EOC Week 4: Role of Women in Contemporary Advertisements

If one compared the women of today to the women of the 1950's, they'd say they were completely different. In the 1950's, "women were encouraged to stay at home if the family could afford it" (PBS.org). Their job descriptions as stay-at-home-moms included cooking, cleaning and raising the average 2.3 children. Men on the other hand (their husbands), were the bread-winners. They brought the bacon home, financed all expenses and were the sole (and only) providers.

A Gucci advertisement of a woman's
submission to a man.

Negative:
To the right, a picture is shown of a woman bowing down to the feet of a faceless man, while he towers over her. This symbolizes that women are meant to worship men and the ground they walk on and to submit under any circumstance.

In today's world, this is seen as demeaning, simply because women have come a far way since the times of the 1950's.

"Today, over 56 % of women are employed outside the home, compared to less than 25 % in 1950." (Warc.com) Women can be CEO's, Doctors, Lawyers and even Firefighters.This evolution can be greatly credited to World War II. While men were away fighting for the country, women were helping run it. "As in World War I, women played a vital part in this country's success in World War II." (HistoryLearningSite.com). Women were doing factory work, going into entertainment business, doing voluntary work, joining the Air Force and were even Secret Agents. Women were showing America what they could do and it seemed to be efficient enough until the soldiers came home. Of course, when the men came back home, women went back to their usual duties, but from then on, nothing would be the same, domino-effecting the future for years to come.

Positive and/or Negative:
The picture to the left shows a woman surrounded by men seeming ready to take advantage of her. Given her new power of independence (the new era of independent women), she seems to be slightly resisting the young man hoovering over her, forcing her arms down. This symbolizes the way more women are in today’s times, not wanting to be held down by a man and getting it for themselves, which can be seen as positive. This also shows that even though times have changed, men still dominate and somewhat still have some sort of entitlement.

Overall, women have come a long way and are forces to be reckoned with. They are still stay-at-home moms, cooks, "maids" and so-forth, but in various ways that allow them to be "in charge."

Sources:
1) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html

2) http://www.warc.com/fulltext/jar/6312.htm
3) http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_WW2.htm

Week 3 EOC: Tobacco Advertisements

1. Determine the scenario: What happens in this frame?
A young woman who is a flight attendant is holding up a pack of cigarettes, while smiling. Two men are behind her, staring with smiles as if they are attracted to her.

2. What is the setting? What are the conditions?
The setting is a complete solid color background which indicates that the creator of this ad wanted the focus to be on the people and the object being displayed.

3. Who are the people or groups?
The people are two [what seem to be] military men and a flight attendant.

4. What is their point of view around this specific experience?
The point-of-view of the men are probably that smoking is in-style and classy and that even beautiful women do it, which makes it even more attractive. Whereas today, many men don't find it glamorous that a women would want to pick up a cigarette in the first place. The woman's point-of-view seems to be that she is happy and completed with her cigarettes and it gives her a pep in her step; a boost of confidence.

5. What are their goals?
The military men's goals are probably to speak to the young woman when they get the chance to, while using cigarette-smoking as a topic to bring up as an ice-breaker. The woman's goal seems to be to go to work with a box of cigarettes to keep her up-and-going throughout the day. She doesn't seem like she's all too concerned about men looking at her, but definitely doesn't seem like she'd turn them down.

6. What are their assumptions? What are their perceptions?
The men probably assume she is an out-going kind of young lady. The flight attendant is not paying them attention. She probably assumes she will get the best use out of her smokes and won't regret it.

7. Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?
There are no conflicts besides the fact that for a long time, cigarettes are poisonous and people did not know this at all, not even its producers.

8. What are the outcomes?
The probable outcome of this cigarette brand back in the day was increased revenue, due to advertisements. But today, the brand no longer exists and there are very few that still do after all these years because people started figuring out they were dying off sooner. In result, this company, Chesterfield and many others lost money and went out of business.

1. Determine the scenario: What happens in this frame?
This ad shows a woman who seems to be ecstatic and happy about smoking. She  is seen laughing like something is hilarious.

2. What is the setting? What are the conditions?
The setting shows a cool, blue background that compliments her outfit that pops in color.
The blue represents, calmness, serenity, flow and royalty. He yellow blazer pops and shows that she is feeling happy.

3. Who are the people or groups?
A happy young woman smoking.

4. What is their point of view around this specific experience?
She probably thinks that smoking is glamorous and it makes her more appealing, therefore she does it.
The object behind this ad was probably to get more people to use the Misty cigarette over other products.

5. What are their goals?
The creator's idea was probably to make this ad for anyone of all ages and to gain revenue. He is trying to prove that smoking can be done with a smile and it's not nasty at all.

6. What are their assumptions? What are their perceptions?
She probably assumes she is getting the best product for her money.

7. Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?
The main conflict of this ad is that smoking is supposed to be good for you, when in fact is extremely harmful and causes health issues and death.

8. What are the outcomes?
The outcome of this ad probably made this brand sell a lot more but ultimately it contributed to killing off people in society.

Week 2 EOC: Health Insurance

Health insurance is now becoming a requirement that all citizens of America need to have. To go about selling it, insurance companies need to grasp the attention of potential consumers. Specifically, young people are in demand for health insurance companies. Being a young person, in order to sell to me, a company would have to use popping colors, interesting slogans, reasons for why they are the best decision and perhaps a catchy song like the CarMax commercials. With these strategies, young people will be curious and will most likely choose this company based on the attractions the commercials provide. Most companies advertise with dull backgrounds and boring messages that most people, even adults, simply look over. They lack ways to gain audiences and don’t do anything about it. Ultimately, we want an insurance company to show that they identify with us and that they care about what we like. And with these catchy advertisements, they way to market to us would be through television and mainly internet and cellular devices. Pop-ups and 30 second slot commercials on sites such as YouTube will be very useful and will certainly gain attention. And even random text messages to our phones will entice us to click on the links to the insurance sites! Besides the display of their advertisements, the content is also very important. Insurance companies are notorious for their high prices. But for healthcare, the reasons are logical. Health insurance is more expensive than it used to be for many reasons. One reason, is for the future. “By 2030, over 37 million boomers will have multiple chronic conditions.”(Carrington.edu) More than 33% of the American population will be obese, 1 of 4 Americans will have diabetes and almost 50% will have arthritis. Another reason is for the primary care and specialists. America spends 90% more on specialists to ensure the quality of professionals for their citizens. One more reason for higher health insurance is because, studies have shown that the more there are people receiving health insurance, the less the cost. Other explanations include fraud, inflation and more. But to pull in the younger audience, it is essential to point out the benefits that they will benefit from. “The benefits of expanding coverage outweigh the costs for added services.” (Urban.org) An insurance company needs to inform young people that their lives are precious and having coverage to keep them alive longer is an excellent reason to buy from them. “Health insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company.”(Healthcare.gov) Another way to approach young people would to be to use the quote above. As an insurance company, I would use that quote and relate it to the younger audience by making a comparison to their parents. As children, we are fully covered by our parents. They make our food, buy our clothing and pay our expenses and so on. And when we leave our parents’ homes, we are given a little responsibility but it is usual for our parents to help us a bit with our expenses. With that, I would tell potential younger consumers that with our help, we could cover them for the rest of their lives like their parents do. It will be through contract but similar to their natural unwritten contracts they have with their parents.

Sources:
1) http://carrington.edu/blog/student-tips/finance/why-is-your-health-insurance-so-expensive/ 
2) http://www.urban.org/publications/411569.html
3) https://www.healthcare.gov/why-should-i-have-health-coverage/

Week 1 EOC: Volkswagen Lemon

This ad has revolutionized the advertising industry forever. The Volkswagen Beetle (designed by Hitler...hm?) is a family-friendly, economy car. Simple and cheap, being it's too main characteristics, were thought up by the infamous Nazi Leader, Adolf Hitler. In the 1960's, the Volkswagen Lemon ad was the first of it's kind. It was the first to represent a perfect balance of image, copy and simplicity and setting a standard that has inspired many advertisers after it to do better ever since. The article consisted of a little story-telling that explained the vigorous vehicle inspection detail the car has to go through. Sometimes, cars were even rejected for small blemishes. And with that, VW said :

"We pluck the lemons, you get the plums." (Volkswagen)

At first, it seems like VW was bashing their own car, but it was a technique used to further grasp the reader's attention. The reader will later find the reasoning for such important inspections: "This preoccupation with detail means the VW lasts longer and requires less maintenance, by and large, than other cars (It also means, a used VW depreciates less than any other car)." (WritingForDesigners.com)

Who wouldn't want more bang for the buck? I would, especially in these times.

"The ad stood the test of time and will be remembered for many generations as a breakthrough in a product to consumer relations."(Writingfordesigners.com)

Sources:

1) http://www.writingfordesigners.com/?p=1731

2) http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/designing-cars-for-hitler-porsche-and-volkswagen-s-nazi-roots-a-637368.html

3) http://www.howstuffworks.com/1960-1969-volkswagen-beetle4.htm