2-1

Assignment 2-1



Gieko has done it not once, but twice. First there was the Gieko gecko (say that fast 3 times) who won our hearts with his smooth accent and innocent ways. Mascot or icon, either way we all know who he is and what he stands for. If that wasn’t enough, Gieko started their caveman commercials. Why are they so popular? What made them icons? And what are people saying about them?

First a little history. According to Wikipedia, the most reliable source on the internet, ( that was typed with a grin), The GEICO Cavemen are characters and are trademarks of GEICO in a series of well-received television advertisements for the auto insurance company GEICO, that have aired from 2004 to present. The premise of the commercials is that GEICO advertises that using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it"; and that this slogan offends several cavemen, who not only still exist in modern society but live as intelligent, urbane bachelors. Why is this even funny? What part of that made them icons? Why did they even try to make a tv show out of it? There are fan sites, on-line FAQ’s, and they get millions off hit on you-tube.

I believe part of this phenomenon is that that representatives from Gieko roll with the joke about the cavemen. In 2008 the Gieko caveman commercials won the most popular American advertising icons award. Ted Ward, vice president of GEICO marketing was quoted as saying, “I called to congratulate the Cavemen for their win, but they weren't very excited. As you may know, they don't like us all that much."

Maybe it’s that part in all of us that knows what it feels like to be insulted. Maybe it’s the actors whose expressions say a thousand words. Maybe it is like a car wreck, you know you shouldn’t be watching but you cant help yourself. Whatever the reason, they are icons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3qzfTCDG4

Assignment 2-2
Icon Analysis

Three icons. Only three. There are a millions icons. No problem. Picking three that mean something to me, not so easy. I choose to highlight three very important women in music, Janice Joplin, Tina Turner and and Cher.Three different women with very different sounds.

It was the best of times, it was the worst, nope it was still the best of times. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Free love and spread it around. Out of a time where Hendricks was king and Woodstock was making a muddy mess on some guys farm came a plain looking women with a soulful voice. Some say she couldn’t carry a tune, but I say Janice was just pouring her heart out and sometimes that can be pain full. I choose Janice because she was larger then life and didn’t seem to care. To be an icon and loved by so many for her carefree attitude yet she always was true to herself. What Janice means to me I a time where there was less worries ( well no one really worried even if they should have) and a time where people were starting to express themselves – not always politically correct, not always clean and certainly they didn’t always care how they looked. Janice was no beauty but when she sang, she was beautiful.

Tina Tuner started with nothing and ended up with the world. Some of this she accomplished with the help of her husband, but I think her best work was when she went out on her own. To me she is strength and perseverance. I choose Tina because of her strength and her need to be her own women. So often women feel they cant do things along or are too afraid to leave a bad situation. Tina is still making music and looks great, even though she is in her 60’s. I choose Tina’s strength and her ability to change with the times. She is always true to the type of music she wants to sing but can change it to fit each music era as it goes by.

I choose Cher because she is larger then life. Again, another female artist who has withstood the test of time and has been doing her thing for 40 years (and doesn’t even look a day over 40 I might add). Cher is a different kind of icon – she is adored by millions and worshiped by the gay community. This icon to me represents a woman who had always been teased as a child for her Native American and Armenian background. Not only did she spend a short time in foster care but also suffers from Dyslexia. To me she is another woman who overcame many obstacles and never gave up on her dreams.

Three very different women from three very different times. All became icons but doing what they loved. I choose these women not so much because of their music, but because they never gave up or gave in.

Assignment 1-4

Twilight. There I said it out loud. How did this happen to me? I had heard the whispers, I had seen the posters, and I know that there was a large group of fans out there calling themselves Twilighters, Twi-hards and they started hundreds of fan web sights. I didn’t have time for such foolishness; if I wanted to read a good vampire novel then it would be back to Ann Rice for me.

That was before I managed to get a sinus infection, an ear infection and bronchitis all at the same time. I was home and very bored. So I flip through the pay per view movies and see Twilight. I have never read the books but I thought maybe I would watch the movie. This of course is a big no-no according to the Twilight pop culture. But if nothing else, maybe it would put me to sleep. It didn’t. I was glued to the TV. I didn’t even think about how sad it was for a 30 something year old women to be daydreaming about being a high schooler and in love with a vampire. After the movie I had to get the book. Well not just THE book, but the whole series. I read them ALL in 10 days.

Why did Twilight become part of pop culture? It’s the new Romeo and Juliet of the times. It’s the chance to pretend you are someone else. It allows you to think that there are men out there that will boil your blood, and might even drink a bit of it. It brings back the fantasy that unnatural things exist. I believe it was the next pop culture phenomenon after Harry Potter.

I believe that SJWilson said it best in her ALLVOICES report said it best, “And hence the appeal of such novels: they will remind you, or make you live summer days spent reading in a hammock, believing all the while that hidden worlds reside right in your back yard.”

SjWilson retrieved on August 23, 2009 from http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3829183-why-twilight-is-so-popular

Assignment 1-2

Popular Culture to me is an icon, a place everyone wants to me, and time people can’t let go of and that old song that plays on the radio which takes you back to a very specific time and place in our life.

For me, it means I am getting old. I don’t understand the need for twitter, having pants low enough to see my boxers and not caring what Britney Spears is up to. I am stuck in the pop culture of the 80’ – I love the music, the clothes and the general feeling of the times.

That being said, I am a TV reality junky, which I would say is very pop culture. This new way to entertain ourselves is certainly a pop culture movement and one of the few new ones I embrace.

I believe the understanding of popular culture is relevant to me in a business environment and in my present and future career for a couple of reasons. The first is not falling behind. New technologies, ways of doing business and understanding your markets is very important. As a human resources manager, I need to know what the employees are into and how to motivate them.

Second, it is important to know where we have been. Change can be a dirty word in business and understanding the cultures you are working with, help management to deliver change in a way that might be more acceptable.

It is important for my future career because I need to know what is next. Keeping an eye open for what the current and next trends will be can help make sure you are always up to date on skills so that you don’t become obsolete.

The artifact I feel is a pop culture artifact is the Ying Yang. Back in the 80’s you could find this symbol everywhere. To me, it has always meant balance. Finding your balance is the most important thing you can do for yourself. It’s a artifact of a religious culture taken by teenage kids who thought it made a cool tattoo. (No I wont show you mine).

First Blog Post EVER

Hello! This will be something new for me - wish I could have just used my facebook account, but then you might find out more about me then I would like to share :)