A Season of Change...

After reading the article from Women's Wear Daily called A Season of Change, I thought a lot about our class. The article is about the top 10 colors for fall 2008. I found it interesting that the top 5 colors were cool colors and the bottom 5 colors were warm colors. It states that, "People are looking for calm in such a volatile year — especially now, with the election and the turbulent economy. We need that element of calm, but at the same time, this color also has some strength to it. With purple undertones, the color transforms into something a little richer than any plain blue or purple." The top color is blue, along with purples and dark greens. This was so neat to see how our economy and political state plays such a role in fashion. This was the first time I REALLY saw how fashion changes with our environment.

http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/121988?page=0

BC Pill... More than the name

The birth control pill has been a widely argued pill for many years. Some religions frown upon, and so do mothers who do not want their child to think it is OK to "go out and do it with anyone!" Now, "the pill" is used for many other reasons. Some we know already like, period cramps, irregularity, acne, weight control/gain and so on. But a recent study by British researchers at Oxford University has now found that it may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. It also says that it protects women decades after they quit taking it.

Now I understand that religions may not allow contraceptives, but I do not understand how a mother can say they will not allow their child to be protected from cancer. When all these new studies and research is coming out to prevent a disease that is somewhat incurable, why wouldn't you want to protect yourself, or someone you love? The controversy over the HPV vaccine is ridiculous. Give your child the shot early. It may save her life! They won't think it is OK to go have sex, children are smart enough to know that just because they got a shot that may prevent them from getting HPV, doesn't mean that it is birth control or any other kind of prophylactic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/health/25cancer.html?_r=1&ref=health

Made the Grade

I can remember when I was a kid there was a program called Book-It. It was a program sponsored by Pizza Hut that rewarded children for reading. Once I read a book I would give a brief description of the book to my teacher and I would get a sticker. After five books I could go to Pizza Hut and get my reward of a free personal pan pizza!! We even got to wear pins on our school uniform anouncing to the rest of the class how many books we had read and how close we were to our free pizza. McDonalds in Seminole County, Florida had for many years a similar deal with elementary school children. The "food prize" program rewarded good grades with a free Happy Meal. McDonalds called the program Made the Grade and advertised on the sleeve of report card envelopes. WHile this was an attempt for McDonalds to encourage children to make good grades the progam came under attack many times in the past until ultimately it has been removed from the schools. With so many overweight and obese Americans, the program came under attack first because it was promoting junk food and junk food diets to a generation that is already more obese than any others in the past. The next attack came when members of the organization The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood accused McDonalds of promoting their company to the young and impressionable children. McDonalds has agreed to cover the cost to print new report card sleeves and the children will no longer be rewarded with a free Happy Meal.
The major agruments are the McDonalds is promoting junk food diets and that children should make good grades without any incentive other than their own personal knowledge. I personally loved to read when I was a child but lets be honest TV is way more fun. I know that those free pizzas were all the incentive I needed to get as many books read as I could. I think that McDonalds has come under attack unfairly. They do plenty of adverising as it is, the free meal was more than likely started as a goodwill gesture to the community and was turned into something worse. Good diets start at home, if the parents look after their children a splurge on a Happy Meal occationally should not be such a big deal. I mean you only get a report card 4 times a year. It was an easy attack and McDonalds fell prey.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/business/media/18card.html

New York Times vs. Local News

I like to watch the local news before going to the New York Times or BBC. I think the local news is more informative to me, and it relates to me. The New York times is very broad and covers the country. If I had time to watch the local news and read articles from the BBC and NYT I would. I do like how the BBC had the option of listening to the news. I also liked how the New York Times has different catagories and different blog topics.

cha cha slide ya'll!

i love the new McDonald's commerical with the little boy and his family eating dinner together. i like the commerical because it shows that McDonald's now has a variety of foods that people can choose from. things that are more healthy and not fried. the little boy is eating apple dippers and dancing to the cha cha slide at the same time. apples are healthy and kids like then when dipped in caramel. the commerical also shows that McDonald's can bring families together, especially during dinner time.
i was really engaged into the commercial first b/c of the song. i heard the cha cha slide song then looked to see what it was relating to. then i watched a few seconds of the commerical and saw a cute boy, in a jumpsuit, with a big boom box on his shoulder going to the dinner table to join the rest of his family for dinner. i kept watching b/c i wanted to see what happened next. the boy was also dancing along with the song and doing what the words were saying in the song. the rest of his family enjoyed watching him and decided to kindly join in.
as we watched in class McDonald's commericals are now relating to a more diverse group of people and relating to anyone around the world. anyone can watch this commerical and want to go get McDonald's. after i saw it i wanted to try the apple dippers from there. the commericals are now fun with alot of music and dancing. you can actually enjoy the commerials and laugh along with them. they are upbeat, hip, modern, and family oriented. i also like how McDonald's now has a nutrition label on everything.

shop macy's and be a STAR

i love the new Macy's commercials with all the celebrity cameos. i feel like Macy's has grown over the years. i know that it used to be hetch's and i wasn't a big fan of it then. but i have heard that Macy's in big cities like new york or DC are much better.
when i first saw the commercial i was hooked, and excited to see who was going to appear next. i love everyone that appears in it. Tyler Florence from food network, then Martha, who almost anyone can relate to, from my Jessica to puff daddy. i think that this commercial is targeting people from the ages of 18 and up. everyone that appeared in the commercial does more than one thing. Tyler Florence has his own show on food network, operates and owns restaurants, and sold many cook books. Martha Stewart is a household name and creates almost anything. Jessica Simpson has become an entrepreneur. shes released her own shoe line and has already done the music career. puff daddy is a music mogul by himself, along with his own line of clothing.
i think this commercial is trying to relate all of these stars to people who would shop at Macy's. you don't have to be a celebrity to shop or feel like a star. go to Macy's, and get experience it for yourself. i know every time i go to Macy's i always leave with something purchased. because of their great advertising and celebrity endorsements they are very successful.
the commercial definitely made me want to go there and see what was new. i wanted to go and smell ushers new perfume and look at Jessica's new shoes. this commercial really drives their business. it encourages people to shop there, all while being a star! definitely one of my new fave commercials.

Swap Your Ride...

I have seen the commercials on TV for the Ford Challenge, and really find them interesting. Ford decided not to shoot another same old commercial, they decided to do market research. Instead of telling people they were from Ford, they told them they were doing market research. Ford let them swap out their "ride" for a similar car from Ford. The videos all show them liking the car. I don't know if this is true though. I'm sure they had something negative to say about the car. People always have something negative to say. But I do think this is a good idea from Ford. I like how they showed it on TV. The only thing is, they haven't told the results of the research. They just said that, "the results speak for themselves." And then they give the opportunity for you to "Swap Your Ride."