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?

Army Recruitment Commercial

British Army Advertisement for Air Infrantry Assault This video is aimed at young men, trying to appeal to their sense of adventure. It shows exciting scenes of fighter jets and helicopters, people parachuting and soldiers taking a building. This is punctuated in the middle with a scene in a club, with the narrrator saying "for the Friday nights". It's trying to say that you can still have fun while fighting for your country.

Videos: National Geographic: 7 Billion

This video was made by National Geographic and showcases the startling fact that there are now 7 billion people alive today. It shows the unequal distribution of wealth, how fast the world population is growing, and how the world is changing as a result of the 7 billion people. The video is almost scary, in that you wonder how the world can possibly support that many people. It is an interesting way to educate people about this issue and video is a great way to make people understand just how big a number 7 billion is. At the same time, the purpose of the video is to advertise for National Geographic magazine. The last frame of the video shows the cover the latest issue in the hopes that people will want to know more about what they saw in the video and will buy the magazine.

Columnist: Iain Hunter, Oct 9th

   Iain Hunter's latest column Wall Street, and the start of a revolution addresses the same topic as many columns and articles these days: The Occupy Wall Street movement. Hunter takes the angle of discussing why students get involved in protests like this and for once he shows young people in a favourable light. He makes good points about young people caring about things outside of their own little world because they know the problems facing Americans today will soon become their problems. He also tells how university students have "provided a lot of the muscle" for protests over the centuries. Hunter is still biased; though he is talking about young people's involvement in the Wall Street protests, his point of view is still that of of a middle-aged person and his tone almost seems a bit condescending. He makes it sound as if the main reason students protest is for the sake of protesting. He also seems to think that although students provide the muscle, they lack the leadership to actually make something of Occupy Wall Street. It's a bit arrogant of him to say that students are not leadership oriented; I see young people demonstrate leadership everyday. Hunter's article could be seen as both responsive and inflaming, depending how one takes it. Although he makes some valid points and his information is mostly accurate, it couldn't really be called insightful. For the most part he is stating facts about how little media attention the protests have received and musing about the possibility that Occupy Wall Street could become a revolution.

Columnists: Iain Hunter, Sept. 19

  Times Colonist writer Iain Hunter's column titled Families in a world without women starts by defending Christy Clark's families first slogan and ends with citing facts that say women will die out by the year 2600. This kind of rambling without fully formed ideas seems to be common in Hunter's columns. Often times it is hard to tell if he is being sarcastic or if he really means the things he writes. Perhaps the only accurate thing Hunter writes is that the definition of a family has changed over time. He cites an article in the Economist magazine that says if current fertility rates remain the same, women will eventually die out within the millenium. The Economist article is only about a paragraph long and based only on the UN's fertility rate projections for the next few years. Hunter's argument (if that is what he is trying to do) is in favour of Christy Clark because her policy will keep the family alive. The extinction of women seems to be a very odd thing to be worrying about given the global population is now over 7 billion and rising fast. Shouldn't everyone be happy that fertility rates are down around the world? Conversely, an entire book written by geneticist Bryan Sykes says that it is the male population that is in danger of dying out because of the decay of the Y-chromosome. Both studies are basic projections of what could happen if nothing changes; if the past is any indication things will always change. To worry seriously about these issues right now is pointless. To use them to prove a political point is silly. Hunter is inflaming an issue that really doesn't exist. All this article shows is that facts and statistics can be twisted to suit a certain purpose.
 

Columnists: Mark and Craig Kielburger, Oct 3

   Craig and Mark Kielburger's latest column is a really story that combines corporate marketing and humanitarian efforts. Coke's supply chain could distribute aid shows something very ironic about our world: in remote areas of developing countries people lack basic medical supplies, yet vendors are selling Coca-Cola. Coke can get to the most out of reach places while humanitarians can not. What this shows is that the way in which non-profit, humanitarian groups distribute supplies is not half as effective as the way in which a huge private corporation distributes. The Kielburger's showcased ColaLife, a company which has designed Aidpods - containers filled with potentially life-saving medicine which can fit into the empty space between the necks of coke bottles.  This column says that private-sector corporations are more successful because they are always thinking of new, better and more creative ways to get their product out there. Aid groups don't do this usually because the infrastructure needed to get medicine out to relatively few people in rural areas is too expensive. What ColaLife realized was that these big corporate companies, so often described as greedy and evil, could be valuable resources in getting aid to those in need. The articles is biased only in that the Kielburgers want the project to succeed, and don't mention any possible problems. Though really, wouldn't eveyone want a unique and creative idea like this to work?

Columnists: Mark and Criag Kielburger, Sept 19th

     Mark and Craig Kielburger, the pair of brothers who started Free the Children and Me to We, write a weekly column for The Star that discusses humans rights and the experiences they've had traveling around the world. Their Sept 19th article was A Lesson on the Quality of Education. It tells about an after school program called Superate that was started in El Salvador after the government cut school down to half-days in order to save money. The Kielburgers visited one of these programs and learned first-hand from students that the program has prevented dozens of them form becoming involved in gang activity. The articles written by the brothers are from the point of view of visitors who ask people their stories and learn how a program impacts an individual. It is less statistical and more humanistic, though the statistics are impressive: 76% of the students who graduated from Superate in the last 3 years are in university. What is happening in El Salvador is making people re-think education in developing countries. For years the world has been focused on getting education to everyone; opening as many schools as possible. The problem is getting students engaged and excited about school. If the quality of the education is lacking, children in developing countries won't want to go to school anymore than a Canadian child would. Millions of dollars are spent every year in developed countries coming up with new ways to teach students and engage them in learning. Quality education shouldn't be a luxury afforded only to affluent countries. If a student gets a good education, the impact they have on their community grows exponentially. Andrea Méndez graduated from high school in El Salvador. She earned a degree from Harvard University. Instead of staying in the U.S. and getting a high-paying job, she came back to El Salvador and works in one of the Superate centres. Who knows how many students will graduate from high school because of her? The Kielburgers have unique insight because they are so young but at the same time so experienced. One line in particular seemed to sum up what needs to happen with global education: "Education must be relevant to the unique challenges of students in order to break their cycle of poverty." The issues in the community need to be addressed to find ways to keep children in school.

Photo Assignment Part 2

Amanda Knox breaks into tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy on Oct. 3. Knox had been sentenced to 26 years in prison. (Pier Paolo Cito/AP)

     This picture of Amanda Knox shows her reaction to having her guilty verdict overturned after 4 years of being in Italian custody. The picture, taken only yesterday, graced the the front of online news albums and the tops of newspaper articles around the world. It was chosen because it is eyecatching . It has the ability to evoke strong emotions because the subject, Knox, is showing such strong emotions. There is something that fascinates people about seeing somebody break down completely. Is it sympathy for the person? or is it merely the fact that crying is such a personal, private action, something that is almost indecent in our society? People like to think that by viewing the person in such an emotional state they know who the person really is, or in this case whether or not they commited the crime they were accused of. For these reasons, the purpose of the picture is to help the reader come to a conclusion about Knox's guilt. The picture is targeted to those who like to read about mysteries and murder trials and who think that they know the true story, regardless of what the jury decided. The photograph draws the observer in because without reading the caption or the article attached, one does not know if Knox is responding to an innocent or guilty verdict. An interesting question is why a photo of Knox? Why not the victim or the other two men convicted? The photo shows Knox because the story isn't about Meredith Kercher or the men anymore.People were intrigued by the young, American girl who always said she was inncoent, despite what seemed like irrefutable evidence against her. The focus shifted long ago when people found Knox's refusal to admit guilt more intriguing than the actual murder. That focus may shift again now that Knox and the others convicted in the murder have been proclaimed innocent. If not them, who did kill Kercher? Or maybe the public will have tired of this case now that the drama is over; they will move on to a new mystery. Of course, the one thing the picture will not, and can not tell us is if Amanada Knox is truly innocent.

Columnists: Russel Smith, Sept. 7th

   Russel Smith's 9/11 anniversary article was titled In horrific circumstances, art can still imitate life. It takes a look at how everyone, and specifically artists, were feeling after the tragedy. As often happens after a monumental event, people evaluate their lives and find that they, and what they are doing, is unimportant and trivial in comparison to what is going on the world. Smith's point of view is interesting because it comes from the artistic perspective. How everyone believed art would never be the same after 9/11. This column is neither completely accurate nor completely bias, it is simply how the writer saw the events after 9/11 unfold and the conclusions he came to. He is doing what many columnist did on the 10th anniversary of the event: show us that although it was a horrible event, life goes on and people are allowed to think (and write) about other things besides the tragedy. It is possible that Smith's views could be seen as inflaming the issue because 9/11 is such a sensitive topic and some people feel that to even have an opinion on the event is disrespectful to the victims. Smith also has some insights this. Is dramatizing the event and profiting off that dramatization disrespectful? Art has always been used to help people understand and come to terms with tragedy. Art is the way the next generation is educated about past events and the way the world remembers them. As long as we understand that the art is a dramatization of the events is it really disrespectful?

Photo Assignement Part 1

An employee of the Finance Ministry scuffles with riot police at the ministry's entrance in Athens during a protest against the government's austerity measures, September 27, 2011.
REUTERS/John Kolesidis

This picture was taken in Athens during the recent riots. A photographer for Reuters has taken photos of the protest riots to show people what is going on in a country that has been in the news a lot recently. This image is directed at people who buy newspapers or read about World news online. The message is that Athens is currently a place of social unrest, with people fighting against their government over the state of the country's finances. The fact that there is blood splattered on the riot police's shield in foreground is significant. This picture is for shock value, which is why it is the first picture in the album of protests in Greece. People are supposed to be horrified and disgusted. The picture is only 3 days old, so we know there was at least some protest activity going on recently. What the picture does not show is how the man scuffling with the riot police got into that situation. What was he doing before? Are the police justified in apprehending him? Another interesting question is who's blood is that? A police officer? The man in the picture? Someone else? And how did it get on the shield? This photo represents a single moment of the tumultuous affairs in Greece but it by no means shows the whole story. More information (ie: reading!) is required to understand this complicated issue. 

Columnists: Russel Smith, Sept. 28th

    Globe and Mail arts columnist Russel Smith's latest column was titled Why don't Creative young writers care if they get paid? It looks at the trend of young, creative people writing for magazines for no pay, or simply posting their work online. Specifically the Huffington Post, a very successful online magazine that just sold for $315 million yet pay its contributors nothing. Young writers do this to get themselves published, and because the editing process is so much simpler than other magazines or newspapers. Smith worries that this trend will undermine the whole system. Someone asks a writer to do a piece; they research, write and edit it; the piece is edited by the paper and then published, the writer is paid. That system is changing and Smith finds this troubling.
   Like so many other things in the age of the internet, the way writing is published is changing. My generation has grown up with posting our every thought and idea (creative or not) online. We don't expect to be paid for it, the novelty of having our work out there in the world has yet to wear off. Young people understand that it's hard to get a publisher's attention, so they turn to social media to get their ideas out. For the most part this works if you can scream loud enough. Videos and blogs can go "viral" and you have the chance of becoming famous/discovered quickly. We know the pay will come later if someone sees the worth in our work.
  This column is biased, Smith says so himself. He is part of the older generation that had to work their way through years of boring pieces and hard research work in order to have the honour of having their opinions printed. He has a point. Although it is nice to hear young peoples' opinions, because they can differ so much from that of a middle-aged opinion writer, young writers don't have the years of experience that are so helpful when writing opinion pieces.
  The column is accurate in the sense that it is true that Huffington Post is an online magazine that was sold in February to AOL and that it publishes content from bloggers without paying them. Some of these former contributors are now suing Huffington Post, demanding payment, but as Smith pointed out; these bloggers willingly contributed knowing they wouldn't get paid.
   This article is responsive to the issue in that most people are not aware of the debate going on between writers. The article brings attention to a very interesting issue that could have a major effect on the publishing world in the future.  At the same time, Smith's article is just one of many opinions on the issue and as his opinion on the matter is quite strong, it is likely to incite opposition and more debate.
   This article offers an interesting viewpoint on an issue that is just one of many in our fast-paced world of changing technology. It touches on issues of consumerism and the age old debate of ownership of one's creativity. This article also shows that the idea of writing for free is just one more threat to the traditional newspaper.