Milk and Shoes

Got Milk?: Got milk was made by Goodby Silverstein & Partners in 1993 to increase dairy sales. Somebody suggested Got Milk? and though it was criticized for not being grammatically correct, it was short and to the point. This campaign had a huge impact on the American consumer since about 90% of Americans can recognize the ad and say what the product is. This advertisement campaign has brought on many parodies, and many of these parodies, such as Got Democracy? or Got Pus? have become as popular as the original campaign.

Just Do It: Nike had hired Wieden & Kennedy to create a slogan for their company. At that time, a serial killer named Gary Gilmore had been caught and his final words to the firing squad were 'just do it'. Wieden thought that Gilmore's final words were perfect for Nike. Just Do It gives off the feeling that Nike is strong and does not hesitate to go for it. This slogan really affected many people as it gave them the incentive to just do it and to stop putting things off and just finish it.

BBDO

Company Name: BBDO


History: BBDO started in 1891 with George Batten's Batten Company and, through a merger in 1928 with BDO, the George Batten's Batten Company became BBDO. Since then, it has been credited to advertising companies such as Hammermill Paper Co. in 1912, to Burger King in 1973 ("Have It your Way") and BBDO  was the company who were shooting  Michael Jacksons  Pepsi commercial (where he caught on fire). BBDO has been receiving many awards recently. 


Company Mission: BBDO wants to touch the consumer and advertise the brand.


Location: Headquarters are located in New York USA.

"Focus Group" Snickers Commercial

a. This commercial takes place in a conference room in 2011.
b. There are three main subjects in the commercial. There is the woman who is asking the group which person they liked best. There are the sharks, not sure how cause they live in the ocean, but it's a commercial so it doesn't need to make sense. Lastly, there is the guy who's is to be eaten. I don't believe that he knew what he was getting into, he just wanted some candy.
c. There is the Snickers itself, which is the product that is being advertised. 
d. The story is that Snickers is conducting an unconventional group study. It is to see if the sharks preferred the girl who ate a peanut butter cup or the guy who ate the peanut butter Snickers. This was to show the audience that the new Snickers taste better than peanut butter cups. 
e. Made in the year 2011
f. As a person who loves chocolate I liked the commercial. I wanted to be in a focus group and taste the peanut butter Snickers. (Not by eating a human)
g. This seems like it can be enjoyed by anybody it just depends on whether or not they like candy.
h. I think that the advertisers are trying to attract a wider group of people because of their use of comedy. Obviously they are not trying to focus on sharks (that would just be silly).  
i. When I looked back at the commercial,  I noticed that all of the humans were white and that it seemed like males were more prominent. Knowing how advertisers work, this might have been on purpose, but I would like to think that the producers chose sharks to prevent discrimination against a certain gender (because you can't see the difference between make and female sharks) or a certain race (because sharks don't have a race). I didn't see anything that showed any type of class, ethnicity, religion, class or sexuality.    
j. The text reflects the product. It kind of acts as a recommendation; if you like this then you'll like this.  
k. The commercial is showing the product, not a lifestyle. Snickers is supposed to be eaten; it does not change a persons personality or way of living. I think that if the sharks were human, it would have said something like, 'these people like Snickers, you should too'.
l. I liked this commercial because I enjoy Snickers and talking animals. I was persuaded to buy it and it tasted wonderful.    

This Commercial Is supposed to be appealing to women. The Old Spice guy is the perfect man because he wears Old Spice. Men who see this will think that they need to wear Old Spice in order to get these women that the commercial is talking to. They commercial also points out a stereotype about women and that they like it when men buys them things like tickets and diamonds.

Through the Window: Thoughts on Gender, Gaze, and Privacy

     Rear Window is a great interpretation of the issues of gender, gaze and privacy. Filmed during the 50’s, it represents the worlds view on the roles a gender must conform to. This film also shows the effects of interpretation of a situation and how this interpretation may be seen as an invasion of privacy.

     Back in the 50’s, men were to be the providers while women were to be the care givers. This can be seen in the beginning of the movie when Jeffries is home after being injured on the job and his girlfriend, Lisa, visits him. She is a very attractive woman, comes from the upper class and enjoys the finer things in life. Her dream is for Jefferies to marry her and to live a comfortable life together. This fits into the vision of the ‘male gaze’ (Practices of Looking, 124). To the audience, ( remember this was made in the 50’s) men took pleasure in seeing a perfect woman, dressed to the nines and concerned about becoming a wife. The male role was seen in Mr. Thorwald. Before the murder of his invalid wife, he would take care of her and make sure she had everything she needed. These gender stereotypes were broken in the film by Lisa providing Jefferies with evidence and support and Mr. Thorwald stopped proving for his wife and killed her.

     Now to the gaze in general. The gaze is created “through a relationship of subjects defined within and through the discourses of institutions” (Practices of Looking, 104).This can be seen when Jefferies observes his neighbors actions and discusses them with Lisa and Stella. Like when was talking about Ms. Lonely Heart, the dancer lady, and Mr. Thorwald. These discussions lead into further discussions and make each character form opinions on those situations.

     This then leads to the issue of privacy. When is someone intrusive and when is it just a concerned neighbor. Peeping in on another’s personal life is very intrusive in my opinion).  I think that when there is a possibility of someone getting in trouble or hurt that you should look further into the situation. Everybody eavesdrops a little, it is what they do with that little bit of information that makes it good or bad.   

     This brings up Stella’s comment on how people today are peeping toms and that they should step out and look at themselves.  I completely agree with this observation because there are too many people out there that will criticize others and will make judgments on them when they themselves are the ones who need the criticism. What I mean is that people need to realize that they are being judged too, and by putting their nose into another’s business, they are damaging their own face.

     Rear Window is an overall great movie to observe the concepts of gender, gaze and privacy.