Pt 2 of Branding in Downtown Victoria

My Material World

    Books! I have a lot of books. Rough estimate is 250. They take up a lot of room.

These are some of my favourite books, all of which I've read multiple times

I love my iPod touch and rarely go anywhere without it, mostly because I get bored without my music

This is a Venetian mask I bough in Italy and it reminds of my trip every time I look at it.

I found my favourite comfy chair on the side of the road for free years ago.

The family iMac is awesome but it sucks up way to much of my time

I put 3 months of my time and energy into making this Cowichan sweater and to me it makes it the most valuable piece of clothing I own.

Some other hand-made creatures that I put a lot of time into. They always make me smile.

A cheap necklace from Mexico that has high sentimental value to me because it belonged to my mom. 

My dog, who I begged for so much as a seven year old. 

I love hiking and camping and my back pack has served me well over the years. 

My house is full of old, interesting things like phonographs, stereoscopes, and this telephone.

      When I started looking for things to photograph, I quickly realized I had too much stuff that had very little value to me. I realized quickly that the things that mean the most to me are the ones that either I've made, or that other people have made/bought for me. If someone makes something for me, it's going to be special to me because I appreciate the effort they put into it. Books are probably the first thing someone would notice when they walk into my room, and they're something I don't mind spending money on. My iPod is almost always attached to me, though my phone is not. I don't care that it's over 3 years old, as long as it plays music I don't need something newer. I would rather spend my money on materials to make a sweater than buy a sweater and I would rather save up to buy new camping equipment than a new phone. Yes, I think I am part of the youth consumer culture, but I try to buy things that are going to give me enjoyment beyond the physical product. Over the years there are lots of things that I've bought because of advertising or other media influences, but those are rarely products which I value for a long period of time.

"Cool" Music

        The article "Why the Old-School Music Snob is the least cool guy on Twitter" talks about just how much music culture has changed in the last decade alone. It used to be that knowing about obscure music was cool, and people were so snobbish about it all. The thing is, like almost every other aspect of our lives, the internet has changed all that. Anyone can know anything about any artist at the click of a button, so the "knowledge guardians" as the author calls them, are no longer needed.
       The thing that the author, and so many people, have a problem with is that they have to share what they thought of as their tastes with the rest of the world. The author realizes this is pointless and snobbish, but knowing that everyone else might love his tastes just as much as him makes him feel insignificant and unoriginal. I find these lines really interesting: "Like friendship, taste should be somewhat exclusive. If everybody is friends, then no one is, really. The same applies to being fans of Arcade Fire." The author has a point and perhaps the fact that everyone likes something makes it less meaningful to some. But would you not be friends with someone just because a lot of other people were also friends with them? It would seem completely ridiculous and to me that's what music snobbery is. Then again, liking something just because everyone else likes it is also ridiculous.
     The author acknowledges that the way we share music now is in many ways better than it was before. Talented artists get the recognition they deserve, and I like how easy the internet makes it for unknown artists to be discovered. I think they point that the author doesn't touch on is that secretly we all  want to jealously guard that obscure song or unknown book and believe it will be "ruined" if it becomes popular.
    Taste in books, movies, and music is all about personal expression, which is why people resent liking something popular. It reminds people that they're not as unique as they thought they were. I try to look at it from a different point of view. To me, the aforementioned aspects of popular culture are less about the actual content and more about what that content means to each person. That song, movie or book is still going to mean the same thing to me no matter how many people like it. Thoughts, memories, opinions, and emotions make an individual, not their tastes. For me it's about the emotions that song evokes or the memories that a book conjures up. That is what makes those things mine. 


       



 

Superbowl Ads

    The Superbowl is a hugely important time for advertisers and they spend billions making sure their ads are effective. The first commercial I examined was one for an insurance company. It's called "Day One - Linda Guntherie". It is comprised of an older-middle aged women speaking about carrying on in life, presumably after her husband has died. The mood is melancholy and invokes empathy for the women. It plays on the emotional response of the viewer, and what is not said is more important that what is. Sublimely the add is saying, as really all life insurance adds do, is, "this could easily be you or your loved one, do you have a life insurance plan for when this happens?" The simplicity of the add works well to get across a message which is not actually being said. The music is important as it sets the mood the advertisers want the audience to feel.

http://pinterest.com/pin/136445063680340561/

http://pinterest.com/pin/136445063680304011/

Product Placement

   

    Television shows are moving more towards product placement because of lost advertising time caused by PVRs and online streaming. Reality tv shows, especially game shows, have always used product placement, and in a way it makes sense, since they're giving out prizes anyway. Recently, sitcoms and dramas have started to use product placement as well.

  




    The medical drama House is an example of one such show. The target audience for the products mentioned would probably be upper middle class people, the same demographic as the characters on the show. This is reflected in the products shown: cars, computers and cell phones. 

    Like many of the FOX shows, House included a Ford in one of they're recent episodes, with a character casually mentioning some of the car's features. The car is clearly shown from many angles exactly as it would be in a regular car commercial. This product placement is far from subtle, seemed very out of place, and added nothing to the plot. The viewer has to put up with it though it they want to watch the show.

 Ford Explorer on House

      Apple products have also been featured on House, and the message the advertisers are communicating is that these products are being used by doctors and for hospital business, therefore they must be reliable. Again, the product is clearly displayed with the Hugh Laurie holding up the iPhone or having the very recognizable Apple logo somewhere in the shot.

             

An interesting example of product placement on House was from an earlier season which had the charcters sitting around a Dell computer with House remarking, "Why don't I have high-def in my office? Tissue charcterization is impossible when the pixels are the size of Legos." The is definitely not good advertising for Dell. Possibly one of the writers was annoyed about being told to write a product into their show?