Advertising Hall of Fame

I was reading Born to Buy for my Children’s Advertising class and came across an alarming statistic…

“The average eight to thirteen year old is watching over 3.5 hours of television a day. American children view an estimated 40, 000 commercials annually. They also make approximately 3,000 requests for products and services each year” –Juliet B. Schor

Now this made me think about some of the memorable advertisements of both the past and the present. I would like to share my personal favourites with you…

Soft Drink: Dr. Pepper

Did you know Dr. Pepper was named by Charles Alderton who named it after the father of a girl he was once in love with?

Electronics: Mac vs. PC

Did you know that I used to have a PC, now I have a Mac… and I LOVE it almost as much as this brilliant ad campaign!

Clothing: The GAP

Did you know, that if you do NOT remember this ad… you must have been living under a rock. It's a classic... and this song will probably be in your head all day.

Health: Princess Margaret Hospital

I still get goose bumps when every time I see it. To donate click here

Athletics: Nike

Did you know that Michael Jordan made more money annually than all Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined!

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Beer: Heineken

Imagine?!

Hope you enjoyed my favourites!

OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Did you know that in 2004, Rupert Murdoch’s media reached 4.7 billion people! That is ¾ of the population. Here is how some of it broke down:

-U.S. television network reached 280 million people

-Asian satellite network reached 300 million people

-Cable channels reached 300 million homes

-Magazines reached 28 million people

Fox news separated themselves from other networks by having ONE ideological perspective and hammering it home strongly and constantly. When you hear one perspective for long enough, you will start to believe it and follow it. Fox news has a great deal of right-wing bias and it is not hard to see.

Considering their slogan is “Fair & Balanced: We Report You Decide”, Fox news is anything but. In the OUTFOXED documentary former employees of the news network talked about the daily memos that were sent out each morning. It detailed what was to be talked about that day and what was NOT to be touched on. Most importantly, it was told HOW to report the content. In regards to the reporters and their method of delivery, news and commentary blended together. Making them very hard to differentiate.

This was all part of Rupert Murdoch’s master plan. When David Brock, President/CEO of Media Matters America, talked about Murdoch and how he ran Fox he stated the following:

“He wants all news to be opinion because opinion cannot be proven false.”

We as the audience rely on the media to get much of our information. After reading this post I hope you are more aware of where your news is coming from and I encourage you to get your news from a wide variety of outlets. This way you have a better chance of gathering the facts and forming your own opinion.

Polar Ice, On The Rocks

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There are approximately 20, 000 polar bears in the wild. Due to the reduction in sea ice in the Arctic, we can expect a loss of 2/3rds of the entire world’s population of polar bears over the next 50 years.

Last year it was proposed that they be added to the 2008 threatened species list. Polar bear deaths as a result of global warming are of great concern and rapidly increasing. It has also been foreshadowed to lead to extinction. Many are drowning because their homes are literally melting away.

I remember my Journalism Ethics professor standing in front of my class and telling this students that a sure fire way to sell a story is to use babies or cute animals. If the statistics are not tugging at your heartstrings then perhaps the video and image will. There are many petitions and ways you can show your support to this issue including Nature Canada’s petition. I encourage you to help shed light on this problem and do what you can, big or small, to help lessen the effects of global warming.

I would like to thank Sarah Jane showing me the above video clip to share with you :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving weekend I have decided to make my post festive for the delicious occasion. I personally cannot wait for my turkey dinner and just thinking about it made me want to look up some interesting facts about it. The University of Illinois has compiled a list of intriguing “Turkey Facts” and I would like to share a couple with you. For starters

“the heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds”

The average weight of a Thanksgiving turkey is about 15 pounds.

In the year 2005, Canadians ate 138.6 million kg of turkey! Now this may seem like a lot, but it is nothing compared to Israelis. They eat the most turkey out at anyone else consuming 28 pounds per person.

It is apparent that many of us love our turkey! I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving and has much to be thankful for. Bon appétit!

M&M's Not So Sweet Side

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To be honest, I have never really been one to track my eating habits. Luckily, I live with a calorie counter who has opened my eyes to many interesting facts. I was snacking on my beloved peanut M&M's and decided to look into its caloric information. I found an online calorie counter which told me that one single peanut M&M has 10.3 calories.

Now this may not mean much to you but check the following out:

You will need to run the length of a football field to burn that off!

Now this is assuming you are about 150 lbs -but still. You eat an entire package of that chocolaty goodness and you will be running for days to come. Now if you will excuse me, I have a mini marathon to complete…

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Chlamydia: hard to spell, easy to catch

It has come to my attention that STD rates are on the rise so I decided to investigate this matter and I was shocked by the statistics I came across. The trusty website Stop, Think, Be Safe! Has informed me that

"One in four people will have an STD at some point during his or her life."

Some are curable and some, unfortunately, are stuck with you for life.

Curable STDs include:

• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis
• Chlamydia

Incurable STDs include "The Four Hs"

• HIV
• HPV
• Herpes
• Hepatitis B

In addition to STDs, unprotected sex can also lead to many other things including pregnancy. Moral of the story: Stop, Think, Be Safe!

I Need My Beauty Sleep!

Everyone who knows me is aware of my love for sleep. I try and get my nine hours per night and I will frequently throw in a nap during the day. I am sharing this information with you because many people are not aware of the importance on sleep. It is every bit as important as food. According to NewsPick “Humans can actually survive longer without food than without sleep”.

On average, a person can survive on water alone for 1-2 months (without food). When it comes to sleep it only takes a few restless nights for an individual to experience intense personality and psychological changes. Randy Gardner holds the record for going the longest time without sleep. He lasted a total of 264 hours and at the end of the experiment scientist claimed if he went any longer it would have been quite dangerous.

So goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite…

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