Tuesday, February 24, 2009

TV Commercial homework

Watch the following commercials and analyze them according to the following:

1. Message (ad hook)

2. Product

3. Targetted consumer

4. Whatever else you want to say about it.




3) "Commitmentphobe"


4)Hello?



For example:

No 1:

1. message- ad hooks

Humor- play on words and sligtly black humor because the heart jumps out of her chest
Product- resume/job agency
Targeted consumer- people looking for a job,. However, I think this ad specifically targets young women because the model is a young woman working as a secretary. In addition, I think there is a scondary purpose to this ad. The young woman is working a traditionally female job in a classic position- attractive, competent, college-educated secretary working for a middle-aged, fat, slobby jerk. The secondary message may be that a well-educated, competent woman should not settle for such a dead-end job.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Korea Dreams of 'Green Revolution'

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/02/113_40054.html

Han Seung-sooPrime MinisterBy Na Jeong-juStaff ReporterSouth Korea wants to share the vision of ``low-carbon, green growth'' with the rest of the world in order to find a breakthrough during the worst economic recession in decades, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Sunday.In a welcoming speech for foreign guests on the eve of an international forum to mark President Lee Myung-bak's first year in office, which falls on Wednesday, Han said the world should seek a new economic trend to ride out ongoing challenges.``South Korea is taking fundamental measures to prepare for a paradigm shift in the global economy,'' Han said. ``We are ready to participate in global efforts to fight climate change and play a bridging role between advanced and emerging countries in preparing for a new trend.''The government's green growth plan represents Korea's resolve to become a leader in creating a new economic landscape, the prime minister said.The forum, jointly organized by the Presidential Council for Future and Vision and the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences will draw more than 30 global experts.Former U.S. Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin and World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy will offer keynote speeches at the seminar, taking place from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul.South Korea started a $40-billion ``Green New Deal'' project early this year in hopes of creating 900,000 jobs over the next four years. Through tax cuts and an expansion of fiscal spending, the world's 13th largest economy aims to revitalize the sluggish domestic economy and create a future economic growth engine. ``In an era of industrialization, economic growth begets greenhouse gases. However, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly measures, such as Korea's low-carbon, green growth strategy, will represent the new trend,'' Han said.Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist who will attend the seminar in Seoul, paid a courtesy call on President Lee at Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday. Lee sought advice on the future of the Korean economy from Friedman, an advocate of the ``green revolution'' in the 21st century, according to the presidential office.Other participants include Danny Liepziger, vice president of World Bank; Dominic Barton, chairman of the Asia Pacific Division at McKinsey & Company; William Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; and Christian de Boissieu, chairman of the Economic Analysis Council in France.Sakong Il, special economic advisor to President Lee, Hur Kyung-wook, vice minister of strategy and finance and Chae Wook, president of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, will also be on hand.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Rourke, The Survivor


He never has been my favorite actor. Thus, I always thought about Mickey Rourke as one of the most overrated performer of the history. I could not see anything in his face or in his performances that I liked. He was very famous when he played the role of Kim Basinger’s punisher in that false movie called Nine ½ Weeks. In the 80s decade this film was very controversial and famous; Basinger and Rourke were known for being sex symbols. If you watched this movie today, you can feel that this piece has been eaten by the time. Today that movie is nothing. It is only a poor soft erotic product and that is all. Mickey Rourke enjoyed successful in that movie and he tasted days of wine, fame and roses. Even in that time I thought that he was a bad actor. Some years later he played the performance of a hard guy in one of the most horrible movies that I have ever seen in my life. His partner in that freaky and bizarre adventure was Don Johnson. The experiment was called Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Seen that film, you could asked if the director was called Ed Wood. The quality was terrible and the actors were down and out. In 2009 one movie was going to be released. The director was Darren Aronofsky. When I saw his first movie (Pi) I knew that this director was going to be important. His first movie was arrogant, fresh and rebel. The script was original and the direction absolutely brilliant. The Wrestler was his last movie until now. Aronofsky knows perfectly what it means the depression, loneliness and the failure when he made this movie. Everything was perfect, I was ready to watch that movie but I founded a problem: the main actor. He was Mickey Rourke again. I could not believe it. How this director could give a performance to this terrible actor? “Ok, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to watch it anyway”. When the movie finished, I was impressed. I was hearing the Bruce Springsteen’s track (He sings a song in the soundtrack) and I was thinking that Mickey Rourke had given us one of the best performances that I have ever seen in my life. He is great and unforgettable in that master piece called The Wrestler. When I was watching the film, Rourke reminded me all the time to Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. He is able to transmit suffering, pain, mercy, pathos, tragedy, and misery with his face. Now I think that this movie is going to be a classic in a few years, and the artist is going to stay in the time, because of this character. How can you explain this? I have a personal theory: Maybe, Rourke was talking about his own life; Maybe, this movie is a real and clear biopic. I do not care. I was impressed and touched. When you get that sensation in a theater, you understand why you love movies. As a result of this: Thank you so much, Mr. Rourke.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Histoire de Serge Gainsbourg


"My life is a triangle made up of cigarretes, alcohol and women" this french singer said when he tried to define his life. Besides music composer, Serge Gainsbourg was poet, actor, filmmaker, provocative, sexual agitator, painter and controversial figure. Born Lucien Ginzberg in Paris on April 2, 1928. His parents were Russian Jews who fled to France following the events of the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. He suffers the nazi humiliation when he had to wear Jew symbol in his arm for being distinguished. Later, he always said that he could not forget his family's troubles those days. Until he was 30 years old he was working like music teacher (his father was pianist and Serge learned musical composition when he was a child) and he studied art. Thus, he started to play piano in some cabarets and he had the first opportunity for record a LP. He made his recording debut in 1958 with the album Du Chant a la Une. At the beginning he received strong criticism because of his extremely ugliness, even some critics made some jokes about him. They said things such as "A man, with that nose and those ears, is more like a clown, not a singer". This fact made suffer very much to Gainsbourg. He composed some songs for Petula Clark, Juliette Grecco or Sylvie Vartan. His songs begin to be successful. Serge works nonstop those days and in that time he met to Brigitte Bardot. The artist had a brief affair with Bardot. Moreover, they sing one of the most important and erotic songs of the history: "Je t'aime moi non plus". They sang unforgettable duets and Serge Gainsbourg is known by the audience already. "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Comic Strip" are very popular and Gainsbourg enjoys his victory. Later, that relation finished and broke his heart. After of that, the singer was falling in love with other sex symbol, Jane Birkin. In that moment, he revenges of those that attack him because of his ugliness. He says he does not care to be like a dog if he can get the best women in the world. Gainsbourg and Birkin make one of the essentials records in the history: Histoire de Melody Nelson.
This piece was conceived such as a conceptual story. All songs were inspired in Lolita's myth. Gainsbourg was telling stories about incest, voyeurs or Peeping Tom, alienation from modern culture and the suicide, among others. This album, was a terrible commercial failure. Gainsbourg had a lot of hits with other records and songs. However, this conceptual LP was a huge fiasco. Today, "Histoire de Melody Nelson" is considered by musicians and experts a masterpiece. The problem was time. It was released in 1971 and people were not prepared for this musical knowledge. March, 24 this record is going to be reissued in USA . It will suppose a perfect chance for those people who do not know anything about this record and this French artist. A good opportunity to know this man. The "freak" that was able to propose sex to Whitney Houston live on the French TV. The "enfant terrible" who made a controversial cover of "La Marselleise" and he had death storts for that song. Even, he was able to burn a bill on TV to protest against excessive taxes. He was famous, frivolous and thus, he was with the most desirable women and he used his intelligence and sharp humor all the time. When he died in 1991, France was in shock state and the President of the French nation, Francois Mitterrand, said about him that "he has been the modern Baudelaire". Today, Gainsbourg is a supreme figure in France and his album, "Histoire de Melody Nelson" a real masterpiece.