#12

PART ONE: AD ANALYSIS

I chose to focus on an advertisement for Pepsi-Cola. When I was deciding on my ad I saw a few that were far more offensive to me and I decided to focus on this ad because I ACTUALLY LIKED IT! I was shocked how much I liked this ad, and even as someone who is aware of green washing and the tricks of the media I found myself liking Pepsi more simply because of the ad.
The commercial begins by showing us Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am in similar attire in side-to-side frames. So from the very beginning we see the technique of testimonial, from not only one, but incredibly popular artists. We then see the Pepsi Refresh symbol (which looks like a recycling symbol) flash before we head into a commercial full of common advertising techniques.
The commercial is full of positive images reminding us of simple and amazing times. We see nostalgia with the images from thirty years ago, followed by images of today. In many ways all the images are very American, or what we would like to think of as American, both the heroic soldiers and the revolutionizing protestors.
Along with all these images of celebrities and those far from normal we also see many who resemble the “plain folk.” So many cultures are represented in this commercial it would be hard for most to not identify with some aspect. The commercial ends with a voice saying, “Every generation refreshes the world.” I think this final line is incredibly important to look at.
While it appears that many people of my generation do not care about social or environmental issues it is clear that on some level we do. Even for those who are not making an effort to fight for change a commercial like this gives any viewer a warm fuzzy feeling about the “change” their generation is making.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJFu3QcKW8&feature=related


PART TWO: ACTIVIST WEBSITES

I chose to look at a website called Project Censored: The news that didn’t make the news. This website has many news stories that were not shown in the news or specifically covered up. I absolutely loved the site. It was set up like a typical news site, such as CNN or the NYTimes but with important stories about incredibly important issues. It is unbelievably hard to believe all these things are going on without more protest.
There is a newsletter for those who sign up, and the people from the website have released books. Project censored has been active for 34 years, so it seems that it should be better known. They spread information through their website, Media Freedom Foundations daily news feed, and their facebook fan page (which I became a fan of). I’m not sure how but it seems that the site could do more to be noticed.