#5

1.AD Nauseam Parts 5&6

“The power of advertising…lay in controlling cultural symbols” p. 234. It is interesting to think about how all advertising now is focused on symbols and emotions. It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that advertisers began to understand that logic was far less powerful than the emotional pull of a particular product. It seems that all products are essentially the same now yet we still tend to be pulled in by the advertisers. I have begun to shop differently but I used to be sucked into buying particular products for no reason. For example I would buy more expensive pens because they seemed cooler, when in reality the black ink made the same mark on my paper. Its odd how advertisers can easily manipulate the most basic parts of our lives.

Another thing I found very interesting was the fear of subliminal messaging. People were absolutely terrified that they might be manipulated into wanting something without even knowing it. People were so terrified that they actually banned this practice. However we have learned that children are manipulated by advertisements and do not know it. It seems odd to me that nowadays people allow this to happen to their children during their formative years but fought so hard against it thirty years ago.

It seems that almost everyone is opposed to the large corporations and their power. For example Sir John Hargrave who gets back at them through small pranks. Yet it is clear that while many claim to be against these businesses we are all still drawn in to buying their products. It seems that there is no way to get around them completely, and even these small pranks make little/no difference.



· Down The Memory Hole: My question is when did cell phones become so much a part of our lives?
· Grave Revisionism: My question is how can people believe that a company such a coca-cola might not be motivated by the profit motive (as it implies that only other companies are). When, and why did companies start using quotes such as those provided to promote the very thing the quotes condemn?
· Subliminal Seduction: My question is why the American public was so afraid of subliminal messaging but it seems that we STILL allow ourselves to be manipulated into buying products. Also, why is subliminal messaging, which (they believed) convinces people to buy things without them understanding/knowing illegal, but advertisements targeted at children which do the same thing, are shown in schools?
· The Idiot Consumer: My question is if advertisers consider themselves to be smarter than those they are selling to, and is this almost a part of the job? If people do not respond to reason in advertising how can anyone promote something reasonable?
· Everything I Know About Life…: My question is about the statement “selling fragrance today: the product was all [about the] image.” Doesn’t it seem that nowadays selling almost all products is all about the image?
· Corporate Mascots: My question is why don’t people ever look past cute mascots to see a very hideous truth behind many corporations?
· Adventures: My question is how can we advertise for the environment? What are good ways to make harmful environmental practices seem un-cool since our culture is so overly concerned with “cool.”
· Buyer Beware: My question is why were these people so oblivious to what they were buying? Do you believe they discovered the item when they got home?
· True Gentleman: My question is when did advertising begin to invade ALL parts of life, even parties?
· Letter to the Creative: My question is how often do companies doing surveys get completely made up answers and does any of this actually mess with the results?
· Hmmm…wasn’t until here that I realized I didn’t have to write questions for each one, but they were already done so I figured I would share.

2. Twitter.

Twitter is a social networking site that can make communication easier.
I agree that twitter could be used to communicate and especially to share new information. Such as various websites, articles, links to a video etc. It is very interesting to think how people have been changing the way twitter was meant to be used. While people do still tweet about unimportant daily activities they are also using this site for valuable information sharing.

The author seems to believe that twitter is in some ways very intimate. That learning the everyday activities of a friend we don’t see much can give us valuable insight, or that responding to Oprah on twitter feels like actually communicating. I understand that some people may feel this way but isn’t it obvious that this is not actually intimate communication? I personally do not feel any more connected knowing what someone ate for breakfast and even if Oprah read what I said I do not know her.

I believe the author makes twitter sound far better than it is. While it may be useful in certain circumstances it generally is not used for good purposes. Most users on twitter are simply telling us what they are doing and it seems to lead to a competition to see who is doing the coolest thing. Twitter seems like another tool used by many to try to make other people think a certain way about them, and to advertise themselves.

I have a twitter account I made in order to see what the hype was about. I did use this account for about a week and haven’t logged onto it since. The people I knew using twitter seemed to (wanted to) think they’re every movement was important enough for the world to care. I’m not saying this is true of all twitter users; it may be a characteristic more common in my age group. Personally, I’m a more private person and I don’t want my every move to be known, or accessible by everyone on the Internet. I see that twitter can be used for valuable information sharing but I don’t believe that is the norm.

3. Merchants of Cool
· One giant feedback loop. Real life and TV life have begun to blur and we are no longer sure who is reflecting who
· Teen rebelliousness shown in media products directed at teens.
· Kids have always acted wild but it was never celebrated so much on TV.
· “The paradox of cool hunting is that it kills what it finds, as soon as marketers discover cool it stops being cool.”
· Kids see marketers as enemy, so they have to pretend like they’re not the marketer.