Blog Post #12: "Stereotyping" Obesity

In this past week’s class, we discussed the numerous stereotypes against certain groups from Christians and Muslims to hipsters and blond-haired women. But, by far, the most interesting topic of debate was on obesity. It’s very clear that obesity is a major problem in America, and it can be the subject of many different media sources, from television advertising (like the below Subway ad depicting slightly obese people losing their buttons while eating fast food) to programs such as “The Biggest Loser”. Many feel that obese people are being unfairly subjected to certain stereotypes in these media sources, but I disagree. There is a distinct difference between a stereotype and a fact. For example: It’s a stereotype to say that all blond girls are dumb. Somewhere out there, there is a blond girl that is smart and breaks that stereotype. But obesity is a medical term. It’s like saying “All cancer patients are _____.” It is a visible fact that every obese person is obese, so it’s not really a “stereotype” when an advertiser like Subway depicts him or her in this manner.

The aforementioned Subway ad.

Also, I think that programs like “The Biggest Loser” do more good than harm. If someone is considered obese, it is in his or her power to change it. Programs like this can help motivate those who have thought about dieting and exercising, as they can see firsthand how successful some of these contestants are. In high school, I had a friend that was a little overweight who started watching that show and other shows like it online. Pretty soon, he was inspired to get up and start working out, and ended up cutting 20 lbs. in his first few months. Shows like “The Biggest Loser”, in my opinion, are actually good media attention for obesity, because it can show how the disease can be cured. But overall, I do not believe one can stereotype obesity, because it is a medical condition and not a trait. 

Although this is an ad for the UK version of the program, it's a good example as to how "The Biggest Loser" can help inspire obese people to diet and exercise more frequently. 

Blog Post #11: Misogyny and Rap Music

In this past week’s interesting class, we talked about rappers and their “misogynistic” lyrics. After hearing the different sides of the argument from my classmates, I wanted to voice my own opinion on the matter. I went to high school in downtown Long Beach, right on the border of Compton (a notoriously ghetto city rappers such as NWA and Snoop Dogg have made infamous), so I have been exposed to this music for much of my life. From 2Pac to Kanye West, these artists rap about many different difficult subject matters, from drugs and murder to degrading women at clubs. Is this music misogynistic? On paper, maybe. But I believe that all rap music should be taken with a grain of salt, and realize the primary goal of these rappers is entertainment and not to degrade women.

"Money Maker" by Ludacris, an example of rap music that could be considered "misogynistic". Some of my best girl friends love to sing this song.

Honestly, it’s really difficult to call rap music misogynistic when most girls like the genre more than guys. Many of my female friends know the words to the most popular songs more often than my male friends, reflecting their indifference to the misogynistic lyrics. Also, if you want to call rap music misogynistic, you might as well throw in country and rock music while you’re at it. Most types of music have artists that will talk about women in a sexualized, somewhat degrading way, which, by definition, is misogyny. Lastly, these rappers have lyrics like this because it sells. Just like advertisers using sexualized women, if rap artists can rap about a girl “shaking her money maker” and sell records because of it, they will. I don’t think people realize that these rappers aren’t going out into the streets and treating women badly in real life, and it’s just for show. All in all, I don’t believe rap music is misogynistic as everyone in our class claimed it to be. 

If "Money Maker" is considered mysogynistic, wouldn't "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)" by Luke Bryan be considered just as degrading?

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Blog Post #10: Spanish Advertising

Spanish-speaking immigrants are becoming a large minority in many states, especially states near the Mexican-American border. According to ABC news, over $350 million dollars were spent in 9 different states (including California and Texas, states with large Spanish speaking contingencies) on the 2012 presidential election campaign. Only $16 million of it went to Spanish language advertising. With 45 million Spanish speakers living in the United States, it seems those minorities are being underrepresented quite a bit. One example is this video, depicting the famous Latino singer Marc Anthony endorsing Barack Obama in Spanish.  The campaign is just one example of very limited Spanish language advertising, with most of it happening only in certain regions.

Singer Marc Anthony endorsing Obama in a Spanish language TV advertisement.

I went to high school in a very African-American and Hispanic dominated area, and every day I drove to school I was subjected to Spanish billboards and radio advertisements. I have seen advertisements that are directly catered to the Spanish-speaking culture, and one’s that are just straight translations of English ads (like the McDonalds ad below). Now that Spanish speakers are almost 1/6^th the American population, I believe advertising agencies should step up the amount of advertising attention they give Spanish speakers, catering to their culture and purchasing power. Spanish is becoming a very predominant language in the US, and it’s definitely something advertisers should think about taking advantage of. 

McDonald's recent Spanish advertising campaign. "Me Encanta" is a literal translation of the English advertising campaign, "I'm Loving It".

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Blog Post #9: FIFA and Anti-Discrimination

        FIFA, or the governing body of international soccer, has started to take a major stand against discrimination, especially racism. One of the biggest PR efforts FIFA has started is their "Stand Up to 

Racism" campaign. The main part of this campaign involves international matches, having the captains of each national team read a statement in their native language explaining the organizations fight against racism, both on and off the field. These statements are more than just words, as FIFA has already sanctioned many famous players (including England's captain John Terry) guilty of using racist slurs during matches. 

The USA and Spain say no to racism before an international match in 2009

Also, domestic leagues have had the opportunity to step up and launch anti-discrimination campaigns of  their own. Major League soccer, the American domestic league, started TV ads this year with the message "Don't Cross the Line", disclaiming their stance on discrimination. Advertisements like this have become much more frequent from all major sporting leagues in the United States.

Major League Soccer's new campaign: "Don't Cross the Line"

        As an avid fan of both the MLS and soccer in general, I think its great that organizations such as FIFA and the MLS are taking these steps to cut down on discrimination. Just last night, while watching the MLS playoff game between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes, I probably saw the above ad about half a dozen times. Kids who follow the league can look up to their favorite athletes and see that its not "cool" to use words such as "gay" and "retarded". Overall, these new PR/Ad campaigns in soccer have been extremely successful for the image of the game.

Blog Post #8 - Using Sexualized Advertisements Sparingly

After listening to Professor Lambiase’s lecture on women in advertising, I went ahead and thought about how sexualized females influence my enjoyment of advertising and commercials. Although it’s great to see beautiful women on advertisements for certain products, I do believe that some companies or products should refrain from using women in that manner on their advertisements. For example, one of the worst ones I came across while researching was an ad for Pepto-Bismol, a liquid used to help ease one’s digestive system. Despite the advertisement looking pretty old and maybe being just a joke, it shows a girl’s bikini-clad bottom next to some of the product. To be honest, I don’t usually associate attractive women with liquid that can cure an upset stomach.

The Pepto-Bismol ad. I have a hard time believing that this ran for an extended period of time.

 Organizations such as PETA and Koman have also started to run ads with half-naked women, both organizations that shouldn’t need to exploit that side of advertising to get support.

PETA showing a fully naked woman in one of their ads.

I am not advocating, however, to not use sexualized women in advertising. I think that many products benefit from sexualized ads, such as cars, food, and sporting events. Carl’s Jr. runs some of the most memorable advertisements for a fast food place, showing famous models and actresses eating their juiciest and messiest burgers in a suggestive fashion. I can almost guarantee that I have been to Carl’s Jr. more than I would have because of commercials like this. Many products do benefit from risqué advertisements, but some, such as Pepto-Bismol, should leave the sex out. 

An example of the Carl's Jr. ads that utilize women successfully. 

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Blog Post #7 - Hurricane Katrina & Looting

One of the first exposures to racism in the media that I encountered was after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After the storm passed and the streets were flooded, two special images of survivors appeared on Yahoo.com. The first showed a white couple wading through the waist high water with bags of food, with a caption that described them “finding” the supplies. The other was a picture of an African-American man wading through the same water with similar supplies, only this time he was described as “looting” the supplies from a local grocery store. Was the African-American not trying to survive just the same as the white people? Intentional or not, these two pictures clearly displayed the subtle racism the media can display.

The two images & their captions side by side. 

As soon as the observation was made, the photos went viral, sweeping the nation and causing many to question the apparent media bias. Many turned to the blogs to voice their disapproval of the current media system. America soon found itself in a media war, debating the difference between “looting” and “scavenging” during a natural disaster crisis. I was very intrigued by this whole scenario. As a child, I though newspapers and the Internet could never be wrong. For the first time that I could remember, the media blatantly did something racist. I was pretty offended for a while, but after diving into the media much more as I have grown up I have realized that the media makes slip ups like this much more frequently than one would think. Is this the media bias? We may never know for sure. 

Would you consider this "scavenging" for a shelter or "looting"?

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