Television
Celebrity Archeology-James Randazzo
By James Randazzo
For my Intro to Communications course at Loyola our class was assigned to do a celebrity archeology project. The person I chose to do an assessment on is Justin Timberlake. Justin Timberlake started out his career in the Mickey Mouse club, and became famous as a singer in the boy group NSYNC. However when the group broke up in 2002, Justin began a successful solo career and even made his way into acting. Timberlake currently has over five million twitter followers. He uses his twitter account in many ways. First and most importantly, he uses his account to spread his brand name. For example, he promoted his last movie by tweeting "Bad Teacher is out. Who's going to see it?????" Although Timberlake is extremely famous, it is very hard to find negative comments about him on the Internet. The people who do dislike him on the Web, have no real reason to, and seem to be jealous of his success. Timberlake also seems like a down to earth person who loves often tweets about sports and his loved ones. Justin did not forget to wish his father and followers a happy Father's Day and even congratulated Dan Wheldon for his win at the Indy 500. In addition, Timberlake often has prizes and sweepstakes on his twitter and facebook accounts. He even shouts out other celebrities when their cd's are coming out, or when they have a birthday. He truly is a man of the people. I believe that the Internet has only helped Justin's wide fan base. He sticks to what he is good at, and rarely posts anything that is controversial. Finally, I believe social media sites can only hurt those who speak out negatively against someone or have something to hide. For more information about Timberlake check out these sites:
Celebrity Archeology-Misty May
By: Aubrey Kirven
Misty May Treanor is the celebrity that I am choosing for the web archeology. Her twitter name is @MistyMayTreanor and she has almost one thousand followers. She is an American professional volleyball player and actress. She has won more tournaments than any other female player with 107 career wins. She is one of my idols and one of the best volleyball players in the USA. She uses her twitter to share with everyone what she is doing in her every day life. She also uses her account to encourage her followers to either do what she is doing or give them inspiration. By having a new wave of media, it gives people a chance to become more successful and allows their followers to see what they are doing and their views on issues. Misty uses her twitter page as advertisements for her matches and to support others. For example, she states, "Kerri and I play China at 7:05 tonight, cheer us on!!!" (Via Twitter) She is a very inspirational and devoted player and most volleyball players look up to her and her partner Kerri Walsh. They have been partners for over ten years now and they have become the dynamic duo that cannot be stopped. Misty also does some advertisement for Nike and other sponsors in her tweets. For example, she states, "I have gotten a lot of "I like your glasses" the past few days.....Nike Racer in neon yellow, so 80s and love them. http://fb.me/IwpIISZX." There are some people on twitter that will say things that they are not qualified to say and will get them into trouble. People, espcially celebrities, need to watch what they say because everyone is watching them. If they say one bad thing, it will go all over the news and could possibily ruin careers or dreams. Although Twitter is a wonderful way to communicate with others, it can also be a self destructive site. On the other hand, I believe that social networking sites assist in boosting their opportunites to become more famous and to promote the products they have. You can find out more information at Misty's official site.
Celebrity Archeology- OchoCinco
By: Anthony Winbush
OchoCinco (formerly known as Chad Johnson) is the celebrity that I am choosing for the web archeology. His twitter name is @ochocinco, and he has over two million followers. He is known for being a habitual tweeter and created his own iPhone application, which is a more personal version of Twitter that's only coverage of the featured athlete. He also has an iPhone game called "Mad Chad" was also designed by RockLive. He uses twitter to market himself so people can get to know who he is and what he does on a daily basis. He wants to make people feel like they actually know him. Some of his tweets are controversial and lead to him getting into trouble. Ochocinco has tried to make a living with other professional sports. Due to labor lockout of the NFL, in March, Ochocinco announced he would have a four-day trial for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. In May 2011, Ochocinco announced via his twitter account that he would be attempting to participate in a PBR event in Duluth, Georgia. He rode the bull Deja Blue, which weighs 1,500 pounds and lasted 1.5 seconds during intermission of May 14, 2011’s Professional Bull Riders event. As of today, June 30,2011, he wants to go into Nascar racing and eventually is going to wrestle with alligators. To find out more check out his personal website and his Facebook.
Celebrity Archeology - Donald J. Trump
By Hong-yu Li
Donald J. Trump is a really interesting person to me. He is not only a successful businessman, but he is also a celebrity. From his Twitter feed, I found out his posts have a lot to do with either his own business news or other business that Donald Trump supports or his ideas, for example: On June 27th, he posted about a weekly phoner on Fox & Friends, during that phoner, he voiced his opinion on national debt, budget battle between Republic and Democratic and so on. On the same day, Donald Trump posted a sit-down interview for the ACN national meeting. Most of his feeds provide links so that people can find out more about it. I believe that Donald Trump uses his Twitter Page to continue to promote his businesses or his show or to voice his opinion or his ideas. According to Donald Trump Twitter Page, currently he has 621,996 followers, which is a huge potential market for his businesses. No wonder he is a successful businessman! One negative portray I found from Digital Journal is that Donald Trump is the target of protest against his scheduled participation in the Indy 500, and he was forced to withdraw from Indy 500, because of his involvement in the Obama “birther” movement. I believe that the dark side of having so much information about a person available to the public is the private issue and the potential risk of identities being stolen, and for young people, there are risks to have encounter with online predators, as About.com points out. Also, there is danger of spreading gossip about a particular individual that is negative and sometimes can be deadly such as the Emma Christmas Eve Suicide incident. As far as celebrities, I believe that social networking sites help to boost their popularities and to promote the products they endorsed or to promote their own businesses as Donald Trump does.
Celebrity Archeology - Daniel Tosh
By – Joshua Wiegand
Daniel Tosh is a new, up and coming celebrity who over the past three years has had a very successful shows on Comedy Central, Tosh.0. This show has been the main factor that has propelled him into this stardom.
On his twitter account @danieltosh he spend most of the time on twitter answering what seem to be fans or friends and also talking about new shows that he has completed for Tosh.0. This allow him to self promote and also have a somewhat closer relationship to the public.
However, there are websites such as Wikipedia and others in which he is called racists, sexists and basically not politically correct in the public sense. He has gone out and defended himself saying that “’I’m not sexist or racist, I just like the jokes’”. Things such as these can make people not want to know or listen to Tosh or his show and can eventually hurt his name brand.
Overall, the new wave of media has definitely helped Daniel Tosh have a successful career. His show is based in the new wave of technology and media via youtube.com, twitter.com, facebook.com, and many more social and media content websites. The type of jokes that he tells and the way that he tells them is what has slightly hurt his career. However in the larger sense he has had an successful career from the new media technology.
Hong Yu's Ad Analysis
By Hong-yu Li
This commercial video clip is an advertisement of Bridgestone for the Super Bowl event of 2011. Bridgestone is a brand name and a manufacturer of tires. This advertisement is very short, and it lasts only about thirty one seconds, but it reveals a lot of information about Bridgestone tires and the belief of Bridgestone Corporation. The video starts with a beaver walking across a street with a stick in his mouth, probably trying to build his dam. Then a fast moving car appears on the same road. As soon as the driver notices the beaver not far in front of his car, he starts to turn his steer wheel, trying to avoid running over the beaver, at the same time the beaver seems to be shocked and afraid. After turning the steel wheel a couple times, the driver is able to pass the beaver without running over him; the beaver then gives the driver a "Thank you!" solute. Another shot showing six months later, the same driver is driving the same car traveling on the same road in a raining day. When all of sudden, a tree fell in front of the fast moving car, the driver has to slam on the break to stop the car. Soon after the car stops, the driver comes out of his vehicle. As he looks around, the bridge in front of him is gone and it is being washed away by the raging river. The same beaver appears again on the side of the road along with the stump of the tree, using the gesture to signal the driver "It is O.K. and I got your back." At the same time, a voice comes out as if the beaver is making the statement, "The drivers want to make the most out of their cars. It's Bridgestone, or nothing." Then the Bridgestone sign comes to the screen along with NFL logo as the commercial video clip ends.
From my observation of this commercial video clip, it uses Semiotics and non-verbal strategy. Signs are invested with social meaning in this video clip such as: the "Thank you!" solute and the gesture of the beaver at the end of this commercial indicating "It is O.K. and I got your back." As far as the technical effects, it uses the "close-up" technique to provide emphasis on the tires of the vehicle, as the driver is trying to turn the steel wheel. The "close-up" shots on the tires are the center of this commercial, which show the depth of grooves on the tire surface. It also shows the emotional transfer of its belief from the commercial to its audience. For example: the gesture of the beaver at the end of the video clip definitely shows loyalty that implicates what Bridgestone stands for. The message openly sent by this video clip is good tires with excellent traction. This video clip definitely has wit and humor by using the cute animal, the beaver. The statement "It's Bridgestone, or nothing." at the end of this commercial is a bold lie statement. The intended target audience is the general public who has to drive on the daily basis. The actor in this video clip is portrayed as an ordinary guy whom American people can relate to very well, which also has psychological impact to the viewers.
From political economic point of view, because this commercial video clip was made specific for the Super Bowl event of 2011, I can image that as the result it not only has tremendous economic impact, but it also designs to entertain the audience that are majority population in the United State, because Super Bowl is the biggest sports event in American tradition and almost everybody watches Super Bowl games each year.
Commercial Analysis
By: Aubrey Kirven
The images and themes in most commercials are derived from common perceptions in today’s society. I have chosen to take a deeper and more analytical look into commercials that advertise alcohol, and more specifically beer. The target audience for these advertisements are mostly males of or over the age of twenty-one. The product featured in the commercial I chose to study is Bud Light, a well-known and popular beer. The product is actually advertised all across the nation, as well as in other oversea countries, through a variety of media. The commercial I have chosen to study is a Bud Light advertisement called The Elevator; it is a commercial that uses humor and sexuality to appeal to male adults.
In most beer advertisements, women play a less significant role. Because beer commercials are more likely to appeal to a male audience, they tend to make men the focal point of the ad and position the lenses on them rather than on the women. The main male characters, if you will, in the commercials generally have an average physical appearance, while women tend to be very attractive. This is for a few reasons; one being that the average male does not look like a model, so in that sense, it would give a wider range of consumers to appeal to. And of course there is the sense of sex appeal in these commercials; they give the impression that if any average man drinks Bud Light, then they would be able to charm an attractive female. Many beer commercials appeal to men by giving them a more masculine look, whether it be by enticing an attractive female, or by making them look strong by doing “manly” things. These sorts of images simply that only “real men” would drink that beer. The media attempts to get viewers to buy into the idea that even though not every man is the strongest, or most suave, they can be if they drink that beer.
Generally,in beer advertisements, women are portrayed as being thin, attractive, and scantily dressed. These commercials illustrate what a male dominated society’s ideal representation of femininityis. Women, in these commercials, are depicted as “objects” for men, whilst men are depicted as having authority over women. Furthermore, by drinking the promoted type of beer, it allows you to control and assert that dominance over women. These advertisements mean to give their product the things that every man should want to and should possess,which are beer, sexy women, and freedom.
This commercial, The Elevator, consists of three male security guards, who appear to be “regular guys,” that control an elevator and stage it to break down in order to be alone with an attractive woman. The guards wait until a beautiful woman enters an elevator, upon which, one of the three guards runs to catch up to her in the elevator with a cooler in their hand. The two others then wait by the camera and make the elevator stop and appear to break down. This initial part of the commercial not only shows that men view women as “items,” rather than people, but it also shows that they use their power over the elevator to exert control and superiority over women.
Once they are in the elevator, theother guards wait until the right time to prevent the elevator from moving. This shows that men feel as though they have the upper hand on women. After the woman thinks that she is stuck, the man pulls out a beer from his cooler and hands her one. The man is both getting a good looking woman and enjoying beer. This commercial is simply saying that by drinking Bud Light, you will not only have a good time and enjoy a drink; you will be getting an attractive woman. The first woman is dressed professionally and her hair is tied back in a tight bun. They start to have a few drinks and the woman begins to relax and have fun. By the end of the elevator ride her clothing is messed up and her hair is now out of her bun and she hands the gentleman her number. This shows that by handing a woman a drink, having a good time and getting their number never fails.
At this commercial closes, is shows the words, “Always worth it.” This means that by drinking beer, specifically Bud Light, it never lets you down. The choice of song in the advert issignificant as its lyrics sing “Baby Come Back” describing the relationship between the man and the woman as they enter the elevator. Commercials are allabout shared knowledge and the advertisers tapping into what the target audience knows and what they want to see for them in order to purchase the product.
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