More behind adertising secrets

As I found another interesting article in Signs of Life in the U.S.A., this time written by James Twitchell called "What We Are to Advertisers." This particular article peaked my interest to learn that advertisers profile and group consumers for ease of convenience. In my view this is wrong in the way that this information is commonly used to scheme people into consuming these products. As Twitchell explains advertisers profile, group, and target consumers because this is a more effective way of advertising then pitching similar products to unlike consumers. He says it is about the positioning of the product and selling the consumer product not the other way around. One commercial one commercial that is brought to mind by this idea is Get-rich-quick commercials. This is so because these commercials prey on consumers of low income.  This is apparent simply through the name,   this is because the rich and upper class do not need this information such as a poor or lower class person would. These commercials are almost always gimmicks and schemes to con the lower class out of their en hard earned money. This is an example of wrongful use of the information found and provided to profile and categorize consumers. The information of this sort is usually conducted and used privately among seperate companies, but one place which founded this information was the Sanford Reasearch Institute. This Institute calls their study the VALS study which means Value and Lifestyle System. Which was origianlly used to determine the influence that commrrcials and ads have on consumer purchasing decisions. This harmless, gathering and studying of this information has been twisted to conform to a form of "brainwashing." People, consumers, should not be profiled and or grouped because it is wrong to steriotype like advertisers often do. This information should only be used for good and productive studies and outcomes and not schemes and gimmicks.

essay expansion proposal

My proposal for essay 5 to expand on another previous written essay is to expand on my mini essay number 4 about "advertisers taking advantage". For this paper I will work on addressing the who cares aspect of the essay, and metacommentaries. In the beginning when writing this essay I had many ideas which I could expand on and explain using the original article "What We Are to Advertisers" that the idea of my essay was based off of. Why this essay would be good to expand on is because there are groups which I mentioned but never explained in detail, also I could examine the concept of other medias of advertising and how they are effected online. For this I would use a scholarly article "Targeted Online Advertising: Using  Reciprocity Appeals to Increase Acceptance Among Users of Free Web Services". One other thing I could add to my paper in order to lengthen it is an article or possibly studies on the effect which these commercials have on consumers and decision making. These ideas could be addressed in the article, "Cross-Selling Performance in Complex Selling Contexts: An Examination of Supervisory- and Compensation-Based Controls".

• social grouping in advertising
• targeted advertising
• advertising advantages
• advertising effects on consumers
• selling the consumer / cross advertising
• effects of different forms of advertising
• advertising injustice
• advertising effectiveness
• get rich quick schemes

O'Brien's War Story So Far

This week reading, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien has shed some light on the war stories told by the veterans who have fought for us. As O'Brien has written this book as a fictional price it still seems as the stories told in this book are similar if not the stories of actual events. As these events are played out in his perspective it makes one think of how this may look from the outside or to the enemy, or even from another troop members point of view. Compared to old or even new war movies, O'Brien's book gives a mu have more realistic point of view on the lives and the time spent in enemy territory. In saying this I mean that Tim O'Brien spells out the way these war events happened without "sugar coating it" as the movies do. In the book he describes the way many troop members die and compared to the way these deaths are compacted in films and the ideas of many others it was very cold and sudden. The drama in his book puts and emphasis on the effects of the war on the soldiers fighting in it. In such a way it effects them mentally and physically but more so mentally, this is shown more of in the book. The soldier who fight in wars not only fight the enemy at bay but the enemy inset themselves as well. Tim O'Brien's book is a strait forward truely told fiction novel of a war fought many years ago.

TSIT chapter 10 thoughts & comments

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkentstein's book They Say I Say is a good guide for developing good academic papers. Each chapter brings about and reflects on a new point in the writing process or procedure. In which case chapter 10 is titled "'But Don't Get Me Wrong' The art of Metacommentary," where this section discusses the use and benefits of using metacommentaries. Here one may find that they are used to clarify and elaborate on a point the writer has already made or is going to make, thus ensuring the reader is in the same mindset as the writer. It also explains the many ways metacommentaries can be used, such as; in the text to refer to a point or quote, as a title, to entertain an objection, adding transitions, or other ways stated in this chapter. Also a good source in this book at the readers disposal is the templates they give you to use in introducing these ideas to ones text. Graff and Birkentstein's book can be very useful for an academic writer in the many explanations given, and the examples and templates throughout the book and in chapter 10. In writing papers for a class or project one may find the use of metacommentaries very convenient and may even use them without realizing it. Where after reading and reviewing this chapter helps to realize the importance and the use of metacommentaries and allows one to put more thought behind the text. In chapter 10 one may also find the use of these in an example given such as this one, "With that in view, my task in this chapter ahead is strait forward. I must first demonstrate how, ..." (132). The example here is, "With that in view, my task in this chapter ahead is strait forward" which is a twisted form of their templates given. In many cases it is beneficial for one to read and see how a Metacommentary is properly used making this example given a good source and tool. Chapter 10 of this book is a good source for academic writers to use when considering ideas for metacommentaries.

Maya Angelou's baby

As I was reading Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" I came across a part which hit close to home for me this week. This would be the chapter where Maya becomes unexpectedly pregnant and haves a child. This has reflected on my life because at the time I have a friend who may have an unexpected pregnancy at a young age as well. This is a huge event in both of our lives right now because as we are close to the same age and have grown up together when suddenly we split for college and I have come to find that she is possibly pregnant. This was a huge surprise to both of us especially at this time in our lives. I have always been supportive of her and will continue to be and I can relate to both Maya, and Vivian and daddy Clidell's reactions. In so I can also relate to Bailey's reaction when Maya writes him and he tells her to keep it a secret. In many ways chapter 36 has recalled many memories for me and I was able to relate it to some events occurring in my life at this time. Maya Angelou is a very good, thoughtful, and relatable author how I have been able to relate to many circumstances in this book, which has made it more interesting to me as well.

Private or Personal?

In Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon's piece called "semiotics and the New Media" they discuss the blending of old and new media, and the so called privacy we have on the web. As I read this it raised many questions and concerns about the information some put on the internet and what others can find on the internet. As they discuss the use of Facebook it is easily explained by being an insider and an outsider. By this they mean as a Facebook user you are both a guest of the sight and a host and at times this can become confusing. There are certain rules and guidelines by which one must agree to when using Facebook but how far do those rules really reach? Also on social media sights some may allow you to make your page private, but when they say private what do they really mean? So much information can be found on the web now days that it seems as though there are no longer rules or guidelines and that nothing is private anymore. In connection with this is Ian Daly's piece, "Virtual Popularity Isn't Cool-It's Pathetic" in which he discusses the loss of a persons identity when using social media. This is because when online you cannot control what other people post about you and most commonly when on social media sights people aren't usually who they say they are. In my opinion something about being online and connecting with others online changes a person without that person even realizing it. As a Facebook user I don't often post things to my page yet others have posted many things and have tagged me therefore I am not in control of my online appearance. First handedly I have found out that people aren't always the same online as they are in person. These two writings have raised many questions in my mind which have made me rethink the pros and cons of having social media.

Behind Commercial Making

After reading a chapter in Jack Solomon's "Signs of Life in the USA" called Masters of Desire:The Culture of American Advertising, I no longer have the same satisfaction or views on television commercials or magazine ads. Another chapter that has changed my views is "Men's Men and Women's Women", from this same book and author. One commercial in particular has stood out to me that posses some of these traits he discusses in these chapters. This commercial would be the ad for Venus razors, where the woman and the man lay in their bed and she is resting on him. He has a book in one hand and the other hand moves smothly up her leg, and she is dressed in revealing clothing as to show off her flawless skin. The rest of the scene around them is plain and almsot colorless as to draw attention to the couple on the bed. As these scenes are shown a female voice over talks about how she wants a man who understands her sensative side and a razor for her sensetive skin. The product is aimed toward women of all races and social classes although it features a white woman and a white man. This commercial exploits a sexual fantasy for both the man and the woman. It stimulates the consumers' ideas that this razor will result in flawless skin which in turn will result in a happy man and satisfaction for both of them. The female is both a woman's woman and and man's woman as well. She appeals to the women of todays society because she is atractive but she is also someone who women believe they could possibly look like too if they use this product. She is a mans woman because she appeals to the product, she is sexually atractive, and dressed in revealig clothing. This Venus razor commercial successfully uses both of these selling tactics to manipulate the viewer into buying this product.