Friday, November 30, 2012
Thinking Visually? You are now! (Draft)
Thinking
Visually? You are now!
Advertising
is all around us, all day, everyday. We soak in every bit of persuasion that
any ad may have to offer whether subconsciously or consciously choosing to do
so. Each month as technology advances and people come up with more and more
abstract ideas, advertisements, whether printed or televised, are becoming what
I would consider ridiculous. Maybe it’s the typical “beer brings happiness to
your rainy day” ad, or the “using this deodorant will make girls chase after
you down the street” one; long story short, advertisers of companies, products,
and foods world wide are making people believe that what they have to offer can
bring you perfect happiness in unheard of ways.
One of the most widely used advertisement
methods is sexuality and is being mostly found in fast food ads. This Arby’s ad
has countless hidden messages behind it other than saying, “We have good
burgers; come and eat them.” I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this
ad and had to do a double take to make sure I wasn’t just thinking in a, what
some would say, “dirty way!” But then I realized that what I thought it might
be, it actually was. Yes. Arby’s is comparing their newest burgers to female’s
breasts. Shocking, I know, but what exactly is the hidden message behind this?
The image displayed in this ad is implying that the feeling a
man gets by seeing a naked female body should be how they feel when they see an
Arby’s burger because that is how delicious it is. When you think about it,
this ad doesn’t even really elaborate on what makes their product so great.
They don’t refer to what’s on it or what makes it so good. One could say the
main hidden message is “Arby’s, its better than boobs!” It may then be obvious
to you that Arby’s is more focused on their male customers, therefore choosing
to compare its products to a naked woman.
This ad also has the halo effect present. What is the halo
effect you might wonder? According to Jean Kilbourne, “products such as jewelry shining in a store
window are often displayed as if they were sacred objects (Kilbourne).” The
halo effect gives us this almost religious connection to what we are viewing by
making it seem sacred or holly. The hamburgers are enlightened, with the “ahh”
moments provided by the halo. It’s the feeling you get when you have something
extremely tasty and you think it is just the best thing in the world at that
moment. This is exactly what Arby’s is trying to tell people, that their
burgers will give you that “ahh” moment, just like the feeling men apparently
get when they see a naked female holding their breasts.
In a blog that directly criticizes this advertisement from Arby’s, and
another from Burger King both which tie their products to sex, written by Jesse
B, shows a very interesting point of view, “I
feel like advertisements such as these may actually deter women from buying
from these restaurants, feeling possibly disrespected. If you read the fine
print in the Arby's ad, it starts with the sentence "What a tease."
They use this double meaning phrase because not only are they not showing you
the entire burger, but it also was not released yet at the time of publication.
Also, this makes the argument that women that cover up their breasts are
teases... hmmmm (B, Jesse).”
I
believe that Jesse pointed out one of the deepest hidden meanings in this
advertisement. What better way to tell the world that this burger has not yet
been released by teasing men with a literal visual tease! Why try to find a
naked woman when you can just have Arby’s new burger! It really is amazing how
far these advertisers stretch reality to make people feel the need to want
certain things. It seems you can compare just about any product to sex,
happiness, or sacredness to get people to want it. “Advertising
encourages us not only to objectify each other but to feel passion for products
rather than our partners (Kilbourne).”
This is another one of Arby’s ads that they have
decided to compare to female breasts. This one isn’t so suggestive as the other
one in a sense that men will not want their chicken like they want a female’s
breast. But, this ad does suggest that their chicken compared to other fast
food places is real instead of fake. In other words, the chicken has “real
breasts” instead of implants like a woman may have.
This visual is also taken with a beach in the background. This could
mean that Arby’s chicken can bring you to a peaceful place where all your
worries can go away.
All of these hidden messages are necessary to make people want to buy
their food. According to an article by Seth Fiegerman, “Companies are reaching a point where conventional
advertising no longer works, our attention is just gone. People don’t look at a
full TV ad anymore, so companies need to find other avenues to stand out
(Fiegerman).” This is why advertisers have gone to the extremes that they have
such as making these sexual references and playing jokes out of words that can
mean two or more things. Ads like these Arby’s ads make us laugh but they are
also working with our subconscious minds even though we don’t notice it. “As
consumers, we watch ads with a defensive screen up telling us ‘this is trying
to sell us something, watch out (Fiegerman).” Even when we know something in an
advertisement is completely ridiculous and seems extreme, the fact that we are
seeing the ad is still giving us ideas and putting brands in our heads. “Still,
even three seconds seems pretty quick to be influenced by an advertisement. It
remains to be seen how this will influence marketing agencies down the road,
but one thing seems clear: We are in many ways witnessing a new and slightly
more acceptable version of subliminal advertising. While subliminal ads imply
that you can be influenced by something that you might never normally be able
to notice (like small details that can appeal to your subconscious even though
you are fully capable of noticing it after the fact) (Fiegerman).”
So what is it
exactly that we learned from these two advertisements? We could say that simply
Arby’s has amazing food but I think now we all know that it goes much deeper
then that. These ads made us believe that the new Arby’s burgers are so
mouthwatering that men see them as females breast and that they use 100% real
breast meat. These are two ads that show how company’s ads have several hidden
meanings behind them that make us want to buy what ever it is that they are
selling. “Advertising creates
a world view that is based upon cynicism, dissatisfaction and craving.
Advertisers aren’t evil. They are just doing their job, which is to sell a
product; but the consequences, usually unintended, are often destructive. The
story that advertising tells is that the way to be happy, to find satisfaction
is through the consumption of material objects. And the major motivating force
for social change throughout the world today is this belief that happiness
comes from the market( Kilbourne).” It’s quite remarkable how advertisers
come up with all these abstract and ridiculous ideas to make us want and crave companies’
products. But hey, that’s just how we live our lives. We pick the brands we
know best, we go for the products that we have learned to believe are the best.
Just remember, advertisers aren’t out to get you, they are simply doing their
job. They are the reason you use the products and eat the foods that you do!
Works Cited
B,
Jesse. "Thinking Visually at UNL: Arby's! It's Better Than Boobs!
(Response to Blog 3)." Thinking Visually at UNL: Arby's! It's Better
Than Boobs! (Response to Blog 3). Blogger, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.
<http://thinkingvisuallyatunl.blogspot.com/2011/02/arbys-its-better-than-boobs-response-to.html>.
Fiegerman,
Seth. "The New Subliminal Advertising." MainStreet. N.p., 17
Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mainstreet.com/article/small-business/marketing/new-subliminal-advertising?page=1>.
Kilbourne, Jean. "Jesus Is a Brand
Of jeans." New Internationalist Magazine. Creative
Commons,
1 Sept. 2006. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.newint.org/features/2006/09/01/culture/>.
Picture 1: Found on this blog
Megginson, Tom. "The Ethical Adman: Arby's Embraces the
Sandwich on Social
Media." The Ethical Adman: Arby's Embraces the
Sandwich on Social Media.
N.p., 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.
<http://workthatmatters.blogspot.com/2012/03/arbys-embraces-
sandwich-on-social-media.html>.
Picture 2: found on this website
"SWIMSUIT ISSUE." - Arby's Chicken Naturals
Range Print Ad. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct.
2012. <http://www.advertolog.com/arbys/print-outdoor/swimsuit-issue-
8082205/>.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
It Started with a Bear (Draft)
It Started with a Bear
Darren
was born on December 26th, 1995 to my parents David and Pamela Roe,
making him just about 21 months younger then myself. I can only remember as far
back to the exact day my brother was born. He was the life of me and that’s
just how it was. Darren and I have always been very close, but right after me,
without question came him teddy bear. “Amanda you are my bestest friend ever,
but Fuzzy is my bestest friend too!” Darren would make sure I knew that his
bear, fuzzy, was very important to him almost on the weekly. Fuzzy was a gift
given to my brother from our grandma, my Dad’s mom, the day he was born. It was
slightly bigger then Darren himself, and he was a big baby, nine pounds, eight
ounces.
About a year later, a few months
before my brothers first birthday, my grandmother passed away and that is why
this bear was so special to him and my family. This was all Darren really ever
got to know her by since he was so young.
My parents would always tell him, “Now through Fuzzy, grandma will watch
over you and keep you safe.” Darren’s
first birthday was Pooh Bear themed, his favorite show! I think he was just the
cutest little thing, and he had the chubbiest cheeks, just absolutely adorable.
But it was a hard year to get
through without my grandma.
I will always remember how sweet
and loving my little brother was; he was also very curious about the world in
general. He would always be glancing around all over the place and listening in
on older children’s conversations on the bus. My mom recalls a day when Darren
was nearly five and came home and said “Mommy, can you believe that these
people were talking about hormones on the bus! What are hormones?” 1
Darren was very experimental, he
would do the craziest things that would make peoples days. His smile was known
for cheering people up, and his actions were absolutely priceless. One day
Darren decided to do a “handstand” but since he physically unable to do one, oh
was he creative! He put all his clothes on the opposite parts of his body;
socks on hands, underwear on head, shirt on legs, then ran through the house
saying, “Look everyone, look! I’m doing a handstand!”
He always loved his trucks and his
hot wheels and all those things that boys enjoy playing with, but Darren would
never fail to join me while I played with my Barbie dolls. There would be days
were he would beg me to play Barbie and put on all the shoes. The shoes were
his favorite part; he would line them all up in a row and pick out a pair for
each outfit that I would create. And Heaven forbid I would put shoes on them,
“No! Amanda! That’s my job!”2
When Darren was about four years
old he started to have random occurrences of extreme, doubling over in pain,
stomach aches. The Christmas right
before he turned five we were out seeing Santa Clause and I remember being so
angry because he wouldn’t stop crying. No one understood how much pain he was
really in and everyone in my family just thought he was being overdramatic like
kids do, I mean who was to know!
Darren continued having very random occurrences of the upset stomach and
about a year later after Darren turned six something frightening happened. We
were at daycare and Darren’s eyes turned a real bright yellow color and he
started throwing up everywhere. This is when my parents finally realized
something was seriously wrong. They immediately took him into the doctor’s
office to get checked out.
So, upon demand, Darren was sent straight to MRI testing and an ultra
sound test as well. The reason they sent him was because of the jaundice, his
yellow eyes. They original thought that Darren might have had hepatitis but
they ruled that out after doing blood work. They found lots of things wrong in
both test.
According
to Michael AJ Sawyer, a medical doctor, “Choledochal cysts are relatively rare
in Western countries. Reported frequency rates range from 1 case per
100,000-150,000 to 1 case per 2 million live births. Choledochal cysts are more
prevalent in females than males, with a female-to-male ratio in the range of
3:1 to 4:1.” 4 This is why it took the doctors a little while to
figure out what was wrong. The
doctors told my family that it could be genetic, although it has never been
present in our family’s history, or it can be a developmental problem in the
womb. It’s very strange though
that my brother would get this considering it is mostly found in Asia and in
females. My brother was operated
on at John Hopkins hospital by one of the best surgeons in the world because
his condition was so rare. 5
My
brother’s bear became a very important figure in his life at that time, he was
just a little boy and was scared and he needed our grandma to watch over him.
My family was scared to but we all tried not to show it because we wanted him
to have faith in us and that everything was going to be okay. He was a very
strong little boy for having such an intense surgery so young. I will never know how he did it, I am
just honestly so thankful that my baby brother is alive because I have no clue
what I would do without him. He gives me so much strength when I need it and
helped me push through a surgery of my own. By looking at someone you could
never know the stories that lye within us, but we will always have our scars.
Darren really looked up to me when
he was younger for my support and encouragement. I told him everything was
going to be okay but you best bet that I cried my eyes out the second he left
home and I wont every forget it.
Darren really was the life of me. I’ve never met someone with so much
courage, happiness and appreciation in my whole life.
Everyone needs a fuzzy friend from
a loved one to watch over them. So upon his recovery that is exactly what I got
him. I made him a bear at Build-a-Bear Workshop, and I named it Shamrock,
because I am so lucky to have a brother like mine. It started with a bear, and ended with a bear.
1. Personal Interview with my
mother Pamela Roe
2. Personal Interview with my
mother Pamela Roe
3. University of
Southern California, Department of Surgery. "Choleodochal Cyst."
Center for Pancreatic and Biliary Diseases. www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/tumor/pancreasdiseases/web%20pages/BILIARY%20SYSTEM/choledochal%20cyst.html (accessed September 30, 2012).
4. Sawyer, Michael
AJ. "Choledochal Cysts ." Medscape: Medscape Access. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/172099-overview#a0199 (accessed September 30, 2012).
5. Personal Interview with my
mother Pamela Roe
All Pictures were taken by my
father, David Roe and edited by myself, Amanda Roe
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