Assignment 4: Advertising Analysis

Share an ad, share a Coke.

I recently had a conversation with some friends about the way people talk differently in different parts of the country. We got caught up in the usage of the word 'coke'. We all agreed that no one really says, "Hey, grab me a coke," when they want something different, like a Dr. Pepper. Most of the time, they actually mean a Coca-Cola. However, they will use the phrase when they are expressing they are thirsty and they may or may not actually get a Coca-Cola. My step-dad will often say while we're outside working, "Let's take a break and grab a coke," though he knows that I would prefer to drink a Dr. Pepper and he's most likely about to have some whiskey.

That's just part of the advertising that's been ingrained within our culture. Some parents still call home video game consoles 'the Nintendo', and if you shout, "Red Robin," someone is bound to yell back, "Yum!" I'm not sure if any of this has a real effect on me (I'm sure it does), but it has a massive effect on the way we communicate in society.

I'm specifically going to talk about Coca-Cola for a bit, focusing on their various forms of advertising.

Let's start with Coca-Cola's iconic slogan. In my lifetime, the primary slogan has been 'Share a Coke' but I do remember the 'Open Happiness' campaign. You can find a history of the Coca-Cola slogans here on the Coca-Cola website, as well as a semi-updated list here.

The Coca-Cola TV adverts have been a staple on television for years. Their commercials are often universally loved because, unlike their competitors and fellow advertisers, they often don't take a stance on anything. They simply advertise the drink that everyone loves, and they do it well. Who doesn't love that family of polar bears? My grandapa personally loves the polar bear family. "Ha ha! Those silly bears are drinking a Coke!" Here is a complete list of Coca-Cola's most recent TV ads.

I don't often read the newspaper or magazines, but Coca-Cola advertises through those sources so I need to touch on them. They recently invested in print ads with sound. The images in the ads are meant to resonate with the reader and promote a sound that is associated with the image, such as the sound of the bottle popping off a bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola (blog brought to you by Coca-Cola).

Coca-Cola's online presence is similar to that of their TV presence. Generally, you'll get a short ad in front of a YouTube video 

However, the internet will know if you're craving a Coke.

Assignment 3: Product Review

A Pretty Mediocre Laptop.

So I use my laptop for work, school, and entertainment, and I could not have chosen a worse laptop to use (that's sarcasm, but seriously this is pretty bad). Over the Summer of 2017, I purchased the HP Envy x360 from Best Buy for $899.99. I split the cost with my mom (kind of, I paid $400 and she paid $600) and I thought it was a good decision at the time, but let me enlighten you as to why that is not true.

Firstly, this laptop was marketed as a strong mix of a working machine, as well as an entertainment system. The Best Buy employee who helped us in our search told us this laptop would be a good product to do school work while also being able to run and play most major video games. If you're not familiar with the way PC gaming works, you need a strong system to run some of the higher quality games. Unlike game consoles, any game you purchase for a game console is guaranteed to work on that system but that is not the case on PC. In my case, this laptop can hardly run Minecraft, one of the most popular and simple games on the market. Ironically, the laptop came pre-installed with the game.

Secondly, the laptop is prone to software issues. Numerous times my touchpad has randomly stopped working and essentially preventing me from doing work. I can navigate a little bit using the touchscreen, but not everything that my job requires me to do. I haven't found a solid solution to this issue, but it hasn't arisen recently. These software issues can also be caused by doing simple tasks, such as disabling the touchscreen. The system cannot handle the idea of the touchscreen being turned off and after doing so, the laptop locked me out until I managed to turn the touchscreen back on. Such annoyingly random issues.

Lastly, the battery life is atrocious. I leave the laptop in battery saver mode to use the power as best as possible, but even still I may only get two hours of usage before it needs to be plugged in. This is not preferable when I'm often on the move and working whenever I can. It severely limits my usage time, which is very detrimental whenever my work often requires my attention for multiple hours at a time to be complete. Unsatisfactory, period.

There are some nice things about the laptop though. It starts up relatively fast and it has facial recognition that keeps intruders out (though it doesn't recognize me when I don't have my glasses on, so I guess the software works well). It's also not too large and fits in most of my bags that I would use to carry the laptop. The touchscreen is also useful at times.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this laptop for how much it cost me. You can probably get a used one for cheaper that's higher quality.

Me when my laptop starts acting up.

What do I know though, I just want to play video games on the go.

Assignment 2: Programming Trends

Adaptations and Remakes: Visionary or Unoriginal?

Nowadays, all we see in the cinema or on TV are reboots or adaptations. It's pretty difficult to find something original on the screen nowadays. Just off the top of my head of what's currently in theaters or on TV, Knives Out, a Rian Johnson film, is the most original thing out there. Birds of Prey is a rehash of Suicide Squad, but with a focus on Harley Quinn because that's where the money is. Bad Boys for Life is a series continuation. Dolittle, starring the one-and-only Robert Downey Jr., is an uninspired remake and an adaptation at the same time. Lastly, Gretel and Hansel is another remake, but they switched the title around so it's completely original now.

(In my best Jerry Seinfeld impression) So what's the deal with adaptations and remakes? Well, they perform well. Franchises or IP's that are previously established, especially with a broad or committed fanbase, will almost always do well because that audience will single-handedly will the adaptation to success. Let me give a few examples.

The Cat in the Hat (2003) opened at number one in the North American box office on November 21st. For comparison, Elf, the classic Will Ferrell Christmas movie, and The Matrix Revolutions were also in theaters at the time. Elf is an original film and The Matrix Revolutions is the finale of the well-beloved trilogy, so why did The Cat in the Hat (2003) end up on top? Well, Dr. Seuss is well beloved (and so is Michael Myers) so the adaptation wins out.

This isn't a problem we've moved past. Disney has begun adapting their beloved animated movies into live-action (or CGI, looking at you The Lion King) films. We're revisiting stories that we watched just a few decades ago. That seems like a long time, but Disney is very popular and so are their movies. A lot of people own Mulan, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Aladdin on DVD and VHS, and those movies are available on streaming services as well. There are plenty of ways to access these films that bypass the coveted Disney vault, but Disney understands that they can make a boatload of revenue by remaking these beloved films, which many hate to see.

Original content in established universes are cool and can often present things we'd never seen in places where we'd love to see certain things (that was mouthful). For example, with the launch of Disney+ came The Mandalorian, a new series set in the Star Wars universe between Episode VI and Episode VII (Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, the end of the original trilogy and the beginning of the sequel trilogy). The show follows a new character with a new goal in a setting that people love. This is unique.

Netflix also has a habit of creating new adaptations. However, they're usually not that great at it. They often try and compete with anime streaming services like Crunchyroll by creating live-action adaptations of popular anime series like Death Note or Bleach. These films have not done very well, though they have very committed fanbases, so how does that work? The difference being the platform. Anime fans don't watch anime on Netflix, they use an anime streaming service.

This could very well be the reason behind the success of The Witcher. The Witcher is a Netflix original adaptation of the books and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is the second adaptation of The Witcher series, as a video game trilogy (soon to be 'quadrology?') began in 2007, with the most recent installment (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) winning Game of the Year in 2015. Netflix recently revealed the show to be the most viewed in it's opening weeks out of all the Netflix original shows. It's strange how some things work out.

The main difference I want to address is originality. An adaptation can be good, or it can be bad. However, no adaptation is very original and I feel like Hollywood has sort of stagnated. Maybe the next generation of writers can create some unique worlds where we can share more stories.

Unless you believe there are only seven plots ever, then we're done for.