If you’ve ever seen a Star Wars movie, you’re sure likely to know what The Force is. I’m not surprised that there is a long description posted on Wikipedia about George Lucas’ the Force. According to Wikipedia the Force is “is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy”. It is this invisible and intangible force that gives power to famous jedi’s such as Yoda, Obi Wan, and Luke Skywalker. It’s enables them to move objects without actually touching them, it makes them do bad ass stunts that not even gymnasts can do, it’s what allows them to influence the thoughts of people, etc.
Although the Force is a fictitious power that was created within the mind of George Lucas, I’d like to think –no matter how funny or weird it may sound- that the media possess the power of the Force. The media, especially advertisers in particular, have a way of getting under the skin of people. So many receivers of media do not realize it, but most of what they do and what they want are driven and created by what media presents to them. One good example to prove that the media does posses the power of the Force is the change in media landscape that Baran mentions – hyper commercialism.
According to Baran, hyper commercialism is “combining media content (e.g. TV shows) and advertising content (e.g. Coca Cola Products)”. One very popular form of hyper commercialism is product placement. More often than not, we always see branded products on our favorite TV shows, movies, and sports teams. American Idol has AT&T and Coca Cola; Gossip Girl has Channel, Harry Winston, and Louboutins; The Office has HP; James Bond has Aston Martin and Omega; Breakfast at Tiffany’s has... Well... Tiffany’s; the Chelsea Football team has Samsung; local basketball teams are named after companies. I can go on and on but I think you’ve already got the point that product placement is very evident in all types of media both locally and globally (print, radio, TV, film, and new media).
Is the presence of these products in media a coincidence? Or are they really there to influence and induce receivers to purchase and consume? This indirect way of advertising has definitely affected society so much. The media and advertisers jedi mind tricks enable consumers to spend on their products and stay loyal to their brands. The force within media is definitely very strong. And even if we forgo the advertising aspect of media, it is still a very powerful entity because it can affect and shape the way people think by the information it feeds them. One good example would be the Philippine bishops and their SUV’s. Is this glamorized news? Is this really the MOST important issue of the day? Or is it something media just wants us to pay particular attention to? Again, the force of media is at work.
I’d like to share a vehicle TV commercial with you. Asides from it being kinda cute, I thought it combined the discussions regarding Baran’s changes in media landscape with my blog entry and the documentary “Consuming Kids”. For me, the commercial highlights three of the landscapes Baran mentios: rapid globalization, increased audience fragmentation, and hyper commercialism. I say that all three of these are present in the commercial becauseit is an international brand that is not only marketing itself to adults but also to children.
Information is becoming much easier to spread and gain. As a result of having a well informed audience, the market becomes more segmented because people are able to better indentify their wants and needs. But even though consumers may already know what they want, there is still a variety of brands to choose from. Because of this, hyper commercialism comes into play.
The Force within media is becoming stronger and stronger every day. Recievers of information must be cautious of the mind tricks that the media can play on them.
Hahaha that's commercial is cute! :D
TumugonBurahinI really appreciate how you incorporated the concept of the Force in your discussion media and hyper-commercialism. Normally, I'd say that the idea of the media playing mind tricks on consumers is an overstatement but after watching "Consuming Kids," I realize that it might not really be that far off.
To me, though, the most disturbing marketing strategy has to do not with how they put out the ads and stuff, but with how they get the information to back up these ads. My Marketing professor from college told us before that everything we search and do in the Internet is, to an extent, monitored. This is how some companies learn about our interests - what we search for the most, what we download the most, etc. This is the information they use to place and order websites in our search results. As such, if two people will search something as simple as "shoes" in the search engine, the results will be vastly different, greatly manipulated by the information they have on what each individual may want in a shoe. I haven't tried it yet but still. Creepy.
I love this commercial! :D So adorable and ingenious. It's a representation of how creative these advertisers and others behind this particular brand's minds are. By incorporating a popular character and using a kid for that matter, they've given us humor and entertainment. But at the same time, they've also managed to hit two birds with one stone: parents and their kids. And based on the documentary Consuming Kids, children play a big role in the purchasing decisions of parents. Great use of 'the force' in your analysis!
TumugonBurahinFun commercial! So cute :)
TumugonBurahinI completely agree with you: media does possess the power of The Force, especially commodified media. It's interesting to think that one of the basic functions of the media, passing information on to people, is also what creates the biggest challenges for it moving forward. You framed it so succintly in the second to the last paragraph: as a result of having a well-informed audience, the market becomes more segmented, and media responds by bombarding the consumers with various presentations of the things that they want in the most ubiquitous manner.
You know what? I love Star Wars so much! I have always dreamt of having my own Storm Trooper costume, Darth Vader helmet, or light saber. Ugh, I guess it's one of the cons of growing up in a household where the only person with a Y chromosome is the father. I would have wanted Star Wars action figures but I grew up with Barbie dolls and other girly stuff. Anyway, I really like how you integrated the power of the media with The Force.
TumugonBurahinI agree with you -- the power of the media upon us consumers could be compared with the powers of jedis and sith lords alike, and indeed, The Force is strong. Their mind tricks work on people almost effortlessly, and consumers become slaves of the media.
And lastly, that commercial is super cute!! (How I envy the kid!) I agree that rapid globalization, increased audience fragmentation, and hyper commercialism are present in the commercial. Funny (and interesting) how big brands use kids to get to the heart of adults.