We were talking about advertising today in class, and it got me thinking about ads that may have directly or indirectly influenced me. In the midst of my pondering, I was reminded of a time a few friends and I were watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Now, this is a movie, so there obviously weren't any commercials. However, what I'm about to describe, I think, is a direct result of our "media conditioning." Now, I'm sure part of it has to do with the fact that those of us participating in this theatrical event were all starving college students, but isn't that the type of thing advertisements prey on? Anyway, if you've never seen the movie, at one point toward the beginning, big, fat, juicy burgers begin falling from the sky.
Someone in the room mentioned they were hungry, and how a burger sounded really good. There were mumbles of agreement throughout the small crowd. After a slight pause, I mentioned jokingly that we could pause the movie and go to Wendy's. While I really was joking, I silently hoped it would actually happen. The idea caused several jumbled responses of "sarcastic" agreement. There was another pause, then someone said something like, "...you know...we really could, if anyone was really interested..." This caused a silly conversation that resulted in us pausing the movie, running around to grab our coats, keys, and wallets, hop into a car and make our way to Wendy's to fulfill our new found, shared craving for burgers.
Ok, so Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is no Wendy's commercial, but it most certainly had the same effect. I also know, that, at least recently, there have been more Wendy's commercials than those for Burger King. These two places are almost exactly the same distance from where we were. Also, the Burger King commercials I *have* seen, have been kind of, well...creepy. Another reason I'm sure I suggested Wendy's over Burger King, is that the most recent ad I've seen for Burger King was actually quite offensive and sexually explicit. SO...the moral of the story is: Whether we like it or not, we've been conditioned to notice and react to "good" advertising. As my professor's family jokes, "don't get sucked in!" I'm not saying advertising is bad, it's actually an important part of our economy. However, I *am* saying that we should learn to pay closer attention to manipulation that can potentially turn us into suckers. Do your own research on the products that have caught your eye due to advertising. Just as I mentioned in the Photoshop post, don't blindly believe everything you see on tv or otherwise.
Remember, it's the little things in life!
Lindsey
Ok, so Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is no Wendy's commercial, but it most certainly had the same effect. I also know, that, at least recently, there have been more Wendy's commercials than those for Burger King. These two places are almost exactly the same distance from where we were. Also, the Burger King commercials I *have* seen, have been kind of, well...creepy. Another reason I'm sure I suggested Wendy's over Burger King, is that the most recent ad I've seen for Burger King was actually quite offensive and sexually explicit. SO...the moral of the story is: Whether we like it or not, we've been conditioned to notice and react to "good" advertising. As my professor's family jokes, "don't get sucked in!" I'm not saying advertising is bad, it's actually an important part of our economy. However, I *am* saying that we should learn to pay closer attention to manipulation that can potentially turn us into suckers. Do your own research on the products that have caught your eye due to advertising. Just as I mentioned in the Photoshop post, don't blindly believe everything you see on tv or otherwise.
No comments:
Post a Comment