Reflective papar post...In summary of Media

What did you learn about the media?
I think that what I didn’t realize before that this class has shown me is that there is room for artistic expression in every type of media, even advertising. After seeing the “color like no other” ads, I realized that there are endless ways to find expression in any type of media. I also learned the importance of shared meaning. Something I found really interesting were the media conglomerates and the ability certain companies have to see somebody’s idea become a book, a movie, a TV series, and market a whole bunch of extra products. Although I have never been too trusting of the media, I have become even more skeptical of certain things as a result of the class. It seems that everyone has an agenda to push and even in pure entertainment items there are always added material intended to illicit response from the media viewer.
What were your expectations and were they met?
My expectations for this class were simple. I expected it to be fun. I REALLY enjoy different types of media and I figured a class dedicated to the various types of media couldn’t be too painful. I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the format of the class, and I thought that the lectures were informative and engaging. I think that having a blog for journal entries was a clever way to utilize the learned classroom material in a practical way. I think that I am learning more from the group presentations than all of the other aspects of class combined. Watching movies in a class, listening to classic rock, watching episodes of old TV shows, and watching cool video clips is nothing short of golden for me. I missed one day of this class accidentally and never missed a day other than that because I liked coming. That is probably the best description about how this class has met my expectations that I can give.
How does the world see media compared to how you see the media?
The world views a lot more media as valuable than I do. I believe that there is at least some value in ALL media. That being said, I find VERY LITTLE real value in most media. I love music, I have 40+ gigs on my computer right now and that is only some of my music. However, there is a lot of it that I listen to and ask myself, “why do I even have this?’ Same with DVD’s I have around 400, and I like lots of them, but there are several that don’t contribute much to the values I hold dear. For me, I recognize two separate sets of criteria for evaluating media: morally good or effective in authors intent. Obviously media focusing on sex, violence, and crude humor aren’t morally valuable, but I can step outside of the happy value bubble and see that these types of media are great for effectively conveying what the author desires. I hold things up to a moral light first, and I doubt many in the world today even have a moral system for evaluating media, thus the major difference in our views.
How does all of this fir into the Lord’s plan for us?
Well, if you examine the entire plan of existence, we are currently in the “testing” phase. We are here to learn of and accept eternal truths. We do this by making covenants and “enduring to the end”. This is where the media comes in. I find much value in the media: the internet for example has facilitated family history and temple work in ways previously thought impossible. But on the whole, I view media as the refiner’s fire through which all must pass to gain exaltation. Whereas our ancestors had to cross plains on foot and face persecution and physical hardships, I believe our handcart to be regulating and limiting our media use to being constructive to obtaining eternal life. That is how the media fits into the Lord’s plan, it is just one more trial that we must overcome.

When it's time to change the channel... ADS.

» Select 2 advertisements you consider good and 2 you consider bad. Include the ads (or copies) and explain what makes each a good/bad ad.

This is a tricky assignment? What do we consider "good" here? I mean, there is a divide between a morally good ad or an effective ad. I think that the best ad would be one that is both effective and ethical, but there is a problem with this. A well known and well exploited fact in the advertising world is that SEX SELLS. I would imagine that if you had just glanced at my blog right now, you would only remember the world sex in all caps. So there you have it.

I consider any ad that plays on this base instinct(either blatantly or indirectly)unethical. It's kind of like cheating. That being said, if I were in advertising, I would probably use this technique just like everybody else. For the ads I am looking for then, it is hard to know what to present. What might be a brilliantly effective ad may be immoral, so is it good? I am going to throw up some ads and say accept the traditional moral value of "good". So the "bad" ads are bad because I think that they are immoralish, nothing to do with effectiveness.
BAD ADS first:

This is EXACTLY what I was talking about with the sex sells. The PS3 is (pardon me here) an ugly fat chick, and the Wii is a hott blond chick. They are dressed accordingly, and the points differing the two are presented through innuendo. Especially when teh blond says that she all one has to do is touch her for a good time and that she is "cheap". I call this one effective, but bad.
Another example of a REALLY bad ad that I don't have a copy of(sadly) but that Prof Robinson mentioned in class is the Mr. Sparky's ad. I HATE this ad. It is poorly done, cheesy, and so *#%!ing annoying that I swore that I would NEVER use this service just to spite them. The voice of the lady is terrible, and the attempt at fixing a ceiling fan and the resulting problems were just to cheestastic to take.
Some other bad ads(morally speaking) are these whiskey ads. Avert your eyes if you aren't into looking at scantily clad chicks, and you shouldn't be.


Now the GOOD ADS:


I don't know about you folks, but I really don't want to smoke now. (not that I ever did). This is a simple, impacting ad. I will remember this one for a long time, and it conveys its message well, smoking hooks you. I call it a good one.



I gotta hand it to these people, they took a subject that relates entirely to sex and marketed it in a humorous and informative way. There were no scanty women or suggestive stuff, just a dude out there without protection in a situation that calls for it. What do condoms do? Protect. There you go. I think this was a good one for those reasons.

Here is a bonus. I just thought this was a sweet ad on a truck. I would look at this and mention it to people, and I suppose that is the real point of advertising. Their product, on my mind.

» Is advertising effective? Why? List some examples of where it did and did not influence one of your buying decision.
Advertising effective??? what an idiotic question. I'm sorry whoever ends up reading this, but it is a multi-BILLION dollar industry, so I am pretty sure there's something to it. Sure there are varying degrees of effectiveness, but that question is lame. I think that an ad becomes effective when it has shared meaning with it's audience. (An ads audience is everybody, but there are those they market to more than others). Lets take IPOD for example. They wish to present a cool, young feel to their products. They wish to present an individuality of each person that can be achieved through color and music.(also ipod type). I'd say that their marketing scheme is an effective one, in which a lot of what they wish the audience to receive is conveyed. Great shared meaning. An example of the ipod ad:

There is color, youth, vibrancy, movement, personality, and the product all in this simple ad. I don't doubt that the ipod ads had some influence in my decision to purchase one when I was shopping for mp3 players. There really isn't any other brand that springs to mind when I think of this type of product, and that is an advertising victory for Apple. Some ads just don't matter to me, like fast food. I have tried a product they push when they have them and I am there, but I go out to eat based on what I last had and what kind of food(mexican, chinese, burger, etc) more than on their ads. It serves a minor role in where I go out. Other things whose ads don't much grab me: housing, law firms, internet services. I just go to the internet or the phone book and pick the top one, I don't really care too much about what their ad looks like. Things where I can be suckered: movies, video games, snowboarding gear. Things of that nature are in my intrests, and whenever I see an ad where I say, "Wow, that's cool", it tends to stick in my mind and influence how I spend my money.