Hitler as a Salesman

I came across this particular article a month or two after I returned from studying in Southern Germany for three weeks. I had to read it twice: once to chuckle at the creativity and humor of the images, and once to read the message and understand the argument the writer was making.

Is ok to laugh at dark moments of history? Sure, I supposed it could be argues that Hitler's image serves as a kind of meme that most everyone can easily recognized, but does the use of him in ads desensitize the history of his hand in the murder of over 6 millions people? To be honest, I can't say that I gave the images a second thought until the author pointed out the problem.

Good food for thought though. Read on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/bad-choice-hitler-is-starring-in-these-ads-2012-7

Olympic Ads

In the spirit of the upcoming London Olympics, I decided to dive into my academic career and post some of my own Olympic research.

In my first semester of my Master's degree I wrote a critical inquiry analyzing two advertisements from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I have attached the images and the abstract of the paper below.

In a nut shell I discussed how the Beijing Olympics was a changing point in Olympic history and how advertising played a key role in assisting that change. I analyzed different aspects of the images as well as provided a literature review informing my analysis.

Please read and comment as well! If you would like to read the full paper, please let me know and I can send it to you. Enjoy!






Olympic Gold for Advertising: Linking Communities through Cultural Representation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the United States

Abstract

This project centers on the analysis of two Coca-Cola advertisements for the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China. These two pre-Olympic Games advertisements serve as examples of how advertising played a pivotal role in creating and portraying a particular cultural image of China to the United States. The two images that are analyzed for the paper are used to identify particular ideologies chosen to reform opinions of China as well as Chinese cultural and governmental perspectives in the U.S. Each of the advertisements was created with specific cultural goals in mind, and the analysis in this paper will attempt to uncover and discuss those goals. The approach used here focuses on cultural representation and imagery in print advertisements targeted specifically to the United States. China attempted to change the image of its culture, people, and government as well in order to present a fresh and modern picture of China that America and other countries would want to visit for the Olympic Games. Panopticism, referential information influence theory, and persuasive press inference theory have been incorporated in the analysis to provide a frame in which the discussion of the two advertisements takes place. A series of research questions are posed in this paper. Not all of the research questions are addressed here but can guide further research to attempt to answer the remaining questions. The paper concludes with a discussion of an example following China’s Olympic advertising goals, the impact China’s pre-event advertising had on the future of city bids to host the Olympic Games, and suggestions for further research.

Keywords: Olympics, Beijing, advertising, cultural image

Bad Economy Uplifts

It's nice to know that even though people are without jobs, sufficient income, and the government is sliding more into debt that there are those that refuse to let people live without the basic necessities. An interesting example of this is Panera's "Pay What you Can" Cafe.
What's even more interesting is it's success. Here's the article...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43050301/ns/business-retail

There are a few key things to take away from this type of social outreach. First of all, it works. It works because people are real about giving what they can, when they can. It would be extremely easy to pay a dollar everyday and completely screw Panera. But that is exactly the opposite of what is happening. Hats off to the honest people that are making this work.

A face-lift for community kitchens:
Just because people aren't stereotypically clad like homeless, poor people on the street doesn't mean they are not struggling in the current economy. The typical image that comes to mind is a soup kitchen line full of obviously impoverished people asking for a hand. Panera has taken a step towards recognizing that people need help, without creating a spectacle out of their situations.

They are making profits.. and they are putting those profits to good use. As mentioned in the article the few thousand dollars earned in profit each month is being used constructively for at-risk youths. 'Nuff said.

Is this a new trend getting ready to take off across the nation? Unfortunately, I doubt it. But it is most definitely a great sign and a drop of hope. And who knows, perhaps other business will also recognize the need for this type of assistance in communities and employ their own type of community service. I look forward to seeing the results of such a successful campaign from Panera. Either way, thanks for the optimism.

Bulimia Barbie

I came across this article last week and I just found it extremely interesting. I highly encourage you to read it too. I'll put the link at the bottom of this post. You may want to read it before reading my commentary on it.

I think Mattel should take this revelation as a sign of the times... and a sign that a new Barbie campaign should be in the works. When Barbie was first released to the world she was very befitting of the idea of an American woman: Petite, elegent mom at home. And while I (much like the creator of the life-sized barbie)played with her as a kid and bear no hard feelings toward the doll, I do believe that Mattel has fallen behind in keeping Barbie up with important social happenings and issues.

Barbie has developed a vast cultural line, including different races of Barbie as well as Barbies from a variety of different countries. But they are all variations of a theme: no different from the original aside from color and clothing (and perhaps a different set of accessories). Even the modeling world is, albeit slowly, branching out into 'plus' size and shorter than average models.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for an obese Barbie to visually display the current struggle that is sweeping the US. But what about a normal, averagely proportioned Barbie? What a great tool to talk with young kids about bodies, self-esteem, and confidence in being yourself. Barbie has such an influential potential with little kids and parents alike. I think Mattel has a great opportunity to jump on board with changes to make kids healthier and all the wiser when it comes to growing up both physically and mentally secure. Healthy school lunches, campaigns with companies such as Dove, and other attempts to correct our society's twisted view of ourselves and how we "should" be are opening doors for those, like Mattel, to not only cash in but assist in making sure the changing times are for the better.

So, Mattel. Get on it.

Here's the article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20055694-10391704.html

Hello!

My name is Jessica and I am looking to use this blog as a way to look at, comment on, and disect ads. Old, new, controversial...I'm open to anything! A career in creating advertisements is something I am very interested in, so if you are too then join me. Enjoy!