Advertising, Happiness, and the End of the World - Blog Post #4

Maile Danilchik

10/21/17

IB Language and Literature

Blog Post #4

Two GAP Advertisements:


Advertising uses a variety of tools and strategies to persuade the viewer to buy a product or to promote the name of a company. Marketing teams utilize images and text as their medium. Many of the print advertisements seen in magazines are predominantly image based with some minimalistic text, this technique allows for the viewer to be drawn in by the image and then read the information about the company. Furthermore, our brains are wired to respond to images more than words on a fundamental level which means that images will spike interest in the audience more than a body of text. In addition, the subject of the image is an important factor of the message,  tone, and ultimately the success of the advertisement. Often times the stylistic choices of advertisements follow certain trends or themes that can be positive or controversial. One of these is how genders are portrayed in advertising. Take, for instance, two GAP ads respectively depicting a young boy who is called a “The Little Scholar” wearing an blue Albert Einstein shirt and a young girl who is labeled as “The Social Butterfly” wearing a shirt with the GAP logo in pink. Separately, they may seem innocuous but together they show a clear categorization of the children into “smart” and “social”. This gender divide is clear with the use of traditionally feminine colors with the girl and masculine colors with the boy. Furthermore, GAP is associating traits that one would related to a scholar such as diligent and intelligent with the boy but not with the girl. When analyzing this further the stereotype that men are more physically and mentally capable than women seems to be an underlying theme. Even if GAP’s intentions were not to promote this belief, their use of it in their advertisement could be a reflection of society and how these controversial stereotypes are normalized.

From this analysis I learned that it is important to take advertisements in context with the company, year, as well as social developments at the time. Through this we can see how advertisements in a series, such as GAP’s, tell a larger story. I also learned that every stylistic device used in advertising is essentially text, which can reveal a theme within an advertisement as well as supplementing the context of the theme. For instance, in the GAP advertisement the pink palette as well as the text indicate, “A girl is a social butterfly, she likes to talk with friends”. Finally, I learned that there is often a deeper or subliminal message underneath the literal message of an advertisement. When analyzing this message we can see how a company creates a tone in an ad and how this can affect the overall reception of the promotion. It is important to not only analyze what is said, but also what is left out. Gender in advertising is a reflection of our societal beliefs but at the same time it can shape society. If we can use advertising that depicts strong, successful, or non-stereotypical women perhaps we could change our societal view that begs the question, “Can we use advertising to change society?”.

FOA #1 -Advertising Reflection

Maile Danilchik

10/16/17

IB Language and Literature

Reflective Statement for Advertising

Advertising is type of propaganda using text, images, and sound to affect an audience's response, thoughts, or actions and is to convince the viewer or listener to buy a product. We come across advertisements daily and even though we may not purchase a product, advertising has a subconscious effect on people. In order to dissect the elements of advertising and commercials, fellow students and I have collaborated on a film and print advertisement for a multipurpose camping called the “WonderBaton”. Our goal was to cultivate our audience’s interest about our product using the commercial and handout as our communication medium.

The message of our advertisement was that the “WonderBaton” is an innovative tool that replaces a bag of camping gear. We developed an Australian survivalist named Gare Bills to narrate and provide a personal testimony. Our target audience were outdoorsmen who wanted to be safe while in the wilderness. Our film only features Bills for the sake of simplicity, so it could be seen as marginalizing whoever was not the same demographic as him. Our advertisement shows the relevance of nature within the region we live in since the Pacific Northwest is generally acknowledged for its diverse ecosystems that many hikers and outdoorsmen like to explore.

Our brand name was created to invoke the feeling of wonderment from using such a versatile tool while “baton” was derived from the fact we used a relay race baton while filming. Our slogan, “Because we all deserve the chance to camp safely”, brought elements of pathos into our product promotion to invoke the feeling of security we desired to associate with our product. Rhetoric such as “highly recommend” used was to emphasize Bills’ endorsement of the product and the company mission. The use of the rhetorical triangle shows that linguistics play a huge role in the sharing of ideas and persuasion.

We utilized film and print since we thought that an audience would engage more with a cinematographic piece rather than another form. It would ideally be aired on shows pertaining to the outdoors such as National Geographic or other channels; our printed advertisement would feature in a magazine like the American Outdoors Magazine. For a soundtrack we chose “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi as it is an iconic song that has adding a rugged feel. I think our advertisement was effective in promoting our product with these elements subconsciously affecting the viewer.

I think the most effective appeals within our pieces was the use of ethos and pathos from the rhetorical triangle. With Bills’ testimony and emotive language, we were able to create a piece that drew the viewer in with both the print and film advertisement. Potential consumers of this product may want to be like Bills with his preparedness or they wished to relate to his persona through the acquisition of this product. The cinematographic qualities of the film as well as the soundtrack were beneficial to creating the type of feeling we wanted within the advertisement.

Word count: 500

Advertising, Happiness, and the End of the World - Blog Post #3

Maile Danilchik

10/8/17

IB Language and Literature

Blog Post #3

First Advertisement: Nike (http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/35-nike-print-advertisements-that-boosted-the-companys-income/)

Part I:

This advertisement is mainly picture based with minimal and bold text. This simplicity is also seen in how the image of used is edited to pull out dark colors for a contrasting background. Nike placed Adrian Peterson as the focal point of the advertisement. High contrast and intense lighting in this piece give it a very bold appearance that easily draws the eye toward the text, which reads, “Leave nothing”. This is not quoted from Peterson, nor is it Nike’s well known slogan, “Just do it”. In fact what exactly it is referring to, whether it is athleticism or athletic “glory” is unknown. However it is common of Nike to have short, unattached phrases in many of their advertisements to encourage potential clients. The Nike logo is visible next to the text, on his gloves, and the football. This shows that Nike produces several products that a football player or other athletes could use. Below in the lower right corner is the online store: nikefootball.com. In this advertisement Nike opts to sell the brand rather than a particular product. Despite the fact that the logo is on his gloves and the football, the company does not work to draw in people who need gloves or a football, it is for all football players of all levels. Nike also used a non-Caucasian athlete for its advertisement, showing that endorses athletes of different races. However, this ad is directed toward males since it is for Nike’s football line and the NFL is comprised of strictly male players.

Part II: The Rhetorical Triangle

Ethos: Ethos is the reliability of the advertiser and is commonly equated with trust. This advertisement employs ethos as its main theme, with Adrian Peterson as the focus of the piece. This shows ethos through Peterson’s fame in the NFL as well as his reputation as a high caliber athlete. In a way, Nike is suggesting that by purchasing their products you can become a player as successful as Peterson. Another interpretation is that Nike is showing that their brand and products are trusted and used by a pro-athlete so they are the best quality.

Logos: Logos is the use of logic in commercials and advertisements. This ad by Nike does not employ logos as one of their main rhetorical devices, which can be seen with the out of context “Leave nothing”. If this advertisement used logos, it would have said what “nothing” referred to.

Pathos: Pathos is an emotional appeal of a rhetorical piece, which can be used to draw the viewer closer to the advertisement. This piece by Nike does not use as much pathos as ethos but it could be inferred that pathos is used to connect with the audience and their want to be an athlete of Peterson’s level, which is supposedly achievable with the purchase of Nike products.

Part III: I do think this advertisement is affective visually, with the simplistic design and the use of ethos that is characteristic of Nike ads. Although personally I do not have a need for football gear, I could see someone who does finding appeal in this Nike advertisement.

Second Advertisement: Fanta (http://www.adweek.com/creativity/fanta-flavored-print-ad-probably-not-quite-tasty-or-refreshing-fanta-itself-147567/)

Part I:

This Fanta advertisement is simple in design but much more visually busy than the Nike ad. The logo as well as other little graphic designs are used to keep the eye moving with all of the text. The simple and “happy” color palette employs the colors in Fanta’s logo, orange and white. Interestingly, Fanta uses multiple different fonts that could be seen as cluttering the ad yet the plain background allows for the eye to rest while reading. The white text allows for the eyes to rest easier than if the background was white and the text was orange. The advertisement is a short prose about describing a taste or the feeling supposedly associated with drinking Fanta. Seeing the text and the different fonts draws the viewer in to read the entire piece which at the bottom, reads, “Are you still with us?” showing that their advertisement is drawing the audience in to read the entire page. The addition of the graphic designs helps add a visualization with the text, and breaks up different phrases. Their marketing idea was also to use edible paper, which is explained below the main text. Supposedly eating a piece of the advertisement was a way to test out Fanta’s new flavor. Not only is this concept not used very often but it draws more intrigue into the company and the advertisement itself.

Part II:

Logos: Logos is used but concealed with the fun sounding and imaginative language. Fanta suggests that because you feel all of the mentioned descriptions in the text you should buy their products. Why wouldn’t you want to experience the appealing message of the advertisement. It also explains that their method of sharing their new flavor is easy and safe with their edible advertisement.

Ethos: Fanta is a popular brand but they do not use much ethos in this advertisement. Although it could be said they are asking you to trust them and their use of edible paper which some people would be hesitant to do.

Pathos: I think this ad uses pathos through their descriptions they use and relate to consuming their product. The message of this advertisement and use of colors invokes a light-hearted and happy feeling while reading the page.

Part III: I think this advertisement is relatively successful in getting its point across. I think the use of taste as an extra sense in the marketing plan was an interesting concept. The color and different fonts create a welcoming atmosphere and although busy the ad does not look jumbled or overbearing on the eyes.

Advertising, Happiness, and the End of the World - Blog Post #2

Maile Danilchik

10/5/17

IB Language and Literature

Blog Post #2

Part I:

   I find happiness when I am doing what I love or when I am with people who I appreciate. This can be in riding my horse, reading a good book, painting, or being with friends and family. I am honestly at my happiest when I can combine many of these variables such as going to horse shows with my friends. I also find happiness in knowing people care about me and being able to be present when others need me. Happiness within a community, in my opinion, is an essential factor in life as humans. The idea of surveying national joy is seen with groups that orchestrate Gross National Happiness Surveys or GNH. Many of these surveys were performed in Bhutan, however, people have extended this idea to a global scale with the “Happy Planet Index” which rates the happiness of the world by country on a scale of an “HPI score” based on economics, environmental footprint, and life expectancy. I think that although this idea is interesting, you cannot quantify happiness because we haven’t succeeded in determining the qualities of happiness. We may associate happiness with smiling or with certain activities as I mentioned above, but find a universal sign of happiness proves itself difficult. Happiness can be related to “quality of life” and sometimes interchanged. Both of these terms are vague, yet we understand the meaning on a more subconscious level. However, we cannot find a way to discover a key factor or unit of measurement that is universally applicable. Therefore we resort to efforts similar to the HPI where we use real data points with national statistics to measure or assess something that is virtually unmeasurable. Finding the national happiness could maybe be quantified in a comprehensive survey, but that would rely on the general willingness of the population to participate which is difficult to obtain. In a New York Times article, “But Will It Make You Happy?”, research is quoted to suggest that happiness is widespread throughout leisure activities and vacations. Perhaps measuring the amount of travel (excluding business trips, medical trips, and non-extracurricular trips) could help find some data for figuring out national happiness.

Part II:

    “I’ve Been Called Luddite” by Kurt Vonnegut is about how he navigates the world of constant technological change and his thoughts on it. Vonnegut describes a Luddite as “a person who hates newfangled contraptions”. The term originates from Ned Ludd, a textile worker in England who protested against the use of mechanical looms in the workplace by damaging them, a capital crime at the time. His justification was that they were going to “put him out off work” with the ever increasing shift from humans in the workplace and factory jobs to machines. Vonnegut narrates his errand of going to the post office to mail a manuscript. Although this seems like a monotonous activity, every moment in the event is described with reverence for the simple things in life such as human interaction. The addition of modern technology in our society, for Vonnegut, seems to have replaced what seemed like quintessential parts of everyday life. He asserts that with this new dimension to our lives we are less happy because we cannot connect with each other. Besides losing touch with tangible reality, Vonnegut claims, “electronic communities build nothing. We are dancing animals”. Essentially, technology is dehumanizing us by taking away the simple interactions we share as part of our human nature. In his opinion, we cannot necessarily combat this movement towards a wholly technological society, but we can “get up and go out and do something” to detach us momentarily from a digitized world. I agree with Vonnegut that we are losing touch with each other on a more casual level with social interactions in a traditional sense. One could argue that technology such as social media can bring more people across nations together as a broader, less localized community; besides, with the implementation of technology, the possibilities for more innovation is present and waiting to be utilized. However, I think that we have lost the sense of happiness in performing normal tasks because they seem dull in comparison to the seemingly endless bounds of the internet and technology. Vonnegut’s nostalgia for a more straightforward past and a return to the “basics” in life could be a source of happiness in a chaotic, complex, and evolving world.

Part III:

This picture of my horse, Khaleesi, makes me happy because I love being with her. I also think she has a really cute nose and adorable eyes!