My Advertising Inventory [p. 177]

Advertising has played an influential role in popular culture. Ads are very pervasive because they are everywhere around us. People might as well be walking advertisements because of all the logos on them. Ads cause us to believe we need a product when we really don’t. They make us believe that our lives will be much difficult without the advertised item.

I spend a significant amount of time outside while I am on the road. There are billboards advertising MGM and Oakland University. There are also universities, companies, and political advertisements on bumper stickers. Driving down Michigan Avenue reveals an array of advertisements such as Mr. Pita’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and more.

In the UMD cafeteria there are ads and logos for Subway, Java City, Dell laptops, and U of M sweatshirts. At work the logos just seem to increase. Not only does the TV triple the amount of advertising around me, but my coworkers come in wearing brands such as Abercrombie, Converse, and American Eagle. There are also posters on the walls that represent the company and why a typical student should join their program. Also, my bedroom is filled with all sorts of visual advertisements. My wardrobe represents logos from brands like Nike and Sweet Angel. There are brand names on my lotion and crème collections.









Advertising affects us in ways we often don’t realize. They appear in music videos and TV shows. Vitamin Water can be seen in almost every other scene on the CW’s hit show Gossip Girl. Nike advertised its new clothing and shoe line in Rihanna’s alternate video version of S.O.S. When a person is satisfied with a product’s previous use, they are more likely to purchase from the same company the next time they go shopping. Brands and logos that appear daily around us will only affect us if there is a new quality to it. This is how advertising becomes influential in our lives and affects the way we think before we purchase.

LIBS 124 : Tim Kiska

Based on Professor Kiska’s presentation, Clay Shirky’s analysis of blogs, class discussion, and my own readings of political blogs, I would definitely return to The Huffington Post and The Daily Dish for updates on this fall’s election. These blogs not only provide updates on current politics, but they also have opinions and information about the election’s candidates themselves.

Both of these sites have pictures and videos to go along with each blog. When the context seems vague, the visual aides help make the message clear. Also, my interest and concerns in the election are addressed in these blogs. The Huffington Post seems reliable because they update their information often and seem committed to getting the truth out there. Right now there’s an article that represents two sides of the story about Freddie Mac paying the McCain campaign’s law firm. McCain says he never had any affiliation with the mortgage corporation.

Both of these sites have a lot of readers. The Daily Dish really attracted my attention when I read the articles about Sarah Palin. I don’t support her at all as the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee. Andrew Sullivan wrote a blog called Twelve Lies of Sarah Palin and I found it to be very disgusting. I can’t stop thinking about how Senator John McCain chose Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. It makes me want to go out and vote tenfold to make sure we don’t go through the horrors of the last eight years with President Bush in the office.

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Exercise 1: Day in the Life of Me !!!

The annoying sound from the alarm clock interrupts my sweet dream of someday owning that sweet exotic Maserati I had seen in some car magazine. Frustrated by the constant ringing at 7 a.m in the morning, I turn the alarm off and fumble around for the remote in the dark, even though I am within 3 feet of the T.V.

Already having picked out what I would wear to school, I leave the room to take care of my hygienic needs. I return to my room with a glass of Sunny-D and a banana. I pull up the shades and watch the weather to check the temperatures for both my city and Dearborn before flipping to CNN to make sure there weren’t any terrorist attacks overnight.

Grabbing my books from my dresser, I take them to the table where I sit and try to do my homework. I switch to MTV or VH1 the moment I begin to feel sleepy. The commercials become very distracting. The advertisements for new phones get on my nerves because they remind me of my blackberry’s unfortunate fate. Then I slip into my Southpole labeled top and my Vigoss jeans. I search my purse inside out until I find my Ipod and go directly to On-The-Go-1 where I have all my energetic early morning songs sung by Rihanna, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, etc. I play around with my hair for about fifteen minutes until I’m satisfied. I stop at my goldfish bowl on my shelf and feed Chanel and Bitsy some fish flakes. Then I lock my door and head out for school.

Since my dad was driving me to school I hopped into the van and went all the way to the back corner. I was grateful he was driving so I wouldn’t make the little mistakes I normally do that puts myself and others in danger. I slipped my white headphones in my ears and turned on Taylor Swift’s “Love Song.” After five minutes of trying to catch up on reading for a class, my thoughts start to drift and I begin looking out the window. I see billboards and buses with advertisements. A confusing ad for a casino catches me by surprise because it has a picture of a female leopard skin high-heel boot as its main picture. I don’t understand the correlation between a boot and a casino.

When I arrive on campus I go through the UC to find my way to my Politicial Science class. After arriving late as always (I honestly do not know how that happens) I sit in front so I’d pay attention. After class, I buy something to eat from the McKinley café. The next two classes go by in a blur and soon it’s time to go back home. My dad picks me up. I slip my headphones into my ears as he takes me home. I usually snack on some junk food along the way.
After taking a long well-deserved shower with Herbal Essence, I play with my baby brother. He tells me about his day at school and how much he admires the assistant teacher for helping him color inside the lines on his paper.

At 7 p.m I turn on E! News and sort through my books and organize my room. I find an empty cassette so I can tape record Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill when it would air at 8. I then start my silver Intel computer. The blue, green, and red lights from the computer case light up half of the room. I log into my account, which is the only one on the computer, and check my email, facebook, and my account at teenhelp.org to see if anyone emailed me asking for advice. That is also when I check to see if I received any calls or text messages.

At 9 p.m. I eat my dinner and try to do some homework. Usually I end up being occupied by friends or playing video games like Grand Theft Auto III or Super Mario 64, which are my favorites. At 11 p.m. I grab a yogurt or some other snack and feed my fish. I turn the T.V. on and watch Family Guy. Despite all the bad messages and influences the cartoon sends out, I find it quite entertaining. After watching Chelsea Lately at 11:30 p.m, I brush my teeth and try to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows until I fall sleepy, which unfortunately for me is at 4 a.m.

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I realized that I try really hard to refrain myself from taking things around me for granted. I’ve met a lot of people in my life who don’t even have the advantage of owning an Ipod or even a working television. Many students around me sometimes are on their phones all day and tend to base their whole lives around it. I wouldn’t want to fall prey to failure if I lost my phone and then have to recover. My cultural connections with the world, such as computer usage, phone, and my dear friend: the Ipod are items that I really appreciate in my life. I try not to let things around me influence me too quickly. ☺

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