ads Ads ADS

       Wake up ads, get dressed ads, go out ads, go eat ads, everywhere ads. In this common day and era we are exposed to about 2000 ads per day. You may think that some are unaffected but its embedded in our subconscious in a way that we are responding to the ads without noticing. For example, when people have colds they often ask if the can get a Kleenex rather than saying a tissue, or a Band-aid instead of a bandage. Why because over the years the constant advertisement has become a subliminal message that made this seem normal. The ones that usually give of a long lasting affect comes from crowdsourcing, product placement, and good old fashion peer pressure.
       Crowdsourcing is when a certain company wants their costumers to help sell their product by creating an attention getting ad or other means of promotion. One example would be the Doritos annual commercial competition. The winner of the "Crash the Superbowl" competition gets their ad placed in the Superbowl with an opportunity to possibly make more ads for the Doritos brand. Since the ad was created by a consumer rather than a public relations executive it may be more relate-able to the other consumers and it will encourage people to buy Doritos so they may used them in their commercial shoot. When their are people all across the nation buying bags of Doritos in hope of getting a 30 second slot in the Superbowl the competition alone raises the marketing sales.

       Another marketing tool is product placement, which is when their are ads throughout a television show or film within the items the characters use or pass by while it is being shot. There are some memorable movies that poke fun at how bad it has become in Hollywood such as Wayne's World and The Truman Show. Movies still have product placement now more than ever as well as television series who often try to use the advertisement money for their show. They have almost created a symbiotic relationship in which the company needs the show to display their product in order for them to have successful sales as well as the show needs the company to provide money and promotion for the show so that they can keep the viewers entertained and gain more viewers.This type of advertisement seems much needed in the film and television industry so it may not be going a way for some time.
       Finally, peer pressure, the type of advertisement that no one gets paid for yet is probably the most affective and most deeply embedded into your mind. Peer pressure works because it is a lot more personal and requires repetition majority of the time. Your friend may constantly drink a type of soda and you may not drink soda at all; however, one day you are with out any other beverages so your friend offers you the soda they always drink and after a few refusals you give in. Later you decide get stuck in the same situation where your only options are sodas and all of your friends are drinking the same soda your friend was drinking earlier because you are a none soda drinker you going to drink what your friends drinks again. On a later date your friends is no longer around and you have an option of sodas and nothing else, you are most likely to buy that soda again.
       As you can tell ads surround us on a daily basis in a number of ways. Some try to make it seem like it is your time to shine and do your part as a consumer to help get other consumers and as a prize you can continue to do so. Others try to subliminally shove it in your face throughout movies and shows encouraging you to imitate the stars and use those products so that they can pay for more advertisement which helps pay for your shows. Some just wait for themselves to be popular enough that people will suggest their products to others to help them sell rather they do it themselves. Regardless of how you feel about their impact, they will always be here like Marshall McLuhan said "Ads are the cave art of the 20th century."

Fame or Infamy

       After watching such movies as American Gangster, Public Enemies, and Lawless, I thought what is the difference between fame and infamy? I know that you get fame from doing something incredible or just doing something really well and infamy you get from doing incredible crimes or doing a crime really well. So what is to say that the something that I talked about for fame is not a crime? It use to be clear but now that the media is glorifying gangsters and other criminals it is truly hard to say. In this blog I will discuss the movies on gangsters, television shows on criminals, and its affect on America.
       The definition of "gangster" is a member of a gang of violent crimes. The word's definition is full of negative words so why is it glamorized more than most of the other historical lifestyles in America. In the movie America Gangster they showed much of the luxuries of being a top notch gangster. It showed how regular blue collar workers were not making enough money and with the given opportunity got into the drug dealing industry with no questions asked. This caused an immediate change in their life. They could afford better clothes, drive better cars, and live in better houses. The film also followed the gangster, Frank Lucas, life as he dated beautiful women, got invited to multiple exclusive events, and made many people around him happy. They continued to show off his cool persona making people and great since of style. Though they did depict a horrible ending to his spectacular lifestyle, they minimized the importance by shining most of the attention on the positives that came along with being a ganster.
       If the movies were not bad enough we even have television shows praising the gangster lifestyle. There are multiple shows based off of America's corrupt history. They are either based off of one person's life story or a combination of multiple gangster's lives or events in their lives. One television show that does this well is Boardwalk Empire that depicts gangster activities during the early development of the Atlantic City that America has grown to known. Outside of the occasional homicides, interrogations, and death
threats it seems as if most of the gangster live a glamorous luxurious life. They always drive the fastest cars, have the prettiest women, and obtain other unnecessary items while maintaining happiness.
       America has taken very little from these shows, but from what they did get from the media was not positive. The overall message obtained was to get money by any means necessary, which meant if you were not getting paid enough you should become a gangster. If you believe you should have more and corporate America is not providing you with what you want or need, then by all means you should rob, steal, and kill to get what you need. It also says you can have a lot of fun while doing it too. However, for these young females it has taught them to be seductive so that a man will go out and do these things in order to provide for you. The other part of the message obtained is do not get caught or you will end up dead or in jail. What they should have taken from that is that, if you don't do any of these things you can live a long time with out worrying about dying or going to jail.
       All in all the media glorifies the gangster life which is why others do as well and begin to immolate the most legendary gangsters rather they be fictional or non-fictional. Everyone wants to be rich and famous, to live the life of luxury and adrenaline, to do more in their 25-30 years of life then those who have live way pass the current life expectancy rate. Since it looks a lot harder to do it the right way people are already drawn to the criminal life but now that they know the can go down in history for it it is even more appealing. Audience now have the Tony Montana mind frame "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women," this quotes motivates more gangsters than Ray Lewis speeches motivates football players.