Three Tentative Topics for 2nd CTW Project

1.How do foreigners portray Americans through American or western advertising back in their homes?

As a Colombian-American, I had a preconceived idea of how Americans looked and behaved through American advertising of goods and services. I had a very different view of American society before moving to the States, and it has surely changed since I have started living here. However, the stereotype still exists that America is the land of the ‘Beautiful.’ I will explore how foreigners perceive Americans and how immigrants’ views have evolved once coming here and settled down in the States.

2.How do traveling ads in America contrast to foreign traveling ads?

I will discuss how traveling ads differ here in the States from those found in other countries. Here in the States, ads show families together having fun but never interacting with the people in the places they visit. I will explore if this is different in other nations and how so. Then I will compare and contrast the differences and similarities between both kinds of advertising.

3.How do we as Americans through the influence of advertising from luxury car-makers have a tendency to buy this commodity in hopes of making ourselves into a certain kind of person?

Recently, car-makers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz through their advertising have been trying to sell more than just a car; they are selling a lifestyle. Their ads definitely showcase this idea and even when you visit a local dealer, their salesmen reiterate the idea, “It’s more than just a car, it is a lifestyle.” However, they have made their cars easier to sell through easy credit and as a result made their cars ubiquitous, at least in the Atlanta area. As a result, I will explore the need of consumers to look or be a particular person even though the luster of a ‘luxury car’ is going away as more and more of these cars go from being ‘exclusive’ to being ubiquitous in America.

Possible Topics

Dolce and Gabana ads and how they explore and escape the boundaries of sexuality and gender roles.

The use of gender and age range specific appeals by auto companies ads,i.e. Ford trucks being "built tough," implying that a man can gain true masculinity by driving a Ford truck.

Video Game companies use of violence in ads to reflect the average gamers desire for violence in their gaming experience.

I'm not sure which I'll go with but I think the Dolce and Gabana ads would present the most interesting topic.

Ideas

Apple: Apple uses a young trendy actor in ads against Windows. I feel this sterotypes that all users of Apple are young adults and that business people dont generally use Mac.

Elderly People: Ads with elderly people portray that they cant take care of themselves or need assistance. My grandma is 87 and she is still doing wonderful and takes care of herself easily.

Energy Drinks: These ads use extreme sports to promote there product which I think is a stereotype because many students use the drinks to study and the products can be found all around university campuses.

Stereotypes ...

Advertisements understand the cultural reality that sex sells. We tend to see various advertisements about sex being displayed subliminally through clothing images, such as, Dolce and Gabanna and Levis. They tend to associate the same time of emphasis on the image. The juxtaposition of the models is always placed at a certain angle with special lighting and color effects, i.e. black and white photography. One could also notice this message through perfume and cologne advertisements. The perception is that if one could purchase the product, then it could guarantee a sex life that is bound to make the consumer happy.

After decades of advertising, using a thinner model will always become more acceptable than using a plus-size model. This argument is a topic that has been brought up in several debates, in which anorexia is very common in the industry. Designers tend to design clothing that fits the “average” weight size in the fashion industry. Not to mention that the cultural reality tends to shun against the plus size models, due to the fact that they do not fit into the cultural “norm”.

The automobile industry is competing against other competitors in order to gain as many consumers as possible in a given fiscal year. Advertisements tend to display an automobile to exemplify their top-rated standards. They make it to where the consumer must purchase their vehicle in order to better their lives. The type of automobile is also targeted to a certain audience. The Mercedes or BMW advertisements target the audience of mainly the high-class business man. On the other hand, advertisements about the Toyota or latest Nissan may target the middle-class economy.

Topics

1. Concept that eating and drinking certain things will make you physically fit. The social message of what is considered normal or the perfect body, discounting others. Infusing a message of social failure and lack of discipline, therefore creating a form of displacement in society because they dont fit into what the ads show. ( powerade, subway, energy drinks, diet food and drinks)
2. The outdoors man- men featured in ads shown outdoors. Showing that men are all into sports, camping, and being outdoors participating in physical activities.
3. Dogs like bacon cats like fancy food- More of a form of sexism in that dogs are normally compared and shown in comparison to men and cats to women. Ads show cats in domestic settings while dogs are outdoors or getting into trouble. This reinforces women and male roles.

Mediating messages

Food: most of the latin food ads stereotype their characters as Mexican men with a big “sombrero”, mustache and big belly. When first of all the “Mexican” food sell in U.S. is not truly Mexican and also the Mexican people do not usually look like that.

Alcohol (beer) ads: Most of the beer ads always include men celebrating drinking beer and watching any type of sport, and/or women as models as a sexual element for the ad.

Office: many ads either for food or any other type of advertisement show office employees as nerds with no sense of fashion, which is a stereotype that has been used in office ads for a long time.

possible thesis statements...

1.) The Pillsbury’s Funny- Face Drink advertisement perpetuates a racist stereotype in which it is insinuating what Native Americans and Chinese people look like and by also using terms such as “Injun Orange” and “Chinese Cherries.”

2.) This GE advertisement is portraying an incredibly racist stereotype by displaying an African American boy eating fried chicken and speaking in “ebonics.”

3.) Nike advertisements perpetuate a stereotype in which most of the models are African American and showing off their “most distinguished attributes.”

4.) Many yogurt advertisements are targeted towards women informing them that they need to stay thin, especially if they want to keep their husband or even try finding one.

5.) There are countless amounts of advertisements that perpetuate a stereotype with sexual innuendos. The ads promote anything from a hamburger at Burger King to Puma shoes.

any suggestions?

No class Thursday March 25

I am not feeling well, so use this chance to get your topics posted on this blog (I will try to respond to them online) and do some research on your topic. Your paper should not just be a criticism of bad advertising - it should be about how advertising reproduces cultural realities. The library has lots of good books relevant to your topics. - Liz

Old Newspaper Ads

Just about any page that you view has great old print ads for just about any product that you can think of.
Spokane Daily Chronicle

Messages

Tax preparation: A commercial last night caught my attention for ‘Mo Money Taxes’, it was followed by an HR Block spot. Both of these ads used stereotypes to pedal their services.

Title Pawn: A lot of these ads have actually gone so far as to have the actors speaking Spanish. They are almost always targeted at minorities low ranking members of the military (around military installations).

Fast food: Good. Fast. Cheap. These three words have kept the world populace coming back for more. It doesn’t matter whether it is good for you or not, eat it. I like the chicken ads in particular; the whole family sitting around the dinning room table eating the greasy goodness. It reminds me of Velveeta ad.

Mediated Messages

Desires: Advertising always plays into what people think they want or need. Ads will show products in a certain light making the consumer think that if they were to buy this product they will take on the persona of the ad. I feel safe to say that everyone has heard the phrase "sex sells" and ads really play into this theme making people think that using or having the featured product will help them become irresistible.

Clothes are used as fashion statements more than just a way to cover our bodies nowadays, what you wear says a lot about who you are as a person and all the different clothing companies in the world know this. We as people created a stereotype in the way we use clothes but the clothing companies keep the cycle going by marketing towards specific groups of people.

Car advertising really breaks people up into stereotypes, gender, and age. They make it seem like owning a car makes you the person you are. Like a middle age man going through a midlife crisis would go out and buy a faster sports car to feel young again.

Possible Topics for Mediated messages project

1. Weight loss/fitness ads- The idea of one working to have the "perfect body" within a few days. Emphasizing to consumers how being skinny is the acceptable way to look. Why is being skinny so important and stressed in these ads?

2. Credit/loan ads- They tend to have more emphasis of casting minorities in these ads. Why is it that minorities are always depicted as being poor?

3. Domestic cleaning ads- These ads are almost always using women. Lysol ads, Swifer wet jet ads, laundry ads. These ads emphasize women as being domestic beings whos job is cleaning in the house

Possible Topics for Mediated Messages

1. Agism: The advertising industry's often disdainful portrayal of aging and the elderly as undesirable, old fashioned, and out-of-touch mirrors and perpetuates society and popular culture's obsession with looking younger.

2. Misandry: Is it possible that political correctness in American culture has lead to a current trend in advertising where males (particularly white males) are easy targets in advertising, often portrayed as bumbling idiots, simple-minded, and the only perpetrators of crime?

3. Exploring the role of food and gender in advertising: Food advertisements can oftentimes serve as a window into society's notions of gender roles and stereotypes. Why is food marketed differently toward men and women? Why is food often connected with sexuality and gender? Why is chocolate cake a sinful indulgence for a woman while a candy bar is a hunger-busting, satisfying snack for a man?

Anti-Kinkadeian Futurism?

Read Between the Leading

I recently came across a podcast held by two students at SCAD and they have updated radio interviews and discussions about graphic design. A particular cast I really enjoyed is with designer Aaron Draplin. Hes done a lot of great work and is very interesting to listen to.


http://readbetweentheleading.com/post/127292601 thats the link to the interview.

http://www.draplin.com/ This is a site that showcases some of his work.

Check it out, very motivating.

My modernist piece

Here is the image of the piece for my modernist paper

Steven Heller on Olympic icons

Is IKEA the Bauhaus' vision realized?

Is there Bauhaus in IKEA? - Design Observer

Before IKEA, there was Bauhaus - Irish Times

before lascaux

in scientific american

Graphic Design Humor: Government Safenow

This was the website I was talking about in class; images published by homeland security and the government, but re-captioned for the sake of humor.

Enjoy!

Safenow.org

John

ASAP Will someone help me out?

I cannot make it to class today, is anyone willing to print off my paper and turn it in for me? I will reimburse you for the cost of printing. Thanks for letting me know =) my email is laleeper@gmail.com

Three Topics

Finally able to log-in, I was using the wrong email.

1. A.M Cassandre's poster for Dubonnnet, the overall story told by the three images and how it communicates with the viewer.

2. A.M Cassandre's poster for Au Bucheron, the vivid use color and geometric lines and planes.

3. Poster for Harper's magazine use of unclosed lines to create an image.