Research Activity: Ad That Doesn't work and Irks Me!

I am big fan of McDonalds. I love Big Macs, McFlurrys, MgNuggets, Fries, pretty much everything on the menu. But one thing about McDonalds is that no how the food is advertised, almost everyone knows that McDonalds is terrible for you, and that eating it consistently can give you serious health risks down the road. The food is loaded with fat, calories, sodium, and pretty much everything that is unhealthy for you.

So that is why I couldn't believe I started seeing Donald Driver, wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, in all these McDonalds commercials showing down a Quarter Pounder and french fries. With the childhood obesity epidemic sweeping the United States, why would a Green Bay Packer Player, someone who kids love and idolize, be promoting the very thing that is causing kids in the United States to be so fat? It's obvious that Donald Driver doesn't eat McDonalds all the time, because if he did he would look more like Gilbert Brown, but young kids will think that if Donald Driver eats McDonalds, then I should eat McDonalds too.

The thing that obviously works for this ad campaign is that it is local, so everyone who sees the commercial know exactly who he is, and is more than likely a Packers fan, so the commercial will definitaly draw attention. Also, Wisconsin is one of the fattest states in America, so alot of Wisconsinites already eat McDonalds.

Another irk of mine that works for the ad is that it says to stop in today, and receive a limited Supersized cup with Donald Driver on it. So if the crazy fans want the special edition cup, they have to Supersize thier meal, which only speeds up the heart disease and diabetes process for the obese children.

Hopefully America will eventually stop advertising this way, and kids in America will have a chance to live to see their kids graduate, get married, and have grandchildren. The way McDonalds lures these mindless bottomless pits for fast-food needs to be stopped. America needs to get healthy, and that will never happen with commercials like this airing for all kids to see.

Location Activity: Fasion For Hope

The top five things I thought I would never do in my life were wear a speedo, roller disco, dance to the Village People, become a Vikings fan, and attend a fasion show. On Saturday, October 6th, 2007, I did the unthinkable. I went to the Fasion for Hope Fasion Show.....and acutally sort of enjoyed it!

My group and I entered the Weidner Center Saturday night, and while the rest of my group was all dressed up for the occasion, I went in cargo shorts and a hoodie to make sure everyone who saw me knew I didn't want to be there, and that I wasn't one of them. When the fasion show started, the DJ started playing music and the hosts started naming the models and what they were wearing. "And hears Terry Evans sporting the classy and stylish LRG....pants...shirt...something, something, something". The models would strut their stuff, strike a pose, and then walk off the stage, and the next model would do exact same thing. The male host made it entertaining by making things up and calling everyone's shoes "pumps".

Mass Media was all over the place at the talent show. The main function of Mass Communication present was entertaining the audience. The audience was entertained by music playing, the different models, and all the different clothing being displayed.

The other function was informing the audience. The hosts were not only informing us about the different stores the clothes were from, but also about the cause for the talent show, and also about different cultures. The reason for the talent show was to raise charity for the Freedom House of Green Bay. There were also models wearing traditional Latino outfits provided by Novedades Mi Fiesta, and traditional Asian outfits owned by the models themselves.

The show closed with some of the models doing a dance with red umbrellas to the song "Umbrella" by Rhiana. (http://www.shexy.nl/lyrics/search?q=hear+umbrella+rhiana).

Even after the experience of the Fasion For Hope fasion show, I still never plan on attending another fasion show as long as I live, but if I have to, I now know that won't be the worst thing in the world.

Location Activity

On Saturday, September 29th, I went to Octoberfest in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was my birthday weekend so I was a little stressed that I had to do a project for school, but I stayed optimistic because I knew it would still be a fun time.

When I got there the first thing I did was go straight for the Buffalo Wild Wings stand because I was starving. I had a couple of wings with my dad, who was selling pies there for his work to raise money for something. Since I am only 20 I asked my dad if he would buy me a beer after to "get in the Octoberfest spirit", but he didn't buy it, so I didn't get a beer.

There was a lot going on at Octoberfest. There were contests, live music, DJs from different radio stations, and advertisements all over the place, especially Budweiser, because they were sponsering the event. Everywhere you looked Mass Communication was taking place. The main function of Mass Communication at Octoberfest I thought was entertainment. People were entertained with concerts, contests, food, beer, and just the whole atmosphere Octoberfest had.

One form of entertainment I thought especially amusing was the Sausages from Miller Park. They were walking around waving to people and signing autographs for whoever wanted them. I would have gotten their autographs, but I would have felt like a loser standing behind kids 10 years younger than me.

Another function of Mass Communication taking place there was informing the crowd about different products, bands, brands, and beers. All the companies there were giving free samples and doing contests and other things to make the people remember their product and how much fun they were having while consuming their product, whether it be listening to a specific band or drinking a certain beer.


Octoberfest was a pretty good time, and I will definitally go back next year, mainly because I will be 21 and can "oficially get in the Octoberfest spirit".
http://www.octoberfestonline.org/

Research Activity: Advertisement That Doesn't Work and Why it Irks Me

Lauren Robertstad

Introduction to Mass Communications Sec 01

Research Activity

Advertisement that doesn't work and why it irks me

In May 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced their six dollar spicy chicken burger. The following is a description of the advertisement to promote this new product.

The commercial comes on and there is Paris Hilton. She's dressed in a scantly clad bathing suit. She walks to the black car in the commercial and fills a bucket with water. She then proceeds to cover herself in soapy car water. She suggestively rubs herself up and down the car and at one point in the commercial gets on top of the car and spreads her legs. Near the end of the commercial she's crawling on the ground while the camera zooms in and out on her butt, hips, thighs, and breasts. Finally she grabs onto a Carl's Jr. Hamburger and bites into it suggesting that she's not eating a hamburger but something a tad bit naughtier. Did I just explain to you a snippet from the new porno for hamburger lovers? No. I just explained the advertisement campaign for Carl's Jr. Hamburger Inc.

Here's why it works. Obviously it grabs your attention. It's hard not to look when a scantly clad model is prancing around a nice car in a bikini right? It's eye catching and it eventually displays the hamburger. I'm not sure it makes you hungry for hamburgers though if you catch my drift.

Here's it's downfall. It's plain out offending. It's offending to any woman out there who unlike Ms. Hilton, thinks of there body as a sacred place and not for public display. It's embarrassing if your sitting in your living room with kids and you have to explain why the heiress is sliding around a car all in the name of hamburger, and it's just plain out wrong. For a hamburger? Please. Paris Hilton is not famous for her great whit and spelling abilities. Let's face it, she's the queen of exploitation, and is famous for being famous. Bad for the public, good for Carl's Jr. who is now, thanks to Ms. Hilton, infamous.

The ad was pulled soon after it was aired and is now listed as banned on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvHQMZ3oZ3g

Media Campaign Weakness and Why it Irks Me

Some commercial are memorable because they are hilarious, thought provoking or even sexy and provocative, but one commercial or should I say, campaign sticks in my head because it is just plain disgusting. Hardees commercials involve men and women eating like savage beast. Scarfing down burgers and fries as if they have not eaten in weeks, mouths wide open while eating and speaking.

The individual’s drip and drop food all over the floor and themselves, either leaving the food where it falls or licking the mess up. Smacking lips, licking fingers, groaning and grunting, these seem to be the chosen sights and sounds of the prototype Hardees customer. I find it not just plain unappetizing but nauseating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P82hABWq1To

Hardees has one thing going for them and that would be they have a very specific targeted customer, the testosterone-filled male species. McDonalds is family marketed, subway is healthy and Wendy’s has a homemade quality. Hardees is not the family man or the health conscious man, but the caveman type.
They advertise massive burgers, like the 6 pound burger which contains like 150 grams of fat. Their weakness is they have alienated other potential consumers. Hardees persona is not kid friendly and most of the commercials objectify women. And if there is anything on the menu that will not leave you at risk for a heart attack, they sure don’t advertise it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AprOhgRIcqY.

Fashion Show Location Activity

Our group went to Fashion for Hope, a charity fashion show held at the Weidner Center October 6th (www.freedomhouseministries.org). The show featured clothing from local boutiques like Urban Behavior and Flow and larger retailers like TJ Maxx. It was a walking advertisement and sometimes a dancing one. Shopping and dancing are feel good activities, even more so when it is for a good cause.

It was interesting how modern fashion was mixed with traditional garb from Latino and Asian culture. One incident that I thought was odd was during the traditional Latino clothing part of the show. It was presented as more of a history lesson and it was quite unorganized which took attention away from the clothes and the bigger cause.

The most interesting and entertaining aspect of the show involved the UW-Green Bay basketball players, because they added their own flavor by dancing down the runway. The personalities of the players helped to put a picture in the audience’s mind of what the clothes were about. The atmosphere sent a message that if you have what I have you can be fun, cool and likable just like me. The show defiantly had an urban feel with hip-hop bumping through out the show and many of the clothes stayed within that same parameter.

What we know of fashion shows today started in the 1940’s by Eleanor Lambert and it was called “Press Week”. The main purpose was to get American designers publicity and to rely less on France for fashion guidance. Fashion shows tend to focus more on the designers not just the label.

This was my first live fashion show. I have seen them on TV and on the internet and the difference is this show was about the shops and not the labels or the designers. Plus, during this show the announcers gave me the 411 on everything that was modeled. “Hey, that short boxy jacket is totally me. I have to go to Flow.” And I consider that to be pretty effective advertising.

Location Activity: Fashion for Hope

Lauren Robertstad

Introduction to Mass Communications Sec 001

Location Activity: Fashion for Hope

On Saturday October 6th, 2007 my group members and I attended a fashion show, called Fashion for Hope. The fashion show was the first annual Fashion for Hope show. It was dreamed up by Kathy Koehne who wanted to bring together two main elements in the show: community outreach and involvement by diverse students on campus. Kathy is a student at the University of Green Bay and came up with the idea by herself and had the help of many hard working volunteer's to execute the idea. The show benefited the Freedom House of Green Bay. This is a great example of how mass communication can be used in order to better the community as well as bring people together.

One of the major means of mass communication in the show was advertising. When you walked into the Weidner Center, you were handed a pamphlet outlining the events of the fashion show as well as telling you who the money was benefiting and which student organizations were involved in sponsoring. When the show started every outfit was commented on by either Ronald Morris or Mai Lo Music, and we were told who designed the outfit and where you could purchase it. This is a perfect example of good advertising and good public relations; we were directed to the source of the object to purchase it.

The purpose of the fashion show was to support a cause. The cause was the Freedom House of Green Bay which is a home for battered women and children. Everyone who attended the event payed ten dollars and received a free gift bag at the door courtesy of Mary Kay Cosmetics. This was a good advertisement for Mary Kay. Giving free gifts allows the customer to sample a product which if it's a good product, the customer will end up buying. When you got to the fashion show there was the DJ booth with advertisements for his services as well as a phone number to call in case of interest.

After the show was all said and done Fashion for Hope had raised around seven hundred and fifty dollars for the Freedom House.

Oktoberfest Location Activity

Bands, drinks, food and advertising, everywhere I looked I saw brands. The atmosphere was prime for publicity, pushing and profit. Oktoberfest hosted 150,000 people that were exposed to messages from sponsors of musical entertainment, rental vans and even the trash bins (http://www.octoberfestonline.org).

I thought it was interesting that even the trash was a way to advertise. Instead of the usual metal or plastic garbage bins there were numerous light colored cardboard boxes with the distributor printed on all sides. Another impression I got was that a more general audience was being targeted instead of the usually strategy of a prototype customer similar to other mass mediums like radio stations, television shows or cable networks. Classic rock jammed beside the bumpin beats of 95.9, arts and crafts for youngsters and hot rods from the glory years -everything but horse races.

Oktoberfest traditionally starts in the third weekend in September and ends the first Sunday of October and began as a horse race at a royal wedding in 1811 (http://www.ofest.com/history.html). In Germany an agricultural show is held every third year of the festival. Although, one concept that has not changed about the tradition, the beer. Well, except maybe there’s a Budweiser or Coors thrown in with the Pilsners and Bocks.

A festival like Oktoberfest, unlike television, uses all the senses with instant stimulation and gratification for everything that is advertised. It is visually and audibly exciting and all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes work together to get you to act on impulse. Television can only remind you of a given product or service or put a thought in your head that hopefully will linger until your next trip to the store. It can not hand you a beer.

Location Activity: Octoberfest

Lauren Robertstad





Introduction to Mass Communications Sec 001





Location Activity: Oktoberfest





On September 29th I attended Oktoberfest to witness how mass media plays into that event. Obviously an immediate example of mass media before I even attend the event itself, was how it was advertised for. The festival runners put ads in the newspaper, in local magazines, on television as well as commercials on the radio. This was my first encounter of mass media for Oktoberfest but when I got there I found much more. What I found was constant advertising, radio stations broadcasting from the event, live music, and best of all the event was free!





The first type of mass media I found was advertising. Everywhere you looked and walked on that long street there were throngs of people as well as hundreds of signs advertising for food and beer. At one point I actually saw the racing wieners from Miller Stadium. It was really cool because they were signing autographs for all the kids that were surrounding them as well as taking pictures. That is an advertisement for the Brewers, with it's purpose being to sell more tickets to Miller Stadium to be apart of the fun and see them in action.

Another type of advertising that I saw was the advertising for beer. Budweiser was the official sponsor of beer at the event. Because Oktoberfest's biggest claim to fame is the celebration of beer, it was present every five steps you took. Everywhere you looked people were carrying around plastic cups filled with what was supposed to be Budweiser beer (although I'm not entirely sure if they only sold Budweiser, I believe that there were other options for beer, but I'm not of age so I wasn't exactly scouting out the beer tables.)

At one of the stages for live music, I noticed a van for 95.9 Kiss FM. For a while, radio personal were walking around and asking people questions. They were giving broadcasts from the event and playing snippets of the live music as well as the noisy people on the radio, inviting everyone to come on down to the last night of the celebration (we heard when we were on our way down to the event.)

There was tons of live music. Oktoberfest is such a big celebration that attracts many people, so if your a band and you score a seat on the lineup at Oktoberfest that means good news for you. You're able to get all of that attention from festival goers as well as radio and television stations coming and sometimes covering a couple seconds of your band. That's great for your band to get their names out there threw using means of mass communication.

Oktoberfest was a lot of fun not to mention easy on the wallet by being free. The food was great and the atmosphere, though a little wild at times, was really lively and fun. It's interesting when you take a step back and really look from a different point of view at how mass media really plays a huge part in our lives.

http://www.octoberfestonline.org/