The SHAM-WOW Does it work?

I first saw "Sham-Wow" at a sears outlet store. I had also seen it in a commercial advertised by Billy Mays. At first I was overwhelmed by its use. It soaked up everything. It seemed like a vacuum which left no mess! The "Sham-Wow" sold for $19:95 and came with four "Sham-Wows". I took it home, to try it out. To my disappointment I realized the company had cheated me! It didn’t work. It did not soak 12 times the liquid as they said it would.

I didn’t know why it wasn’t working for me when it worked right before my eyes at the sears. Could they have been using a different "Sham-Wow" for demonstration, or was the one I bought defected?

Why did I buy it? Maybe because the guy told me I wasted twenty dollars a month on paper towels, and for that same twenty dollars I could have eight Sham Wows. These Sham Wows are guaranteed to last ten years! I had wasted my money!

In my opinion I think the company cheat their costumers. They used different advertising techniques to sell their products to make the consumers buy their products. Their product doesn't do what they say it does.

What do you think? Is "Sham Wow" cheating their costumers to make money? Have you ever tried the "Sham-Wow" and did it work for you?

Could you do a better job?

When does fiction become a reality?

For teens, it may be something as simple as a brand of jeans they choose to wear or a new hair style they try after seeing Amy sporting it on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Although, for the stars that have an impact in the media it can be a quick reality.

A prime example of this is Charlie Sheen with his character of Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men, that has entertained audiences for years with a character who is reaching middle age with girls hanging off his arms although, he also has to deal with a brother who does not have a lot of money and a nephew who grows up on the show to still be as dumb as a stump but still has some fantastic witty comebacks. Charlie Sheen over the years appears to have become unstable as a father and inconsiderate of those who surround him, mainly the mother of his twin boys and his producers. According to Charlie he is not bipolar, he is "biwinning" and ladies and gentleman, he has tiger blood running through him. His character of constantly having women hanging off of him has turned into a reality. He now lives with his goddesses.

Another example of a television character getting the best of someone is Jamie Lynn Spears, that's right Brittney Spears' younger sister. In 2007, at the young age of 16 she got pregnant. Although, her story is a little different, her character on television was a tween at boarding school dealing with roommate and boy drama. She did however make a statement after her pregnancy was public knowledge that said "I can't be judgmental because it's a position I put myself in."

The price of fame for some can be overwhelming, being constantly in the eye of others, with the constant judgement and disappointment. Celebrities in a lot of ways have it rough when it comes to their personal life being on display. As much as we believe that money will solve all our problems or they just should have known better, we've never stopped to think if we would do any better if we were in their shoes. We would all like to think we would but, would we really?

We always have the opportunity to experiment with things such as drugs, sex and alcohol, does it mean it is a smart idea? No, not really but do we anyway? Sometimes yes, for some all the time, for others no. I'm not say that yes we should go out and test ourselves to see if we can handle having a baby or "biwinning" although, I am saying that we don't actually know what could happen. We have the opportunity to do our best with what life hands to us, we try to make wise decisions and create better opportunities in the future.

Advertising Techniques

Advertisements are all carefully constructed to appeal to your senses. You watch something on television, and think; "Hey, that looks amazing... I need to buy it." It probably isn't as great as it seems. The media and companies have carefully decided on advertising techniques to catch the eyes of certain targets, who are most likely to buy their products.

Well, there are things used for these products, such as color, camera angles, lighting, music, sounds, the product itself, and more. For example in the picture above, it shows a shiny new car the company is selling. What makes this car better than any other car? Nothing, except that its shiny, and looks nice. It probably doesn't have any other advantages that the usual cars don't have. The company hired the media to advertise this car, and they used techniques to sell this car. First off, the camera angle is a full shot of the car, and its showing the back of the car, which is the coolest looking part of the car, attracting attention. They make the lighting bright, but still showing shadow, though the brightness makes the car shine, and look pretty and appealing. The angle is overhead, and slanted slightly, because straight on angles aren't as appealing. Diagnal or tilted angles give a move

ment and exciting feel. The overhead view makes you look down on the car, but it makes it look like your main target, and you have to have it. The slightest little techniques will make a product look a million times better than it may be. Does the car below look as appealing? Noooope.

To appeal to gender, colour is often used. As described in my previous blog, stereotyping the colours boys and girls are suppose to like, takes place in advertising. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Cool, strong, manly colours for males. Pretty, bright, girly colours for the females. This car is directed mostly towards males. Its a grey/silver, and its a duller colour, not very bright, and its a truck. Directed more towards men. Also, its a bigger car, showing the strength of men. Now if you get a small white minivan, or tiny purple car, its directed towards woman. Isn't that odd? People should decide what they want no matter who its directed to, and that's what we do. Advertisements don't always work, though the techniques catch our eye, we don't fall for it all the time.

Other ways of advertising could consist of things directed to your country to show patriotism, or your background, your interests, or if your a regular person, living a regular life, there's the plain folk appeal. Other appeals would be snob appeal, card stacking (giving more and more positives without negatives), bandwagon, facts and figures, weasel words, and more. Most common in commercials is card stacking, like when they advertise Sham Wow, or things to cut vegetables in your kitchen. They stack the positives about the product, and don't tell you "They don't work as well as this product." Or "It'll break in 3 weeks and we wont give you your money back!" :D YEAH! They also repeat the product name to engrave it in your brain SHAM WOW. So when your watching television, take a look SHAM WOW at the commercials, and try to pick out the advertising techniques SHAM WOW used. You'll notice how they drew you in SHAM WOW in the first place. :) SHAM WOW.

By the way, the same goes for when the media advertises womens clothes. They make the women look sexier, so you'll buy the clothes, and that encourages EATING DISORDERS AND SELF CONCIOUSNESS! So beware, don't fall for the traps, be yourself, buy what you need, and don't give in to peer pressure.

- The Queen of Neptune.

It's not as one-sided as you might think.

The longest unit in media studies this semester was Gender Roles and Stereotypes, where we spent two months learning how women were objectified in the media. I vaguely remember a brief sidenote, saying 'Oh yeah, sometimes men are objectified too". Is this focus really deserved? As a guy I feel an enourmous pressure to be the fit, muscular alpha male constant depicted in every form of media that needs a male lead. However, this happens mostly in movies, with most young males preferring the big screen than newspapers or online media. muscleheads are everywhere in film. Even nerds are buff. In kickass, during one of the 'suit up' scenes (I couldn't find a better clip because the school blocks searches such ass 'kick ass', but this one works sufficiently) you can see that even Dave(kickass) , a social outcast is muscular under that wetsuit. I especially felt the pressure after watching 'Snatch' a movie about brad pitt playing an anatomically perfect illegal boxer.

Most of Brad's scenes are spent with the camera under him, making him look heroic, powerful and intimidating, in greyscale scenes with sharp and definite lines, because Brad's a man's MAN'S man. Be like Brad. He's the man.

I remember once I felt so bad about my own body image that for an instant, the words "If I'm not muscular my girlfriend won't have a reason to love me." crossed my mind. Of course , these words were instantly followed by a facepalm so hard I could have painted the wall with my brains. Guys are under just as much pressure from the media as girls. The main difference is that most guys are just ashamed to admit it, or cave under pressure and develop addictions to steroids, or even addictions to working out itself. (Not to say that girls don't develop psychological disorders aswell, of course.)

MAVS!

The Dallas Mavericks are the 2010-11 Season NBA Champions.

In 6 games, the Mavs decisively won the title with a 4 games to 2 run. Finals MVP honours went to none other than Dirk Nowitzki. But in all seriousness, this feat was a team effort, from the starters to the core bench players, the Mavericks won this championship as a team.

Something that the Miami Heat failed to do.

In game 6, where the Miami heat were facing elimination, they didn't step up as a team. And really, nobody on the whole team did well the entire game. Lebron James had a 4/4 start to the game, and went pretty much cold for the rest. Dwyane Wade did some positives, but he tried to take the team on his back, and failed. He made too many mistakes down the stretch, and the Heat as a whole looked rattled. The title was the Mavericks about halfway through the 4th quarter, and they ended the game winning in double digits. The only person that was contributing positively with his minutes was Chris Bosh, who had been struggling most of the series, but was probably the most efficient player for the Heat.

Too bad he didn't get many touches of the ball.

I would be lying if i said I felt sorry for Bosh after the game, where he actually fell down in emotion, and seemed to be crying. I can understand why he would react that way, being one of the most emotional players in the game today, but I'm not sorry, and I am overjoyed that the Mavericks defeated the Heat in a clear, concise way.

Last years off season, James and Bosh were free agents that decided to take their talents to South Beach, and anybody who watched the NBA was buzzing about how the Heat would win the championship. There were lovers and haters, myself being one of the haters. Anyone for the Heat tried to convince others that the Heat would win the title because they have 3 all-stars on the team. I personally believe in a team dynamic, where everyone is comfortable with each other, knows how others play, and can win games because of their chemistry. There's no doubt that the Heat will win a few championships in their time, just the first season seemed like a bit of a stretch to me, even if the team did acquire possibly the best player in basketball today, Lebron James.

Following the moves, a large variety of people were asked about how they think the Miami Heat will fair this season, including United States President Barrack Obama. He followed the same view that many "haters" have, which is that a team who works well together and has played for a long time will do better than a team that hasn't. It's cool when the President has the same views on basketball as you do.

And it looks like many people are satisfied with the loss to Dallas. People like Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry have been in the NBA for 10+ years and are veteran players that have never won a championship. The fact that the Mavs only have 1 all-star as opposed to the Heat, who have 3, are the team that overcame the odds and won it all is a great success that really should be admired.

I'm not really a hater anymore, because I know now that the Heat players can't be cocky anymore because they have 3 stars. Humbled is a word I hope players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron James can learn about, because a big part to their failure in this playoff run was the lack of maturity that all 3 players have.

Nine Months From Now Will it Still Be Funny?

Do you think it is cool to be pregnant?

Many shows and movies right now give off the impression that it is all for laughs and jokes and the occasional challenge when you are pregnant. A few of these movies and shows are 16 and pregnant, teen mom and knocked up. 16 and Pregnant is a show about teens who are pregnant and how they handle life before the baby is born, teen mom is an extension showing the lives of a few of the teen mothers.

Originally, it was argued that teen mom and 16 and pregnant were shows that helped to spread awareness to teens around the world about the risks surrounding teen pregnancy. These shows were used as advocates for abstinence in the past although, things have recently changed.

These shows have turned into scandals all over the media, on

magazines, online and on television. Every time you leave the grocery store you see Amber or Macy's names all over the covers of magazines. If you think about it though, do you actually know Macy or Amber's last name, do you see how the father's of their children live their lives every day?

Yes, you get to see the problems and drama between the stars of the show but, does everyone realize that these problems can be avoided, some teens may feel differently. These shows and movies can be dangerous for teens because they may have a different interpretation. They may read pregnancy as the source of all problems and never wish to have children, or some may believe that becoming pregnant may help their chances of becoming famous. It may just seem like another popularity contest, who they've slept with, who the father of their child is and if MTV will be calling them to ask to film their drama filled lives. Is that what really happens though, that you magically get a call and get on television, think back to how many people are on these shows, maybe 4 or 5 sets of parents, and how many of them do you see struggling to keep their relationship a happy or civil one, or how often do you see them fight.

So what is so funny about a couple who end up having a child because of a drunken night at a club, or an abusive girlfriend, or constantly being reminded of the child you gave away. Is it a confidence bust that your life is not actually that bad because you could not go to that concert, or is it a refresher for why you take precautions when it comes to the opposite sex. What ever your reasoning is, remember there is always more than one side to things and that even if you laugh now, if the situations were reversed it would not be as funny.

Teenage abortion rates, by age of women at end of pregnancy, women aged 15 to 19, Canada, 1974 to 1997

Data sources: References 5,6,7; Health Statistics Division; Canadian Vital Statistics Data Base; Canadian Institute for Health Information

Who's message is it anyway?

Have you ever felt like a walking billboard?

You might be thinking, "um... what?"

Have you ever noticed how many advertisements surround you on a daily basis? Take a moment to look up from your computer screen, look around the room, are you

at home in your room with posters on the walls, at school with your bag on your desk and you're staring out the window or even just look down at your t-shirt.

Is there a logo or symbol of some sort?

I bet there is.

We no longer seem to care if we are being used by a company to sell their product for them. How often do you look around on your way through the halls at school and notice a brand name sprawled across someone's chest?

Which one's do you notice the most?

Do they look different...

Or the same?

The part that is really amazing is how often products are the same, the only difference is the brand name, whether it is aero postale, abercromie or holister people go out of their way to purchase clothes that look the same as the next the clothes at the next store over.

It is as if people are settling for a brand name instead of choosing to create a personal style. It is everywhere, on your t-shirts, on your jeans, even on your bags. Have you noticed your shopping bags lately, the new reusable bags with large spread logos as an upgrade from a regular plastic bag with the logo in giant letters. It is even on your pants, mainly women's pants with giant labels across the booty of the pants because companies have determined the back side as the most noticed part of the female body, only when you are walking behind them of course. Once you see them from the front the strategy changes to focus on the chest of a person. Does this demonstrate a positive outlook on our bodies? That you only get attention for a few reasons one being what brand you wear and two for what you allow others to see. That isn't a positive image for anyone.

Even the messages on clothing can be taken to the extreme

What does this tell you?

That you're a cool kid when you spend a Friday night at home with a cup of tea and a good book or that you should be out drinking until you can't think straight. Which option sounds more appealing and exciting.

Now think it over a second time, which one will you regret the following day and which will you remember. If you hadn't thought about it a second time, what would you take away from this t-shirt.

Are they all the same answer, for some it might be and for others it may change.

Think about this, is it right for us to be wearing someone else's message; is that any different from putting on a mask.

You be the judge, but judge carefully.

GaGa`s Controversy

The new hit song "Judas" by lady gaga is really a song created to push the limits and boundaries. It is said that lady GaGa is the modern day Madonna and as we all know Madonna was also one to really push the limits in terms of her music. Lady GaGa tends to sexualize religion in many of her videos. For example in her music video for "Alejandro" GaGa swallows a rosary this first real kick at religion caught people off guard, but her latest song Judas in my personal opinion has taken it to far and thousands of people agree. her new music video features clips like GaGa riding a motorcycle with a man with a crown of thorns on his head (jesus) and falling in love with Judas (the disciple that betrayed Jesus), Gaga in a bathtub with Jesus and Judas etc. for somebody who is a religious person such as myself, this music is very offensive. I understand that GaGa is very different and that she wants to do different things in the industry. but when you place religion into the concept i believe that is taking it way to far. something that i also notice is that Christianity is the only religion that gets torn apart and made fun of in our society. Even "Jesus Christ" is a swear word. you never walk around and hear somebody say "Oh Buda !!" why is that? in conclusion i think LadyGaGa is taking her music to the level of unacceptable and offensive and if she continues along this path i think she will loose many fans including myself.

Have You Ever Had A Dream?...

Have you ever had a dream? A dream to of doing something positive in our world, a dream that would bring truth to teenagers struggling to dispel the many myths created by today’s media. Myths of what it means to be popular, successful, beautiful, thin…

I had this dream. It started with the love of media and film production. But the dream was bigger than just being a producer or director. I wanted to make a statement, I wanted to help people understand the truth and send positive message. My target, same as the media: teens. At the time of my dream, I was working as a volunteer behind the scenes at Rogers TV Mississauga. It was apparent to me, with all the variety of shows offered there was not one specific to teenagers. Thus, my dream began...

Don’t you love the shows that require your participation for it to succeed? Like voting for the winner on “So You Think You Can Dance” or “Canadian Idol”. You feel a sense of importance, you are involved in that show since you’ve created the outcome and have been asked to express your opinion. I began to envision a television talk show where teens wouldn’t just influence someone else life, but their own as well. These shows would have experts that would discuss the facts of current teen issues and deconstruct the media’s false messages.

Fast forward to May 2011, where I am currently co-host and co-community producer of a new live show on Roger’s TV called “Teen Talk”.

The first four shows had discussions around teen relationships, use of alcohol and marijuana, worry and anxiety and healthy eating. With the help of the teen input on the internet and through live calls the experts discussed myth’s in todays media. Since the show is live, teen viewers call in with their own questions or experiences towards that weeks topic shaping the show. As well, the week prior to each show teens can chat, share experiences and ask questions (via Facebook) that will be brought up on air. Now’s your chance to get involved in my dream, or start your own - you run the show! Call in, ask questions, give in your personal stories, let your fellow teens know the truth and how you feel! All teens are also invited to contribute to the topic of future shows. The show gives you a chance to benefit yourself. While teenaged viewers negotiate different meanings for each topic, this show drives to undo what the media has done by letting their audience know the truth and undoing the harmful lies. Trends blaze through our society like raging fire, fulfilling everyone’s urge to fit in. Products are bought and actions are taken usually because of the rage or fad. We have the chance to drive this in a positive direction. Let the dreams begin!

Teen Targets

Teens have been used as targets for many different produces from make-up to clothes, face wash to school supplies... Trying to bribe us with promises of love, happiness, confidence, beauty and popularity. Using these techniques to lure in teen buyers is bad enough, but when manufacturers deliberately use them on a product that has proven to cause harm or death, potentially shorten or take away the live of innocent teenagers, that’s criminal! Introducing the cigarette manufacturers.

Cigarette manufactures have been researching the fads and trends of today’s teens and using this information against us. Selling a product that could potentially shorten innocent lives; now thats just outrageous! They are using many different techniques to lure teenagers into buying their products that have a slim, glamourous and intriguing packing. They do whatever they can to appeal to the teenaged market.

Some cigarette companies add menthol to their cigarettes which decreases the smell on their clothing and breath, making it easier for teens to smoke without their parents getting suspicious. Unfortunately, adding menthol to tobacco causes the nicotine to get to the brain faster increasing the addictive potential of a cigarette. (The faster nicotine binds to the nicotine receptors in the brain, and releases dopamine, a hormone that makes you feel pleasure and satisfaction, the higher the potential for addiction.) Their manufacturing techniques make it easier for teens to cover their acts of smoking cigarettes.

Not only have they hidden the smell of cigarettes, they have also camouflaged the packaging.

Is it just coincidence that this package looks like and i-pod? Giving teens confidence that they can successfully hide their smoking will increase teen buyers. They have also made cigarette cases in the shape of mascara containers, chocolate bars, a deck of cards and designer Louis Vuitton clutches to help teens conceal their cigarettes from their parents and guardians. Pretty ingenious on their part!

Where as a regular pack of cigarettes contains 20 cigarettes for around $10, cigarette companies have created mini pack of 4 or 5 cigarettes. I suspect the reason for this is two - fold, again to target teens. Firstly, the small packaging is easy for teens to conceal and contains the perfect amount of cigarettes if they are only planning to smoke at a party or on the weekend with their friends. Secondly, the small packages are a low, affordable price of $3.00, which just happens to be the same price of a bag of chips and a can of pop. These people have thought of everything! Luckily, the government has rallied to stop advertising on the radio, television and magazines in Canada. It is also suing the British Tobacco Company for the health care costs due to the harmful effects of smoking.

Not only have they made cigarettes affordable, accessible and easy to hide from their parents, they have also made them more interesting, tasty and enjoyable by adding crazy flavours. Making the cigarettes have yummy and fun flavours like strawberry, bubblegum, chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, tropical passion and mint would make the smoke more pleasing to us teens instead of just the nauseating taste of cigarettes. They say they are not targeting teens, but when we look at how they have added the above elements into their products it makes that statement laughable. Of course they are targeting teenagers, they have thought of absolutely everything to reel us in!

Unfortunately, nicotine is the most addictive substance on the market. More addictive than marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol. Starting to smoke cigarettes before the age of 18 predicts a higher rate of addiction in the future. Since these ads are targeting teens, they will get them started young causing them a lifetime of negative health effects in the future, including cancers, lung disease (COPD), and heart disease.Trying to seduce you into buying a product that will harm you in the end is murder! Doing this to children is infanticide!

Relationship between a guy and a girl

Have you ever been in a relationship? Or had a crush on someone? Or been in love? Well let me tell you from girl's perspective about what typical girl feel during the relationship.

Starting a relationship usually starts off as friends. Friends sometimes turn into a closer relationship such as, best friends. Best friends are not just a friend, but are friends that are like sisters or brothers. Sometimes friends know you more than you know yourself. Moreover, Best friends know more about your feelings, even before you tell them what's wrong. But, now the thing is, this best friend of yours turned into someone you're in love with. At first you don't know your own feelings, or know how to react around them. You constantly, want to impress this guy by wearing your favourite clothes, favourite jewellery and favourite shoes. Tiny impressions that were never taken into consideration such as, piece of a hair out of a place or even, how you walk is driving the girl insane. As the girl is thinking about tiny things that the guy will never notice, the guy whom confronts her saying he likes her. The girl feels like she has gotten everything. She starts to flirt around him and makes sure he is in love with her, just as the girl is in love with him. The guy on the other hand, thinks being "mysterious" and not texting back the girl will ATTRACT the girl more. Well WRONG. Every time, "mysterious" act, will motivate the girl to dig her own grave. She thinks about every possible solution about why he is being a jerk. Why he can't be like Romeo who dedicates all his life for a love one. As she compares Romeo and Juliet's scenario, she confronts her girlfriends and gossip. She vents on her friends, asking for advice. Some friends will say his not worth it or some say move on. Well what happens when you know that guy is not the greatest person, yet you know for a fact, you're in love with them. It is for a fact that, if you move on, there are millions of guys out there who can be so much better to you, yet you're in love with a total jerk.

Oh drat. So by this point the girl: is thinking about the guy and wants to talk to him. She is waiting for a text, even though the guy fully said he is busy. Then, from this stage, girls would exaggerate everything to one extend, and thinks about "Why is he putting THAT over me?", "Does he not like me?" Moreover, guys want to solve things and make decisions on the spot; on the other hand, girls likes to talk about it and want explanations.

Furthermore, as the situation appears as the couple couldn't handle the hardship anymore. Then, the girl mostly likely would confront the guy without any breakup intention to "talk". On the other hand, the guys usually think when girls say let's "talk" they refer to it as "breakup" or "serious talk". The guy however, will act cool and bring up the conversation about breakups. The girl's intention was obviously to just talk. Not Breakup.

With all the reasons, guys move on fast on to another girl. Flirting with girls, like her never had a girlfriend. Or even, on the stage of picking out his next girl. This is the difference between girl and a guy. Girl likes to talk about it, while the guy wants to solve everything according to that spot.

Behind the screen, you cannot judge people by how they talk. However, I wanted to share my point of view on how girls have more dedications and things to worry in the relationship than guys.

Working on a trendy production line

Trendiness is the word on everybody's lips. With so many outlets for advertising we are convinced that we need certain items to make us popular. The sad part, of course, is that they do. We are establishing new trends as if they're coming off of a factory line, but people are just running out of ideas to explore. This is not because of a lack of creativity, though, but it is because the media is creating trends faster than designers can imagine them. Because of this unfilled quota, we are repeating ourselves. In the last decade (especially the last 2-3 years) old trends have been resurfacing. Take the fedora for example. Used by middle aged men of the of the 1930s-1950s, it fell out of popularity for a number of decades. Now, inexplicably, these creased bowlers have become 'trendy and fashionable' for all the young lanky lads. Really it just looks like you stepped on your favorite hat.

What I find even more curious is how many 80s products are now once again a part of pop-culture. People were ASHAMED of the 80s. But now, once again we have classic gems like oversized sunglasses (incase you think you don't look bug-eyed enough today), leg-warmers (because who wears pants anymore anyway?), and the new epitome of 80s fusion, JEGGINGS. Oh, dont get me STARTED on Jeggings. They're a piece of latex made to look like jeans, without those annoying pockets or, you know, functionality. However, feel free to spend twice as much on some useless rubber as you would on an actual pair of jeans. Why, you ask? Because these products will make you popular amongst your shallow consumer peers, like they did in the good old days.

Look at this f-ing hipster.