Advertising Diary

In my 24 hour period.... well combined 24 period of observing, my exposure to advertisements was vast. The diary of this observation began on the way to New York City to drop off my sister and then pic up the next morning. The drive began around 3 O'clock from an open country area by my house. The advertisements leading out of my county seemed to be of a certain category. The ads were of hundreds that included day spas, car dealerships, minor league baseball teams, gatorade products, real-estate agents, gyms, home town businesses, and an uncountable amount of golf courses. Once in New York City the ads shifted drastically. From country ads of spas and golf courses changed into liquor products, clothes, fashion, cosmetics, Cologne, sex appeal, movies and an obscene amount of famous peoples faces advertised on behalf of a product.
What does this tell us? It tells us its all about traffic and the streamline of which it exists in. As you saw in the country environment the ads are a little less extreme and fits more towards the need of necessities. Since advertising technology is also less evolved then in the city, ads become repetitious and less diverse on a daily basis. In the city the technology of advertising is at its peek (although so is clutter!). Since this technology is now so convenient, shifting ads can be done in seconds in some cases. For example the technological billboards can show series of images, detailed designs, and motion pictures before you even drive a block.
These ads are also shown based off time and location. The most sensible time frame for myself is after 6 p.m. Which is also best for ages 20 to 40. Statistics show this is when we are at our most alert for a purchase or an implant of a product. Implant meaning the seed or idea planted in your mind to grow into an action (the action=purchase). The ads are developed and locationalized based off that one in-particular fact. In conclusion we can see that thousands of ads are shown to us on a daily bases. Roughly the average number of ads seen on a daily bases is 3500, but considering the environment of New York City we should quadruple that sum. This amount of clutter is very extreme, although in our day in age we are now domesticated toward it.

Interviewed Facial Expressions

Over spring break one of my closest friends took a cruise down the east cost to multiple luxurious getaways. The cruise lasted a week in a half between him and his girlfriend. During their visit to Kutztown I got to ask and hear about the entire trip. The assignment was to observe the facial expression of a single person, although his girlfriend ended up assisting in this task.

For intensive purposes the names of the observed participates are Joe and Jess. Joes's facial expressions are considered to be a withholder, meaning the face does not exhibit any emotion. This limited facial movement is said to be a "poker face" and ironically he usually wins when we play poker. His girlfriend Jess on the other hand is a revealer, this is opposite of a withholder meaning the face tells it all. These opposing facial expressions made it easy to cross examine the reactions of reliving the trip to see which emotions should be portrayed or not.

The first question that was asked to them was "How was the trip?" In response they said great, exciting, and very very fun. During their response's I saw very noticeable eyebrow movement in Jess, translating to interest and surprise. Her eyebrows moved up in multiple parts of her response which gave me this nonverbal translation. Joe on the other hand due to his withholding nature was harder to grasp. Giving that I had Jess to observe also, I was able to pic up on Joe's very subtle eyebrow movement. Cross analyzing Joe and Jess it was concluded that a happy and surprising nature was exhibited in Joe after the first question.  The second question that was asked was "With all the activities you guys did were you able to have significant alone time?" Immediately after this question, maybe even before it was finished there was a flashing eyebrow movement initiated from Joe to Jess. Jess responded with a rolling of the eyes, a hint of laughter, red cheeks (embarrassment) and a wink in my direction telling me its all true. This developed flirtation was a very sexual nonverbal response. Even though nothing was said the truth ran free nonverbally. The questioning then stopped before the conversation got to far or for at-least this blog lol.

We can conclude that nonverbal meaning is intense and during interaction is always modified between others. This not only gives us a sense of meaning but a feeling of self concept.

Observation Of A Couple

Last week I chose to observe my two friends who came to visit me during a baseball game. This couple is not only an entertaining one but often have unusual arguments, making it an easy decision for this study. First the environment for this observation took place during one of my home baseball games. As a pitcher I often have to sit in the bullpen which is down the left field foul line closer to the crowd. During this particular day right behind the bullpen sat the couple. So from the baseball field over the fence into the crowd was the line of observation. The beginning of this observation showed the couple representing intimate proxemics, multiple relational examples of haptics, and commonly used facial and eye expressions. The level of immediacy was being demonstrated at a high level. Generally the more immediate behaviors we exhibit, the more we like some-one or are interested in that person. Posture cues that directly correspond with immediacy were also shown. The girl on most of the the boyfriends words were leaned into by an upward movement of the body. Then the symmetric positioning showed both arms and legs in correspondence with the general body position. Body tensions were also being relieved with subtle movements towards each other and rocking movements of the legs. Compared to the crowd their movements were very inclusive, which excluded all of the crowd allowing only them two to be included. This inclusive nature takes some effort as face to face parallel ignores everything else. More or less this is an A and B conversations so C your way out. This is all understandable considering they are in there first months of their relationship. Most people demonstrate a high level of attention during these stages and doubtfully it will last for time to come.

Speaking from a territorial stand point the personal space of the boyfriend could include not only him but the girlfriends. Showing either two primary territories or a primary and a secondary territory. If someone were to violate, invade, or contaminate the girlfriends space it would turn into the boyfriends obligations. Who knew so much could be taken out and interpreted from a simple glance into a crowd at two people you happen to know. From now on nonverbal communication is not only demonstrated but is an out right way of communication.

Not A Magazine of Choice

More often than not when a magazine is purchased the person who bought it relates to that genre of media. The magazine was chosen due to their likes and dislikes as well as its over all relevance to the buyer. Meaning a sports addict would usually buy sports illustrated and a golfer would probably buy golf digest.
The magazine that I have chosen to analyze is Cosmo. A magazine that is Globally known for women and the intimate interests they express. Its funny because reading it wasn't the worst part, buying it was. At checkout I felt a de-emasculating image surrounding me. The cashier was probably thinking what a wuss this person is for buying this magazine. Although thats what this blog is about, buying a magazine that doesn't directly relate to you.
The history of Cosmo dating back to as early as 1866 has represented itself as a women's magazine. Today Cosmo expresses itself as a broader magazine, discussing topics not just for woman that cover relationships, proper sex, health, careers, self-improvement, celebrities, as well as fashion and beauty. The magazine to my surprise did show broader topics but 95% of its content is still sex and woman.
What does this tell us? This tells us that the image of Cosmo is already imprinted. Unless a dramatic change of its topics are implemented then Cosmo will always and forever be known as a magazine for women.
The signaling of the magazine inspires relationships, romance, fashion, and beauty that directly relates to women. Cosmo also showed signaling through style, designer clothing, advertisements, and popular fashionable products. As the magazine did cover most of these categories, the majority of its visual advertising was of sexual context. The visual signaling seemed to tell women how they should be, look, act, and pursue sexually.
The circulation of this magazine is over 96% women mainly between 18 and 34, closely followed by 18 to 24 year olds. In conclusion this magazine represents the lifestyle that "All" women should pursue. A way of life that women should almost obey and not just take into account.