Product:  Whopper, whopper junior, value menu

Year:  2007-2008

Agency:  Crispin Porter & Bogusky

I absolutely love the Whopper Jr. Ads.  They’re creative, attention-getting, and most important, they are hilarious!  Yeah they’re a little corny, but you’ve got to admit the person who came up with the idea of the whole “Whopper Family” commercial series was really thinking.  The typical parent-teen arguments are what first caught my eye or should I say ear rather because usually I don’t watch commercials, I’m kind of in between doing stuff when they are on so if I hear something funny or strange I generally look up.  Anyway, the line that caught my ear was “I wish I’d never been broiled!”  The classic teenage temper tantrum turned into a burger commercial…genius.  Another funny yet very creative moment was in the series was called “the talk” referring to the dreadful sex talk that both the parent and the teen hate.  During this clip the dad hands the son a napkin insinuating a condom.  I just thought this ad was perfect in getting the attention of teens and young adults because it was all based on classic real life experiences that they turned into kind of a mockery which in my eyes is even funnier.  The one thing that stood out to me as puffery was the fact that they are human burgers!  I mean if you’ve never seen a whopper or was slightly curious as to what it looks like, check it out, you can’t miss.  Even though this ad is undeniably promoting the Whopper and “his son,” what it is really advertising is the BK dollar menu which is actually in competition with McDonald’s dollar menu which is also very popular.  

The target audience for this ad would be of course teens as well as parents which are gives Burger King or Crispin Porter & Bogusky a huge playing field when buying space for the ad.  Due to the wide range of the target audience between the ages of 13 to 40, the agency can place it during programs from “Law & Order” to “The Hills.”  I believe I was watching “Family Guy” when I saw the first ad which most likely gave it viewers in their late teens, early twenties. 

Unfortunately, I did not buy the whopper or jr. after viewing the commercial only because I have never liked burgers from Burger King, but I did buy the Spicy Chicken-Crisp…it’s was pretty good…and it was only a dollar.  

First of all, let me just say that I absolutely adored Professor Rift Fournier.  He is hilarious.  He was also very inspiring.  I like the fact that he has had like a million jobs throughout his lifetime and he is still going forward spreading knowledge that he has gained over the years to his students.  Listening to him I began to think of him as a veteran.  Not of war, but of the media.  He spent his life doing different things all across the nation “serving his time” with newspapers, sitcoms, t.v. dramas, magazines, etc.  Now he is in a wheelchair and even though it is not from being wounded in a war you can still see why I picture him as a vet.  Dr. Fournier is like a live storybook because he seems as if he has a story for absolutely everything.  I think that he is a great person as well as a great professor because he’s real and he gives it to us raw(figuratively).  He’s not scared to say exactly what’s on his mind and that is very critical nowadays due to the fact that everyone including your parents sugar-coat the truth to “protect your feelings.”  It’s good to know someone that cares so much that he will bare the ugly truth to you right before your eyes.  Rift Fournier…a hell of a guy.

Unfortunately, I am not as “up to par” with the whole blogging idea so I am not exactly sure as to what are the best blogger websites and what are not.  However, I did stumble across a website a few times that has been kept my interest for more than a few minutes.  The website is called “The Most Popular Journal” and it contains blogs from random people about random topics, such as, ice cream, car colors, last names,

candy bars(my favorite), etc.  The thing that keeps me in tune is that of all these subjects they only discuss the “most popular” of each subject.  Cool!  They also include photos, graphs, videos, and links in order to support their content.  This helps a lot due to the fact that I can only read so much before I start to get bored, you may laugh, but I’m serious.  Even though there are lots unimportant subjects on the website they also include topics like birth control, religion, and science.  The blogs are never extremely long, nor are they too short to express the idea.  My favorite is “The Most Popular Candy Bars.”  I mean what girl doesn’t like chocolate, right?  It’s actually pretty funny because there are people who comment and disagree with the results as if they have candy bars down to a science.  Another topic that I like is the blog about the most popular fast food restaurants.  Can you believe McDonald’s came in second place?  Wow.  And they have nerve to blame them for the obesity of this country when in all actuality it’s all Wendy’s fault.  Anyway, I think this website is pretty cool if you’re in the mood for something not so serious.

Since the mid 1900s television has been welcomed into the homes of people across the globe.  Television immediately took over the scene with its new technology of sound and picture.  Soon after it put radio in its place which was for music and talk.  Now we have a new technology that is continuing to sweep the nation with new discoveries that seem to make everything so convenient with the world right at your fingertips better known as the internet.  The internet is changing the television industry dramatically, due to the fact that T.V. stations have to come up with more and more creative ways to keep up with this wonderful technology.  The outcome of this competition is clearly inevitable with the internet being on top.  So, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and that is exactly what they did.  The convergence between internet and television has been and will continue to be a big success.  Just think, your favorite T.V. shows, from reality to talk shows, available to you at any time you’re ready to watch which increases the ratings for the television shows.  One of my personal favorites, along with everyone else on Earth, is Family Guy and it is absolutely refreshing to know that I can watch it anytime I want not just when it’s convenient to air on certain stations.  Not only can I watch episodes but I can also watch deleted scenes and get more information about my favorite characters.  Wow, how awesome is that!

     As a young woman of Gen X my views of politics are slightly different from the norm of the older generations, in my opinion at least.  For the past few weeks I, along with almost the entire country, tuned in to watch the political debates.  I paid attention to the questions, the answers, as well as the bickering.  However, what I really focused on may not have been the focus of the other viewers.  As a college student and a hard worker I have learned that today’s world image is everything.  It may be because our country is so caught up on appearance now, but that is besides the point.  As a professional, representing a small business, company, or in this case the United States, I expect to see a strong man or woman, professional attire, with positive attitude that engages his or her viewers.  Throughout the debates I noticed that Barack Obama seems more like a people person and John McCain doesn’t.

            The first debate I was able to watch was actually the second debate that took place between the presidential candidates.  The way that this particular debate was set up was perfect in order to show how well each candidate interacts with the people.  Throughout the debate I took notes and observed not only the contents of the answers or responses but also the display of character of each candidate.  Senator John McCain seems very reserved and uninterested in interpersonal interactions.  Watching him walk around and speak he seemed a bit uncomfortable almost as if it hurts to move around.  His steps were small and hesitant and his body language wasn’t very friendly.  He tried using arm gestures towards the audience which only drew more attention to his discomfort.  His smiles appeared to be fake and forced and he didn’t seem like he wanted to be there.  Senator McCain was in the service from my understanding and his attitude portrays that.  In his favor he does seem very disciplined and stern which is a good trait for a leader or a president, but the world is evolving and the old traditional president is no longer the ideal president.  Voters are getting younger and younger and are looking for a president with more personality, who at the same time can address important issues while remaining calm and collected. 

            During the second debate Barack Obama showed just how admirable he can be.  He appeared to be very friendly and open to talk to whoever would listen.  Sitting on the stool he wasn’t sitting perfectly straight up nor was he slouched down, he sat comfortably which appeals to the audience.  It shows that he is not your usual uptight, stern politician.  He’s relaxed and he comes off as a human versus a political robot.  His body language and gestures are more welcoming, there’s more eye contact with the audience, more acknowledgment of his opponent, and overall a sense of understanding of the average middle class citizen. 

            I figured that most viewers would naturally be more opinionated about the economic issues, environmental issues, and so on, so I wanted to write about what appeals more to me which is image.  If you want to be the president of the United States in today’s world you have to appeal to today’s people.  I learned that on an interview you can have all the right answers and all the correct knowledge but your image could seal the deal.

When I think of the word media a lot of things come to mind.  My thoughts vary from funny commercials I’ve seen in the past to serious new stories related to our economy.  However, I am not inclined to only think about the media in only one way, I also think about the way it influences the lives of the people it touches.  With all the media surrounding us one eventually has to start thinking about the impact it has on us, right? 

I believe that media has both a positive affect as well as a negative affect on its consumers.  For example, say you have an ad or a commercial promoting weight loss.  One person may interpret the commercial in a positive manner and may begin to want to include diet and exercise in their lifestyle in which there is no harm in that.  On the other hand, another person may interpret the promotion of weight loss as another way to bash people who are overweight or obese.  This could lead to depression, overeating, anorexia, bulimia, even suicide which I am sure you could easily find something wrong with that picture.  The scary thing about media is that one message can be perceived into so many different things, dependent upon the person, and if the consequences are great no one is held responsible.  Unfortunately, the media is always tuned in to the negative aspects of life such as death, terrorism, war, etc.  The harsh reality is some people can deal with it better than others.  Throughout my reading, I stumbled across something very surprising to me, yet it made so much sense.  It was actually kind of funny.  One of the models used to explain the effects of media is called the Mixed-Effects Model.  The literal definition from the book Mass Media in a Changing World is “a model that predicts sometimes, media will have powerful effects, sometimes minimal effects, and sometimes, depending on a complex variety of contingencies, a mixture of both.”  It really doesn’t quite make sense, as if you were say to someone, you are almost exactly right.  Although it may not seem like it that is a real definition given by professionals who have studied the effects of media throughout their entire adult life.  Can you honestly believe that if you heard that definition for anything that it was actually published, in a book and sold to college students across the world?  Well, it’s true; professionals from all over have done experiments and research to come up with a bunch of nothing, which is all I got from the definition.  It’s as if the media professionals could not come up with an explanation as to when, why, what, who, and how the media affects people, thus they settled on a definition that sums up everything and says absolutely nothing.  What’s so funny about this model is that it is 100% true.  Even though it couldn’t have been said any worse it also couldn’t have been said any better.  Basically, sometimes in some cases some media may affect some people in some way.  Get it?  Just nod your head for yes, I’m confused.

Growing up in the United States it is inevitable that you will take in a tremendous amount of media throughout your life.  Some may disagree, but the media is all around us.  It comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes; such as billboards, posters, commercials, and even t-shirts.  Due to the huge amount media intake that we encounter many believe that it has a huge influence us.  As a matter of fact, the United States is often stereotyped by the media that we portray in other countries.  The media of the U.S. tends to be centered on materialistic lifestyles filled with fancy cars, diamonds, expensive clothes, multiple homes, etc.  Basically, the media is focused on celebrity life, not meaning it focuses only on celebrities but it focuses on the glamour and as Kimora Lee-Simmons puts it, the “fabulosity” of life.  With these types of images being transmitted to you in one way or another they are bound to have some sort of impact on you.  So how can people on the outside blame us for having such materialistic behavior?  True, a great of amount of our media is exported to other countries, but the citizens of the country that is the source of it all is expected to have the greater impact.  However, there are some foreigners who now reside in the United States that have a new perspective of our media and its people.

            A friend of mine from Panama, located in Central America, who has been attending Lindenwood for over a year now, has shared his views with me regarding our media.  Americans are categorized due to what they see on television.  Most of which involves nudity, violence, profanity, etc.  In Panama media is a lot more censored, it is not as common for people to speak negatively about their leader as it is here.  He reported that nearly every other channel in the U.S. has a skit or joke about how bad our current president is, which I thought was kind of funny.  He also noticed that our society is focused on being thin.  Almost every commercial on T.V. involves a new way of dieting or exercising, or even a new drug to help a person loose weight.  This was a significant difference compared to the media in Panama, however, more and more everyday people see commercials that were crafted in America and sent to foreign countries to boost sales.  Makes one think that maybe foreigners envy our bold and direct ways to send messages through the media.  He stated that media in Panama is constantly changing, but not as rapidly as here in the U.S.  The media there has not yet centered all of its attention on things that glitter, yet there is still some real news in the news.  Living in the U.S. has had some affect on him, views on censorship aren’t as strong; it seems so natural to just say what you feel to “express yourself.”  Finally he noted that he watches a lot more television, but he’s not yet addicted to MTV. 

The world is constantly changing dramatically with time and each day we find new ideas and new discoveries within a shorter time span.  As the world continues to change, so does the people who live in it.  The media has contributed more to these changes than any other source.  Our younger generation today is a little more advanced than the generation before, especially when it comes to technology, including cell phones, laptops, iPods, and the most famous, the internet.  For Generation X it was more common to find a young child engaging in outdoor activities, such as kickball, soccer, running, swimming, etc.  Now, however, you are more likely to see younger children indoors engaging in activities on a computer.  Due to the fact that children are growing up with the luxury of internet, a cell phone, or an iPod, the way they view the world is slightly different from the previous generation who were less fortunate.  We are constantly taking in media and absorbing all of these new ideas from what we see on television, read in a magazine, and hear on the radio.  This constant take-in of media greatly influences our lives.  Thus, the outcome, our generation is a bit more relaxed and a bit more optimistic.  Some may call us lazy or slackers, but we are more often referred to as dreamers, which is not so bad if you ask me.  We like to reach for the stars as if nothing could hold us back and failure is not an option because it doesn’t exist thanks to mom and dad. This generation is also known to want to have fun at all times even on the job.  A job should be fun and interesting not boring and dull, and a little recognition goes a long way.  An experienced manager knows that recognition makes a hard worker.  It’s like a high five but from someone who has more authority letting you know they see you working hard.  A little credit is not a bad thing, it makes you feel like you’re productive and your job is worth having.

            Generation Y may have a lot of names; slackers, dreamers, millenials, etc.  Nevertheless, we are the future and we hold it in our hands.  Therefore I say let us dream and let us handle business the way that best fits us and who knows, your son, daughter, or employee may be our next great leader.

As college students, let’s face it, life is tough.  However, one thing that may keep you going is whatever your passion is out of life.  There are lots of things in this world that I am truly passionate about, however, the one thing that I care about the most, aside from happiness, is success.  Success is what keeps me motivated to keep going and keep striving to fulfill my dreams.  I am very goal orientated as far as a life plan goes and I firmly believe that any and everyone is capable of being successful.  Success doesn’t necessarily mean a corner office job, fancy car, big house, and lots of cash, but it just means that you have obtained or reached whatever goals you set for yourself and you are content with the life you have lived.