Kanye West (feat. Rihanna, Kid Cudi)- All of the Lights

I have never been big on Kanye West. No, not because of the incident with Taylor Swift, but because I have always been more of an Eminem or Jay-Z fan and they have conflicting musical styles. But driving in my car one day I heard this song "All of the Lights" on the radio and immediately went home and downloaded it on iTunes. It wasn't just the song either, but the music video (below) that released just a few days ago. The song itself was good but the music video is what I would like to focus on.

Courtesy of KanyeWestVevo

The video was released in early February and, if viewed on Vevo or Youtube, actually has a warning label on it because it has caused people with photosensitive epilepsy to have seizures. The video consists of many different colored, blinking and flashing lights. It makes you feel as though you are at a nightclub or something. There were more than 11 different artists that helped to collaborate for this music video including Elton John, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Rihana, and Cudi. At points I found myself almost getting a headache from watching the video, yet I was so captivated that I couldn't pull myself away from it.

Kanye West, the lead of the song and music video, features the song on his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". West was born June 8, 1977 and has worked with some of the greatest minds in the music industry in order to create some of the past decades best hits. He has sparked controversy once or twice, doing things like saying on live TV, "George Bush doesn't care about black people", and interupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA's.

Getting back to the music video, I felt that this video is very important to media and the world. It seems to be ushering in a new era of music videos, much like the way 3-D has taken over movies. In the past music video's have been about telling the story behind the song, or showing clips of the artist doing various things behind the scenes or partying. This video, on the other hand, appears to be all about subtle messages and technology.

The video starts out like any normal music video these days. A girl, in black and white, is walking down the street, and then suddenly it happens! A storm of color hits you like a cannon! As Kanye West's name moves towards you it feels almost like Star Wars when the title is coming towards you. Next the lyrics to the song begin to flash brightly on the screen. At this point the headache might begin to set in. This continues on for a bit until finally Kanye makes an appearance in shadow form dancing in an alley with more bright flashing lights. This is pretty much how the rest of the video goes and it might not seem that great to some but if you think about it it is pretty amazing. After watching it I didn't quite understand why it took so many big names to collaborate on something so simple as that. I then realized that, though it seems simple it really isn't because it is a new concept that might take over the music industry, as I fore mentioned. It hit me that the American public appears to be demanding for things to be simpler and easier to understand. This is true with movies, television, and music.

Ten years ago people wanted to see things like soap operas and Law and Order on TV whereas now they want Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. The same can be said for music because years ago music videos were about telling stories and letting the artist express his- or her-self in a way other than just singing. Now though, as shown by the example of this music video, they are becoming more and more simple, especially for the genres of Pop, Hip-Hop, Rock and Rap. As I stated before most of the videos are just the artist partying with women or a behind the scenes look at them. Nothing to special about them.

I did like this music video but that is just because I am from the younger generation that likes the simplicity. I do believe that this is where  most music videos are headed and that does upset me to some extent because I do enjoy watching music videos, if I don't understand a song, in order to better grasp hold of the meaning behind it.

Sports Illustrated - Print vs. Online

It started in 1954 and today Sports Illustrated is still the golden standard for sports magazines.  Sports Illustrated has different articles about all types of sports, depending on the season.  It also has many articles about people in sports and something that they do outside the world of sports.  Sports Illustrated has always had a good organization and really flows well together each and every week.  The first few pages are of different pictures from current sports.  Then there are a few short articles from different people. After you get through all that then you get to the longer articles with more pictures.  There is always one nice short article on the very last page too.  Sports Illustrated does a good job to mix long and short articles.

The great thing about Sports Illustrated is that it is not just words, but they had some of the best sports photography around.  They use some great pictures that go with each story and all the pictures are in color and it makes you feel like you were at the game.  Some of the different products advertised in Sports Illustrated are, for different cars or cologne also some from different candy places and Pepsi too.  Sports gear is another poplar one in Sports Illustrated.  In the first few pages there is a lot but once the long articles start there is not as many, which is good.   

I found out that there is two parts to SI.com.  The first part is the actual website which gives you a great list of many different stories and articles, some of which are more current which keeps you updated on the world of sports.  Each sport has a tab and it is easy to find a story for you.  The second part is if you click the magazine tab it will take you into a log in page, now if you get Sports Illustrated at your house you can log in and view the magazine online which I thought was really cool.  It is the same issue but in an online form for people on the go.  Overall online have the same stories but also more up to date ones which is a good thing.  Sports Illustrated only comes out once a week but online there are new current stories everyday so online you can get more information everyday but the magazine is still great to get for the once a week articles. 

The main competition to Sports Illustrated is ESPN the magazine.  I would say the main thing that puts Sports Illustrated over the top is the fact that it comes out every week and ESPN comes out every two weeks.  The second thing is that Sports Illustrated is the normal style for a magazine while ESPN is a big magazine and awkward to hold sometimes.  In my opinion while I like going to ESPN.com to get current stories, I prefer reading Sports Illustrated in print form because to me they have better articles about more things I want to read about.  The most important articles that the editors try to produce is current sports and helping us get to know someone in sports too.

Two great strengths about the print and online version of Sports Illustrated are first the layout of the online site.  If you like sports there is a good chance you will find something you want to read.  You can get up to date scores and one of the great thing I think is they have lists of SI photo galleries which is very cool.  The second strength is the fact that the print form is normal size and it put together well.  You have pictures and smell articles in the front which lead to longer articles, white many pictures to go along the way.  One last thing is that being on the Sports Illustrated cover is a great accomplishment because the SI cover has become iconic.

Two shortcomings of print and online version of Sports Illustrated are, first in the print version in the first few pages there are short articles about either random sports or not as popular sports.  While I like they appeal to everyone, there are a lot of people who just skip those small stories.  The second is sometimes the print versions stories are from last week and people want this week’s stories. 

The primary target for Sports Illustrated is mostly guys, but also any sports fan in general.  If you love sports then Sports Illustrated is for you.  The ads do fit because they are for things guys like, cars, candy, cologne and sports gear.  There are not really any stereotypes in the articles because they know who is reading it and really write how it is. 

I get Sports Illustrated in print form at my house, but if I want current information in sports most of the time I will go to ESPN.com but I have many places I go.  For me I prefer the print form because I don’t use SI.com for online information.  The Sports Illustrated magazine I get every week I know I will read from cover to cover because the stories interest me and are  easy to read.  I would say it depends on the audience.  If someone is big on reading things on the Internet then the print would better serve them.  If it is say maybe an older sports fan who likes reading the print form it would be better serve them.  For the instant access, the online form gets you information as it happens. 

I do follow Sports Illustrated on facebook and do have the app for my iPhone, along with my ESPN and yahoo sports apps.  They all give me all the information I need.  I learned that you should really look deep into a magazine to really get the feel for what purpose it serves.  Sports Illustrated has been around since 1954 so I figure they are doing something right.  I also learned that no matter what sport you might like, Sports Illustrated has it covered and will tell you a little something about it which is a great feature. 

Introducing the New Outdated World

You get the new hot phone, you're super excited about it, and everyone is going to be jealous. Then you show up to class on Monday and the person sitting next to you has the even newer version of the phone. This has happened to me before. Has it ever happened to you? With the world becoming so technologically advanced once you buy something it is almost immediately outdated. This keeps the consumer wanting more and the producers raking in millions and millions. Best Buy recently came out with a new commercial that embraces the advancing technology in the world and how quickly it evolves. Do you like how fast technology is advancing currently?

Television: Modern Family

On February 2, 2011 I watched the show Modern Family on ABC at 9 p.m. This was the first time that I watched the show. It is a comedy about three different families and follows their ups and downs. Modern Family is a sitcom and stars Edward O'Neil and Julie Bowen. The show is on ABC which is known for airing family friendly shows that appeal to people of all ages.


This show is all about one big family that is focused on three different households.  At the top you have Jay and Gloria and Gloria’s son Manny.  Jay has two kids, a daughter Claire and a son Mitchell.  The second household focuses on Mitchell and his life partner Cameron and they had an adopted daughter from Vietnam named Lily.  The last house focus on focuses on a typical American family named the Dunphy’s.  Claire is married to Phil and they had two daughters named Haley and Alex and one son named Luke.  

The ads during the commercials were in pretty much three groups.  The first group was cars, the second was food and the third was everyday products.   There were ads for Cadillac, Volvo and Mazda.  The food ads were all the normal places to eat, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, BK, Domino’s and Taco Time.  The everyday products ranged from Advil to laundry detergent to Ziploc bags.  There was also a few random ad’s like one for JC Penny’s and a iPad.

Video courtesy of WeeklyTop10

There are many different attitudes in this show. The episode that I watched showed that the main attitude of the show is the value of family and challenges that they face. As I was watching it I felt like it did a good job of showing how every family is different and handles things differently. The show is filmed on location in Los Angeles and it is edited to look like a documentary. This show is very different from other shows because it includes a gay couple in the show, Cam and Mitch. This actually caused some controversy when the show first aired. In the episode that I watched it appeared that the show does embrace several types including gay men being feminine, father-in-laws being hard on their son-in-laws, and the famous ball and chain that wives have on their husbands. 

The ads to me make a lot of sense to be running on this show.  The show is targeted toward the normal middle class family and these commercials work well in that.  All the food ads were showing a great deal like four items for only $5 or the Wendy’s dollar menu. The other ads were for normal products that the middle class family would need and can relate too.
 

Modern Family appears to appeal to all different types of audiences. This could be one reason why prior to the start of the show they referred to it as TV's #1 comedy. I can see it appealing to the young, the old, families, white, Hispanic, and even the gay community. The one demographic I don't see it trying to reach as much is the African-American community because there are no African-American characters on the show. This is also reflected in the commercials which were mainly car commercials (like Lexus), and other ABC shows, primarily the comedies on ABC. If I was from another country and watched this show I would get the idea that American families were very discombobulated, but also quite humorous at the same time, and that they always work out their differences.

I feel that the show did a very good job of trying to get different perspectives of families to play a part in the show. By this I mean they have a gay family, and family dominated by the wife, and a family who found each other through divorce, like many families in the U.S. these days. Modern Family does a great job of incorporating humor into the everyday life of a family and showing the lighter side of families struggles at times. Though we may want to believe that this is an accurate view of most families, this is not the case and therefore I feel that it is more of a parody of real life rather than an actual portrayal. Metacritic's critics rave about the show for many of the same reasons that I just mentioned. One critic actually said that it was "far and away the best prime-time sitcom". 

I have never watched this show before tonight but I was very impressed by it. I know several friends who watch this show regularly and have suggested it to me on numerous occasions but I usually brush it off and never watch it. To be completely honest I just might become an every-week watcher now. Overall I was able to take a lot away from watching this show, including things like the importance of family and also (this is not a bad thing) about how Hollywood knows that families are struggling right now in America and can use this show to basically say, "Not every family is perfect, but every family is funny."  I learned that no matter what life gives you to work with, you will always have family there to pick you up.


I have to say that I agree with the points that Brian and Mindy said about the show.  The way this show is made, helps it flow well.  The producers really understand who watches the show and makes it more real in some cases and people can relate to it.  Overall it is a very funny show that does a good job of knowing who watches it.

Advertising: "What Should I Do?"

Nike is known by many as the face of sports. This corporation represents many athletes worldwide, and it's patented "swoosh" label is on just about everything these days it seems like. With it's hands on hall of fame atheltes from Michael Jordan, who created the subsidary Jordan brand, to the great Jerry Rice Nike is recognizable to the older generation as well as the younger generation. Now-a-days Nike represents the likes of Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Adrian Peterson, and 92 universities nation-wide. Recently Nike has had to campaign to restore the image of some of their most beloved athletes including Tiger Woods and LeBron James, to note the most famous.

This past summer LeBron James, heralded as the best player in the NBA, held a one hour special on ESPN to announce that he would be "taking his talents to South Beach" and signing with the Miami Heat rather than re-signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. This infuriated many people and tarnished his image as a "hero" for the city of Cleveland and turned him into the "Villian" of the NBA. Upon the creation of this storm Nike released a commercial featuring James aimed at his doubters, including Charles Barkely, the people of Cleveland, and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, in order to show that they, Nike, supported James 100% and show that his decision was not easy but one that he made to better himself and his career, same as anyone else would do if faced with the opportunity. The complete version of the commercial, which is about a minute and a half long, is listed below.

Video courtesy of nikebasketball

As you can probably tell there is a lot going on in this ad. I was able to come to the conclusion that this ad contains three main types of advertising strategies. The first concept that is used by Nike is famous person advertising, by using LeBron James as the promoter in this certain commercial. The second strategy in this ad is the use of a plain folks pitch, this is used by the attempt of the ad to reach out to everyday fans of the NBA.  The final strategy used by Nike is irritation advertising, they use this because people got tired of seeing this commercial because it was played so much, but that was the purpose of it because by people getting irritated with it that means that it has succeeded in reaching out to the viewers. Personally I feel like the commercial was very successful because sports talk shows were debating this commercial when it first came out because of the controversy it stirred.

This ad campaign was designed by Nike in order to try and re-instill the image of LeBron James after his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami. The target audience of this commercial are NBA fans and people who are skeptical about James. I think that this ad applies mostly to the demographic of younger people who still have not made up their mind about what to think about LeBron James. I don't think that there are any stereotypes or offensive material in this ad, although James does make light references to people who have called him out for leaving Cleveland. This ad had a great effect and I believe it was a great move by Nike to release this commercial because it helped Nike to, not only rebuild one of it's prized possessions images, but also helped to show people that no matter what Nike will stick by their athletes even in their darkest hours. It is definitely a memorable ad because of the amount of fuss that it caused people. When we first were handed the assignment of writing about an ad campaign this was immediately the first one that I thought of, proving that it stuck with people and therefore is memorable to most. I was personally skeptical about what to think of LeBron when he deserted the city of Cleveland to go "Championship hunting", but this commercial helped me to realize that he really does love Cleveland and is thankful for all that the city gave him, but that this was just the best decision for him moving forward. If I was in his shoes I would have probably made the same decision that he did and this commercial helped me to realize that. 

Though this ad was not bent on promoting a certain new item or anything, it was rather promoting the brand of Nike and the image of LeBron James. All in all I feel that this commercial helped tons of people realize the same thing that I did when I saw it for the first time. This assignment definitely taught me that there are more to ads than just being annoying billboards, pieces of paper, or commercials, advertising can take on the identity of a purpose, and I find that very cool. To conclude I would just like to raise the question, "What did you take away from this commercial after watching it?"

Family Guy - Quagmire Flips Out at Golf