Much Ado About Nothing

The big, scary advertising monster
What do Ford motor coloring books, cute online pets, carrots wrapped in a McDonald’s wrappers and a 6 month old baby have in common? Deceptive advertising, that’s what, now come take a journey deep into the dark underbelly of the advertising Empire. Ladies and gentlemen what you’re about to read will amaze and astound you. Advertisers are using many ways to advertise to you, some ethical and some ethically questionable. Whatever the case these ad’s are really affecting our youth.

There are so many ways that advertisers are deceiving us. One of the ways is hiring psychologists to “find out what makes us tick”. They study daydreams, drawings and more. The advertisers use the info. To make their product more appealing to whatever age group they’re marketing to. They also use brand name loyalty, which is where advertising companies spend millions trying to create an image for their product. Babies as young as 6 months can recognize certain logos, and by the age of 2 can recognize HUNDREDS. The last type I’m going to mention is viral advertising. Advertiser’s data mine on you to find out what sites you’ve visited and send a message on myspace or facebook (online chat sites) to your friends that looks like a personal recommendation from you. With all these types of deceptions out there it’s impossible for young minds to not be affected.

Now that we know some types of deceptive advertising, it’s time to put their effects under the magnifying glass. Indeed, a study done on 60 underprivileged kids ages 3-5 yielded some shocking results. In this experiment the kids where fed two samples, 1 a McDonald’s food products (burgers, fries and carrots) the other the same products, but in a plain, unmarked wrapper. The results where overwhelmingly in favor of the Macdonald’s wrapper. The study suggests that The advertisers may have physically changed kid’s taste buds. Advertisers have already implanted so firmly in these kid’s minds that anything with a McDonald’s wrapper must be good. The obesity epidemic, advertising is at least partially to blame for. On T.V, in magazines and other places, the vast majority of the ads are for junk foods. These ads are so effective it’s making kids buy more and more things that are unhealthy for them. On a subject closely related the problem with eating disorders and body image. Advertisers don’t just market a product; they market a body image among other things. On T.V, in magazines there are tons of photos of skinny girls and buff boys. Young girls and boys see this and they want that body so much they’ll do almost anything, like starve themselves or take steroids. I believe it’s true that an advertiser’s job is to market a product. Well, good job advertiser’s look at what you helped do.

Advertisers are everywhere. Where do you expect to see advertisements? In the shopping mall? At the movies? On billboards? How about in pre-schools? Elementary, middle and high schools? An online interactive website for kids? Its true folks the advertising Empire‘s everywhere. For example, Ford motors printed out safety booklets, it had tips for water safety, safety around the house and of course car safety. They also did an a b c’s booklets and c stood for…….. You guessed it, car! Although in their defense f didn’t stand for Ford. On both of these things, the Ford logos on every other page. More and more pre-schools are being plagued by advertisers wanting to do an” educational Activity.” Advertisers think that there’s so many potential customers (kids and parents) that it’s too good opportunity to pass up They want to do this because it 1.can make kids remember their brand ,to buy later2.make parents think nice about their product, this makes them want to buy it when the time comes for a ,new car for example. If you thought online was safe, think again. One site, Neopets, an online interactive site for young kids is a wash with advertising. For example you can play games that feature Lucky Charms or do a triathlon where the golden Arches are displayed every inch of the way. With all this advertising around how can anybody think for themselves?

In conclusion, the advertising companies’ people probably think all they’re doing is making people aware of their product. I disagree, in a skype interview with Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist and founder of a campaign for a commercial free childhood, she explained that this is a big problem, and that there’s a problem when psychologists are involved in advertising, companies are invading our privacy and affecting kids as young as 6 months. People need to know about all these forms of advertising, how they work, and what they’re doing to us. If we become aware we have a better chance of combating this mass brainwashing. It’s a bit like having to defend yourself against an assailant; blindfolded.if we take off the blindfold you can block a whole lot better. Good night and good luck.

I just read this article on companies doing ‘educational” promotions in elementery school.For example Ford motors did a booklet on safety iin the car and other places.It was an alphabet book,and A stood for…..you guessed it automobile,although F didn’t stand for Ford.The Ford logo was on every other page.Companies say that there’s a lot of potential customers(parents,and kids)that they’d be stupid not to try to get their poduct “advertised” there.Some teachers and parents are really upset about this, they say that blocks and bayby dolls are what belong in a nusery school Not ford motor ABC coloring books.The Scools say tha tdoing this is an exelent way to bring funds to give children a quality education.Experts say that ther’s less expensive way of teaching things kids need to know that doesn’t need corporate sponsoring.For my part i never remember getting  ford motor coloring books,or anything like it.The closest thing was when a firefighter came in and gave us a coloring book with dalmations everywhere.I think that it’ important to find other ways of provididng quality education to kids.

We are studying advertsing and especially deceptive advertising.Who would have thought there where so many ways big corporate companies use deceptive advertising?For example,using phycology,the big companies are getting expert phycologists to find out what makes us tick.They study artwork daydreams and more to create ads that get inside our heads and make us want to buy the product.Another example is building brand name loyalty,the companies try and build a reconizable image with their product.Kids as young as 6 MONTHS can begain to reconize brand names.At the age of TWO they can establish brand loyalty,and by bthe time they head off to shool,they can reconize HUNDREDS of logos.Also there’s street advertising,advertisers go into a community and find the cool kids and have them use or wear their product,giving it “cool” status.This is an exellent “in” to the savvy and elusive teen market.The last form of advertising is marketing R-rated movies to kids.They do this in print, run commercials for the movie during a time when a younger audience is most likekly watching.This same thing happens for msic,and video games.The toys form the mature movie,or video game are marketed to kids AS YOUNG AS FOUR.I think these forms of advertsing are completely reprehensable and,especially using phycology is unethical.I belive that individual responasbility should play a role in this,because at the end of the day it’s everyones responsability to understand advertising and to learn to see through it.I just don’t think it’s possible if essentially we’re being brainwashed by phycologists behind the advertising companies that play with our mind.

In class we read this article about neopets.We are studying propaganda and censorship.We are learning about advertising as a part of propaganda.We are studying a specific form of advertsing ccalled immersive advertising,where insted of it being an ad by it’s self you incorporate the ad into whatever activity you’re doing(ex. playing neopets). This way,later when you see the porduct you asociate the product with the fun of the activity.The article was about how you can find traces of advertising a lot of places in the online world of neopia for example a game you can play has the golden arces prominently displayed.It also talked about how kids spend a lot of time at home playing with their online pet.Some parents in the article where veary upset at the amout of brand name this site has and others say that it’s safe,and a mixed bag,and just takre the good with the bad.I think that online,or in the real world if you learn to not be manipulated by advertising,then you won’t,online or in the real world.

For homework we had to read an interesting article on the beijing police and how it plans to montior web usage in China.In the article it says that the police routinly block foreign web sites and sut down domestic ones they deem inappropriate.I find this a little unfair,the measures are in place to controll what the populations sees and how it views the world.It also says it’s in place to prevent inappropriate usage of the internet(pirating ex.).I think the measures could be effective for this pupus,it may scare anyone who’s on an inappropriate site.I think the measures are good as far as that’s concerned.but bad because they are using it to coontroll the information the poulation sees.

Today In class we learned about North korea and where able to get an inside look about what it’s like because three reporters where granted special permission to see and film North Korea.Thousands of rules must be strictly followed everyday,one little comment could mean the difference between a life in the labour camps and a life in the city.If you loook a foregner in the eye you can be arrested.Even the reporters must abide by strict laws,the hotel rooms are bugged and there are always “guides” wihtin heraring.All comments must be kept to themselvs,only in the privacy of the hotel romm or taxi are they allowed to share or show what they think.The Koreans are force fed propaganda on the old leader Kim il song and the new leader Kim Jong Il.for most propaganda is all they’ve heard since childhood,so they are bound to believe it.The propaganda people combine old superstions like the crane means everlasting life,with larger than life stories about the leader.it is a cruel and oppressive gouverment

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A class Project we have been working on for the past two weeks has been making a digital children’s book.I think out book was crazy and a little weird,but we had a lot of fun making it and i hope the kids we read it too will get a few laughs out of it.All things considered i think my group did a pretty great job.The whole project was used to teach us elements of a children’s stroy,and we had to work them in to our writing.We built up suspence by a phrase in the book(little did he know…),also by the music we chose for the backround.We ceated mood by the way we phased thing,for example,Carter stood,paralized with fear.We used figurative language by describing the actin.We used hyperbole by saying that the dinosaur was 3000000 feet tall.WE used personification by saying that the candy cane has super powers and also having the dinosaur talk at the end.We used metaphor by saying that the dino scooped up people in his mouth like a buldozer(Although i guess that’s more of a similie).
I really enjoyed working on this assignment and i think that it will help a llot of people.One we are trying to teach little kids lessons through the book so that’s one group of people that’ll help.Also in ten years we can go back and laugh at the work we did all those years ago.
I think the assignment helped me undeerstand the consepts way better then if we just had to take a vocabulary test,because we actually had to apply our knowlege of the conseps(see above) and use them in a story.Also,some people are more artistic and so having to draw out these consepts could help them learn better.
WHat i would do differently is to make the colors stand oooout more,because when you upload photos digitally you loose some of the quality,so if i had known this i would have made the colors more vivid.
The last thing is the theme.Our theme was courageousness,and we manedged to get that across by having the main character vanquish the dino with a candy cane.