What's With The Theatrics?

As Wayne and Garth had once said, we will not bow to any sponsors! We will not sell ourselves out! And we will not do things only because we get paid! We are the new generation!

Of course, while all this is being said, Wayne and Garth bowed to sponsors, sold themselves out, and purposefully displayed product placement because they were getting paid. Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the new generation!   

Product placement or embedded advertisments are prominent in today's society. Just ask Michael Bay who has made a pretty penny or more exploiting the concept. Television shows support the idea, just check out any spotlight of American Idol. Movies are famous for it. Ever seen The Island? Try and count how many products are conveniently shoved at viewers, I bet you'll lose count.

But the thing is, we have grown so accustomed to having ads pollute our screens that we're able to ignore them. But what happens when we encounter them, or a strange theatrical variation of it, in an unexpected way?

Meet the comical genius, Richard Linley. A local theatre in Selby is currently running a production called Aladdin, Or The Wonderful Lamp. It's written and directed by the master of comedy himself (and no that is not a biased opinion).

What was interesting for me when I first saw the production, was their use of advertising embedded in the script. Dialogue such as, "He was the sweetest thing this side of Len's Bakery..." and "He was hot! Hot like the furnaces sold at McKeown and Wood..."

If you fail to recognize those companies or brands, that's because they are all local to Selby and are sponsors for the theatre. That's right! Local sponsors were mentioned in the play itself! Best part is, Richard made it funny! The crowd was falling out of their seats laughing at a man dressed as a woman talk about how sweet and hot his...or her...late husband was. Clever writing can make even the most absurd and blatant advertising work.

When advertising first trickled into our entertainment on television, many were sceptical and some were even outraged! I'd hate to see their reactions to a play like Richard's. Then again, maybe his clever writing will actually show people that ads can be stitched in to our entertainment, and be entertaining themselves.

From A Grave To A Page...

A final breath...

a lifelong rest...

forever buried...

in our hearts we carry...

sun will rise...

on our own demise...

we'll be together...

forever and ever.

-Rachel King-

Death is a difficult time for us all. We suffer physically and emotionally from the passing of loved ones. But we try to hold on to them. We desperately reach out to them in any way we can because we don't want to let go.

Today in Tom Brennan's class we watched a documentary called Facebook Follies. It explored the many negative impacts Facebook posts have on the lives of people. However the section that intrigued me the most, was the concept that Facebook could actually replace gravestones as a place to reconnect with lost loved ones.

Dr. Elaine Kasket, a psychologist from the University of London, has studied the way we mourn the dead. According to her, the way we mourn reflects our society. We're in a society that is so connected tthrough social media, it seems natural to try and connect with the dead by also using social media.  

On this, I agree with Dr. Kasket. Profiles of Facebook users who have passed, often remain active. And people really do drift to their profiles and write to them, sensing that somewhere up there, the deceased are still able to access Facebook messages.

However, Dr. Kasket feels that Facebook will replace the physical connection received from the grave site. I strongly disagree. Gravestones and sites are forever. They are constant. Even though Facebook is so widely used now, it may not always be in the future. Imagine if all we have to connect to someone who has passed is a Facebook profile. Now imagine Facebook, like MySpace, becomes obsolete. How do we stay connected?

A grave site is a physical place that one can go to be close to your loved ones. Seriously, you can't get much closer, they're in the ground. It won't change. It's not a fad. You will always be connected to them. You will always be able to go to them, to talk to them. No social network can replace that physical connection.  

Just recently my Grandpa passed away. He didn't have Facebook. And I don't need a Facebook profile of him to remember who he was to me. All I need is that place to go, to be close to him. That in itself, is what keeps him and I connected.

If I Gave It All Away For One Thing...

"Look, if you had just one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment, would you capture it? Or just let it slip..." - Eminem  

This is one of the children CMN Radiothon
will benefit, this young boy and his
loving mother. <3

I was driving in my car earlier, when I decided to scan through radio stations. I found myself settling into The Border just when the announcer broadcasted a Radiothon charity promotion for the Children's Miracle Network.

From an advertising perspective...the promotion was simply amazing.

Johnny Spezzano was the announcer tonight, and he and his team seemed so passionate about the cause that it nearly brought me to tears. I actually spent two hours listening to one station without turning it. I wasn't even listening to the music, I was far more engaged with the stories from those who needed help. And to be honest, Johnny's pure enthusiasm and what seemed to be pure compassion sucked me right in to the cause.

Normally radio announcers are collected, there's a script or at least structure. But what I was listening to was raw. I could hear the cheers when someone had pledged to donate, I could see the shocked and sadden expressions to heartfelt stories being told. Johnny actually interrupted the music so restate the name of the cause and the number to donate. Dedication much?

His voice, as he spoke to all the listeners, was so encouraging. I remember him saying that he wasn't going to stop talking about it, he wasn't going to shut up, till they reached their goal of donations.

The mingling of testimonies and inspiring music was also captivating. In fact, just about everything The Border did for the Radiothon inspired me. I wanted to donate! Mission accomplished Johnny!

So if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to give someone everything they ever wanted, would you do it? Or just let it slip...

How Far Is Too Far?

According to Fox News, it's "employed scandal-driven marketing tactics for decades." ABCNews believes it's "stirring up a cultural out-rage again." And YouTube's TYT went as far as to call it, "ad porn." What could be so horrible that it has everyone talking like this? Calvin Klein.

Sex sells. This is common knowledge. But how far are advertisers willing to go to obtain shock value? Calvin Klein seems to have little to no limits when it comes to sexual advertisements. For years they have been polluting society with racy, controversial strategies leaving humanity disgusted.

From television commercials to magazine prints and from public billboards to newspapers, bare naked men and women have been displayed provocatively to advertise the distastefulness of Calvin Klein. But why?

Why such cheeky ad campaigns? Many successful brands have done well using a sexual appeal technique, but Calvin Klein takes the technique one step further, one step dirtier. Their ideas on advertising belong in places like strip clubs, not on public streets. If their commercials were a movie, they would be rated R! Restricted due to sever sexual content and nudity! No young child would ever have to bear witness to the audacity of their advertisements.  

Yet, they're filling out magazines and corrupting our streets. Anyone and everyone can see them. Even your kids. Is this the type of message we want our children growing up with? That women and men are sex objects? It astounds me how Calvin Klein can even be allowed to publicize those morals. But it happens every day.  

In fact, it seems the campaigns have been helping the brand bring in and retain customers. Just looking at their growth over the years and what they expect to make in following years, it seems that people don't care that their methods are inappropriate.

This leaves me wondering, if we're so lenient today about racy imagery broadcasted to our children, what is in store for the future...

Advertising For The Sick Minded...

Can you see what I see? 

You’re sitting at a booth in Applebee’s, sifting through the various items on the menu, when something in the corner catches your eye. A scoop of ice cream delicately placed beside succulent apple chimi-cheesecake. Though the advertisement was meant to entice one to purchase, for me, it made me burst into laughter!

Have you ever looked at an advertisement and say to yourself, “what were they thinking?!” Welcome to my recent experience at Applebee’s. Was the photographer of this picture trying to imply the provocative image? Or was this an honest mistake? This isn’t the first time my sick twisted mind ruined a horribly good (or bad?) campaign either.

Ever since I saw the first commercial for the Shake Weight, I couldn’t look at the product with a straight face. Now, I don’t want to blame it all on the advertising, as the product itself is simply too ridiculous, but couldn’t they have shown the man shaking the weight in a less, suggestive manner?

The funny thing is, neither of these two products were meant to be sexual. Neither of these products was even trying to capitalize on a sexual appeal technique, like Axe has successfully done in the past. So why do they appear so sensual?

We are sick-minded people.

Society has driven us to see everything in a twisted way. It’s no secret that we are all exposed to sex at an earlier age than our parents. So it’s really no surprise that we find every detail, every innuendo, and every suggestion in advertisements – even if they were unintentional.

That being said, advertisers have to be very careful when developing a marketing campaign. They should learn from the Shake Weight and Applebee’s, unless they want their campaign to be a classic joke.