Coca-Cola: Pop Culture Icon

We all know about it. The red and white logo, the family and friendship-inspired commercials. Coca-Cola is a brand known to all, unless you live or lived under a rock.

But how did it get this way?

Nowadays, you can walk into a store and find Coca-Cola merchandise. Tank-tops, T-shirts, towels, candy, socks, anything. Anytime I see the color red, the back of my mind associates it with Coca-Cola.

I find this very interesting, because the fact of the matter is, Coca-Cola is just a soda. It tastes near identical to Pepsi, despite the age old argument. So why is Pepsi not so big of a pop culture icon as Coca-Cola?

One reason could be just the fact that the ads that they have used were more successful. Coca-Cola's ads mostly focus on the fact that if you drink Coke, you could gain popularity, you could be a good friend, you could be all these things and something you're not. However, is this the reality of the product?

No.

In fact, this soda is more likely to have negative long-term effects, versus those positive ones used in promoting. For example, a common thing I have been seeing around lately is a large inflatable can of soda that is obviously done to imitate the style of Coca-Cola, which instead reads Diabetes. it appeared at the international day at McClatchy, and somewhere I got a flier for it. I found this interesting, too, and it can probably be related back to the question of where Coca-Cola's popularity came from: Why did they use Coca-Cola, and not Pepsi? Why not Sierra Mist, or root beer?

This (hypothetical) answer is simple.

Coca-Cola is a very old brand. It has been around for so long, so many people are already familiar with the name and are more likely to tell others about it so that they can buy it too. As these people are spreading word of this classic soda, the advertising agents are building specially-targeted commercials in order to appeal to people's sense of diversity and companionship. The campaigns done by Coca-Cola further support this; for example, the #ShareACoke.

More to report.
-M

Song Analysis - Missing You by All Time Low

So for this post, instead of focusing on several songs by the same artist (though I definitely weighed the idea, because I simply couldn't decide what song to do), I decided to pick one song and look at the lyrics and other aspects of the song as closely as possible.

So recently, I began listening to the Future Hearts album by All Time Low again, and I fell in love with it all over again. All the songs have a message, so I definitely recommend you go listen and enjoy. But one song that has stuck out to me since I first heard the album was the song Missing You.

This song stood out to me, I think, for several reasons; the upbeat tempo and guitar, and the really supportive lyrics are the biggest ones.

All Time Low can typically be considered a band that is aimed at teens and young adults. That's a pretty general consensus. What I find most interesting about this song is that you can tell, simply by listening, that this song was written for their audience; their target market. If you listen to the lyrics, it kind of tells a story, speaking directly to the listener.

I heard that you've been
Self-medicating in the quiet of your room,
Your sweet, suburban tomb.
And if you need a friend,
I'll help you stitch up your wounds.

I heard that you've been
Having some trouble finding your place in the world.
I know how much that hurts,
But if you need a friend
Then please just say the word...

In these first two verses, it is the main singer Alex Gaskarth saying that he's "heard" about all these plights. He is speaking, as noted before, directly to the listener, and offers to be there if they need a friend. I think in this case, he is saying that their music can be the friend that they need when they lock themselves in their room, or if they're searching for themselves, or hiding from the world...he is trying to get the message across that their music is made to help you through these times.

Hold on tight,
This ride is a wild one,
Make no mistake,
The day will come when you can't cover up what you've done,
Now don't lose your fight, kid,
It only takes a little push to pull on through,
With so much left to do;
You'll be missing out, and we'll be missing you.

As for the chorus, I also think this is speaking directly to the listener. The first few lines are trying to say that yes, life is crazy. Life is fast and wild and insane and there's nothing you can really do to prepare yourself, so just "hold on tight." For a while now I've been a bit confused on the line, "The day will come when you can't cover up what you've done," but if I look at it in a slightly different (slightly more depressing) light, it makes more sense. 

What I mean by this is that the lines start to make more sense if you narrow down the original target audience from just teens and young adults in general to teens and young adults considering suicide. In the beginning, he is offering their music to be a pillar of support for those struggling, and in the chorus, he is saying that there will someday come a day when you won't be able to hide the cuts on your wrists or anything like that. 

I love that he follows that line with, "Now don't lose your fight, kid." This really shows the support he is trying to offer to the listener. "It only takes a little push to pull on through." He really wants the listener to give life a chance, to just try a little harder in order to see that things will work out. If they don't, and if they end up giving in "with so much left to do," they will just be "missing out" on life and opportunities, and they the band and the rest of the world will be "missing you."

Grit your teeth, pull your hair,
Paint the walls black and scream, "Fuck the world
'Cause it's my life, I'm gonna take it back,"
And never for a second blame yourself.

The bridge is the final part of the song that I will be analyzing lyrically. I love these lines because Alex is once again trying to put a little motivation back into the listener, trying to give them a reason to fight. He is saying that they are strong enough to not let the world bring them down, they are strong enough to take their life back. They are strong, and they are enough. The whole second line, I think, is him saying that teenagers should be able to freely express themselves in any way they so choose with little judgement, because its their life, and they can make of it what they will. The line, "and never for a second blame yourself" jumps out at me legitimately every time I listen to the song. It really resonates with me, and hits close to home. I blame myself for basically everything that goes wrong, even if there was no concievable way it could've been my fault; so with such a powerful message of a song saying that I have no reason to blame myself, it really makes me stop and realize, they're right. This is my life, and I can do with it what I please. I don't need to be guilty.

Finally, I want to talk at least a little about the video for this song. 

This video has made me cry every time I watch it. Because the song is so deeply influenced by the fans, and directed toward them as well, its only fitting that they made the video for it revolved around the fans as well. This video is literally, as he even says in it, a way for the band to say thank you back to the fans that have gotten them to where they are. They facetime several fans and hear the stories of how their band has affected so many people's lives; I can only imagine what they must've been feeling. One even admits to getting goosebumps.

All in all, this song and its video are a perfect shining example of how All Time Low is a band that really cares for and aims to connect with their fanbase, because one cannot exist without the other. They are a codependent ecosystem. And this is also one hell of a catchy song.

More to report.

-M

/More/ Billboards!

So as I was on my way to work this weekend, I looked up and saw - you'll never guess - a billboard.

I mean, I'm pretty used to seeing them nowadays. What with the media having several surges, there are more and more ways that they try to break through the clutter. So billboards and other common forms of media are /everywhere/.

But this billboard was a little different.

Most that we see are these flat, two-dimensional generic ads that have some slogan or sappy picture, ya know? Nothing that exceptional to draw your attention.

But this billboard for Chick-fil-A wasn't like that.

The ad, as pictured below, was plain white with words "painted" on that read, horribly misspelled, "Eat Mor Chikin." Then on the little landing below the ad, there are two cow figures. One is standing atop the other and holding a paintbrush to make it obvious that he was the one that painted the billboard.

This method of using 3D figures definitely attracts attention; you don't see billboards like that every day.

I'd imagine that this would appeal well to children who might assume that the cows are real. It uses Wit and Humor in order to make you want to buy their food. I, for one, love Chick-fil-A; but they're very homophobic last I checked, and it really disappoints me because it tastes sooo good.

As I was looking online for a picture of this billboard, because I forgot to snap one myself, I saw that Chick-fil-A uses this method often; what with the 3D cows and hand-painted messages discouraging buyers from eating beef and encouraging them to eat chicken.

Other billboards using this same method include ones like these:

More to report.

-M

The Midriff: Is She /All/ Bad?

While watching Merchants of Cool, narrator Douglas Rushkoff mentions a common archetype for women in media: The Midriff.

 She is the embodiment of sex appeal, and as Dariya put it in her blog post, she's a "teenage sex object who apparently has no brain, only a pair of breasts and a vagina." She's a walking sex toy who mainly worries about her appearance and how others (namely men) perceive her.

However, there was a way she was described that was very interesting to me: She's proud of her sexuality.

Of course, the midriff is horribly toxic for teens and young girls all across the nation. She teaches them that the most important thing about them is their body and how others perceive them, as well as that sex is the most important thing you can do to get a man to love you.

Those of you who know me well would know /exactly/ why I take such a large issue with that second half; as an asexual, there's literally nothing I want less than sex. I just cannot comprehend why so many people find it so important and necessary to a happy relationship. But I digress.

There is something almost admirable about the Midriff, in my opinion. You see, the media is torn between glorifying and condemning sex. Young girls are told that sex is important and you need it in order to have a happy relationship, but then immediately after are told that they should feel bad about themselves if they assert their sexuality in any way. If they do, they're a slut or a whore. And that's exactly what most people assume about the Midriff. The thing that I admire about her is that even in the face of people who will degrade her for her hypersexuality, she is /proud/ of it. She is /proud/ to be hypersexual.

To sum this up: yes, the Midriff has many flaws. She is incredibly toxic for the entirety of young girls who are vulnerable to the media and its effects. However, she could also be viewed as an example for those who, like her, are hypersexual: your sexuality is yours, and no one can degrade you for it. Be proud of who you are.

More to report.
-M

San Francisco Marketing

While on our San Francisco trip last Wednesday, I noticed something interesting about the ads and marketing in the city. While on the freeway driving in, there were billboards everywhere. On top of buildings, on the sides of buildings; just everywhere the eye could see. Even more so, as we were entering the city, I looked up and saw a plane flying by, trailing a Geico ad behind it.

This got me thinking: the way they have this set up, they're forcing consumers to see their ads. There's really no avoiding it. Marketers are using the fact that there is almost always bad traffic entering San Francisco to their advantage by placing these ads in big, bold, bright letters and colors for the everyday consumer to take in. They're not even trying to be discreet about it.

Because of our critical thinking class, I started wondering: would this be considered breaking through the clutter, as we learned about in The Persuaders? Is this considered a "new way" to get people to see ads? In a way, yes. But also not. It's the same old fashioned ways that a lot of society has learned to tune out. I mean really, if you're speeding down a freeway trying to pay attention to the jerk in front of you that just cut you off, who has time to look up and see that billboard advertising some company? Who has time to pay attention to that? But just as the consumers are like cockroaches, building up resistances to the way that the media is trying to cater to us, the marketers also grow and learn. They learn from their wrongs. Now, they've learned to take advantage of the 21st century dilemmas and locations in order to determine placement of ads.

I'm sure in this case they also use target market profiling to determine which ads go up where. For example, if a marketer stops and considers, what kind of person would be driving into San Francisco in the early mornings? Afternoons? Evenings? They can use different target market profiles in order to determine where the ads go. It's not just a matter of the ads being seen, the ads also need to appeal to that person directly. It needs to be something they lack. For example, I saw an ad for Apple Watch. I'm sure there are plenty of commuters who go through that route every day to get to work, and what businessman is better off without an Apple Watch?

I wonder if, in time, consumers will soon be able to ignore even these very obvious, very in-your-face attempts to get our attention. I wonder if we are strong enough to build a resistance to even that. But one thing that everyone must remember is that, as we as consumers grow and learn and change, so do marketers and their techniques. We've seen it escalate into integrating advertising into our shows with product placement and the like, but how far will it go in the future? How far will marketers go to sell us their products?

More to report.
-M

Print Ad Analysis

 I chose an ad for Planters Peanuts.

Admittedly, I did not know that it was an ad for Planters Peanuts, specifically; I could only tell that it was a peanut ad of some kind. Nowhere on the ad does it say anything about the brand, except the signature colors and their mascot.

The overall effect that I get from this ad is boldness and excitement. This is supported by the color scheme and styling; the background is deep blue, an often bold color. Mr. Peanut himself looks very excited, and his head is surrounded by a light bluish-white glow in order to draw attention to him. The text, as well; it is large and in your face, and bright yellow to boot. This also helps draw attention to it.

The phrase that is painted across the literal top half of the entire page uses vagueness in order to allow you to project your feelings onto it. "Dream it! Do it!" What is it? Well, that depends on who you are. For someone, perhaps "it" is a bakery they want to open. Perhaps another person's "it" is coming out as queer to their parents. "It" is different for everybody, because of that projection factor.

The small text is also important; it takes nutritional facts and makes it help ad to the boldness factor by saying that the nutritional value is "REAL!" As if every other product has fake nutritional value.

This ad is basically saying that with peanuts, you can achieve anything. This most certainly appeals to the need to achieve. If you "harness the power of the peanut," you can be anything you want to be. That's why at the bottom of the page, it says, "Say goodbye to yester-you." It includes an impled "and hello to the new and improved you who can do anything you want to do."

What I think is the funniest thing is how this ad is using all these techniques and needs to appeal to your inner consumer's desire to buy and to fulfill; they're trying to sell you a state of mind that one can only achieve on their own. The only thing that this advertiser can really sell you?

Peanuts.

More to report.
-M

Lyric Analysis - Melanie Martinez

After her appearance on season three of the popular TV show The Voice, Melanie Martinez was quickly on her way to becoming a star. She was eliminated in the fifth week; however she immediately went to work on solo work, and in 2015, her first full album came out, entitled Cry Baby. 

My favorite thing about this album and the songs featured on it is that, like the title, they all have a very childlike title and sound to it; however, the lyrics and deeper meanings are incredibly dark and real. In this post, I'll be digging into some of those lyrics. (another interesting thing is that the album is set up like a storybook; in fact, there's a storybook about it here.)

The most popular song to come off of that album was probably Dollhouse. The message in it is fairly clear, and there's a lot of lines that you can examine. For example,
You don't hear me when I say,
"Mom, please wake up.
Dad's with a slut, and your son is smoking cannabis."
The main character (a character called "Cry Baby" by Martinez) has tried many times to expose the truth; but no one will listen. Then in the chorus,
Places, places, get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces.
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains.

Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains.
 So these lines are saying basically this family always pretends to be something their not in order to hide their flaws. If anyone looked a little bit closer, they'd be able to see all the cracks and flaws; they'd be able to see that this family is not so perfect after all. This is reinforced with the lines about the mother:
Hey girl, look at my mom, she's got it going on
Ha, you're blinded by her jewelry.
When you turn your back she pulls out a flask
And forgets his infidelity.
These lines help add to the idea that the family and all the individual members are putting on a façade, a mask that is not really them. But when "you" look away, they become who they really are; and when "you" look back, they are back to being the perfect, picturesque family that you know and love. These ideas could easily apply to individual people as well, who hide their feelings. I know that I for one can relate; when people are looking, I'm happy and cheerful and have a handle on my life. But as soon as the door is shut, as soon as no eyes are on me, I am not so happy or cheerful; I don't know what I'm doing at all. Martinez, in this song, is trying to get across that you can't do that forever; someone knows what happens behind closed doors. Someone knows the feelings you are hiding. And whatever you're hiding is going to come to light sooner or later, so why not save the pain and just reveal it yourself?

Another song that has a very dark message like this one also has to do with the mother described in Dollhouse; in fact, the message itself is similar as well. This song is Sippy Cup. The song opens up with the chorus (of which is what is mainly repeated, and carries a majority of the message):
Blood still stains when the sheets are washed
Sex don't sleep when the lights are off
Kids are still depressed when you dress them up
And syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup
He's still dead when you're done with the bottle
Of course it's a corpse that you keep in the cradle
Kids are still depressed when you dress them up
Syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup
So what this stanza is saying is basically that things will continue to happen no matter how hard you try to cover them up or get rid of them. Trying to dress a crappy product up with fancy words, for example, won't change how crappy the product is. The line that I struggle to understand is the "of course it's a corpse that you keep in the cradle." No matter how hard I've tried, I haven't been able to tie that line in with the rest of the song, aside from the fact that it keeps to the dark theme. Perhaps it means that even with a dead baby, keeping it in the cradle won't make it any less dead? Anywho. The only other stanza that I feel carries important lines is:
Pill diet, pill diet, if they give you a new pill then you will buy it
If they say to kill yourself, then you will try it
All the makeup in the world, won't make you less insecure
You got weights in your pockets, when you go to the doctor's
Your favorite candy's cotton, that's why all your teeth are rotten
Silly girl with silly boys
I found this stanza interesting, given what we've been talking about regarding ads and persuasion. The song seems to imply that the mother (who I assume is still the subject) needs very little persuasion, and instead almost depends on the media to tell her what to do; I feel like many people have this same issue, especially nowadays. The lines add even more to the trying to cover up the truth with sweet lies. The overall message that I got from this song was basically that: no matter how hard you want to look good, the truth will always come out.

The final song that I'll be analyzing has a slightly more uplifting message, in a way; you have to read the lyrics as Martinez speaking as if she believes the words she's saying, when the message is really the opposite. This song is Mrs. Potato Head. The very first lines are:
If you weren't born with it
You can buy a couple ornaments
Just be sure to read the warning, kids
'Cause pretty soon you'll be bored of it, ha-ha
This stanza talks about how easy it is to get the appearance that you want, nowadays; all you have to do is buy a surgery and you can instantly be whatever you want to be. The warning, though, is that consumers will quickly become bored with what they've done and want to change it again, and again, and again; this will have negative effects. So, Martinez warns them to "read the warning." Then, the lines leading into the chorus are:
Don't be dramatic, it's only some plastic
No one will love you if you're unattractive
These are the lines that I was talking about she says them almost ironically, in a way. She says them because she knows that this is what the people she is trying to get this message across to are thinking. As if it's no big deal that they are changing what they were born as; their justification is that no one will love them if they're not beautiful. Then, immediately following, is the chorus:
Oh Mrs. Potato Head tell me, is it true that pain is beauty?
Does a new face come with a warranty?
Will a pretty face make it better?
Oh Mr. Potato Head, tell me
How did you afford her surgery?
Do you swear you'll stay forever?
Even if her face don't stay together
I think this stanza is trying to emphasize the downsides to plastic surgery. They're incredibly expensive, as mentioned in the line addressing Mr. Potato Head, and can be quite painful. It takes the common phrase that people hear - "pain is beauty" - and asks if that is really true, if she really believes that. Then she follows up asking if a new face will be the solution she was looking for. I also believe the line asking if a new face comes with a warranty is alluding the fact that Mrs. Potato Head will not be happy with her new face, because it will turn out not to be the solution she was looking for, and she's going to want to change it again. It almost feels as if Martinez is taking pity on Mrs. Potato Head, and encourages Mr. Potato Head to stay with her, even if she is not always "beautiful" like she is trying to be. The next verse follows with:
If you want a little more confidence
Potatoes turn to french fries, yeah it's common sense
All you need's a couple more condiments
And a hundred thousand dollars for some compliments
It's such a waste
When little girls grow into their mother's face
But little girls are learning how to cut and paste
And pucker up their lips until they suffocate
 So the opening to this stanza reinforces how easy it is nowadays to become more "beautiful" with just a little surgery. It also emphasizes how expensive and wasteful the money to pay for it is, by saying that its all that money for just a few compliments. I believe that also adds to how she is saying that little will really change. The second half of the verse is slightly more confusing to me, because she switches back to speaking against what she believes; she doesn't really think it's a waste, I don't think, that little girls grow to look like their mothers. She is saying how "good" it is that the girls are learning how to improve themselves. What really clues in the fact that she does not mean what she is saying is how she says "pucker up their lips until they suffocate." In all, this song is trying to say (in a very roundabout and darkly-described way) that we are all beautiful as we are, and to try and change ourselves is a waste of money for something that will only come apart with time anyway.

Melanie Martinez's songs are incredibly catchy, incredibly dark, and incredibly deep. I highly recommend her music to pretty much anyone, and I hope that it is as easy to decipher the meaning to the lyrics as it is to me.

More to report.
-M