Hello fellow bloggers and COMM 406 classmates,

This past Sunday many of us tuned into to what is probably consider the most favorite American pass time, the Super Bowl, and with that comes football, wings, and (my reason for watching) the commercials. This is yeas was a good year in my opinion. I liked all of them, even the beer commercials, which I feel at times can be cliche and over done, were hilarious. I did get quite a chuckle when Chevy called out Ford, with this all so subtle line, "Dave drove a Ford", now I have never driven either one of these cars so I can't compare, but the fact Chevy used the Apocalypse angle for the commercial while playing Barry Manilow, pure genius. This, however was not favorite. My favorite and probably the most well done was the CR-V commercial featuring Matthew Broderick reprising his role as Ferris Bueller.

To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller's Day Off back in a big game commercial. They cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V. Viewers get to relive movie history with Honda's fresh twist and homage to this '80s classic. They hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find.  

The Persuaders Blog

One word: Shocking. After watching the PBS program The Persuaders I came to realize how advertising really affects us. I've always known from what I decide to watch on TV or buy, but this was a hole different kind of weird. I never realized the work that goes into advertising and just by using certain words can imply a positive message or negative one.

I found it utterly interesting how much advertising is interrogated in what we watch in movies and on televisions. The fact that Starbucks skillfully placed themselves in the movie Sam, I am to act a sort of hero was surprising because that is not something you think about as an audience. Then I thought about current interrogated advertisements and I remember how Transformers used cars produced my General Motors in the film, wanting us to think their car is so awesome that it saves the world. Even though it's not possible...sad.  I do feel that it's a little absurd, because we already have to watch the commercials or if your lucky skip threw them, but now they have to put the ads in our program. It almost makes me want to not watch any more TV, but even then I couldn't do that, because that advertisers for different networks have got me hooked on TV shows and I must know what happens, which is crazy, right? Why must I know?

I think the thing that most confused me was when they were having the focus group about the carbs, asking the man if certain words were associated with white bread, like acceptance, loneliness, trust. I was so confused because it would have never occurred to me that some people would feel acceptance while eating bread, but I guess it makes sense since many people eat emotionally and well bread doesn't judge you. At least you hope not.

The analysis that Clotaire Rapaille did on the word luxury was interesting because it not only played on the thought process of the word, but the emotional aspect of it as well. I never realized that our meaning of words come from the emotion that we have associated with it or mainly what media has told us to associate with it. This has a lot to do with what Luntz was referring to when talking about the word clarification of estate tax verses the death tax, because people think of the word estate meaning wealth, but that actually has nothing to do with what the tax is, if you call death tax, people know what death is and it has a negative cogitation to it. The same is said for climate change and war on terror.

I feel that Song would not succeed in the advertising world today. They did do a good job with their ad campaigned and put a lot of research into it, but I don't think that is the way media is advertising to us now. The game has changed to this more technology interactive world. To be honest I wouldn't have looked up from to watch that commercial if it were on mostly because it didn't grab my attention, and if I had taken time to watch it I wouldn't know what it was for because by the time the children got done running I would have either skipped the channel or fast forward my DVR. Ads now I think are more set on having people know exactly what they are selling because they know they have a limited open window of opportunity.  

A Summary of The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

In the work "The Presentation of Self Everyday" sociologist Erving Goffman explains how the world of theater and human portray are connected, and indeed they are, they also support Goffman's themes stated in  Codes of Gender.

The concepts that Goffman refers to as the "dramaturgical framework" are performance, setting, manner, appearance, front, and front stage, back stage, off stage. Many of them are concepts used when you're an actor on stage portraying a role. 

The concept that mostly determines what role we play begins with our appearance, do we appear to be a male or female? Then our life is ultimately geared to those characteristics of the gender that is placed upon us, whether those characteristics fit us or not. This explains the next theme and concept called "manner". Manner refers to "how the individual plays the role and functions to warn the audience of how the performer will act or seek to act in role (for example, dominant, aggressive, receptive,)" these are the kinds of characteristics and in other words stereotypes that are given to the different genders that Goffman talks about in Codes of Gender.  Goffman discusses those character differences and how they can detrimental to society. The remaining concepts fall into place such as front meaning what impression we make to our audience.

This all boils down to how humans are portrayed in media. In advertising the models are playing roles, and never as themselves, but how society thinks women and men should act. Women appear submissive and dependent and are sexualized. Men are also sexualized, but in a more dominant emotionless character. Women can't be anything except for beautiful and men must be handsome, basically the perfect being which is impossible to reach, because the models that aren't even that perfect. It's all a front that the creator of the advertisement puts forth. In reality or off-stage the models are never as thin or gorgeous as they appear; women aren't as dependent as media says they are and men don't have to be emotionless.  As Goffman stated we are always portraying some role and that role we play has much to do with our gender.