TOPIC 1: FIRST AMENDMENT, COPYRIGHT AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
First Amendment:
I was having a sleepover with a friend of mine from Central Oregon when we got the call that my brother, Andrew, had been in a horrific accident. It was the beginning of spring break, so Andrew was traveling home from Scio to work on the farm.
The roads were icy, and my brother lost control of his Ford Ranger, sending his vehicle into a head-on collision with a woman in her early fifties. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and was killed instantly. My 17 year old brother, trying to keep good grades, do well in sports, and operate the farm after the loss of our dad not long before, now had this trauma on his shoulders.
The next morning there were full stories in several papers, providing his name, where he lived, and what had happened like he was some kind of murderer. It was weeks before I could bump into someone without them bringing the story up. At school kids would come up to me and say "Is your brother the guy that killed that old lady?" If that's how people were talking to me, I can't imagine what Andrew had said to him.
I think it was really unfair of the papers to include his information the way that they did. He was still just a kid. I acknowledge the fact that knowing the truth is important, but what difference does it make who, exactly, the minor in the accident was? Maybe they could have included some basics such as, "a minor from Scio," or something along those lines. My family was still dealing with my dad's accident, so having Andrew's broadcasted that way was extremely difficult for all of us.
"RiP! A Remix Manifesto"
When we were watching the video, I was probably most surprised that they were even aloud to make it. That guy had to really have some guts! I never thought about how many different songs could go into a remix, kind of like how many copyrighted magazine photos could go into a collage. When I'm designing a dress, I usually take two or three basic store-bought patterns and merge them together, slicing and taping and adding where needed. I feel like that's kind of what these people are doing with the remixes. My dress can turn out a million times more different than any of the patterns, and their remix can turn out a million times different than an original song, but both for me, and the remixer, without a solid base we are going to have a struggle.
I really don't know how I would feel about people using my songs for mixes. Jeff Jarvis would say you should because, duh, free advertising! And that's great! It would be cool to see that your art is inspiring others, but at the same time, I have to think about how I would feel if someone started knocking off my dresses. It's a tough thing to wrap your mind around.
How do you know when to draw the line? It's like most things in life. The video talks about trying to keep a balance between the artists and the public. It sounds easy enough, but everyone has a different scale in their minds. How much is too much?
TOPIC 2: BLOG RESPONSES
I responded to Merina's blog because, you must face it, Rob, it was cute! Hail cat videos and sappy love stories!
My comment:
"Yay for sappy love stories! My grandpa picked out my grandma when he was six... he STILL has a picture of her in his wallet from first grade when he clipped her photo out of the yearbook. And then there's my mom and dad that were high school sweethearts, so I've always been a hopeless romantic!
This was such a fun post to read! The humor and the formatting really reflected the light, fluffy feel of the story. Telling the guys to take notes was totally relevant by the way... They could learn a thing or two! :)
Extra was so brilliant to create a little film that's more than just an ad. It's a story! It keeps us begging for more! Like your friends demanding a movie! Yes we see that it's selling gum, but it also selling a really fun idea.
I couldn't find the one I was looking for, but this is similar to the ad we talked about with the post-it love story:)"
I typed "beautiful" into google images this morning. You probably won't be surprised to know that after a few pictures of nature, this is the first photo that popped up.
This is the meaning of beautiful? Really?
Then I typed in "what beauty looks like," and got the same picture, followed by thousands of other similar photos. Photoshopped long legs, smooth skin, and tiny waists.
Then I typed in "what real beauty looks like."
I hit "enter," and ads from Dove's Real Beauty Campaign exploded across my screen. As I scrolled through the images, I became more and more intrigued with this marketing strategy, so I decided to dive into the web to learn a bit more about Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty.
I remember seeing this campaign for the the first time when I was about five years old. The photo above was on the wall in my doctor's office across from the scale. I remember being completely intrigued by the idea that those women could be advertising what beauty could look like. All I had ever seen on posters or in ads were skinny models with long legs. I think that ad really got me thinking about what beauty could be from a young age, and subconsciously, I have always associated Dove with beauty.
I don't really buy their products unless it's what's cheap, but I think I have to say kudos to them for planting that association between their brand and beauty in the mind of a five-year-old.
"The Dove® Campaign for Real Beauty was created to provoke discussion and encourage debate."
Apparently, this campaign was launched in 2004. Dove was looking for a way to revive their brand, so their PR company did an extensive study that reported that only 2 percent of women considered themselves beautiful. At this point Dove was starting to expand their product line beyond soap, so their executives saw the research reports as a great opportunity to start a conversation about beauty.
Dove started featuring women -- "plain folk" -- who's physical appearances didn't match up with what is considered "beautiful" by society and google images alike. The ads encouraged an ongoing conversation between viewers, and targeted women of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds through different phases of the campaign. In 2006, Dove developed "Evolution," a short film. They use storytelling to depict the process from what a typical model looks like when she shows up, fresh-faced, at a photoshoot, until the time her face gets plastered across a billboard. It has soft music, no words, just limited text, and is only about five minutes long. It doesn't even show that it's an ad for Dove until the very end when it flashes the logo across the screen. I first saw this particular ad on Facebook when I was 14 and just getting into the fashion industry, but according to The Huffington Post, this ad had gone viral way before viral was a thing.
That same year, Dove established a fund to help educate/inspire girls about "a wider definition of beauty," and their Super Bowl ad called "Little Girls" reached almost 90 million people. That ad, much like "Evolution," was very clean-cut and minimalistic, but was only a minute long. I feel like this ad played up hidden fear even more than the other ads because it involved children.
I'm usually not a big fan of this tequnique, but the fact that the ad wasn't saying "I'm going to scare you into buying my product," but rather, "I'm going to scare you into making a difference, " made it that much more effective. A year later Dove launched it's third phase of the campaign with world-famous photographer, Annie Leibovitz. "The campaign celebrated the essence of women 50+—wrinkles, age spots, grey hair and all."
Dove had already reached out to mothers, teens, and little girls, and finally they had reached the older women of society. Women of all ages had been targeted, and though they might have had a hard time selling soap to the people of of the upperclass, this campaign of natural beauty was something that could be heard by anyone -- including men.
Since then, Dove has worked with organizations such as Girl Scouts, creating ways to encourage girls around the world. Their goal is to have reached over 15 million girls by the end of this year.
The campaign is now officially running under the name "Choose Beautiful," but is still widely refereed to under its previous name. Not only has the campaign won numerous awards, but it has also almost doubled sales since it first launched in 2004. Beyond that, research from Harvard psychologist, Nancy Etcoff, has reported that women today are much more open-minded about beauty. Although this is definitely a case of cause marketing, so named by Forbes magazine, the Association Principle has been the most effective asset to the campaign. Now when people see Dove's logo, many are going to have "natural beauty" or "positivity" pop into their brains -- that's a lot more effective than just a white bar of soap. The Campaign for Real Beauty was made into posters, billboards, TV ads, videos, and social media ads. I think Dove has done a really good job engaging their consumers and asking them what their branding means to them. I think Jeff Jarvis would approve of that. I read that their PR team is working on making some hashtags to go along with the campaign, and that they are going to work on giving positive feedback to women making self-criticizing comments about their appearances on social media. I think building up that element of their media is going to be the boost they need to keep the campaign going.
I was glad to read that social media is something Dove is really trying to work on, because their accounts are pretty sparse. Other than the videos and billboard ads, I never see anything about Dove on social media. I feel like once hey get that pulled together it's really going to influence their brand for the better. They have a good start but could improve in this area.
Aerie, advertising with unretouched, "real" models
This ad campaign is pretty original. I recently saw the brand, Always, do something similar with their #likeagirl campaign, and Aerie has been advertising with unretouched images with their #AerieREAL campaign, but other than that I haven't seen anything like Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. I think it was a hard concept to go about tackling because this campaign isn't just about selling products, its about conveying ideas. They might convince me to feel better about my body, but they still have to convince me to buy their soap.
Not everyone is impressed with the ad campaign. There's still the point to be considered that Dove's ads are only enforcing the standards for women to be visually beautiful in society. I remember my mom writing an angry letter to Dove after picking up a copy of The Reader's Digest, with a Dove ad on the back cover, from off of my 12-year-old brother's bedroom floor. She wanted to know why they felt the need to show mostly-naked women to sell soap. Feminists around the world have written whole Thesis Projects bashing the campaign.
"Drawing on feminist-disability theory, I argue that the campaign represented an ideology of naïve integration. While the acceptance of diverse physical bodies was espoused by the campaign, the textual and visual discourse simultaneously reflected many traditional beauty standards and practices. "-Dr. Sarah N. Heiss, professor at The School of Communication Studies, Ohio University
Others have been quick to point out that Dove's "daddy company," Unilever, is also the father of ultra-sexist Axe, among other brands. Sure that's pretty questionable, but all I really have to say to that is do you really think Dove has much say in how its sister-brands spend their Friday nights? In response to one of their more recent ads, Erin Keane wrote an article for Salon.com called, "Stop posting that Dove ad: “Real beauty” campaign is not feminist." In the article one of the biggest complaints was that the ad depicts women's worst critics as themselves.
"Except we’re not — at least, not naturally," Keane writes. "All of that body image baggage is internalized by growing up in a society that enforces rigid beauty standards, and since the target demographic for this ad is clearly women over 35 with access to library cards (which is to say, women who have had some time to figure this reality out), it is baffling that Dove can continue to garner raves for its pandering, soft-focus fake empowerment ads."
Businessinsider.com has an article byLaura Stampler called "Why People Hate Dove's 'Real Beauty' Ad," that surfaces the same kinds of arguments. The articles suggest that women's self-consciousness is all society's fault. I have a pretty big issue with that statement because, hello, we are society. How can you change society if you don't change individuals? There are many women out there like the one in the Facebook post below. My problem with what she has to say is the lack of qualifying language she is using. The ad wasn't saying all woman hate themselves for stupid reasons that don't exist. The ad was saying that some women need to be less critical of themselves. As far as my opinion goes, that of the average-Joe consumer, I think the campaign is great. After spending time in the fashion industry it's easy to pick up unhealthy standards of beauty. The models get so much attention, so much praise for being so tall, so thin, so "beautiful," that I have found myself really struggling with my own self-image. It's really encouraging to see what Dove has come up with.
The campaign is memorable because it's relatable. Because they are conveying more than just a product, the ideas they are expressing are something that can be brought into casual conversation among consumers. That's why their ads such as "Evolution" have gone so viral. Here I am ten years later still seeing that ad pop up in my news feeds. That conversational element of the campaign has been such a boost to their brand.
When I see the Dove campaign ads I couldn't care less that they are about soap. I care about the messages that they present and I know that I'm not the only one who feels motivated by them. It's just another rare reminder that someone can see and say "wow, maybe I am beautiful." I think that if more companies made a point to bring broader beauty standards into the way they market their brands, it could really make a difference in the way we see ourselves. It would be harder to forget the messages if we were surrounded by them.
I do realize that expanding the issue is impossible for the success of the beauty industry. If everyone did really think they were beautiful, they wouldn't buy products like cellulite cream anymore... and that would really put a damper on some companies' pocketbooks.
The executives at Dove made a genius decision when they launched this campaign. Sure, the feminists have their begrudging opinions about it, and it has been running for a long time. It wouldn't hurt to try to update the campaign, but Dove is working on that. I do think that they need to continue to stretch beauty standards in advertising. Bringing people with disabilities into the campaign, and maybe even steering into more intellectual standpoints of beauty beyond physical attractiveness. Maybe what Dove needs is to put this campaign to bed, using it as the foundation for a new campaign that tells a broad story. Based on this campaign, I am much more likely do buy Dove's products. I might not tell all my friends to go buy Dove soap directly, but I would totally share Dove's ads with them because I fully support the messages they express in this campaign. Good or bad, Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty will be in the advertising textbooks for decades to come.
After doing this assignment I learned a lot about what makes a good ad. So far I have concluded that the Association Principle is one of the key elements to success in advertising.
I was really surprised to see that their ads really didn't cost loads of money to make. They were just well done with good messages and that's why they went viral. Listening to Jeff Jarvis' advice and letting your consumers join the conversation is extremely important too! Tell a story that your consumers can relate to, and make them feel important. Because at the end of the day they are the ones buying your product, and that's how you get paid. That makes them pretty darn important doesn't it?
I decided to look up my blender on social media and see how its brand, Ninja, is using social media. The first thing I took notice of was that they used their logo as their profile picture, not a photo of a physical product. I think that is smart because it shows that their brand encompasses so much more.
The next thing that I saw right away was how engaged they are with their consumers. They had hundreds of tweets responding to posts that just average Sallys had posted. They were asking them how they use their products and also giving recommendations.
There was one guy who posted about his brand new slow cooker breaking down on him and they responded right away trying to solve the problem. I thought that was really cool. Besides that, they post a lot of tutorials and photos along with links
to recipes and blogs that can inspire the consumer. I think if you had a blender and really liked it, and used a lot of their recipes, you would want to buy their other products so you could try the other ninja recipes too. They have a lot of relatable posts that aren't so cluttered and annoying as some brands.
I think their target audience is probably middle-aged people. They had ads targeting people with kids and people that were really into fitness. I think that responding to the tweets of the consumers at that age is genius because I don't think a lot of other brands do that so much, ad it could really draw the consumers into the brand. Social media has a lot of food-related stuff on it. I think that even younger people could relate to most of their posts because recipes are something that doesn't always have an age zone.
I thought what Jeff Jarvis said about letting your consumers tell you what your product means to them is gold. That concept is what stood out to me the most when I looked up the Ninja brand.
They were asking their consumers what THEY were doing with the company's products, and it seems like it was really working. People want to talk about themselves and share their experiences. Using that to your advantage just makes sense.
TOPIC 2:
My Family :)
I just watched an ad on Facebook that was created for the Super Bowl, called "Farmer" advertising Dodge Trucks. The ad was very eloquently worded. It's a two-minute poem that unfolds this great narrative about the romanticism behind "The Farmer." I got goosebumps watching it, because it really hit me so close to home. It made me feel pride for my country and pride for my family tradition. I didn't even know what it was selling until the very end when it just flashed a Dodge Truck across the screen, but I really thought it was genius. I honestly couldn't care less about cars or car-brands, but now whenever I see a Dodge, I associate it with that feeling of pride that the short ad made me feel, and I know tat's exactly what they wanted. I'm not sure what a city-person would get out of the ad, but I know it really worked on me. I think that regardless of where you're from this ad could be pretty effective for adults and some teens even. An add that really didn't do it for me was advertising First4Lawyers, which I know nothing about, first of all (no pun intended). This guy gets this letter in the mail telling him he's cleared and that justice has been achieved, but then he starts dancing and frolicking about to "I can't Fight This Feeling Anymore."The sad thing is that the ad is so cheaply done that they don't even play the real version of the song. I think they were probably targeting middle-lower class people. It has a nice little narrative that goes with it, and the videography isn't bad, but the stupidity of the actor is all I could really focus on. I think they might have been trying to make you relate to the guys emotions too, but it was lacking depth. Even the company name doesn't sound legit. I just didn't feel convinced.
TOPIC 1: Social Media If you were to scroll through all the people I follow on social media, it wouldn't take long before you found out they're as eclectic as my taste in music. I have everything from fashion to farming in my feeds, but I love that! Here are three examples of who I have in my feed and why: 1. I follow Elle Saab on Pinterest because he is my favorite fashion designer and I am always very inspired by his work. 2. I follow Sarah Dobson on Pinterest because she pins a lot of healthy, fusion-style, recipes that I really like trying out. 3. I follow FFA on Facebook because they are always sharing really cool stories about young entrepreneurs and exciting things that are going on in agriculture right now.
On Monday one of my fashion-designer friends on Facebook posted: "Happy Monday to everyone! Keep your head up and know that you will get through this. Life is beautiful and we need to appreciate the little things. God is good." That simple little quote pretty much made my whole day. Most people post about how miserable life is, but here this guy is taking the time to post something positive without being afraid that people were going to think he was lame or something. It was just a really nice reminder of how good things really are.
I feel like social media, for my generation, is a great tool for strengthening democracy for several reasons. In high school we get a brief textbook-explanation of what the government is all about, and the teacher usually tries to talk about some current events, but for most kids all of that is lost to "I wonder why Jenny and Dean broke up?" or other more "interesting" things. I think that what kids are seeing in social media about all of that has had a more interesting spin put on it that kids can understand, relate to, and even participate in. I think that it's hard to always get both sides of the story from social media, but I think kids my age are at least getting interested in things that they might have blurred out together if they weren't getting it from social media.
TOPIC 2:
WWGD?
I was completely blown away that one little blog post could cause o much trouble! The DELL HELL Jarvis talked about in his book was shocking. I write blogposts all the time, but in my mind it's just my grandma and the old neighbor lady reading my thoughts. It was eye-opening for me to see how many people he reached with his writing, and the impact it had on such a massive company. I also really appreciated the way he handled the situation once he saw what he had actually done. He really stood for everything he said without trying to go back and apologize, and I think that really took courage.
Reading about his experience made me realize that what you put on the internet can go a lot farther than you would think. When I am writing my blogposts or advertising my business on social media, I think that's a good thing to have in the back of my mind. Jeff Jarvis Question: "We need a seal of approval for the Internet." I agree with the author's take on the argument because one of the great things about the internet is the freedom that it gives people. If you want to find something you can trust it's not that hard to find good sources! I think that in many ways there are "seals of approval" on several pages already, like who they've been published by, or whether they are a .com or a .org. Sometimes I don't want a "seal" though. Sometimes I want to hear the opinion of the 32 year old blogger that lives in his mom's basement, and sometimes I need The New York Times to tell me instead. I like having the choice.
For example, when I'm trying to do research on what's trending in the fashion industry right now, I don't need every fashion blog to have a shiny stamp to make their thoughts valid. I'm looking for honest opinions from honest everyday people. I also check out sites like VOGUE and Glamour that do seem to have that shiny seal. I think there's a time for all that, but I don't think it's always necessary.
Current Event:
http://positivenews.org.uk/2015/culture/positivetravel/18614/new-disability-travel-site-making-exploring-accessible-for-all/
TOPIC 1: ABOUT YOU -- Who's who in Media and Society this term:
Share a bit about yourself (major, career goal, why at LBCC ...)
I am currently a junior at Scio High School, but I'm hoping to graduate from high school with my AA this spring. From there I'd like to get an internship in the fashion industry in New York and go to school at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
What are you most interested in learning about the media?
I have never really been very good at following current events. This term I'd really like to improve my knowledge of what's going on in the world around me.
Tell us something you are passionate about outside of college (e.g. I'm a runner. This past year I ran two relays -- Hood to Coast and Wild Rogue; and two half marathons ...)
I really enjoy designing clothes and cooking! This summer I waitressed at The Cowboy Dinner Tree where the menu consists of a choice between a whole chicken or a 32oz steak. I also cooked for a farm crew which was really enjoyable. Tonight I'm showing eight looks at Portland Fashion Week, so I have also been working hard at getting ready for that. Annddddd I really like writing! :)
What is your reaction to what you've seen so far in "Second Skin"?
I think it was really sad to see how much people are willing to give up in their lives in order to escape their reality and go to an imaginary world. I think it's like any addiction though. I was never allowed to have video games when I was a kid because if I had time to "waste" on video games, my dad thought I may as well be out working on the farm. I think he had a pretty good point.
Are the experiences shown in the video new to you or can you relate to the people in the movie? Cite an example.
I can totally relate to wanting to find an escape. Sometimes life can be so overwhelming that it's nice to just get away for a while. I could also relate to the idea that even if you're not cool in real life, you can go in the video game and have an avatar that is "beautiful" or "strong" or what not. I can see how that would be appealing.
What, if any, online games do you play, how many hours do you play them, and why do you play those particular games?
I have never played video games. I do, however, use social media a lot. I spend more time scrolling through instagram and pinterest than I should... I usually check up on stuff before I go to bed, but sometimes I look at the time can can't believe how late it is! I've been trying to shut my phone off right at 8:00 now so I can do my nightly routine distraction-free.
I was having a sleepover with a friend of mine from Central Oregon when we got the call that my brother, Andrew, had been in a horrific accident. It was the beginning of spring break, so Andrew was traveling home from Scio to work on the farm. 
I think it was really unfair of the papers to include his information the way that they did. He was still just a kid. I acknowledge the fact that knowing the truth is important, but what difference does it make who, exactly, the minor in the accident was? Maybe they could have included some basics such as, "a minor from Scio," or something along those lines. My family was still dealing with my dad's accident, so having Andrew's broadcasted that way was extremely difficult for all of us. 
When we were watching the video, I was probably most surprised that they were even aloud to make it. That guy had to really have some guts! I never thought about how many different songs could go into a remix, kind of like how many copyrighted magazine photos could go into a collage. 
