CBSC Codes

This commercial for Xbox 360 challenges the CAB violence codes. This doesn’t meet our code because there is a section of the code which states “Canadian broadcasters shall not air programming which: contains gratuitous violence in any form, or sanctions, promotes or glamourizes violence.” This Xbox commercial goes against these as it uses violence to sell the product. It can also be a very bad impression on children who watch this because after watching this, they may find violence, guns and warfare cool as it is all glamourized in this commercial. Therefore, because this commercial uses violence that is gratuitous (material that doesn’t play an integral role in the development of the plot, character or theme) then it challenges the CAB codes of violence.

This commercial for Mercedes challenges the CAB equitable portrayal codes as it goes against the “stereotype” code. There’s a section in the code which states “broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no unduly negative stereotypical material or comment”. The commercial stereotypes blonde females as being unintelligent. The producers did not choose a male, or a brunette female, but went with the stereotypical route because blondes are usually associated with being unintelligent. The fact that they chose a blonde women portrays a negative stereotype on blonde females, and this challenges the CAB equitable portrayal codes.  

Advertising Insecurities

This advertisement is directed towards females, aged 20-40 and it is an ad for Olay Regenerist which is an anti-aging cream and it shows the insecurity that women are afraid to become old and get wrinkles.  The tube of cream that is being applied to her on the picture can resemble getting drawn on before a plastic surgery. It shows that this cream is so amazing that it can substitute a plastic surgery.  The woman in the picture seems very young and it shows that women are becoming more insecure about getting older and it’s starting at a very young age. I think this is a pretty effective ad, as it plays into women’s insecurities that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get a plastic surgery to look young, but all you have to do is buy this fast, cheap and simple product to make wrinkles disappear



         
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPJpkgqLQ_M   (Special K)

This advertisement is directed towards females ages 20 - 40 and it is an ad for the cereal Special K. It shows a woman who throws out her scale because she is happy with her body. Also, she can finally fit into her favourite pair of skinny jeans and this was all accomplished by eating the cereal Special K.  It plays on the insecurities for women that being thin means being attractive and happy, but if you’re overweight, then you are unattractive and unhappy. The media has led us to believe that this is true, yet this is very wrong. I think this is an affective ad because it shows that if you eat this cereal then you can be happy and thin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51bX9E9eX6M&feature=related      (Scope Outlast Commercial)

This advertisement is directed towards males of all ages. It is an ad for Scope Outlast which is mouthwash that helps keep your breath smelling fresh. They use the ad technique of star power by featuring Ryan Seacrest.  This ad plays into two insecurities that go hand in hand, them being that men (and women too) are afraid to have bad breath because if they have bad breath then they will be less of a women magnet and less likable. Men feel insecure if women don’t like them, and if you have bad breath, it doesn’t help. The commercial shows Ryan Seacrest using the mouthwash and instantly women are attracted to him. I believe this is somewhat of an affective ad because it kind of over exaggerates the scenario which makes it seem unrealistic and unachievable to a real man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYLtSl6RiPQ&feature=channel         (Dodge Charger: Man Bag)

This advertisement is for the Dodge Charger car and it is directed towards men from the ages 20-50. They used the insecurity that you have to be “manly” and in order to do that you can’t do or wear anything that questions your manliness. They used a deep masculine voice to narrate (Michael C Hall) which also ties into the ad technique of star power. In the commercial he talks about how the car isn’t a “Man bag” or “Man Sandals” but something that is purely masculine and tough. It sends the message that you have to do/wear rough and tough things in order to be a man, and this is a very big insecurity among men as it is frowned upon to do anything feminine. I think this is a very effective ad because it would make men feel very empowered to drive that car. They would believe that they are a true man if they purchased that vehicle.

"Why we should worry about AOL Time Warner" News Article questions

1)    The author feels that the merge would be very harmful because this would give the public a biased point of view and would therefore contradict the notions of a free, diverse and independent press. One of the main arguments that arises from this is that this is a civic issue. Since the media would be run by one big corporation, it would distort the media stories as the opinion is only coming from one source. The audience would not get all points of the story and instead would get a biased point of view which therefore makes this a civic issue. This could also be a journalistic issue because then the journalists are pressured to cover stories with the beliefs of the corporation in mind. This is also an issue with the free and independent press as they will become endangered because of their lack of freedom of speech and the competition with the big corporations.

2)    The danger of not having a free and independent press is that then there wouldn’t be as many opinions in the media. The audience has the right to different views in the media without it being tainted by a big corporation. This is a central aspect of democracy because without having a free and independent press it can contaminate the opinions of its audience.

3)    I agree that the ideas and opinions on the internet have stayed relatively free and outspoken. There are many different resources that people voice their opinions in such as social networking sites, blogs etc.  Alternate ways to get news on the internet is by looking at news videos, or reading blog sites.

Radio Ad Reflection and Chart

Group	Conventions used	Strengths	Areas to improve
1	-Eco -Personal story -Uses statistics	-Volume -Unique -Mood (dream like atmosphere)	-Too echoy, hard to hear
2	-Eco -Personal story -dialogue narrative -heart strings -statistics, voice over	-good background music -good story and establishment of setting, mood,tone	-voices are kind of similar
3	-heart strings	-serious tone and mood
4	-statistics -dialogue narrative	-sound effects made it more realistic -powerful statement “odds are against you” -good use of music	-music at the beginning is confusing. Its supposed to be club mood but it is a little loud.  Could have muffled sounds while entering the room.
5	-narrater -gives third person point of view	-pulse makes you feel like your her
6	-targets gamblers themselves	-good background music -very effective at showing the faults of a gambler
7	-dialogue narrator -good establishment of setting	-creates a story -use of different accent for narrator attracts attention
8	-dialogue narrator -heart strings	-very clear
9	-statistics -heart strings	-peaks interest with sound of cards	-music a little too loud
10	-narrative	-targeted towards gambler poker players -realistic	-doesn’t say where to get help
11	-repetition -fear	-effective at exemplifying the destruction that gambling can bring to a person’s life
12	-fear -repetition	-good music
13	-narrative dialogue -statistics	-interesting and different	-too long

REFLECTION

The two that I decided to compare used an indirect approach and a direct approach. The first one has a story setting between two characters and the second one is a more “in your face” type approach. The radio ads are similar because they both effectively get the point across using a story line and by trying to help its audience spot the signs of a teen gambler. The first group created a dialogue between two characters to explain the situation of a teen gambler. They also used effects such as echoing, repetition and created a dream like mood state with the music. The second group used one voice and decided to play on someone’s fears. They didn’t really tell a story but instead told you what would happen to a teen gambler. They also used music but it didn’t really create a mood like the first one, it just added to the overall presentation. The difference in the two ads was that the first group used statistics and the second group didn’t.

   Both the advertisements were effective. They targeted different aspects of a teen gambler. The first one targeted a friend of a teen gambler and the second one targeted the gambler.

   When creating a radio advertisement, some challenges that one could face would be putting together a script that was long enough and got the point across. They could also have technical difficulties with adding in the sound effects to fit in well with the advertisement.

Privacy in the Media

http://www.edmondsun.com/opinion/x622283632/Facebook-must-get-serious-about-privacy-practices

As you all know, facebook is a huge database that has a ton of personal information about each and every one of its users. This article addresses how Mark Zuckerburg the CEO of facebook, is under some pressure because its partners, such as zynga (who is popular for the games “Farmville” and “mafia wars”) are abusing how they treat the personal data of facebook users. As stated in the article, “The Wall Street Journal recently noted many of Facebook’s most popular applications transmit identifying information — in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names — to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.” Demand for this information is extreme and software developers like zynga have great access to details about facebook users and companies will pay lots of money to get this information. In the article it says “Facebook must stay ahead of this cyber-market and its partners by enforcing stronger compliance to policies that protect its users’ information.”

This is really important that this issue is being addressed because it needs to be acknowledged. Facebook users are supposed to be private but their privacy is being violated and I don’t think that’s right. 

In our digital age, I think that privacy isn’t like what it used to be. There are over 500 million users on facebook all with updated information about themselves and you hear all the time about identity theft because people are less careful about the things they share on the internet.  Privacy doesn’t exist in our digital age and social networking sites are making privacy more difficult to obtain.

My Teen Media Text

The media text that I would create would be a print ad that targets teens and/or represents teens in the ad. The values that the teen would have would be having good relationships with family and friends. I would target their fears of not fitting in or being an outcast and I would have their wants and desires as fitting in and being “cool”. I would use lots of popular gadgets like iPhones and iPods because lots of teens these days have a lot of those types of materials. My ad would feature a teen girl in a school hallway looking unsure of herself, sad and less bright. She doesn’t have the latest gadgets and technology. She would be standing on the outside of a circle of other girls who are all laughing. They are brighter and are all holding iPods and iPhones. They seem to appear much happier.

Representation of Teenagers (Chart)

Name of Media Text	It represents teens as . . .	It is accurate/inaccurate because . . .	Symbols and signs
Gossip Girl Ads	-Rebellious -Self centered -Wanting to mature faster -Promiscuous -Provocative	This is a good representation of a lot of qualities that teens have and are known to have, however, not all teens are like this	This was demonstrated through implying sex is one of teens main priorities
Febreze “Karl’s Room”	-Lazy -Dirty	This is not an accurate representation, and it gives the reality that all teenage boys are lazy and dirty and want to impress teen girls.	This was demonstrated through a messy room and listening to music versus doing homework
90210 Promo	-Having good values (what is important in life for them is not materialistic, it is centered around emotions such as friendship) -Values and beliefs are important in this society	This is a good representation of teens and their relationships. It is always important to have strong relations with those around us.	This was demonstrated through the key words “family” and “friendship”
Miley cyrus –cant be tamed music video	-wanting to be consider a woman not a girl -it is normal for teens this age to behave this way	This is a good representation of teens. While growing up to fast is not necessarily a good thing these are common issues most teenage girls face.	This was demonstrated through the lyrics “can’t be tamed”. Miley also chooses to wear whatever she wants and dance however she wants no matter how provocative it is
Pizza Pops Commercial “Girls”	-suggests that teen boys are interested in women and food.	This is somewhat of a good representation of teens (specifically boys) because as I am sure they think about that stuff, I don’t believe that that’s the only thing their focused on.	This was demonstrated through the portrayal of the teen when he was thinking about girls.

Gossip Girl Print Ad -http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/17/newgossipgirlads.jpg

Frebreeze Advertisement - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwEPKTn4ies&feature=related

90210 Promo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1-rx-4DbeU

Miley cyrus music video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSG6z_13-Q&feature=related

Pizza Pops - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab3XCYMLpEk