First assignment is to watch T.V. or look at some form of print media and evaluate the images/hidden messages. In a comment for this post, describe the advertisement or image and then talk about the potential messages/tricks used. Be sure to also respond to someone else’s post. What I am NOT looking for is, a response that says, “Yeah–I saw that one too. That was cool or really funny!” What I am looking for is for you to evaluate one another’s thinking about the images.
January 27, 2009...1:07 pm
Body Image Project
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13 Comments
January 27, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I found that the media will humiliate all the cerleberties that they legally can to make money. they will also exaggerate as many story’s to the extreme as they can. commercials also use cerlebs. as the person that uses the product because people might think that if the cerleb uses the product, they should.
January 27, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I found out that most editors will take a picture of a celebrity and photo shop it to make it look like that person was doing something wrong or humiliating. For example, the editors of a magazine put a picture of Britany Spears trying to find her bag in a store or Chris Brown at a yoga class. I don’t really know, but still!
Beth- I agree with you on the humiliation part in commercials, trust me, I’ve seen a million.
January 27, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I found that teens are expected to text and speak in text. They almost always show teens in cell phone commercials. Almost every person showed on a fitness commercial always give their age(probably fake), and are very fit and muscular. Also in wheel of fortune, a lady was saying that her teenage son was her favorite(sarcastically).
Beth- I liked yours, but it would be even better if you used specific examples that made you come to those conclusions.
January 27, 2009 at 6:33 pm
One thing I noticed is the girls is magazines wear loads of makeup and are REALLY thin. Boys and girls seem to be a more exposed, and not many models smile. I think they are trying to look attractive in all the wrong ways.
January 27, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Great start to an interesting discussion! Please remember to proofread your work before posting. If need be, write your post in a Word document and spell check it; then copy/paste it to the Blog.
January 27, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Ellie- I definitely agree with you and i do see a ton of cell phones in commercials. i think this is a teen steriotype.
Alexa- that is a really good point, and another thing I noticed was that magazines and ads are always saying how normal and down to earth celebrities are. Ex: Rihanna takes out the trash! Down to Earth Zac Efron takes his poodle for a walk
January 27, 2009 at 7:00 pm
On some an eharmony commercial and the girls and guys that are supposedly on the website are all pretty good looking . So it is telling you that you are going to meet some super hot guy and fall in love with him.
January 27, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Greta I agree with yours, if you see some stars without make-up you wouldn’t even know it was them!
January 27, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I have noticed in TV commercials they use music to make it seem more dramatic, suspenseful, action etc.
They also go from a disappointing over voice to a happy one.
Beth of course they want more money and will do anything to get it even if they get sued later
January 27, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I noticed that in media commercials they don’t always tell the truth but it is not exactly a lie. And to get a “better” commercial apparently you have to have a celebrity. And Damon they use music to show more emotion in the commercial.
January 27, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I watched TV and all of the girls in hair commercials have this LONG LUSHES SILKY hair even if the product can’t give you hair that beautiful. They also wear a lot of makeup. Also the commercials that are mostly focused towards girls usually have hot guys and vice versa. I think the use of celebrities in commercials also pushes people especially the younger audience to buy the product because they see their idols use the product.
Julia- I agree with you. Because just because you go on to that website does not mean that everyone you meet is going to be mister perfect and hot.
January 27, 2009 at 8:36 pm
elizabeth- I agree that some magazines try to humiliate stars so that people will want to see it and buy the magazine. Also some editors, like alexa said ,will bend the truth so that people will want to see the trouble that some celebrities are getting into because it is entertaining, even if it is not 100% true.
Also people may want to see the trouble some celebrities are getting into and embarrassing pictures of them because it shows that they are just human too.
January 28, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Just a warning, this might get a little long.
First off, I’m going along with what some of the other people said. Typically, attractive men or women helps get people’s attention more, in just about anything. I even saw it in an M ‘n’ Ms (not sure how to spell that) commercial. The green one started dancing and all the others fainted. I think what they’re trying to say was that M ‘n’ Ms, or chocolate in general, make people better looking.
So, sort of taking a new track here, a lot of what the commercial is about depends on how they act. For example, in health care commercials, they say that this symptom or something is really serious; it can kill your children, act now, and use this product or drug. They also say how unexpected deaths or illnesses can really hurt a family, and ruin the rest of their lives. Also, in Global Warming commercials, they come straight out, simple, and with the facts. I missed part of the beginning, but it simply said (it was in Spanish, but I will translate it) “Global warming is here. Save the polar bears. It is here. Act now,” and listed some website. Insurance commercials are serious as well, showing car crashes, how this insurance could save you money, and saying ‘Buy this package”.
On another hand, commercials can be funny and crazy. Typically on the channels for men, they are not as serious. Alcoholic beverages are typically not very serious. Although they always mention to be responsible, which is something I think they have to do.
Another thing that really follows just about any type of commercial is being simple. “Use our product now! Just call, you get the product, and such-and-such is as easy as pie!” Things like that is what I’m talking about. They compare a way of ‘old’ life, then bring in their product, and show how much easier everything is now. That’s a big goal for any invention, really, to remove labor. So drifting off from the comparison subject, another thing commercials do is show how much better their product is than another product. Oxi Clean, Bounty, and Glad do this often. Using Bounty paper towels for an example, they spill something, and the screen splits up. With Bounty on one side and the ‘leading competitor on the other, they clean the mess, and Bounty always uses less paper towels. This makes people think, “Wow, that stuff must be the best. I need to get it!”
In summary, attractive people get people’s attention. Depending on the product, the commercials can be serious or funny, but usually not both. Making life easier is what people want, and when compared to another product, the original shines, therefore earning more sales.
Julia, on the e harmony thing, I agree with you, I think usually they do use hot girls, and guys, but I have seen some were I would just take them as normal people. I think what they try to say is that
e harmony gets you with a person that is like your one true love, love at first sight, your soulmate, all that stuff. But what I noticed is that I’ve only seen 3 different pairs, so chances are you might not meet the right person. Plus, most people are raised knowing they should never meet someone they met online in real life. Just saying.