Presentations

I thought that the commercials were all pretty good. It seemed like all of them used humor in some way to appeal to people. The one that stuck out in my mind was the one for iBall. The product itself is pretty much worthless, but the way it was presented was really humorous and if the iBall had any value, I would buy it because of the commercial. The commercials were directed at high school students, and what the iBall would provide would be appealing to students. The examples of what it could be used for were presented in a funny way, but were somewhat valid. The hat emporium commercial was similar to this because it showed different uses for hats and had humor which both make the commercial more appealing and effective. 

Pottery Barn

I agree with what most of the article said. However, it made it seem like all it takes to create a successful business is one person with good ideas. The article says, "At Pottery Barn, there are no panels of focus groups and no teams of market researchers. To create a powerful lifestyle brand, Tejada says, you must first have a life. And the consequences of dodging one's responsibility to eat, drink, and merry can be severe. "I tell my team, 'You will not get promoted or rewarded for working 20 hours a day,'" she says, her voice firm as a headmistress addressing an unruly class." She says that there are no market researchers of panels of focus groups, and that she encourages her staff to go to restaurants and other places to observe. Although that may be somewhat different from more traditional market researchers, that is market research and is how they create products that people want to buy. The people who run Pottery Barn and other similar stores know how to get people to buy their product, and have even tried to appeal to other audiences such as children and teens. If they can make it seem like what they're selling is the best, people will buy it even if it is overpriced. As the article says, "But while customers may be reluctant to pull the trigger for a $1,400 red-leather club chair, no matter how delicious, they're still willing to spring for a $34 flowered pillow of pay $42 for a great set of wineglasses." Young and affluent people, such as the recently married lawyer and marketing director, are willing to spend whatever is necessary to get what they see as the perfect product. 

Environment

The environment of a store has a big influence on what you buy and varies depending on the type of store. For example, in high end stores that sell expensive jewelry and clothing are usually open and spaced out. The way in which the items are displayed, such as jewelry in nice cases, and the way in which items are placed gives a sense of elegance. Openly spaced stores often appear to be of a high quality. Walmart, for example, does not have a nice or high end appearance and the type of store it is and its prices reflect that. The way in which a store is decorated also has an influence. In a store for kids, the colors could be brighter whereas a store directed at older customers would be more conservative. Another example is that many stores put "impulse buys" right next to or near the cash register. At the grocery check out, there are items such as candy and drinks and some people will buy these items just because they're waiting and have nothing else to do. These items are inexpensive, but have a high mark up. Overall, stores create an environment or appearance geared towards the types of people who go to their store so that they have a better chance of making a profit.

Super Bowl Commercials

The commercials that stuck out most to me were beer commercials probably because there were a lot of them. The two that I saw were towards the beginning and were for Bud Light. The first starts out by saying that Bud Light is the beer that has everything one wants including the ability to breathe fire.  one showed a man and a women having dinner together. The man had a bottle of beer and the woman was about to light two candles. The man said he could do it and fire came out of his breath, lighting the candles and the woman was impressed. He then asks if she has a cat and starts sneezing which lights other things, almost including the cat, on fire. It then goes to a picture of Bud Light saying that it no longer gives fire breathing abilities, but the taste still remains. The commercial uses humor to appeal to people and is directed at males. The second one shows a wine party. The guy walks in with a large piece of cheese and goes in the kitchen to put it down. He walks in and there are a bunch of other guys. Hidden inside the cheese is a pack of Bud Light. Another guy then reveals a hidden bottle inside a baguette. The thirds guy has a something that has wine inside it, but it's actually a TV. It's directed at males because they can relate to a situation where their wife has a party that they don't want to be part of. Like the other commercial, it is also humorous. 

Class Discussion

I was somewhat surprised to people's reactions mostly because I had different opinions. A lot of the conversation seemed to be about how Kilbourne exaggerated in her examples. Even though she did exaggerate, I still agree with her opinion. What the discussion focused on was a lot different than what I got from the article. I think one of her main points was that women are being dehumanized and that males think that they are superior to females. It gives males power and control which sometimes leads to abuse or violence. I can see where males would be offended by this, and even though this is not true in all situations, it does happen. Kilbourne didn't focus a lot on how males are portrayed, but in my opinion, there isn't that much to focus on. I personally don't see the way males are portrayed causing females to feel superior and act violently or rape someone. The discussion was sort of frustrating because people interrupted and talked over each other. Also, some people didn't seem willing to look at things from a different perspective, which is kind of unproductive.

"Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt"

Although she does push and exaggerate some things, I agree with Kilbourne's argument. It is dangerous for women to be displayed as sex objects because it is demeaning and can give males the idea that they have power over women or that males are superior. This idea that males have that they are powerful or superior is especially dangerous when they act on it, especially in violent ways. Society encourages males to be manly and females to be submissive. Violent people portrayed in the media are almost always male. Females are often shown with bad male role models, which encourages females to take more risks and attempt to attract bad males because they are exciting or interesting. Kilbourne also says that males are told they shouldn't take no for an answer. Kilbourne also says that females don't really mean no when they say it. It devalues females. She also says that people don't abuse equals, but instead inferiors. The media sets it up so that females are inferior to males, which gives males the idea that they have power and control.

TV Commercial

I saw a commercial for H&R Block. It shows two guys eating hot dogs except one of them says he can't afford the buns. He squirts ketchup in his mouth and puts the hot dog in his mouth. His friend then tells him he could afford hot dog buns if he would have done he taxes with H&R Block and gotten a refund on a prepaid card. The commercial is funny, but also somewhat disgusting. They try to make the audience believe that without doing taxes with H&R Block and getting a refund, one can't have simple things such as hot dog buns. It makes it seem as if you have to do your taxes with H&R Block otherwise you won't have money. Also, they try to make their services better than other tax services because they give you your refund on a prepaid card, which is more convenient.