Understanding the Media
What to believe, the picture of the gorgeous blond model who is
selling you long lasting mascara or the image of the scrony boy who is
attracting those gorgeous blond models with his Axe Body Spray? The
more one observes advertisments, the more one can conclude that the
degree of ridiculousness has greatly augmented over the past
years.When watching television, we are exposed to many outrageous
commercials that we are supposed to believe.
How about the advertisement for Rimmel's Anti Age Defying Foundation.
Model Kate Moss is standing next to a bus, with a knee long skirt and
long shiny blond hair. Right after the commercial's narrator
describes that the foundation will make you feel and look years
younger, so why not show off that skin, we see Kate Moss who stops
leaning on the bus, rip her skirt to be just long enough to cover her
butt cheeks, and touch her cheeks. Now she really is looking
great....Hmmm. So she has showed us her legs, oh and yes of course,
the camera man decided to show us her face that has the foundation on
it. Or maybe they were instigating that our legs could look younger,
if only we had read through the lines and put that Anti-Age Defying
Foundation on our legs too! Common ladies, apply that foundation on
those thighs!
Now looking at several beer commercials, we see the young guy, who
probably just became the legal age to drink alcohol, who decides that
he will own the world of broads once he holds that Budweiser--King of
Beers, in hand. Being that the majority of the commercials are
cliché, the girls do come after the guy who drinking that beer.
Truly, there is nothing greater than a guy holding a beer bottle.
Woman, you are set. Go get that man and make him yours. RIGHT! Hint
the sarcasm. Are these commercials depicting that because guys can
buy beer at a bar -- which are always a riduculous amount more
expensive -- are wealthy and therefore girls should mooch of the guy until they can
get every penny. Maybe they should hint that the guy is starting to
drink at such a young age, by the time it's time to settle down, you
will have his lovely beer belly between you and him everytime you lean in
for a kiss, or more like lean in to his back pocket for that wallet!
Although a great deal of the commercials that we see these days are
considered to be ridiculous, there are a few that still maintain their
essence.
There is a particular commercial in mind when "good commercial" comes
up. Mercedes Benz made a general commercial describing their
vehicles. The commercial begins with a black Mercedes driving on a
winding road, with only the sound of the car. Then a man appears
asking questions that all begin with "Why?", for example "Why have the
highest standard in safety?". After several questions pass along and
we still see the car being driven to its limits, the last words of the
man are "Because we promised you a Mercedes Benz, that's why". He
shuts the door of the car and it's over. The message of the
commercial is clear, there is no reason to read between the lines, and
most importantly you do not feel like you have wasted a minute of
your life watching this commercial, regardless if you like the vehicle
or not.
Another commercial that simply tops all commercial is yet to be
simplest, and another from Mercedes Benz. The commercial begins with
a blond woman entering a library, speaking with a loud voice. She
walks up to the librarian and makes an order for food. The librarian
looks are her as if she were crazy, and tells her that it is a
library. The blond waits a few seconds, looks around and reorders in
a lower voice, just whispering. Right after there is a simple message
: "Beauty is nothing without brains", meaning a beautiful car with no power underneath the hood is useless.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EZScx-NFhTA
If there is one thing to retain from this blog is to BE MEDIA LITTERATE!
Magalie Amine
Credit granted, Maggie.