FD2 What Ads and Commercials Really Do

Uyen Nguyen Hill

29 February 2012

FD2

What Ads and Commercials Really Do

For the growing advertising and commercial industries that are worth more than 300 billion U.S. dollars in America alone, people are daily confronted with numerous and diversify ads and commercials whether voluntarily or obligatedly. Therefore, people are more or less but definitely impacted by what they see so constantly. [THESIS]  However, ads and commercials do not have negative impacts on viewers mainly because the lack of personal connection and consumers’ belief, and in some cases, ads and commercials even have positive effects [THESIS].

A Toshiba commercial has really caught my attention recently. A group of engineers are discussing their new finished laptop. The female engineer confirms with their CEO that if their new laptop does not need the impact smart hard drive, they can ship the new product line on that day. The CEO then thinks in his head a sequence of events that may happen if their new laptop did not come with the impact smart hard drive: If an electrician dropped that Toshiba laptop which was used to operate an electric line, the laptop then automatically shut down the whole U.S.’s electrical system. Nine days later at a random house, a guy drank milk from the fridge that had been out of electric. That guy turned into a zombie and bit his friend which also turned his friend into a zombie. And after all, everyone turned into zombies. Thus, the CEO decides to have an impact smart hard drive for their new laptop computer. The commercial ends with a quote from Toshiba “We thought of everything”.

This commercial is vivid examples of slippery slope fallacy, “presuming that one event will inevitably lead to a chain of other events that end in a catastrophe” (JimS, “Laulima: Logical Fallacies Exercise”). In both cases, neither the U.S. electrical system nor the world’s satellite can be absolutely shut down just because of someone’s negligence such as dropping the laptop and unplugging the satellite cord. Thus, the sequences of events that the CEO was thinking of cannot actually happen. Therefore ads and commercials viewers who are stable-minded adults cannot be convinced by such an imaginary catastrophe. In 1960 E. Jerome McCarthy, prominent marketer, stated that Product, Price, Promotions and Place are the four elements to promote a product to customers.

However, the Toshiba commercials miss out three of the four elements. First marketers fail to inform fairly about the price of the products, which makes the prospective consumers have to research it only to find out that new line of products usually cost at least a fortune. Second, since the products are first time introduced to the market, there is no promotion going on. Third, commercial viewers are not informed how and where to get the Toshiba products.  Moreover, according to Pam Danziger, a consumer insights expert and author of several marketing books such as Shopping, Let Them Eat Cake, Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need…, putting “current and relevant consumers’ insights” is fundamental to successful marketing. Same idea was discussed in The Entrepreneur’s Guidebook Series, “most will agree that the key to understanding why people buy, and for that matter all human behavior, it to first understand what they believe in” (Understanding Human Belief, page 6). Obviously the producers made the two commercials mentioned above incredibly unbelievable. Instead of making the products compatible and connected with consumers, the commercials only bring out amusing and fictional scenarios.

Author and sociology professor Amitai Etzioni states that “It therefore seems safe to say that consumerism is, as much as anything else, responsible for the current economic mess” (“Spent: America after Consumerism”, Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader page 309). Though consumerism is relatively accountable for people’s debts, author Etzioni fails to recall other real blames for our failing economy such as Government’s unnecessary and discretionary spending on oil wars, entitlements for former governors and presidents, and so on. The golden times were also the golden consumerism period where everyone sold and everyone bought completing the successful economic cycle.

Many may say product ads have negative impacts on innocent and unknowledgeable children. For example responding to Darian Omoto’s “Ads have a negative impact”, Taleea Carvalho shared how her eight-year-old sister got her Wuggle Pets. Carvalho’s sister saw the Wuggle Pets commercial and wanted to have one, so their parents bought a set for her. Carvalho clearly blames the commercial for her sister getting the Wuggle Pets. Nonetheless, Carvalho forgets the importance of her parents’ role in this case. I did a little research on Wuggle Pets. Their price varies from fourteen dollars to under thirty dollars which is a reasonable price for a kids’ toy set nowadays. Also, Wuggle Pets are easy to make, fun to play and safe for children to hug, kiss or sleep with. Therefore, Carvalho’s parents may have bought her sister Wuggle Pets for practical and affordable reasons. Carvalho’s statement is flawed because of it is stacking the deck meaning when “writers give only the evidence that supports their premise, while disregarding or withholding contrary evidence” (JimS, “Laulima: Logical Fallacies Exercise”). Considering all the children’s toys in general, parents can decide whether the toys are reasonably-priced and educational for their kids. It might get really tough the first time kids get refused, but repeatedly they will built an understanding that their parents will give them what is truly good for them.

In contrast with the wrongful idea that ads and commercial ultimately have negative impacts on us, Alexandra Foster asserted “There are plenty of times that ads promote and inform us of products and messages that are valuable and important” (Laulima Discussion). I absolutely agree with Foster’s statement. For instance, spring time is the tax season, so we see lots of commercials from H&R Block or Turbo Tax about helping people file tax for free with the form 1040EZ. As we drive on the freeways, ride the bus or walk along the parks, we often see several ads with great contents such as “Meth – Not Even Once” teaches young adults the horrifying results of doing meth , “Click It or Ticket” encourages people to wear their seatbelts, “University of West Oahu”: give students information about school options and career pathways. All of these ads and commercials are absolutely comprehensive, educational and informative.

As the TV goes on 24/7, no one can stop producers from making ads and commercials or playing them so constantly. Most of the times, ads and commercials play their parts as entertaining shows between other shows. Other times, ads and commercials just cannot create a link and earn fair trust from their viewers. Therefore, ads and commercial do not have negative impact on people, but even have positive ones.

Works Cited

Calvaho, Taleea. Laulima Discussion Comment. 14 Feb 2012. “Yes, ads have a negative impact” Darian Omoto. English 215W Laulima. 20 Feb 2012. [https://laulima.hawaii.edu].

Danziger, Pam. “My new book -- Putting the Luxe Back into Luxury -- is out”. Why People Buy. n.d. Unity Marketing. 24 Jan 2012. [http://www.whypeoplebuy.com/]

Etzioni, Amitai. “Spent: America after Consumerism”. Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. 7th edition. Eds. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2011. 308-313.

Foster, Alexandra. “No, ads don't have a negative impact”. Online Posting. 14 Feb 2012. Laulima Discussion. 29 Feb 2012. [https://laulima.hawaii.edu].

Shimabukuro, Jim. “Laulima: Logical Fallacies Exercise”. Jim’s Course Resources. 8 Jan 2012. English 215. 10 Feb 2012. [http://eng215kcc.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/laulima-logical-fallacies-exercise/]

“Understanding Human Beliefs”. The Entrepreneur’s Guidebook Series. n.d. Patsula Media, 2007. 6. [http://www.patsula.com/books/gb46.pdf]



Log of Completed Activities
_x__ Feb. 6- Intro to Paper #2. Read the Guidelines for Paper #2.
_x__ Feb. 10- Complete readings for paper #2.
_x__ Feb. 13- Laulima Discussion: Ad Pros and Cons
_x__ Feb. 17- Laulima Discussion: Logical Fallacies Exercise
_x__ Feb. 24- Submit RD2 [50 pts]. Review the guidelines.
_L__ Feb. 27- Submit three RD2 evaluations [50 pts]. Review the guidelines.
_x__ Mar. 1 – Submit FD2 [125 pts]. Review the guidelines.

RD2 What Ads and Commercials Really Do

Uyen Nguyen Hill
24 February 2012
RD2

What Ads and Commercials Really Do

For the growing advertising and commercial industries that are worth more than 300 billion U.S. dollars in America alone, people are daily confronted with numerous and diversify ads and commercials whether voluntarily or obligatedly. Therefore, people are more or less but definitely impacted by what they see so constantly. [THESIS]  However, ads and commercials do not have negative impacts on viewers mainly because the lack of personal connection and consumers’ belief, and in some cases, ads and commercials even have positive effects [THESIS].

A couple of Toshiba commercials have really caught my attention recently. First one was a group of engineers discussing their new finished laptop. The female engineer confirms with their CEO that if their new laptop does not need the impact smart hard drive, they can ship the new product line on that day. The CEO then thinks in his head a sequence of events that may happen if their new laptop did not come with the impact smart hard drive: If an electrician dropped that Toshiba laptop which was used to operate an electric line, the laptop then automatically shut down the whole U.S.’s electrical system. Nine days later at a random house, a guy drank milk from the fridge that had been out of electric. That guy turned into a zombie and bit his friend which also turned his friend into a zombie. And after all, everyone turned into zombies. Thus, the CEO decides to have an impact smart hard drive for their new laptop computer.

The second commercial has the same scenario with the first one, but this time, a different engineer group introduces to the same CEO guy their new LED HD TV. A male engineer confirmed that if the TV does not need a built-in Ethernet wireless, they can ship their TVs right then. A new series of events appears in the CEO’s head: A man was trying to plug the Internet core from the wall to his TV. The core was too short, so the man pulled the core harder. Thus he accidentally pulled out the main Internet core operating the world’s satellite. At the same time, a lady was driving a car using her GPS which received its signal from the satellite. Since the satellite was broken, the GPS suddenly guided its owner to drive off the cliff. Afterwards, the CEO decides that their new LED HD TV must come with a built-in Ethernet wireless. Both commercials end with a quote from Toshiba “We thought of everything”.

Both of these commercials are vivid examples of slippery slope fallacy, “presuming that one event will inevitably lead to a chain of other events that end in a catastrophe” (JimS, “Laulima: Logical Fallacies Exercise”). In both cases, neither the U.S. electrical system nor the world’s satellite can be absolutely shut down just because of someone’s negligence such as dropping the laptop and unplugging the satellite core. Thus, the sequences of events that the CEO was thinking of cannot actually happen. Therefore ads and commercials viewers who are stable-minded adults cannot be convinced by such an imaginary catastrophe. In 1960 E. Jerome McCarthy, prominent marketer, stated that Product, Price, Promotions and Place are the four elements to promote a product to customers. However, the Toshiba commercials miss out three of the four elements. First marketers fail to inform fairly about the price of the products, which makes the prospective consumers have to research it only to find out that new line of products usually cost at least a fortune. Second, since the products are first time introduced to the market, there is no promotion going on. Third, commercial viewers are not informed how and where to get the Toshiba products.  Moreover, according to Pam Danziger, a consumer insights expert and author of several marketing books such as Shopping, Let Them Eat Cake, Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need…, putting “current and relevant consumers’ insights” is fundamental to successful marketing. Same idea was discussed in The Entrepreneur’s Guidebook Series, “most will agree that the key to understanding why people buy, and for that matter all human behavior, it to first understand what they believe in” (Understanding Human Belief, page 6). Obviously the producers made the two commercials mentioned above incredibly unbelievable. Instead of making the products compatible and connected with consumers, the commercials only bring out amusing and fictional scenarios.

Many may say that violent or product ads have negative impacts on innocent and unknowledgeable children. For example responding to Darian Omoto’s “Ads have a negative impact”, Taleea Carvalho shared how her eight-year-old sister got her Wuggle Pets. Carvalho’s sister saw the Wuggle Pets commercial and wanted to have one, so their parents bought a set for her. Carvalho clearly blames the commercial for her sister getting the Wuggle Pets. Nonetheless, Carvalho forgets the importance of her parents’ role in this case. I did a little research on Wuggle Pets. Their price varies from fourteen dollars to under thirty dollars which is a reasonable price for a kids’ toy set nowadays. Also, Wuggle Pets are easy to make, fun to play and safe for children to hug, kiss or sleep with. Therefore, Carvalho’s parents may have bought her sister Wuggle Pets for practical and affordable reasons. Considering all the children’s toys in general, parents can decide whether the toys are reasonably-priced and educational for their kids. It might get really tough the first time kids get refused, but repeatedly they will built an understanding that their parents will give them what is truly good for them. For those violent and adultery related ads and commercials, parents have responsibilities to explain and educate their children about the wrongfulness of what is playing.

Author and sociology professor Amitai Etzioni states that “It therefore seems safe to say that consumerism is, as much as anything else, responsible for the current economic mess” (“Spent: America after Consumerism”, Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader page 309). Though consumerism is relatively accountable for people’s debts, author Etzioni fails to recall other real blames for our failing economy such as Government’s unnecessary and discretionary spending on oil wars, entitlements for former governors and presidents, and so on. The golden times were also the golden consumerism period where everyone sold and everyone bought completing the successful economic cycle.

Ads and commercials may not have any impact on people, but some even have positive effects. For instance, spring time is the tax season, so we see lots of commercials from H&R Block or Turbo Tax about helping people file tax for free with the form 1040EZ. As we drive on the freeways, ride the bus or walk along the parks, we often see several ads with great contents such as “Meth – Not Even Once” teaches young adults the horrifying results of doing meth , “Click It or Ticket” encourages people to wear their seatbelts, “University of West Oahu”: give students information about school options and career pathways. All of these ads and commercials are absolutely comprehensive, educational and informative.

As the TV goes on 24/7, no one can stop producers from making ads and commercials or playing them so constantly. Most of the times, ads and commercials play their parts as entertaining shows between other shows. Other times, ads and commercials just cannot create a link and earn fair trust from their viewers. Therefore, ads and commercial do not have negative impact on people, but even have positive ones.

Works Cited

Calvaho, Taleea. Laulima Discussion Comment. 14 Feb 2012. “Yes, ads have a negative impact” Darian Omoto. English 215W Laulima. 20 Feb 2012. [https://laulima.hawaii.edu].

Danziger, Pam. “My new book -- Putting the Luxe Back into Luxury -- is out”. Why People Buy. n.d. Unity Marketing. 24 Jan 2012. [http://www.whypeoplebuy.com/]

Etzioni, Amitai. “Spent: America after Consumerism”. Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. 7th edition. Eds. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2011. 308-313.

Shimabukuro, Jim. “Laulima: Logical Fallacies Exercise”. Jim’s Course Resources. 8 Jan 2012. English 215. 10 Feb 2012. [http://eng215kcc.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/laulima-logical-fallacies-exercise/]

“Understanding Human Beliefs”. The Entrepreneur’s Guidebook Series. n.d. Patsula Media, 2007. 6. [http://www.patsula.com/books/gb46.pdf]

FD1 Women’s Trauma While Adjusting with Gender Role

Uyen Nguyen Hill

30 January 2012

FD1

Women’s Trauma While Adjusting with Gender Role

The gender barriers have greatly been lessen in the past couples of decades, which means women are more respected and have more values in the used-to-be man domination world. Women have more means to access resources and expand potentials. However, everyone was born with fixed hormones. Men are believed to be the stronger, the leader; while women are more on the weak and fragile side. [THESIS] Therefore, day by day, women at all ages, from adolescence to menopause, are facing specific psychological traumas trying to blend in with their changing world either the trauma is temporary or permanent. [THESIS].

In her article “Saplings in The Storm”, psychologist Mary Pipher made it clear that “…women who are not struggling, who have forgotten that they have selves worth defending…” For an experienced woman, Pipher sees right away the problems, particularly the pain that her female patients are going through. She understands how much women care and want the best for “their coworkers, husbands, children and friends”. Sometimes women just entirely forget about themselves. They weigh so much how others would feel or judge them for not completing their tasks as women, also known as gender role. These women keep asking themselves how I could do better, how I could please everyone, but ignoring their own needs. Even worse, at times women feel absolutely pushed to the wall; they hopelessly blame themselves as the reason for an imaginary catastrophe in life. In most developed countries, women might not feel as pressure as women in developing countries, where cultural gender roles create such burdens on women. Often times in Asian countries, for example where I’m from, even though it is outlawed, some men cheat or divorce their wives for not having kids or at least one baby boy.

I have left my country and had lived with my aunt and her daughter for about three years. They are strict, critical and stereo-typed women, even though they are very loving and caring inside. Therefore, I was not surprised about how they treated me, and what moral values they expected me to follow. However, no matter how I remembered that they just wanted the best for me, I was still suffering with certain distresses. There is an old Vietnamese saying: you must bend your tongue seven times before we speak. I literally thought seven times before I opened my mouth while communicating with my aunt and her daughter. When I expressed my feelings about personal interests, everything was fine because they could not argue with what colors, food or movies, etc. I should like. Dramas occurred when I had done something that according to them was stupid or immoral.

I remembered the time when I left a note for my aunt, saying I was going out with my friends and would be back on time; when I got home, she lectured me for half an hour about how unmannerly and infantile my note and action was. For a teenage girl who lived away from home and parents, I felt absolutely hurt and disrespected. I felt like the biggest failure trying to become a proper human being. Time to time, I learned to ignore everything they criticized me about and enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian paradise. What helped me through was that I could share all of this with my parents. They could not really help me, but at least they listened and sympathized. I remembered most that my parents had always said “We’re sorry we can’t give you an easier life. Try for yourself, a couple more years and everything will be as you wish, for your own future honey.”

In the class discussion, Michael Nolasco points out girls also experience “comparable and related troubles” through media, in particular “unrealistic, idealized, color enhanced movies, magazines, advertisements and television programs”. Nolasco suggests “parents and caregivers [to prevent] children and young adults from being influenced by unrestrained commercialism.” When faced with a certain situation such as: drugs, violence, sex, etc. a parents’ first reaction is to tell their children not to do that or they will get in trouble. Children or teenagers, being how they are, tend to do the opposite of what they are told, especially when the child does not view that act as being wrong or bad. This usually leads to the parent reacting harshly towards their child. In the past, the authoritative parent saying no, and don’t dos worked for the most part.  In an age that almost everyone has access to the internet and television nearly everywhere, just saying “Don’t do that!” does not stop the children anymore.  To avoid this disruptive and repeated cycle, parents need talk with their children, explain what is right and wrong, what is to do or avoid, why drugs are bad, why they cannot watch this movie now, and so forth.  Communication is the best tool and also strengthens the bond between parents and their children.

Women are always being what they are which is sensitive, loving and caring. No matter how society has shifted, women at all ages, from adolescence to menopause, are still dealing with daily challenges that lead them to inner destruction, and psychological trauma. Every woman needs to “put themselves into the equation” while trying to watch out for everyone and balance their lives (Pipher, “Saplings in the Storm”, p. 353). Just like teenage girls need informative and affectionate conversations from their authoritative persons. From here, no woman should feel like they are struggling by themselves against the entire society.

Works Cited

Nolasco, Michael. “Causes and solutions.” Online posting. 26 Jan 2012. Laulima Discussion. 30 Jan 2012. [https://laulima.hawaii.edu].

Pipher, Mary. “Saplings in the Storm.” Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. 7th edition. Eds. Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2011. 348-354.

 
Log of Completed Activities
_x__ Jan. 9- First Day of Instruction. Read the welcome message, which includes instructions on how to navigate our class blog. Next, log in to our Laulima discussion forum and your hawaii.edu mailbox. Become familiar with these instructional media. Carefully review the information in our class blog, especially the schedule and syllabus (click on the tab at the top of the page). In the syllabus, pay special attention to the grading policy and the document “Am I Ready for an Online Class?” These will give you an understanding of online classes in general and this class in particular.
_x__ Jan. 10- Intro to Paper #1. Read the “Guidelines for Paper #1” by midnight.
_x__ Jan. 11- Laulima Discussion: Who Am I? Post your response by midnight. Possible topics: your academic and career goals; your favorite pastime; favorite book, movie, song; favorite physical activity or sport; favorite quote; personal philosophy on the purpose of life; your personal thoughts on why it’s important to become an excellent writer; favorite food or restaurant; favorite vacation destination; etc.
_x__ Jan. 17-23- Set up your personal blog for all class papers. Click here for instructions. Alternately, see the “Blogger” links in the right sidebar in our class blog. To begin, complete the initial setup. You’ll be able to add finishing touches as the RD1 due date approaches. If you need help, post a request in the “Q&A About My Blog” forum in Laulima.
_x__ Jan. 17- Complete readings for Paper #1 by midnight.
_x__ Jan. 20- Laulima Discussion: What Is “Trauma”? One definition or many different definitions? Post your response by midnight.
_x__ Jan. 26- Laulima Discussion: Causes & Solutions: What causes gender role trauma? What’s the solution? Assume that there is more than one cause or solution. Post your response by midnight. [10 pts]
_x__ Jan. 30- Submit RD1 (Review Draft #1) [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_x__ Feb. 1- Submit three RD1 evaluations in Laulima. [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_x__ Feb. 3- Submit FD1 (Final Draft #1) [100 pts] Review the guidelines.