Nike:Unlimited Future

On July 24th, Nike aired an advertisement focusing on multiple athletes, as babies, being put into a single nursery. The advertisement begins as a middle-aged man walks into the room and begins to tell the babies about the struggles they will face in the world. As he talks about the struggles, the babies stay silent and remain focused. At the end of the advertisement, one baby is seen with their fist raised into the air.

Throughout the advertisement, Nike has included messages and techniques in attempt to appeal to consumers watching the ad. For example, Nike’s use of babies in their advertisement appeals to consumers’ need to nurture. By doing so, Nike has attracted the attention of consumers, as most are easily won over with youth and innocence. The way Nike includes a middle-aged man, who in the ad guides the babies by shedding their sugar-coated view of the world, appeals to consumers’ need for guidance. Consumers let themselves be controlled by the advertisement when they see how a guiding figure, the middle aged man in the ad in this scenario, can help us get through life. Nike’s use of famous athletes’ names in their ad reflects the use of testimonial. By using the names of athletes, consumers will believe they can be as talented as a certain athlete by buying the product. Consumers believing they can have the talent of an athlete without all the training and hardships shows the advertisement’s use of simple solutions. In the middle of the ad, the middle-aged man mentions how “You get no say in the world you’re born into. You don’t decide your name. You don’t decide where you come from.” The emphasis on the things we don’t decide on reflects the lack of power within consumers. By emphasizing what we can’t control, Nike appeals to our need to dominate, as we desire the power to choose our life. An explicit message would be that “You are powerless in choosing how you start in life, take control of it by buying from Nike.”

Overall, Nike emphasizes the lack of power within our lives and encourages us to seek power by buying their products.

Audi:Commander

Audi aired an advertisement which focused on the elderly days of a retired US astronaut. The advertisement starts off with an elderly man sitting silently in front of his meal, remembering the days of his past space exploration. As he recollects his memories, his caretaker attempts to get him to eat his dinner but fails. However, when his son convinces him to drive his Audi, he regains his young sense of adventure from his days of being an astronaut and speeds off in his car. Despite its very clear message, Audi has many hidden messages and techniques of persuasion laying in their advertisement.

For instance, Audi uses consumers’ need to escape when they display the elderly man re enacting his days as an astronaut in an Audi. Consumers are attracted when they witness how they can go on adventures that are on par with the Space Age by purchasing the car. Aside from their use of consumers’ need for adventure, Audi also uses simple solutions in their advertisement when they show how one can gain a sense of excitement and happiness. This simple solution is reflected when the elderly man smiles when drives the Audi, the only time he shows his happiness in the present time of the advertisement. From this, consumers will think they can be happy like the man by purchasing an Audi. Around the end of the advertisement, Audi incorporates a David Bowie tribute in their ad when they play “Starman”. To their benefit, their response to David Bowie’s death could attract consumers who are fans of the singer.

Aside from the techniques that are used in the advertisements, Audi includes many implicit messages. The way the elderly man’s caretaker is a person of color and a woman shows how Audi assumes that caretakers are mostly female people of color. The caretaker’s unsympathetic response to the elderly man refusing to eat his dinner reflects Audi’s belief that people of color don’t put much effort into their work. The way the elderly man was able to speed down a road without any obstacles shows Audi’s belief that no passing cars should be present when an elderly person is driving.

Overall, the advertisement seems to be pretty successful if you ignore Audi’s messages and techniques used in the ad.

Google:Narrowcasting

Narrowcasting, a form of marketing that is used to target a specific audience, is based on the demographics and psychographics of the target. From advertisements to songs, narrowcasting can target kids, teenagers, college students, adults, and etc.

An example of narrowcasting would be the Google commercial, “Introducing Pixel, Phone by Google”, where they are promoting their own phone. Throughout the advertisement, it is quite evident that it is meant for teenagers and young adults. For instance, the song played in the ad is quite modern and contemporary, reflecting its appeal towards the younger generations. Aside from that, Google’s constant usage of the word “new” just shows how they want to appeal to the “new” generation, as they are more likely to accept changes and be less conservative than their older generations. Google’s language in their advertisement seems also to be more casual and carefree than most ads. They use words like “Oooooooo” and “phew”. These words tend to attract younger consumers than older consumers.

To conclude, Google’s advertisement about promoting their phone is mostly focused on attracting teenage and young adult consumers.

.    

The Different Language of Two Articles Reporting the Same News

The New York Times Article                                                                   CNN Article

On December 2nd, Donald Trump, US President-elect, had a 10-minute conversation over the phone with Tsai Ing-wen, president of Taiwan. With this being the first time a US president has spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, many different interpretations of the event have been shared in response. These two articles portray the different views of the event through their different use of language, despite having the same main idea.

In the article from CNN, “No one knows Trump’s next move on Taiwan”, the author emphasizes the effects that could rise from the conflict between the US and Taiwan. For instance, the author describes how “...but it was a potentially devastating breakdown in the elaborate dance between China, the United States, and Taiwan…”. The way the author uses devastating, breakdown, elaborate, and dance, over complicates her explanation, resulting in making it seem more serious to readers. The words the author uses can be easily be removed and replaced with the word “conflict”. The article also seems to evoke more seriousness with their choice of specific words. They state how “...Trump’s move has the potential to grow into a perfect storm: a downward spiral, where Beijing retaliates…”. The author has chosen to include storm and downward, words with negative connotations, to reflect her view of the situation having a chance to worsen. These words can bring out the fear in readers and persuade them to believe the author’s point. The article concludes by mentioning how “For now, uncertainty reigns in the United States, and that sets the stage for a crisis, especially, if neither Taiwan nor China can correctly interpret what Trump will do next”. Their use of the word uncertainty brings out a mysterious feeling. The word could portray the author’s thoughts of a possible outcome that could result from the event. Her use of the word crisis is much more negative and brings out the feeling of the possible outcome nearing reality.

In the article from The New York Times, “Trump Speaks With Taiwan’s Leader, an Affront to China”, the author attempts to put the blame of the event between the US and Taiwan on Trump using language. To show Trump’s carefree nature, the author claims how “...Mr. Trump has shown little concern about ruffling feathers in his exchanges with leaders”. Their use of the word “ruffling feathers” could reflect the author mocking Trump’s actions, lessening the qualifications of Trump and making him seem more responsible for the consequences of the call. The author’s use of words goes even further when they state how Trump “...has characterized climate change as a ‘Chinese hoax,’ designed to undermine the American economy. He has said China’s manipulation of its...And he has threatened to impose a 45 percent…”. The author uses words like hoax, manipulation, and threatened, words with negative connotations, to persuade readers to see the negative side of Trump. These words evoke anger in readers, resulting in the belief that Trump deserves the blame.

Relationship With Media

Like any other teenager in the 21^st century, I constantly interact with media each and every day. From Buzzfeed to YouTube, I often go through looking for various articles, songs, and videos. I would seek entertainment from videos that appeal to my interests. From articles, I obtained many pieces of information about the world we live in. And with social media, I’m able to communicate with friends regardless of my location. Media just completes my life. It's like a giant puzzle piece that makes the whole picture complete. Because of my constant usage of media, my life mostly just revolves around it. Sometimes I just wonder if I depend on media way too much. Other times, I ask myself if media has changed my standards negatively, despite what it has given me so far.

My relationship with media, the way I see it, it similar to that of a mother and child. The way a child relies on their mother resembles the way I depend on media. But sometimes, a mother can also easily influence a child, the way media has affected me. The way I frequently look to media could limit the personal thoughts I have on a situation. For instance, the ads we are constantly surrounded by can set up expectations for us. Some times when I see an ad displaying some beauty product, I feel self conscious when I don't fit what they define as beautiful, ignoring what I probably had perceived as beautiful in the past. As of now, I see media both positively and negatively.