To Have and To Lose

A sweet summers sun warmed their happy hearts when their love blossomed to the heavens.

A site to behold when their vows were told in a field of Earth's gift to us.

A day of joyous tears when their little one joined their world.

A wonderous future laid out before the bright family of three.

Then one dark day, the midday train came rolling into the station.

Upon that train was an unwelcome visitor that no one ever wishes to meet.

An empty crib with the ghostly whispers of the child's laughter lingering.

A constant reminder that the unwelcome visitor stole what was most precious in the world.

With nothing to live for depression gained ground to lay heavy in their hearts.

Forever to live with the lose of love and the memory of what once was there.

Journal 19

The myth that this advertisement plays towards is that a person can lose weight and achieve a flat stomach by anything other than a healthy diet and a exercise plan. America has a horrible habit of believing that good things like healthy bodies, money, or happiness can be gained in an instant and the advertisement is telling the audience that by rubbing this 3-step cream on their bellies and following the Bremenn Toning Program will cause them to instantly have a flat tummy. The truth is you're really paying $120 just to rub lotion on your stomach and follow a diet/exercise plan that you can create with doing free research on the internet. the denotative portion of this advertisement is the woman's flat stomach with a tiny bikini bottom. And the connotation of the woman's flat stomach and small bikini is the idea of sexiness radiating from the woman's body. If products like this actually worked then the advertisement might work except for the fact that they is too much wording that the reader might just skip over the ad all together. But for those of us who are intelligent consumers understand that having a "sexy" body takes a lot of time, discipline, and dedication.

Journal 18

For this assignment we were to find n advertisement that follows Frank Jefkin's three basic principles of effective advertisement writing. The three principles in short are to be of interest and value to the reader, be precise and to the point, and lastly be concise, say what is needed to be said in as little words as possible. The advertisement I found was for Crystal Light Pure Fitness water flavorings. The coloring and imagings are simple with the boxes of the product as the center focus. But as far as the wording, the top introduction wording says, "Crystal Light is making a splash." easily understanding the company the advertisement is for and that it is selling a new product. Then it shows the product and underneath the image is the bulk of the written portion saying,

Water Your Body

Want a delicious way to get more water into your day?

Try new Pure Fitness Crystal Light

No artificial sweeteners

No artificial flavors

No preservatives

Low calorie

Plus electrolytes

Simple fragmented sentences list what is different about Crystal Lights new drink that would cause their target audience, health conscious, fitness oriented people looking for a healthier drink option over Gatorade and Powerade. The reader isn't overpowered by wording and quickly understands what is being sold to them.

Journal 17

Sweet 'N Low used their signature color of pink in their entire advertisement. Shades of pink used in the ad reminds one of youth, innocence, and, to the Western World, sweet little girls; key word sweet. The color harmony is both analogous and monochromatic. As of analogous you see shades of pink/red, purple, and yellow/orange. On the color wheel purple, red, then orange are the sequence of colors and analogous is described as three sequencing colors used to create a harmony. Why I believe it is also monochromatic is because the image mainly consists of values of red which includes pinks. /the use of the image of the owl can not be understood so easily but the use of color, which closely relates to the product, helps the advertisement in its success.

The main focus color for the Real Fruit Smoothies by McDonalds advertisement is white. Many people associate white as being a clean, pure color which correlates to the product being sold by promoting a fresh, enriching taste of the smoothie. As far as the smoothies being pure stands to mean the flavoring of the smoothies they use are real fruit instead of artificial flavors from powders. Pink brings out the idea of youth and vitality which is what the consmer is hoping to feel after drinking one of the smoothies. The colors used in the advertisement greatly helped to promote the new "Real Fruit Smoothies" by McDonalds.

Journal 16

Pandora's logo uses a blue and white color scheme which could be described as a monochromatic color scheme because it uses blue, light blue, and white. I think the meaning they were trying to go for by using blue was the fact that it is a calming color and when you get to listen to the music you like without paying for it with hardly any commercials then you become calm as well.

The Arizona Diamondback colors use red, or Sedona red as they go by, as the dominant color and black and white as the accent colors. I would suppose that this is also a monochromatic color scheme as well because the different values of red can lead you to both white and black. Using words from the PowerPoints, they used red to symbolize passion and excitement and hopeful cause the view to feel enthusiasm for the team.
Firefox uses blue, orange, and yellow for their color scheme which works as a split complimentary color harmony. The blue may symbolize for knowledge this time due to it being the color of the world, orange for energy to stand for the quickness Firefox offers, and lastly yellow would work as optimism for if you use Firefox you'll find exactly what you need.

Journal 12, 13, and 14

The first advertisement found was for State Farm Insurance in the Family Circle magazine. The photo is of a new, very handsome father holding his young child. The text over the picture says "You know where DUDE meets DAD? I'm there. Whoa, that happened fast, didn't it? The next 18 years will zip by, too. So don't wait until Junior becomes a Senior to figure out how much life insurance is enough to protect your new family. Let State Farm help. Call, click, or visit a State Farm agent today, because Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." The feeling one gets from viewing the picture is of looking forward into the future, planning for the protection of one's family, devotion. The myth of fathers as protectors of the family plays a role here proven just by the wording and use of the father/son image. Obviously targets young fathers as the main audience and the choice of the magazine as Family Circle was a great idea because the magazine has viewers that are family oriented people. The character function as a sign of compassion or fatherly love by the way the father. The fear of leaving your family with no money is what the advertisement is trying to provoke and by buying life insurance from State Farm you'll achieve peace of mind, along with having people who care looking out for you based on "... like a good neighbor, State Farm is there."

Microsoft and Bungie have put together an amazing game series called Halo and in the magazine Game Informer I found this advertisement for Halo Reach. The image shows characters from the game walking over a hill with a planet on fire behind them. One who understands the background of the game understands the story and will get the feeling of pride and hope from the image. I suppose the only myth one can gather from this image is the idea that people who've played the game will know what's going on. The whole gamer-nerd idea, which I like to believe I am. The target audience and the myth a completely entwined with each other. Those who play the game and love the game are the audience, besides the fact that the game they are advertising is a prequel so there may be places in the game that those who haven't played the other games wouldn't understand. What a consumer can gain form purchasing this game is answers. Answers as to how the characters in the game before came to be and just better understanding of the full story. The story will be complete.

This last advertisement is for The Goodlife Recipe pet food from the magazine People. The image shows three cats and four dogs, each with a thought bubble next to each of them with a food item inside. The wording on the image says "It's what they think about. So it's all we think about." The company is playing with the myth that animals have no preference with what they eat and ever true pet owner knows that a pet has particular food they like and don't like. The myth is abolished by showing the animals thinking of food like chicken, fish, and carrots (apparently, that dog likes carrots). By buying the pet food The Goodlife Recipe the owner will be satisfying their pets and making them happy. Also, it will make their pets healthier because the small script says that their pet food is "...made with real, wholesome ingredients with no artificial flavors or fillers."

Journal 11

Assignment 11 was for us to create signs of decisions we have to make during the day.

1. Music or Not

Personally, there is no decision to made here but there are the awkward few (teehee) who prefer silence. One of the decision when one gets into their vehicle can be whether to turn the music on or keep it on.

2. Soda vs. Water

Some people, like myself, are trying to be more health conscious yet have an extreme addiction to sugar. Anywhere you go or even at home you usually have soda and water as your big drink decision (not hating on tea because I love tea. Just soda and water came to mind best.).

3. Chicken or Beef

At many restaurants and fast food places, you have the option for either chicken or beef to different food items. Thinking more so with mexican food, you have the option for chicken or beef tacos, chicken chimichanga versus shredded beef chimichanga, etc.

4. No sunglasses vs. Sunglasses

When you have one of those partly cloudy days and your unsure of if you need to wear your sunglasses or not, that is where this decision making applies.

5. Skirt or Shorts

When it comes to going out to the movies I can spend around 30 minutes trying to decide on what to wear. Whether I want to look cute and wear a skirt/dress or would I rather just be comfy and wear shorts. Almost always, I choose comfort.