SWA 19

Andriesen does explore many criteria that most people find are needed in an activity to be a sport such as using a ball or ball-like object, competition, scoring etc., though he never says exactly what he believes make a sport a legitimate sport. He quotes Rodney Fort a professor of sport management about three major parameters that consitute a sport. These are : it must use a "large motor skill", it must have an objective scoring system, and it must use nothing more complicated than a "single machine" such as a baseball bat or vaulting pole, but again he never says that he agrees that these make a sport. He concludes with saying that it is up to everyone to figure out what factors must exist to have a sport and that the overall point is to have fun while participating in any sport.

Under certain circumstances accepted criteria is needed.  Andriesen addresses the Olympics and how they award medals for such sports as kayaking and bobsleding. It some sports it is easier to define a specific set of rules.  In races, like those mentioned, it is easy because the first ones to cross the finish line are classified as the 'winners' point systems are a little bit harder to classify.

SWA 18

I have chosen two topics that I have given a lot of thought to. These being the controversies over Affirmative Action and Euthanasia.  The controversy of affirmative action centers around the inclusion of previously discriminated groups in employment, education, and business. The controversy lies in that because businesses and private schools/colleges do not want to seem partial to any race in particular, they extend their hands to those who were previously excluded. On the other hand those who have been discriminated against in the past are offered many incentives because of their color or heritage when in today's world they have not been specifically excluded or discriminated against.
The controversy around Euthanasia is wether it is classified as murder or not.  Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain or suffering.  There are many different laws around the world concerning Euthanasia. In Britain it is considered "a deliberate intervention with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering".  It is legal in some places to end a life when it is voluntary while non voluntary is illegal and involuntary is classified as murder.
I found these two topics easy to research becuase there is a lot of information on them. I am leaning towards Euthanasia becuase I find it interesting about how a person can intentionally end a life and not be charged for a criminal offense.

Fear Factories

Scully addresses that many conservatives take the stand of not wanting to know about factory farming. He says that the subject of cruelty to animals, especially in factory farming, crosses the barrier into forbidden territory for conservatives. He addresses that most conservatives take the mindset of "I don't want to know" mindset because they feel they have no responsibility to the issue, but that if asked most would say it was a cowardly and disgraceful act.  Scully reiterates thorughout his esasy that people should be kind to all animals, he even quotes Proverbs that "a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast" and continues still with examples of what people do to animals and how the violation of the animals "rights" are held in a court of law.  He illustrates the conservatives as money hungry people who care only about what can be counted in dollars and they that always back someone that can make money off of any animal related industry.  Scully believes that conservatives just dismiss the subject of animal curelty because he percepts them as having the view that where animals were concerned nothing serious could be at stake.  He says later that all of the conservatives that review his book admited that factory farming was a "wretched business and a betrayal of human responsibility." Scully closes with how the voters with conservative values are needed to get behind a Humane Farming Act so that factory farmed animals can have what they deserve; a merciful life and a merciful death. Scully mainly uses the morality of the subject to support his case and uses many stories to back his ideas on how cruelty to domestic animals is not that different form cruelty to farmed animals.

Formal Outline

Thesis: Major corporations and companies have relied on the use of common images, colors, and fonts to attract consumers to their products.  Many of these producers have used the same styles for generations to instill their product in the minds of their consumers so that they are recognizable and timeless even though they can be altered slightly for newer generations.

1.     The use of images that consumers have become accustomed to is an effective and easy way for large name brands to be recognized by both older and younger generations.

a.     Images are a way for companies to link certain trends to their product

                                               i.     The shape of the glass cola bottle has become a well-known symbol for the Coca-Cola Company.

1.     In older and in newer advertisements the Coke bottle is a main focal point

                                              ii.     The upward and downward arrows in the advertisement are a symbol for the movement Above The Influence for young adults

1.     The ad links Coke to the Above The Influence movement

2.     The arrows inside the Coke bottle show that on the “coke side of life” you are above the influence of substances

                                            iii.     The images that create the Coca-Cola bottle in the advertisement are to attract an older generation with an appreciation for the classics

1.     The use of traditional ‘classics’ that people think of link all classics to Coca-Cola

a.     The popular “American Classics” such as baseball, cherry pies, and hotdogs are used to illustrate classic America.

b.     Popular movie stars and singers are also used to represent classic American favorites.

2.     The use of color is a very common way that advertisers link their product to the thought of the consumer.

a.     Red is predominant in one Coca-Cola ad

                                               i.     Red is very commonly linked to the brand of Coca-Cola

                                              ii.     The classic Coca-Cola bottle was glass with a red label and white lettering

                                            iii.     The ‘classic’ advertisement uses the red tinting on all of the photos used to link the red aspect to their ad

                                            iv.     Coca-Cola is written in red on a transparent white label that melds with the background to break up the use of the color red.

                                              v.     The black lettering at the bottom is in black to add contrast and not take away from the red coke bottle.

b.     The ad for the younger generation is predominately black and multicolored

                                               i.     The use of many different colors attracts a younger generation because the are attracted to many different and contrasting color schemes

                                              ii.     The use of different hues of the same colors adds contrast that will attract attention from the multicolor scheme

                                            iii.     The use of white lettering adds contrast to the black background and draws attention to the middle of the page where the product is located instead of the top where the color is located

1.     The product is filled with upward multicolored arrows to keep the attention of the consumer

2.     The use of black lettering over the product bottle is to add contrast to the many different colors

                                            iv.     The white lettering of Coca-Cola underneath the product lets the consumer know it is a product of the company

3.     The use of lettering and font is another way for major corporations to advertise their products.

a.     The classic lettering of the Coca-Cola company with the curly letters is already linked with the soda company

                                               i.     The font is used in both advertisements to let the consumer know that they ad is specifically for Coca-Cola

                                              ii.     In the ad that focuses on the classics uses it in 2 ways.

1.     It is used as the traditional label on the bottle, like the older glass bottles.

2.     The slogan “A classic never goes out of style” is written in the font

a.     It causes the consumer to automatically think of Coca-Cola.

                                            iii.     The lettering is used only for the words Coca-Cola in the ad for the younger generation

1.     On the Coca-Cola bottle the use of a newer label is used

a.     The label that is used is the label from the aluminum cans instead of the original glass bottles.

b.     In the younger generation the newer label is recognized more

                                                                                                     i.     This is because it is what they have grown up with while the older generation grew up with the ‘classic’ font

Conclusion Statement: Through the repeated use of their classic fonts and images of the glass bottle, the Coca-Cola Company has been able to alter their advertisements to attract many different types of consumers. From the young to the old, everyone can recognize the classic font of Coca-Cola and immediately link it to the brand. 

Links to Images 

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1zDJaOP-K3XMjNiYmY0NjAtZDljMS00YzA5LTk0NDItOGQ5NzFjNDcwZjQz&hl=en_US

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1zDJaOP-K3XOTM4NTIwZTktODU4Zi00ZjRhLWEyMWMtYzhiODkyOGVhMGRi&hl=en_US

Advertisement Analysis

Links:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1zDJaOP-K3XNmEyOTYyOGUtN2NjNC00N2IxLTgxNzItZTQ1OTNjMWFiN2E0&hl=en_US

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1zDJaOP-K3XZmQ1MDk5ZTctMTcyZC00MWM4LWJkYWUtMGVlMTU1YTg2Mjc2&hl=en_US


I am analyzing laundry detergent ads. One is Woolite and one is Downy. The Woolite advertisement is from the Us Weekly Septeber 2011 issue and the Downy is from the Cosmopolitan Magazine September 2011 issue.

The people who read these magazines are normally woman. Comopolitan is geared toward woman from the ages from 18-29. Us Weekly is a tabloid that had an audience of mostly women from the ages of 35 to 49. 

Downy Ad.

- at top the words Citrus & Ginger fading from yellow to pink 

  - underneath that the words 'mash them together and what do you get?' in light pink

- in the middle of the page an orange with a read curly haired wig on and white sunglasses

- at the bottom of the page the bottle of Downy detergent with 'two great scents, one unexpected mashup.' 

- has a completely white background.

Woolite Ad

- top half has a sweater being tortured in an old time torture device being stretched apart on hooks

  -the words 'some detergents torture your clothes' in a scrawl of letters

  - the word torture is larger than the other words 

- the bottom half has the detergent and a fresh colorful stack of folded sweaters next to it

  - the words 'save them' are above the detergent

  - underneath the detergent are the words 'long live your wardrobe'

- the bottom half is a shade of blue that becomes darker towards the bottom of the page and then gets lighter creating an angle like a floor and wall meeting 

- the top half is dark and grey and has dark clouds 

I chose these two ads because I liked the first one with the orange and thought it would be interesting to analyze. A major difference between the two ads are the color schemes. The Downy ad is colorful with orange and pink and yellow, while the Woolite ad is dark and the color they chose for their advertisement is a hue of Blue that contrasts the dark upper half.  The Downy ad is geared toward a younger crowd because it plays to a well known joke for younger people about people with read hair being called 'ginger'.  The Woolite ad is geared more toward a larger group of people, because it illustrates saving clothes and their elasticity so they are not ruined and most people don't want to ruin their clothes in the wash machine.

Advertisement Analysis

Cosmopolitan Magazine August 2011/September 2011
Target Audience: People who do their own laundry
Product: Ultra Downy Simple Pleasures
Shared Assumptions
-- The target consumer is someone who does their own laundry or does their families laundry and is looking for a detergent
-- The target consumer wants an effective and nice smelling detergent that will do a good job of cleaning and making their clothing smell nice
Claim and Reasons:
- The product's name itself lets the consumer know that it is a laundry detergent because Downy is a well known detergent as well as fabric softener. This alone will attract parties interested in a new detergent.
- The advertisement provides the consumer with words saying that the scents in Downy Simple Pleasures smells great.
- Because the advertisement is colorful and grabs the attention it can draw in more people, but because the advertisement is of an orange with a red wig on it is taking a modern day joke about red heads being called ginger and playing it to their advantage making the consumer stop and laugh at the picture originally and the consumer will then want to know what is being advertised.

Cosmopolitan Magazine August/September 2011
Target Audience: Women over the age of 21
Product: Silver Patron
Shared Assumptions:
-- The target consumer is women over the age of 21 because it is an alcohol ad, and it is for women because the ad says "Girls' night out starts at your place. Perfect." The consumer's values are that they like to drink high shelf alcohol and have a good time with their friends when they go out.
-- The target consumers want to have a good time with their girl friends and want to have tasty drinks so they should drink Patron.
Claim and Reasons:
- Patron meets the requirements of the consumer's values because Patron is a high shelf liquor and in the advertisement it says that its the world's finest ultra-premium tequila and that the agave used to make the tequila are hand selected 100% Weber blue agave. which they refer to as Perfect.
- The product is advertised as a high shelf tequila and also as perfect so it can provide a 'perfect' girls night out when women feel the need to have a girls night.
- The advertisement is very clean and makes the consumer feel that the this brand of Tequila is 'perfect' because there are no imperfections on the advertisement page.

Cosmopolitan Magazine August/September 2011
Target Audience: Men and Woman who want to have a healthy drink without sacrificing taste
Product: Fuze drinks
Shared Assumptions:
--The target consumer is someone who is healthy or wants to be healthy and does not want to sacrifice taste for a healthy drink that is good for you.
--The target consumer wants to have a drink that is tasty and good for you.
Claim and Reasons:
- The product meets the requirements because it is a healthy infusion of natural flavors and vitamins that the body needs to be healthy along with a low amount of calories and sugar in each serving.
-The product can provide a healthy and tasty drink because they use natural flavors that consumers will find appealing.
- The advertisement conveys the feeling of a dynamic health drink that is tasty and includes nutrients that the body needs that can be used by anyone. It incorporates color manipulation as well as texture to appeal to both men and women as a universal health drink.

Response to Postsecret Card

The secret I chose was from the girls on Glee wishing that Rachel Barry would get Laryngitis so they could sing.  The secret was conveyed implicitly but was easier to understand if the person had ever seen the show Glee.

The main visual elements I used were from some magazines. The background was a girl covered in this kind of green haze, which i used to represent envy. The main picture was of the Rachel who they envy and I had that picture of her stand out because she is always the one who gets the lead while the other girls are normally stuck in the background and are not noticed as much.

The text was hand written to represent one of the girls writing it themselves or the group of girls writing it together. The word Laryngitis was capitalized and accentuated because a singer's major fear is getting Laryngitis because it causes them to lose their voice and it would cause the main girl to not be able to sing.

I tried to portray more of a group of girls but it was a little more secretive because it was not someone particularly famous. But I portrayed them as an envious group or an envious girl of the talent that the main girl has, and her wishing she had Laryngitis would give her the chance for her or the group to shine by themselves rather than always be shadowed by the main girl.