no expense is too great for her. But how will we be able to afford this great house and still be able to give our little girl the life of her dreams? The life our dreams…the American Dream.
Enter the hero: Wells Fargo. Cut to the next scene. The Latino family is meeting with a banker who appears to be of similar physical features. Have no fear, the hero is here, and it looks just like you and understands all of your hopes in dreams. Take special note of how the banker is talking mostly to the little girl in the last scene. Man, Wells Fargo sure cares about little kids. The family is so happy. Their financial woes are solved. It isn’t until the very end that we notice who the ad is especially aimed at. It’s the mother. She was the one watching over the daughter in the beginning sequence, and then in the end the final shots go: personal banker (smiling), daughter (wondering), mother (nodding in approval). Their “someday” is today. Then we see the logo.
This was a very popular ad that ran during the Super bowl. However, due to much debate the ad was taken off of the air and forever posted on the glorious site we call "YouTube". The main characters of this ad are obviously two male auto-mechanics, or automotive technicians of some sort. The story takes place surrounding a car, and inside a body shop. The basic plot of this ad is working leads to hunger, hunger creates a hidden desire, and in order to resolve an issue, the men must prove they are men. The commercials starts out with one of the dudes busting out a delicious Snickers bar to eat while he is working. As you can see by watching the ad, his fellow snickers fan decides to step over the boundaries and devour as much of the candy bar as he possibly can, while at the same time the original owner of the Snickers is doing the exact same thing.
The conflict of this situation is after the bar has been destroyed by both of the "manly" mechanics. The snicker hungry gentlemen eventually get too close, and their lips meet for a very brief, but long second. Frustrated over what had just transpired, the men create a conflict that must be solved. The two men are obviously feeling awkward towards one another, and very uncomfortable with what had just happened during the delicious consumption of the snickers bar. The conflict creates a sense of confusion, and being men, they must react like men. Society says that if two men smack lips it is pretty much against the heterosexual code, therefore to prove that they are indeed "real men" they bust open their shirts and take a chunk of chest hair off and scream. Their actions prove that they are men, and the entire conflict over their manliness has been resolved with a piece of chest hair. The men are now hero's because not only did they enjoy a tasty treat, but they also proved that they are men in the eyes of society.
The big picture in this advertisement not only shows the daily activities people engage in to earn a living, but also how these people carry a responsibility of being their neighbor’s keeper. From the advertisement, to earn a living, sometimes you will be involved in a setting that supplies various kinds of work, diverse means of commuting, fast paced activities and etc. So, the advertisement seems to narrate a course of events as they are likely to unfold in a “downtown” like city setting. In this setting, we see all these people going about their daily activities: some commuting by bus, foot, airports, people in their busy work places; shipping stuff, delivery, cleaners, catering, kids playing in a likely busy neighborhoods and much more. Then, there are people in the advertisement that carry the responsibility of being their neighbor’s keeper. They are seen to act as a rescuer in life or death situations such as the lady at the stop light stopping I suppose a delivery guy about to cross without noticing the oncoming car, and among others prevent unnecessary accidents that could consume time to heal. I thought that this clearly shows these rescuers are the characters in this advertisement. But they really aren’t rescuers, instead they are Liberty Mutual Insurance- Which is the organization trying to market insurance service. In my opinion, the setting in the advertisement makes use of various plots to send a message to the audience saying; there is a chance you could fall victim to any of these circumstances that might wreck your life, but you don’t need worry, because with Liberty Mutual you will be safe.
According to this advertisement; it seems to me that they send their message quite clearly; they seem to cast what I may call a very emotionally appealing story. It is appealing by way of using a friendly compelling sound track in the midst of a seemingly overwhelming setting to create a conflict free outcome. It is almost like saying, without Liberty Mutual, you are bound to go through unpleasant experiences that only Liberty is able to appease. So what exactly is the story? I will quote the slogan at the end of the advertisement, “When it is people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible, When it is an insurance company, they call it Liberty Mutual. What is your policy! Liberty Mutual” Even though Insurance companies do not offer services that are as ideal as the advertisement tend to enact. This advertisement’s paradigm creates heroic characteristics in those who consume the product.
For this commercial the characters are the squeral, the other screaming animals, and the people in the car. The setting is on a road that is in the middle of the woods. The squeral chases a nut out into the middle of the road and when it looks back up a car is fast approaching making it scream. Once the squeral screams they cut to other animals screaming. We also see the femail in the pasanger seat screaming. The man that is driving looks very calm compared to everyone else that has been shown. The man then calmily steers out of the way so he does not hit the squeal. The voice over comes on and says, “for drivers who want to get the most out of their cars, its bridgestone or nothing.”
The conflict in this commercial is man vs. nature. The commercial shows how man and nature have to co-exist. They have to live together in the woods and on the roads. It also shows how man has to watch out for animals on the road and be causiuse when driving on the roads whether it be on a city road, in the country, or in the woods.
The conflict is resolved when the man that is driving steers the car out of the way in a controled swerve. The heroe of the commercial are the Bridgestone tires. The commerical is telling you that if you want to be safe on the roads and be able to save animals lives then you should have Bridgestone tires or that will not happen.
Tonight in class I'll be assigning your next blog post assignment and the due dates for each person. However, there's one aspect of this that needs some demonstration, since one part of the assignment is to insert a video from YouTube in your post. Here's the explanation of how you do it from the help section of Blogger:
How do I post a video to my blog from YouTube? If you've got your own videos on your computer that you want to share on your blog, Blogger now allows you to upload video directly! If you'd like to share a video from YouTube, you can do that, too. Embedding a YouTube Video To embed a video from YouTube, just copy the code from the "Embed" box on the video's YouTube page. You can find the "Embed" box in the "About This Video" box when you're watching the video. You can also get the code from the "Embed HTML" box on the "Edit Video" page if the video belongs to your YouTube account. To embed a YouTube video within a blog post, first click "Edit HTML" from within the post editor. Next, paste the video's code into the body of your post. That's it!
