Blog Post #5

Television show- racial/gender diversity



Q1: The television show Roseanne does not accurately reflect racial diversity. The family is an all white family with mostly only white friends and neighbors.  The husband, Dan Connor, has many friends that appear in several episodes, only one of which is black, and is shown sporadically. Same situation for Roseanne Connor, the mother, who only has one black friend that appears occasionally throughout the series. The whole show focuses on the trails and tribulations of a middle-class family living in a small town. Gender diversity is somewhat prevalent in the show. The ratio of main characters is 4:2, majority women. The reason for this ratio was to emphasize the "myth" of the storyline. Roseanne (shown center in picture above) was meant to be a wife/mother that broke all the "rules" that previous history has shown us. She was not the submissive wife that took orders from her husband, but rather the blunt and abrasive mother that made the agenda for her family and had much of the say in any family related issues.

Media is one of the country's most dominant industries to date. The media as a whole helps to shape the public's views on race and gender. In order to break the barriers of past that enabled much misrepresentation, the media must include more racial and gender diversity without the stereotypes. The media plays such a vital role in how we begin to depict ourselves and others. Children are molded by what they see and watch, images are unknowingly embedded into their minds from an early age. According to RaceBending.com, researchers conducted a study on the impact of television watching by kids. They found that "television exposure predicted a decrease in self-esteem for white and black girls and black boys, and an increase in self-esteem among white boys." If we are already programming the children of minorities to think less of themselves, the idea eventually becomes deeply rooted into themselves, the culture and society as they grow older. The lack of racial and gender diversity only perpetuates narrow-minded and outdated ideas.

Q2: Although Roseanne's character is not the typical submissive wife and mother, she does tend to take on a few of those stereotypical roles. Throughout the series, it was common that she did the cooking and cleaning for the household, which were considered female duties. The husband, Dan, did all the maintenance and repair for the cars and household appliances. His two main occupations included a drywall contractor, and an auto-mechanic, both of which are portrayed as masculine jobs. Roseanne worked several jobs throughout the series, most of which conform to stereotypical female roles. Her occupations included positions as a waitress and a nail salon attendant, both only seen worked by other women as well.

Blog Post #4

Racist Stereotyping in Advertising

Is it ever right to racially stereotype for ad purposes?

I would say no. Racial stereotyping almost always uses ignorance to create something nasty and offensive. It is possible that racial stereotypes can be used to create positive images? Maybe so, but it doesn't change the fact that it is still stereotyping, just assuming a fixed image or concept on a certain group of people. These generalizations we have are so deeply rooted in our culture that using these racial stereotypes in ads only help to perpetuate the idea. They only help to cement the idea further in for those who already are familiar with it, and help lend that idea to anyone who hasn't caught onto the particular concept yet, like our young children. For example we'll use the Popeye's commercial below.

The ad shows a black woman from the south preparing good fried chicken. The alternative choice in the commercial shows a white man preparing to serve previously frozen, not so good, food. This plays on the racial stereotype that black people cook and love to eat fried chicken. You can take this in a positive light and say that it is something to be celebrated that black people make this delicious food and you would therefore want to purchase it from this black woman on the commercial, but it is still taking a concept and generalizing it for an entire group of people. This is clearly an example of racial stereotyping.

I don't believe however that all racial stereotypes originated as something sinister. Where did the idea that black people love fried chicken come from? In a filmed interview by black comedian Mike Epps taken with Pete McGraw, Professor of psychology at UC Boulder, McGraw states that "poultry has a lower status in this country than steak, and fried foods have a lower status than a lot of non-fried foods." He goes on to say that the stigma also plays on the idea that "decent people don't eat with their hands, they eat with a fork and knife." The origin fried chicken cooked by black people in times of slavery was because most were impoverished and chicken was something they could afford. Frying it helped to make the chicken last longer without use of refrigeration. Through the years the concept has been embedded into so many types of ads and television shows that it has become the norm of how black people are perceived. That's the power of racial stereotyping. It doesn't have to be necessarily true, it just has to be perpetuated and played enough to make people believe it and turn it into something negative.

Is racism in advertising a thing of the past?
Racism in advertising still exists today. It helps that advertising undergoes more filtering and analyzing than it had historically, but the fact that it does still happen, be it less often or more subtle, is still alarming.



This was an ad pulled by Nivea after they received so much backlash for being overtly racist using the "clean-shaven" African American holding the head of an "afro-haired" African American. According to the article "10 recent racist ads that companies wish you would forget," in Business Insider, the Nivea company apologized for the ad on their Facebook page stating "This ad was inappropriate and offensive. It was never our intention to offend anyone, and for this we are deeply sorry. This ad will never be used again. Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of our company." 

Do advertisers have ethical responsibilities?
Yes they do. It is important to ensure advertisers produce ads that are not racially stereotypical not because they want a wider audience for their product/brand, it is because you want to exist in the advertising industry with a particular moral compass. Various ethnicities and races are misrepresented in advertising using racial stereotypes. The more these stereotypes are exploited by advertisers, the more people will feel offended and abused. Advertisers must reach further than the racial misrepresentations and be creative enough to produce an ad that sends the message of the brand- not the stereotype.

Blog Post #3

Semiotic Analysis


Print Ad     

Denotations:
-Natalie Portman
          -unclothed
          -pink nail polish
          -pink rose facing down, stem touching her lips
          -light brown hair, hair let down
          -staring at the viewer
          -arms placed on white chair back
          -minimal makeup
-Miss Dior script in cursive, grey lettering
-Soft pink background color
-Product bottle shown with small grey bow on left side of actress

Connotations:
-Soft pink tone/color of ad gives it a more feminine vibe
-Product and name of perfume are placed right beside actress, giving it the same high profile status as she
-"Miss Dior" written in feminine script, adding to the "for women" vibe
-Actress unclothed, suggesting a more sexual feel
-Actress stares right at the viewer, sultry and seductive

Myth:
-Miss Dior perfume is for the more feminine woman who is not afraid to bask in her sexuality and feel like a celebrity.



Outdoor Ad 

Denotations:
-White background
-Black writing "EAT MOR CHICKIN"
          -writing in black paint, still dripping
-Two black and white cows shown on the right side of billboard
          -One cow sits atop the other with paintbrush in hand next to writing
          -cows are three dimensional, stand in front of billboard
          -standing cow stares straight at the viewer
          -cow sitting on top faces the billboard
-Chick-fil-A brand written at bottom center of billboard in red cursive
          -Brand name has chicken figure in first letter

Connotations:
-The misspelling of "Eat mor chickin" suggests that cows are not smart animals
-Cows are insubordinate to chickens, therefore people who eat cows over chicken are also unintelligent because "you are what you eat."

Myth:
-People who choose to eat Chick-fil-A are those who are "smarter" than the rest, and don't settle for subservient meals/nutrition.

TV Ad

Denotations:
-Angels fall from sky down to earth in a city
-Several women angels fall, different ethnicities, different hair colors
          -Angel has the same long feather wings
          -Angels have a short, form-fitting nude tone dress
          -Angels have glowing halos hovering atop their heads
-People all around stop to stare at the angels landing in the streets
-One woman upset angel fell through her hanging laundry, yells in another language
-Each angel that falls disturbs an action someone is doing
-Angels stay quiet, say nothing
-Angels all walk to the same point, where one male actor stands next to his motor bike
-Male is wearing jeans, white tank top, blue and white jacket
-Male has black hair, facial hair
-Angels take off their halos and throw them to the floor, destroy halos in front of male, stare at him
-Commerical cuts to same male in a bedroom
          -bedroom is messy
          -bedroom has blue walls
          -male has no shirt on, wears only jeans and chain necklace
          -male is spraying Axe bodyspray directly on his chest
          -Product bottle appears hovering next to male, line reads "New Axe Excite- Even angels will fall"
          -thump noise is heard from roof, feather fall from bedroom ceiling, male stops mid spray, looks directly at product bottle in his hand

Connotations:
-"angelic" and beautiful women are what men want to attract
-Using product will pull/attract the attention of even the farthest attainable women
-Angels break their halos, angelic women willing to be rebellious for the male, desirable

Myth:
-Men who use Axe Excite bodyspray can attain this fantasy of making even the most innocent/angelic women rebel and desire you.

Blog Post #2

2015 Super Bowl Commercials

I found that there was a variety in type of commercials that aired in this year's Super Bowl. You have the usual "sex sells" commercials and the "funny celebrity appearance" commercials as usual, but this year also included some depressing ones and a couple even dare I say, thought provoking ones. Although, you would think it would be fundamental that the millions of dollars spent on the short time slots should all leave you thinking about it long after the game is over, some seem to fail at doing so.

Sex sells-
Advertisers know that sex is almost a sure fire sell for men, so it's a no-brainer to include that in the Super Bowl which already gets the attention of millions of male viewers. The company most predictable to bank on this- Carl's Jr. I knew it would be coming, and of course in comes the sexy almost naked blonde walking through the produce stands. I can't blame Carl's Jr. for doing this, because I had noticed every male at my house stop what they were doing to watch the screen, synonymous to the males in the actual commercial. So it does work, but it's still predictable. I read that this commercial was later banned for being too racy.

Funny celebrity-
Best celebrity appearance commercial I felt was the Esurance ad staring actor Bryan Cranston as Walter White from the hit tv show Breaking Bad. Their "Sorta isn't you" campaign took the great Heinsenberg into a drug store behind the pharmacy counter because he's "sorta" like a pharmacists. The commercial was very funny and had a bit of a creepy feeling but that's why the show was watched by so many. Esurance chose a great celebrity and parody of his show to make a memorable ad.

Depressing commercial-
There were definitely more depressing commercials than I would have cared to see during the Super Bowl, which is normally expected to be more funny and light-hearted. Most unwanted emotional as this year I felt was the Nationwide "make safe happen" commercial. They decided to air an "accidents are preventable" ad using scenes with a young boy who they killed off. I understand they want to get a message across, but not sure if it was necessary to induce viewers with such a traumatic experience.

Thought provoking-
I feel this one went to the commercial for Weight Watchers this year, my favorite ad for the Super Bowl. I realize it sort of plays on the hypocrisy of what the viewers eat during the game, or eating these bad foods any time in general, and what a huge problem it has become for Americans. This piece is using our addiction to bad foods and overeating seem almost as if it were a drug to us. Something that we no longer can control. They tag the last line with "it's time to take back control." With the rates of obesity skyrocketing over the past couple decades, they hit this idea that has almost become truth. The Weight Watchers brand is communicated through this piece by enabling us to see how we as a culture, have lost control in the food industry. All these companies sell more and more for cheaper and cheaper prices because they use worse and worse ingredients. The brand of Weight Watchers is not only selling their membership, but also the idea that we all need to acknowledge the addiction people are having to food. The concept of "food is a drug" is a brilliant way to give people a parallel into the nature of how detrimental this can be to our bodies.
This was important for Weight Watchers to include this in the Super Bowl as an advertising medium because it allows the opportunity for millions of viewers, who may very well at that very moment be eating/overeating all the bad usual Super Bowl snacks, to see and recognize it. The commercial slot costs millions of dollars, but if Weight Watchers got people to see this commercial and actually think about their "addiction,"and persuaded them to "take back control," then they've successfully given us a thought provoking ad.

Blog Post #1

The Martin Agency

I began my research with which ad commercials most appeal to me on television, and found that the Martin Agency has created several of the campaigns I like most. They have produced the latest commercials for Geico's "It's What You Do" campaign. You can view their collection of commercials from the campaign here:
http://www.martinagency.com/collection/its_what_you_do

The first commercial shows a scene of a typical horror movie and "what you do" in the scare situations. They bring the tag back to parallel with the Geico slogan, "Switch to Geico, it's what you do." This appeals to me because I like to see that the ad is responding to how I already see horror movies. I see them as predictable and always knowing what the characters will do to put themselves in a more dangerous situation. The ad using a sort of play on that knowledge and creates a nice parody of it.

The second video in the collection is the Geico "Push It" commercial. I resonate most with this one because of the Salt N Peppa star appeal. Such a wide audience can remember back to the their famous "Push It" song and have an almost nostalgic feeling from the beginnings of hip hop. They show examples in the show where one would "push it" using a door or a lawnmower. The commercial brings the end back with the "It's what you do" tagline for Geico.

The last video in the collection is the "Camel" commercial. I love this commercial so much because it's a continuation of the camel series they shot previously and a play off it's reversal. The previous ad shows the camels coming into the office disrupting the employees with how happy they are about hump day. The newest commercial shows the revenge that people get back at the camel's home, or zoo, badgering them about what day it is. The camels have to stand there and take it all in because "it's what you do." This was a great ad campaign because it ties into the people who are sort of "branded" to Geico and if you know their work, you know their brand. If you don't know their brand, then "switch to Geico, it's what you do."

Another campaign they've done that I liked is the "It Takes Ahoy" campaign for Chips Ahoy. You can view their collection of short clips here:
http://www.martinagency.com/collection/it_takes_ahoy

The campaign is centered around a kind of rebellion in the Chips Ahoy cookies. It is trying to show that they take risks and push the boundaries more than any other cookie brands. One scene shows the cookies having an almost competition-like brain freeze to transform into another flavor cookie. Another clip shows a cookie rebelliously moving a "do not disturb" sign. All to reinforce the line that "it takes Ahoy" to push all rules aside.