Blog Post #11: Stereotypes in Media/Advertising

23/11/2016

Stereotypes In Media/Advertising

Media has become a staple of our advanced modern society, however, I wouldn't call our society that "advanced" because of the racism, stereotypes and sexism still prevalent. We can especially notice this within media and advertising as it holds a prosperous world for equality as well as promoting these more barbaric forms of humanity. Advertising has the ability to breakdown stereotypes or reinforces them with inappropriate messages or presentations. This poses the question: do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Stereotypes are something that can be unconsciously created and perceived about people as well as on purpose. We all as decent human beings have the moral right to respect everyone and try our best to avoid allowing stereotypes to influence our opinions or actions. In saying this, I do not think advertising companies have the moral duty to avoid stereotyping. They have one job at had, this job is to sell a product and if they choose to do this through stereotypes then that is their idea of the best way to approach the task. It all depends on how they use the stereotypes in their presentation. If they manage to sell an abundance of their product through an ad which is extremely offensive then that says more about us as a community than them as a company. The choice is theirs but I don't think they should have the duty to avoid it as that is not their job. For an ad to be criticised for their content is understandable, if an and represents horrible stereotypes or insensitivity and sells no products then that's the advertising team's fault. If they created this ad and consumption went up while people are complaining then that is our community being hypocrites and showing the faults in our society. They have the right to do what they believe will sell the product at hand.  

Blog Post #10: Print Advertisement

20/11/2016

The print ad I was given during class to analyse featured a man in military uniform leaping from one edge to another advertising the USA  army in an attempt to get ambitious young male enlisting. This ad reveals a great deal about the context of its publishing while being influenced by the same context.

Before, military ads tended to embellish the adventure and prosperous nature that the army held for individuals. In this print advertisement, they still feature these qualities, however, take a different root by including the benefits joining could have on your later career. This is unique as it brings a light to what the army could do for your career or future jobs even stating the skills developed through this opportunity will be appreciated more by 9 out of 10 employers. Using this ploy reflects the social and historical issues of our modern society especially for America. America has been known for their constant fluctuations in employment and unemployment rates. An issue that is very well known within the states, this advert takes advantage of this issue to exploit the desperation and anxiety of young men beginning their working life. It presents them with a job within the army why promising themselves a business or career once they leave so that they don;t have to stress about the modern issues of their community.

The advertisement goes onto persuade the audience by mentioning certain skills vital to the work force of this era. It promises that these skills can be developed in the army making you a clear candidate for any job you go for afterwards. Furthering the idea that the military is the best option for character development before you go into a job, continue your higher education or start your career.

I say that this advert is directed towards men based audience because it marginalises the female community of the army.  It depicts a strong independent man leaping in army uniform conquering his challenges and fears. This empowers the men within the military community while ignoring the women, making it appear as a man based society. The military has come a long way in women and men equality but from ads like these you are still able to notice how men are preferred for this profession as it leaves the impression that they only desire men. 

Blog Post #9: Pitch Reflection

15/11/2016

What main appeals did you use in your pitch? Why did you decide they would be the most effective?

When pitching our advertisement for the share bike program we used logic and bandwagon as examples of what we would use in the video advertisement. However, for the actual pitch, we directed our focus on humour and logic. This decision was based on what we thought would influence the viewers the most, bringing a sense of humour to the presentation encaptures the audience in what you are saying while manipulating their perspective of you. If you are able to gain their attention and devotion in a simple pitch it gives them the idea of what you could do with the funding for an ad. Building this humour on logic or reasoning forms a well-rounded argument which is difficult for the audience to argue with. Humour obtains their attention and trust while reasoning secures it and develops the opinion of the viewer.

What were some specific persuasive techniques you used (include examples) why did you believe these would be effective?

To promote our pitch further, we incorporated simple persuasive techniques like humour, intense vocabulary and association to influences the audience's opinion on us and the advert we were pitching. Constant association between product and target audience took place to express how extensive knowledge and understanding of the bike share program. This association was accompanied by intense vocabulary and humour to excite the viewers with what we were selling. Intense vocab to describe our methods of how we would produce this ad glamorises what may actually happen while humour allows a connection to form. This connection introduces a more emotional aspect which highlights the charisma being expressed. Charisma and humour exaggerate our dedication to the product which influences their opinion on us as they will develop a fondness for our presentation.

Majority belief was another big part of our pitch as we based our whole text type on the point that our society no longer watches TV. The population today focuses on media especially Youtube and this is well known so starting off our presentation with this builds a credible argument that could sell products more effectively. This knowledge and understanding let the audience know how well we have deconstructed our topic.

How did an awareness of audience and context influence your overall approach to this activity?

Being aware of the audience and context influenced what we specifically discussed in our pitch and how we presented it. We made the audience of our pitch ignorant of certain aspects of the product due to our presentation. This manipulation allows them to focus on the positives of our presentation and our pitch rather than the complications of the product or production. We made our advertisement seem so suiting for the product that they would dismiss
the complications of selling an outdoors product in the desert or how you can skip an ad in 5 seconds on Youtube. The lack of discussion makes them forget about the concepts allowing a more devoted response to our pitch.

If you were to complete this presentation again, what would you do differently in terms of content and preparation?

I would probably include certain persuasive techniques like the repetition of the text type and its possibilities to sell the advertisements key features more. Although we did manage to focus on pitching our advert rather than the product, we still could have made the presentation a promotion of the ad by mentioning specific scenes or thing the ad could include. This imagery would allow the audience to visualise what we are selling, a visualisation is always key when constructing a promotion.

Blog Post #8: Rhetorical Analysis

09/11/2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

Old spice commercials have been around forever and have even created memes on the internet due to their quirky presentation. They have a number of video advertisements and image advertisements that continue to sell their "manly" scented body wash that will make a man out of anyone. This particular ad is one of their earlier and more famous ones and features an extremely masculine individual selling the product, but to who?

Well, if it was not obvious by the continuous tag lines featuring the word "man" or "manly" it is directed towards young or older male adults. These adults could be wanted to smell more masculine or attract the opposite sex. However, it is not solely based on a male target audience as in this particular ad it continuously mentions that if a woman's partner used this they would give her all that she ever wanted. It uses the idea that if a man became more masculine they would provide all that the woman wanted, all they have to do is buy this for their man. So, even though this ad is selling a product for men it is not only targeting a male adult following but also a female one.

To entice the audience as well as promote the product, the advert uses mainly ethos and pathos to persuade the target population. For ethos, the advert does not use a qualified celebrity or authentic individual as the actor was made famous by the ad. Instead, they take advantage of the actor's masculine form and behaviour which expresses the desired masculinity of the audience. The advert is extremely aware of this as it even references it within the speech of the actor. Presenting us with a superior masculine individual, drive the audience to want to be like him and for a woman to want their partner to imitate him as well. The ethos within this promotion is reinforced by continuous pathos which is constant throughout the video. The character speaks to the female audience promising that they will have what they want from a man if they use Old Spice Bodywash. Infatuating the women with promises of diamonds, beauty and tickets to their favourite show, all which are stereotypical materialistic things women desire from a significant other.  This not only relates to the typical wants of a woman but also a man, with a number of men in society wanting to attract women or please them. All these elements are highlighted by the outrages or quirky nature of the advert, using hyperboles to establish a underlining theme or concept.