If VW is more fun, what is BMW?

I seem to keep coming across ideas that are completely unrelated to cars, yet end up as a marketing tool to establish a car company's brand image. The latest company I have discovered is BMW (remember the piano stairs and "Fun Theory" for VW?).

I wanted to originally post this video because I was amazed by the genius of Theo Jansen- a Dutch engineer and designer who creates robots propelled entirely by wind. I think it's fascinating, and exciting, that there are people in the world who have the capability to utilize alternative resources for future creations.

Then there is BMW. VW created the image of being "fun;" BMW creates the image of being innovative. By sponsoring Jansen, I would assume, the company is saying that they are a company interested in future possibilities and being the first to showcase them.

Jansen's inventions correlate with BMW to an extent because of the idea of a machine (automotive/robot) being propelled by wind. I'm kind of curious as to what other ideas car companies have attached its name to in order to create its brand personality...

Woo-Hoo!

This Michelob Ultra commercial was first shown during the Super Bowl. It includes Lance Armstrong waking up, running, biking, and hanging out at at bar. I remember really liking it at that time, but it had left my mind since then. Until tonight.

I was watching the Discovery Channel's new mini series "Life" on Animal Planet (some really cool stuff and I enjoyed the documentary aspect of it, but a narrator other than Oprah would definitely bring the quality of this series up) tonight when the commercial appeared. It's the first time I've seen it since the Super Bowl. Still like it.
Something about this commercial that I find interesting is the product placement. Lance Armstrong clearly endorses his LiveStrong campaign everywhere he goes, but the placement of LiveStrong products in the commercial is rather prominent: shirt, bracelet, etc. The "ad-in-an-ad" idea is kind of fun and creates a strong partnership between two companies/organizations.

By the way, the guy obviously has tons of commercials/endorsements cause he's just a cool dude. I get a kick out of this one.

Sorry Lance, but no matter how badass you are, your tires just aren't going to handle that terrain!

Cosmo Ages

As I was reading the article for class, Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Identity and Girl-Styled American Dreams, I was intrigued, and somewhat shocked, by the low standards for which the magazine held its audience. It may be the same way now, but it wasn't a concept I had considered before.
I looked up past Cosmo magazine covers to see if these concepts were portrayed in their cover girls. I don't know that I found what I was looking for, but the timeline of covers is very interesting. For one, I actually think that Cosmo has become more conservative in its old age! I'm not saying that the cover girls of today are covered head to toe-they are clearly using their sex appeal. However, they wear more than, say the June 1976 cover girl who is clad only in a lei.
It's neat to browse through all the covers and see the trends through the decades.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

I love articles/photos of odd signs. They're everywhere and sometimes you just have to wonder about the rational behind them. Sometimes they're intentional as a creative way to grab people's attention (i.e. the dog sign in Vancouver). Sometimes the oddity comes from a cultural barrier (i.e. the "Caution: Sleeping Police Men Ahead" sign; in the UK, sleeping police men are speed bumps). But then, there are the times that just make you hope there was a momentary lapse in judgement (i.e. "Please Be Safe. Do not stand, sit, climb, or lean on fences. If you fall, animals could eat you and that might make them sick. Thank You."). No matter what the reason for their peculiarity, they remain a little commonplace joy in our everyday lives.

An Old Technique, A New Look

This is a really cool video I stumbled upon. I don't understand the story line, but I'm mesmerized by the animation. Nothing fancy, just black and white cartoon (or specifically anime) drawings. In my mind, it's essentially a beautiful pairing of old and new animation techniques. Each frame was meticulously drawn out to create the motion and story; like cartoons before shows and movies became CG heavy. I think it's a neat technique and would love to see more examples of it.

Shots Heard on the Mountain

As I've mentioned before, I'm an Olympics fan. I joined several friends last Friday for an Opening Ceremony party complete with "ethnic" food trays (alright, so really we just tried to justify how pigs-in-a-blanket could be considered foreign; I think we settled on wrapped frankfurters...). I was pleased with the ceremony-the led effects were really cool- but one thing in particular struck me while I was watching.....what on earth is a biathlon?!?!?! Many of the flag bearers for multiple countries were biathletes, a sport I had never heard mention of before.

In case you're wondering, as I was, the biathlon is an event where skiiers do a cross country circuit, stop at a shooting range, then take off skiing once again for the finish line.

Apparently, the event has been a part of the winter Olympics since 1955. I won't dispute the athleticism needed for the event; I cannot imagine the stability one needs to hold the rifle still after having completed a difficult skiing course. But the event seems so...random! I would never think of skiing and shooting as a possible combination for elite athletes to take part in.

Oh, and just an fyi, the US hasn't medal, yet, in the biathlon. But the next event is scheduled for tomorrow- fingers crossed that they ski fast and hit their mark!

Tonight, millions viewed the annual, infamous Super Bowl ads. As a whole, I couldn't tell you if they were overall good or bad (all I can picture right now is a ton of screaming chickens).

There is one ad that has caught my attention- the Google "Parisian Love" ad.

Immediately after the ad was aired, I witnessed two different reactions to the ad. The first reaction was from a girl at the same party as I. From another room, we heard a squeal of delight followed by the exclamation that it was the "sweetest" ad she had ever seen and it made her want to cry with happiness. A few seconds later, I received a text from my friend Josh saying "Does Google really need to advertise? Their name has become a verb..."

Good point. So what is the reasoning behind Google advertising during the Super Bowl? Google has become a part of everyday speech. You'd be hard pressed to find some one in the US who does not know how to "google" something. The Super Bowl ad was Google's maiden voyage into tv advertising, but is it honestly necessary to shell out millions of dollars for a 30 second spot to advertise something that the majority of Americans use multiple times a day without conscious thought?

"G," I Sure Wish They Had More Options...

For my analysis paper, I'm looking into the phenomenon of sports performance products for the "everyday" athlete. To get in the mood for this topic, I decided to take a look at the Gatorade website.

First, I have never looked at the website, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Right now, the first image you will see when entering the site is a promotion for the Super bowl this weekend. Great. Football. My favorite.... Then you have the audio clip of Muhammad Ali's famous "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Iconic of sports, yes, I know, but annoying when you can't mute it and it's overpowering your Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" BBC Live rendition. Ugh, there it goes again.... Gatorade is not winning me over quickly.

Anyway, back to performance products. Gatorade has been a leader in the sports drink industry for decades. Remember when this was the main focus of Gatorade's image?
Lightning bolt-electricity-electrolytes, got it! Simple as that. Though the lightning bolt still shows up, it's not as prominent.

Now your eye is drawn to this:

What is "G?!" Why is there a "G" TV series? Why does the website ask what your "G Moment" is? From what I gather, the "G Series" is a line of even higher quality performance products. You have a pre-"G" (sustained energy gel), the "G" performance drink, and then a post-"G" (recovery drink). I feel that Gatorade is trying to branch out of its traditional sports drink persona and into an even larger athletic market. But really, some clarification would help. Otherwise you walk into the grocery store aisle and are greeted by this. And if you're anything like me, you stare at it for five minutes, become frazzled because you don't know what "G" fits your "athletic performance" and walk away without your "G."

Ooooh! Look! Water!

Is Volkswagen More "Fun?"

Ok, so my newest form of homework distraction is stumbleupon.com. (If you have never been to this site, I'm going to be a bad influence and tell you to go there. NOW! Forget the mound of papers you've all ready accumulated in the first three weeks of school, go stumble! Fine, fine, attempt to be a good student first.) Anyway, I "stumbled" upon this video the other day. It's called "Piano Stairs."

I watched this video and thought the concept was really neat and a great way to get people to interact more with the world. Then I reached the end of the video and saw "An Initiative of Volkswagen." Wait, what?! Volkswagen?? There wasn't a single vehicle in the video. Not one 1960s Beetle talking into a microphone as the new generation of cars zip across the screen. So what is Volkswagen's association with this so call "Fun Theory?"
I looked more into the project by going to thefuntheory.com Prominently placed in the right hand corner is the "VW" logo, but that's the only indicator of the company. Volkswagen clearly doesn't want this site to feel like a sales push for their product. Yet, they are pushing something else. They are selling a company image. Think about it. The Volkswagen Beetle has always been associated with a "fun" lifestyle, somewhat laid back and carefree. One could make the argument that some of the VW commercials for it's other car models follow the same "fun" image (VW Rabbit, anyone?)
This company thrives on an image of "fun" in order to sell their cars. Once that's realized, it makes sense that they would go so far as to create a "Fun Theory" to emphasis their image. But hey, it works right? And everyone loves to have "fun!"

I Never Knew McDonald's was a Ski Jumper?!

It's almost time for the 2010 Winter Olympics! I love watching the Olympics (yes, I was one of those people who didn't know what to do with themselves once the 2008 Summer Olympics was over...) and I was lucky to find an old ad from the 2006 Torino winter games for my first "official" blog.

This is a McDonald's advertisement that plays off the event of ski jumping. From a distance, the viewer immediately notices the yellow arches located at the bottom center of the ad. Without being told, the viewer knows that this is a McDonald's ad because the arches have become an accepted symbol of the fast-food restaurant. Upon closer examination, the viewer can see that the image is not only the McDonald's symbol, but also the tips of two skis held closely together in preparation of the event.

I feel that this ad is a good representation of the argument presented in Chapter 11 about whether visual metaphors must be associated with contextual cues so that there is no doubt to the angle in which the metaphor is taking (p.170). It is difficult to decipher what this ad is saying about McDonald's- that it's fast like the ski jumping event?; that it's daring?; or that it is just a sponsor of the Winter Olympics? Either way, it's effective; I am not a consumer for McDonald's, but I am a fan of the Winter Olympics, so I'm going to do a double take at the ad, therefore granting some of my time to McDonald's.

A Formal Introduction

I admit, this blog has come into this world for the sole purpose to serve as a class assignment. I enjoy writing. I love writing. But I've not been able to gravitate towards the realm of blogging. Who is going to read my posts? Does this then become a glorified journal entry? So I hesitate. However, my grade depends on this blog, so for the coming months I shall delve into the depths of my soul and share my inner most feelings (or something like that)...on the topic of any type of current, interesting media.

Perhaps I will find success in blogging and these posts will not have to fear rejection at the end of the semester. Maybe then I will have discovered my niche for online writing. The internet is a world of endless media possibilities, right?

Stay with me. Watch some videos, view some articles and look at some pictures that capture my attention. If you are so kind, read what I have to say. I promise I will do my best to not be boring.

This is an original photo taken and edited by me (AMK) on July 7, 2009