Mixed Signals

The Axe and Dove controversy surrounding the Unilever company is very interesting.

I agree that the Axe ads are over the top and degrading. And, I will also be the first to admit that I was one of the first ones to praise Dove when I saw their ads about true beauty. In fact, I remember after the first time I saw the ad, I went off about how excited I was to see a beauty product portray women in a positive light. I am always commenting on how young girls have such a misconstrued idea of what it is to be beautiful, and I usually place the blame on the media. However contradictory the company is in the two ad campaigns, I think they should continue on with Dove ads because they are among the very few that project positive images into the minds of viewers!

HotGirls

The NY Times article, For Clues on Teenage Sex, Experts Look to Hip-Hop, didn't necessarily present shocking information. However, I was intrigued by the structural organization the writer chose to organize the information. The part about the HotGirls organization was mentioned at the very bottom. Although I would not have place it at the top, I would have moved it higher in the article. Also, it said something about alcohol, peer-pressure and drugs acting as the real factor in hook-ups following the bumpin' and grindin' to hip-hop music on the dance floor--I would have liked to see more information on this. It seemed as though it was taken mildly, and kept hip-hop music as the focus and 'enemy' as far as the relation to teenage sex.

Drive it off of TV...where does it turn?

The NY Times article about protesters marching in front of the homes of media directors is very interesting on many levels. First, I find it interesting that BET added shows like a gospel talent search and reality TV show about affluent blacks. How are two shows going to change anything? I like to think, why make the change if it's only on the surface, and doesn't have heart behind it? By adding those two shows to pacify protesters seems to me like they are doing it to meet a quota--in the same way advertisers will add in or cast characters of varied nationalities to simply meet the 'diversity' quota. Second, another point that comes to mind. They are trying to hold the media companies responsible for the content they air like music videos. If TV stops airing the videos, they are, more than likely, already accessible on the internet, and will become even more so available if TV networks refuse to air them.

Bleepin' Bleep!

I never realized just how interesting media channels are with the things they choose to bleep out of songs. For the purpose of background noise, this morning I turned on CMT and let the music videos just play as got ready for work. The TV is in the living room, and I was in my room doing my make up when some pop song came on, I don't know the name of it, but it's something about wanting to be a rock star. Well the lyrics say something about the girls come easy and the drugs come cheap. But, here's the kicker....they bleeped out the word drugs! Honestly why bleep out drugs, and not women. Not to sound like super feminist, but to me it sounds like they are saying it's ok to be with multiple women and take advantage of the easy ones, but OH NO DON'T DO DRUGS! Why they bleep that word, I really don't understand. Are they looking at the morals and the fact that society backs anti-drug campaigns? But sure, lets tell kids that it's cool to have the women all over you!?!?!

Just an interesting observation, and a sign that this class has forever changed the way I listen to media!

Alcohol, violence, gender and Race in Ads

Since I can remember, beers ads have been synonymous with sex. It doesn't matter how badly the public is offended by the ad because those who find it offensive, generally, are not drinkers or members of the target audience. Because sex is all we have ever correlated with beer ads, I think my generation is more accepting of overall concept and have come to think of it as the norm.

Breaking the stereotypes conveyed in ads is tough because there is no requirement for ad campaigns to be politically correct or non-gender/race specific. Ads are created to target select markets; therefore, the ad agencies who create them have no other agenda than to simply lure in their target market. When reading the chapter, I was shocked that Asian-Americans were so poorly represented in ads. As I was reading, I tried to jog my memory as to any memorable ads I had seen that contained Asian-Americans. I think this is an interesting topic, and am considering looking at this phenomenon for my final project.

I have always been critical of ads and the way they choose to portray products, but now I have strengthened my objective eye began analyzing the dynamics of each character in the ads. One of my favorite free-time activities is sitting at Barnes & Noble and just look through as many magazines as time will allow. I can't wait for my next bit of free-time because my curiosity has been peeked, and I think my eyes will be opened even more so after analyzing the characters in each magazine ad.

Sex in Advertisement

Advertisements have become so distorted and misleading, it's sometimes impossible to figure out what an is for with reading the copy. I'm a nanny, and the kids are constantly talking about the cool commercials, print ads and billboards. But, when I ask them product was being advertised, they don't remember.

Ads have become so sexualized that they feed into the stereotypes of their audience. Sure, sex sells, but I think that advertisements have become too vulgar. Some of my Women's Health magazines have such highly sexualized ads that I won't read them, much less carry them with me when I'm around the kids I babysit for. Looking at the women in ads is depressing and if focused on, can imply a sense of insignificance--I would like to shop for some of the products in highly sexualized ads, but I don't look like that--it's as though only women who look like that should be associated with that product.

Even covers of magazines portray women in such a sexualized manner, that I sometimes wonder how displaying "acceptable" magazines at the checkout counter is any different than having the playboy or any other well-known "sexual" magazine displayed in that "in your face/front and center slot" below the row mints and bubbly gum.

Jena 6

As a journalist and writer, I have yet to cover stories that compare to this level of controversy. I think the story has been well covered. However, in one story, a resident of Jena made the point that the town is being pegged as racist. Although the media did not intentionally do this, I think that's what the public has pulled from it, and it is the public who has created the notion of Jena being a racist town. Yes, from the events with this case, Jena will more than likely always be associated with racism. However, it is the publics choice and responsibility to form their own educated opinion of the town. Although the news is supposed to be unbiased, this doesn't mean that the reader will be. Every reader has their own preconceived notions about certain subjects, so when they read a story or view a newscast, each person takes away something different from the story based on their prior thoughts on the subject and their personal beliefs. So, in closing, I think the biased opinions formed from the media coverage has a strong correlation with the prior views and thoughts in the mind of their audience.