What the Hail?

                Many companies go about advertising to demographics in different ways. In regards to male University students, the ads that seem to grab hold to them (or at least me) seem to be the exciting, crazy, motivational ads that make you want to just go out and live. They let you feel like you’re a powerful person, and I love that. Everyone says that we are the future, so why shouldn’t companies motivate us AND sell their products.

                The first company I would like to address is the Do the Dew campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD-ecR9uv1Q) Mountain Dew recently came out with. This commercial is AMAZING. They show multiple inspirations from musicians to pro snowboarders doing what they love. They show all of this then hit home with a quote from Lil Wayne, saying “Find your name, and DO YOU!”.  This is exactly what I mean by a company making us feel powerful and motivated. A quote from our very own textbook, “ Media studies sometimes stresses the individual role of media moguls...These characteristics of the media relate to the ideology of individualism that permeates Western culture.” (p. 189), that explains just what Mountain Dew has done here. They have shown individuals who have followed their dream, and they express want for individuality through emotion and the words of our idols.

                People may argue that by using all of these symbolic people are a form of brainwashing, and concerns may arise saying that people who listen to these icons are just trying to follow the same road, almost as if these people were stencils for our own very lives. However, I feel the diversity of media and the wide variety of iconic people with different talents, standpoints, ideas, and inventions strengthens our individuality. We get to see parts of different people, and in that we get to widen our individual horizons. “This is a form of consciousness raising that can give us more power and awareness in terms of understanding ourselves and others” (p. 191).

                It is commercials like this Mountain Dew one that really pops out at my demographic in a great way, and because of this I would say it is fair to say that companies can successfully advertise to us. They truly can grasp the attention of consumers and make them feel like they are an asset to this world, which I know from experience and friends that at this age may be difficult to feel. Thumbs up Mountain Dew!

Work Cited

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. 5th ed. Australia: Oxford University Press, 2012. 181-191. Print.