Carl's Jr takes it too far? Blog Project #1

Sex sells, that's a fact. Well... maybe not a real fact but I think a psychology teacher I had talked about it being almost a fact. Some people have not seen a Carl's Jr commercial before, they aren't very frequent, but as a previous employed worker of theirs I have. The commercials feature a half dressed woman eating a burger as barbeque sauce drips off their face and on to their breasts. This sex appeal will hopefully bring all the hungry men into the restaurants to eat their western extra thick burgers.

Carl's Jr. usually doesn't use celebrities in their commercials, expect for of course the one with Paris Hilton. I mean who could forget that, right? however, they have often used many famous models in the advertisements. These commercials aren't very complex, minimal conversation, usually music in the background, while  half naked girls lick hot dogs or rub their faces on burgers, and somewhere towards the end they will throw in a Carl's Jr. star somewhere or say the name of whatever was being eaten (not like anyone paid attention to the food). These saucy (pun intended) commercials last anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute and usually show up past five o'clock on regular channels.

I think as far as persuasive techniques go, there is definitely famous person testimonial with appearances made by Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. While I think their could be potential for snob appeal, I feel like it goes past that.. maybe more along the lines of glamour appeal by using flawless skinny girls with perfect hair and makeup.

I think that this kind of provocative advertisement is not new at all, however for a fast food chain it is. Soft porn and sex appeal is nothing new to the media in general, but to take something as gross as fast food and give it sex appeal? Its almost impressive, but still offensive. "
Carl's Jr. is not exactly trying to market towards the ladies quite as much as they try to market on them" says Madelelne Davles, and I agree. These commercials are advertising towards men who want more, to hungry men. I think that these commercials are offensive because it is borderline porn, could you imagine watching these commercials with you kids, or your kids' friends? Talk about awkward!
I don't think it is very stereotypical, but as Dr. Dre would say "b!#^*es aint nothing but hoes and tricks" and in that sense, yes the commercial is very stereotypical.

The weaknesses are that these commercials do not appeal to everyone, they do not appeal to kids and usually do not appeal to women. It would be better is the ads interested every member of the potential viewing audience. The strength is that to whom it does speak to, it really draws them in. It is very memorable, because you will either remember it as offensive or sexy, the two most memorable attributes.

Based on the commercial I would not want to eat there, nothing about those commercials make me want to eat a burger. I personally would warn against it, not because of the commercial, but because I worked there and the burgers are nothing close to those in the commercials. There are many websites devoted to complaining about these sleazy commercials, but maybe the best is the Carl's Jr complaint board where no one complains about the food, only about the commercials: http://www.complaintboard.com/carls-jr-l13140.html


A couple things that I learned when looking into this topic was that there are numerous hate blogs with Carl's Jr as their topic. Also, while talking to a friend who is currently employed with the Albany Carl's Jr I learned that many costumers complain to the cashiers and crew members about these offensive commercials. So, why doesn't Carl's Jr change the direction of their commercials? Well, that must be because it is working. Something that really surprised me was the petition against Carl's Jr: http://www.change.org/p/carl-s-jr-clean-up-your-advertising-campaigns-to-stop-objectifying-women

Also, here is a funny anti Carl's Jr video from Shane Dawson:

Madelelne Davles' article, Put it in my mouth: history of Carl's Jr commercials: http://jezebel.com/5990397/put-it-in-my-mouth-a-history-of-disgusting-carls-jr-ads

media & society: week 3

         Other than Facebook, Tumblr is the social networking site that I am most actively on. The other week my good friend Rachel showed me the weirdest company blog on Tumblr, and that company would be Denny's Diner. They have the FUNNIEST (and weirdest) advertising blog ever! Now, obviously they are targeting all the weird Tumblr users, and I would say its working. I always get a kick out of their posts. I am guilty of wandering into Denny's at 3 am, actually it happens more than I care to admit, but cheap breakfast and ads appeal to me. Just incase any of you need a good laugh, I will leave the link to this blog here:  http://blog.dennys.com/

 


This is my first year as a voter, however this is not my first year being politically aware. The big measure that I am passionate about is measure 92, labeling GMOs. I have been very passionate about this subject for three or four years now. Just as people have the right to food, they should have the right to know what is in their food. As much as I try to spread the word of GMOs and Monsanto, I do not always have a perfectly balanced GMO life style (like I said earlier, Denny's at 3 am) but when I grocery shop I like to look for the least modified produce and foods that I can. This election I will be voting yes on measure 92. On the TV I have only seen commercials for farmers against measure 92, and I understand why they are against it, I mean after all it does cost them more money to label food. But I think that cost is worth the knowledge of what we are putting into our bodies. However, there are many Pro 92 ads on the internet. My two favorites are from Wholes Foods Market and Oregon right to know.


I couldn't find the video for the Oregon right to know video under the "insert video from YouTube"  so here is the link instead, I hope you take the time to view it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6kfmLw6zhk

media & society: week two

Last week I made a Twitter account for this class. I have managed to stay away from Twitter, but I guess my twitter free streak had to die sometime..
On my Twitter account @smile_attherain, I am following a few accounts but I will just name my favorite three. I am following +TechCrunch to stay in the loop on all the new tech goodies, since I otherwise would be out of the loop. Also I am following +coreytaylorrock because I LOVE slipknot and stone sour, and I had bought tickets to +KNOTFEST so following Corey gave me a few updates on the new masks and album. Sadly, I am no longer going to knot fest... but my love for Corey and his bands is still strong. Last but not least I am following +BMW because I have and love my little BMW and I like reading all the questions people have about their cars and seeing all the unique and amazing BMWs in the world.
The best tweet I have read so far was by +Wall Street Journal about how Gandhi nominated 5 times and shortlisted 3 times for the Nobel peace prize, and why he never won.
I do believe that social media has enhanced my ability to take action in democracy, government , and other activities. Everyday while scrolling through Facebook or Tumblr I see posts and stories about something political, or why I should sign a petition for something. I think social network sites have helped spread word of stories much faster than on news print. Also it helps get in contact with people of the same beliefs and organize marches to have their voices heard.

I like the concept of elegant organization, its simple and yet overlooked. This concept probably relates to all of our lives because we are always trying to make something better. We are constantly
taking what we want to do and trying to do it better, no matter if its study techniques, painting, making music, dancing, blog organization, or woking on our "handy man" skills. As Jeff Jarvis says, " Elegant organization: providing the means to bring out the knowledge of a crowd and help that crowd share that, I think its very important".
"Most people watch junk", I agree with Jeff when he says that there is junk everywhere. If people want junk then they will find junk. Lets be honest, who doesn't enjoy the occasional stupid video or less important article, or does anyone remember the bunny who ate the raspberry? Sometimes, that's some good junk.

Media & Society: Post 1/ Topic 1

Hello!
          My name is Danielle, I chose to enroll in this class because I am extremely interested in the way media effects society. I always try to keep up on all the current news stories, local and international. I have never taken a journalism class before, but I am very opinionated and journalism seems like a good outlet to express my opinions about what is going on in the world.

         Journalism is not my main course of study, and my major is currently undecided. However, I know that I want to do something culture related, so I took a few anthropology classes this term. I absolutely love other country's cultures, history, and traditions. In the summer of '13 I traveled on my own to Germany, Italy, and Sweden, and found that the diversity between countries, regions, and even cities is astonishing. I have always loved Germany's culture so it was no surprise to me that I had such a blast going to history museums, staying in youth hostels, and socializing with the locals of Southern Germany while exploring cities or while traveling by train. What I found surprising was getting off the plane in Umea, Sweden and instantly feeling at home. Before arriving in Sweden I had no idea what to expect and honestly I have never even thought about Sweden prior to going there. I stayed with a lovely Swedish family who gladly pushed me into the friendly, outdoorsy, fika loving, Swedish life style. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed Italy too, but Sweden takes the cake. did I mention that I kissed a moose in Sweden?

        I am most interested in learning about the power of mass media,  how quickly news can travel, and if bad publicity really exists. Mass media is everywhere, along the highways, on our phones, and on our TV, but its hard to grasp how much the media really effects us everyday, even when you think its not. I would like to explore the extent of the media that we soak up every day with out noticing.

       There are so many things that I am passionate about, I don't even know where to start. I am passionate about art, and music, the world, and all the people who live in it. Especially people, and making sure those people get their voices heard. Last May I went to a protest against GMOs called "march against Monsanto" in Portland and it was extremely worth while. I got to talk with a lot of well known activists from the Portland area and listen to the talk about their ideas and share mine with them. There was a Native American chief who came to the protest to share with us the lore of his tribe and how the Willamette Valley was created, it was beautiful to say the least. He talked of times before mass production, and when the land was rich and happy to provide food for us. I love listening to the thoughts and beliefs of others and truly understanding their cause. I love being apart of something bigger than myself.