After reading about the many ads everyone chose, i began to realize how much product out there is being actively directed to us! okay i'm not that surprised, seeing as we are the prime demographic. for the most part, we don't have significant others or dependants to spend our money on, and we have just enough energy (or enough energy to find energy) to do and buy all the things we didn't know we wanted. To live the dream.
We are portrayed as the inheritors, the next generation of movers and shakers. We are next in line for global domination! We are in our Halcyon Days, and media wants to make us into the best buyers and subscribers we can be. Media wants to shape us, Liam Dunal (http://dunsey.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-the-hail) says
" In reactions to this [Nike] ad (and most ads) aimed at both men and women, it is clear that both sexes are “supposed” to follow unrealistic standards of beauty."We are being cultivated into being the smart, pretty, successful ones who are responsible and rake in the Scrooge McDuck-sized piles of money..... to then spend on the products that made us this way. And the Media is pushing us into these vaunted ideals of being a population of Jessica Albas and Ryan Goslings so we can be 'perfect'.
But that's not all, media isn't coercing us to be supermodels, it uses shock value to continue it's goals. okay that sounded way over the top for this example, in fact, those goals are very important to our wellbeing. Jessica Znaczko (http://jessicaznaczko.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/cpcf-1f25-blog-entry-3-what-the-hail) chose one such article. Not gonna lie, she chose a rather shocking picture, which is pretty normal for a MADD ad.
"Although there is no product being advertised in this specific advertisement, it does convey a deep message and warning to young adults. "After reading this, I realized good advertisement sells an idea or feeling, not a product. The implanting of guilt, fear, inadequacy, belonging, and happiness are exactly what good advertisements are selling. It doesn't matter if it's medical insurance or Mercedes, all ads sell implicitly or even explicitly the fear of without.
These ads Hail to us in a very personal way. the first one plays on our perceived inadequacies and the second reminds us that we are very much mortal and the decisions that all of us in this demographic make have very real consequences. These ads make us grow up quickly, which is exactly what we want. we want to be treated as adults, as independent and free people; but at the same time, we can't stand the idea of being old. which is why ads like the one Alison Sparham (http://allisonsparham.wordpress.com/author/allisonsparham/) chose was so memorable and funny. for those that don't feel like following the link, it's a Super Bowl commercial for Taco Bell, where a group of elderly people were pulling late night shenanigans that we are wont to do. This very entertaining clip actually shows us a few things we as young adults love: role-reversal and parody.
"This commercial reminds us who we are, and relates to us through reflecting our lifestyle, and then parodies us... It also reflected our hailed lifestyle, which gives us identity [...] by making the commercial about the elderly, it is in this part that we find the humour."These articles paint us into this paradigm where we are carefree and want nothing more than to be immortal and perpetually awesome. I don't know about you, but that is exactly what I want. And these ads are exactly what I want in my life. A perfect body, to not die horribly, and to still have fun when I am ancient. Even if I have to eat Taco Bell to do it.
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