Blog Post #7 - Minimalist Advertisements

I have always liked ads that are simple and visually appealing, but reveal a strong message. The minimalist style works very well for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the eye doesn't have to work hard to find the central image of the ad. In the below ads for Colgate dental floss, the bright coloured fruits are front and centre; you can't miss them. As you can see, all of the seeds from the fruit have been removed to represent the idea that dental floss will remove all off the unnecessary food particles that inhabit our mouths.

Minimalist ads are also effective because they grab the attention of viewers. I am so used to seeing ads in magazines that are full of text such as makeup ads that list reasons why the product is better and what scientific discoveries prove that this product will make you look ten years younger. These ads tend to be too busy and I hardly stop to read the copy. For the ads below, my eye can register what the product is and what is being sold to me. It is visually appealing and also clever. Minimalist ads tend to be witty and smart; you usually take a second to look at the page and figure out what is going on. I think this contributes to the ad being more effective because viewers till tend to look at the ad longer than a typical make-up ad. Viewers might want to know what is going on and why this kiwi has no seeds!

I also like that the product, which is Colgate dental floss, is secondary and much less important than the images of the seedless fruits. Minimalist ads play on the idea that viewers are already aware of the brands and products. I do not think a minimalist ad would work well for an unknown brand unless social media was integrated so that people could link to more information. When I look at this ad, I don not need to know anything else. It is simply dental floss!

Today, with so many visual messages being thrown in my face, I am not as responsive to text-heavy, visually cluttered ads. I prefer a minimalist message that is clear, concise, and with a hint of cleverness.

Both images from this site: http://blog.the-dot.co.uk/tag/minimalist-print-ads/

The Persona of Carrie Bradshaw

For this post, I decided to talk about one of my favourite celebrities, Sarah Jessica Parker, better known as Carrie Bradshaw from HBO's Sex and the City. This is my all-time favourite show and as a result, I became obsessed with the persona of Carrie Bradshaw. In the show, Carrie is a 30-something single woman, constantly hovering between old flames and new relationships. She is shoe-obsessed and is known for her eccentric but glam fashion sense. She has come to be seen as a fashion icon because of her array of stylish, fashion-forward outfits as seen on the show.

Since I began watching, I was in love with everything about Carrie, from her flawless blonde curls, to her fast-paced and glamorous lifestyle. Now, looking back on my love for her, I realize that it was the persona of her that was created on the show that I was drawn to, and not the real person inside. I realized I didn't actually know much about Sarah Jessica Parker. This probably contributed to my love for Carrie as a persona because Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't in the public eye compared to a celebrity like Angelia Jolie; her true personality was unknown to me so I solely identified with Carrie as if she were real. It is interesting to think about television characters and how much people invest in their devotion to them.

Below is a series of images taken from the Sex and the City Movie. Her costumes for the movie were amazing, each outfit looked better than the last. They showcased how her style had evolved and portrayed her as a more grown up, sophisticated woman. Carrie's outfits on the show allowed a large majority of viewers to identify with her unique style. She was always changing it up. Her persona is largely based on her love of all things fashion and of course, shoes. She was best known for popularizing the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. "Manolos" were granted a certain prestige because of her.

I still adore Carrie Bradshaw, although now I recognize it is her persona that I am drawn to, and not the real person on the inside!

http://www.fashionsteelenyc.com/2011/11/inspired-by-carrie-bradshaw.html

Topic Proposal #4: Research Paper

For this research paper, I wanted to focus on fast food advertising. I stumbled upon an article that was discussing McDonald's newest commercial for kids that advocates healthy eating. In the commercial, a cartoon goat eats everything in sight and it ends up making him feel sick. The "catchy" song playing over the images explains next that the goat must eat a better diet of fruit and dairy. The family takes the goat to McDonalds to eat milk and apple slices. Now the goat is strong! Meanwhile, the other character who is a kid is eating McDonald's Happy Meal of fries and chicken nuggets.

The commercial can be seen by visiting this link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/mcdonalds-happy-meal-ads_n_1323809.html

I would like to argue that the commercial makes use of rhetorical strategies to convince young viewers that eating McDonalds is healthy. I will consult academic sources to prove that fast food advertising to children promotes a negative message and an unhealthy diet. I will look back to the specific strategies we've discussed in class to strengthen my argument about the visual messages, such as the idea that the characters in the commercial are from a farm.

For my multimedia component, I would like to create a mock website that critically analyze's the advertising campaign in a more visually appealing way. I will highlight important points from my essay such as nutritional information, rhetorical strategies, and past advertising campaigns.

Any feedback would be helpful! Thanks!

Blog Post #5: Lynching Photograph

For this blog post, I decided to choose a more serious topic. The idea was inspired by a photography and politics class I took in MIT. We studied lynching photographs and asked the question, how can we view these photographs today in a different light? The photo below is a well-known lynching photo from 1930. The two young boys were hanged because they were accused of raping a young white girl.

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm18.html

In class, we were first shown only the bottom half of the image with all the spectators. We talked about what we saw. I noticed the young woman in a flowery dress holding a man's hand. It appears as if they are on a date or at least some sort of couple. They look perfectly content. We also talked about the people who seem to be looking straight into the camera, such as the man in the middle with a moustache.  Without seeing the two lynched bodies above, this photo appears as a normal social gathering of people. However, the meaning of the photo drastically changes when we learn what is actually going on. Therefore, the layout and arrangement of the photograph is key to how viewers interpret the image. 

For me, the importance of this photo is that it shows how context can completely change the meaning and purpose of a photograph. Originally, these lynching photos were printed on postcards to disseminate the idea of white supremacy. Now, these photos are shown in textbooks and classrooms to teach a lesson of tolerance. This photo can be used to convey the argument that it is not right to stand by and watch injustice. By showing how easy it is to misinterpret this image, it is revealing how the seemingly innocent spectators are really witnesses to a terrible act of cruelty. Their blank, sometimes smiling faces come off as disturbing when the true photo is shown.