(4) Killa App

1) 'How to' Guide: Stellar Survey

As an aspiring marketer, I can appreciate the importance of receiving valuable feedback from your targeted audience. Not that marketers are the only groups that can benefit from feedback. Students, academics, business people, etc. can all utilize feedback to better their research, products, and/or services. One easy way to obtain feedback is through a survey, and now there are ways to create surveys online. I found this online survey making tool called Stellar Survey, which was created in 2009.
Stellar Survey is convenient because there is no need to make a profile or sign up to create a basic survey. The tool allows you to do three basic things:

1) design
2) distribute
3) analyze

DESIGN SURVEYS

Stellar Survey's competition are other survey making websites such as Surveymonkey.com. Although they offer the same basic services, Stellar Survey may be the best one for you because of their particular features and template.

Stellar Survey is comprehensive. They offer more than 25 different types of questions (from multiple choice to rating scales) to ensure that how you want your questions to be answered is possible. You can upload pictures to add more detail and specificity to your survey. Through pictures, you can provide examples of a product or an advertisement, etc. so respondents will be able to visualize exactly what you are conveying. Pictures also add personalization by putting your logo on the survey.

Along with designing the look of the survey, they can help you organize it. They utilize a form of ‘branching logic,’ meaning the order of the questions will follow a logical psychological progression. For instance, if a question does not apply to you, they can skip other irrelevant questions. Furthermore, related questions can be grouped together and/or randomized according to your preference. Randomized answers, multi-lingual versions of surveys, etc. are all available through Stellar Survey.

REACH THE AUDIENCE

Nowadays, the internet is the choice medium to receive and send information because of its easily widespread distribution. Stellar Survey offers different ways to distribute your survey and/or make it easily accessible online. There are three main ways: 1) send out a mass email; 2) post a link; 3) embed it on a webpage. Once its been sent out, you can continuously check the progress of the survey by tracking who and how many people have filled out your questionnaire at that point in time.

GET THE MOST OUT OF THE DATA

Stellar Survey will help you analyze the data. Although only you know the true significance of the results, the tool offers a way to organize results so that trends can be found. After collecting enough filled-out surveys, you can download the ‘sample report.’ Or, if you prefer, the data can be made into charts. The sample report simply provides the percent/total of how many people chose a specific answer in each question (Did anyone skip the question?). You can view the responses of a certain respondent. Lastly, you can filter through all the responses depending on your criteria. For example, if you only wanted to know the respondents’ gender, they will find that statistic for you.

Signing up for an account will give you access to premium packages (at different prices) and to better survey features. This may be a good investment if your related field of study or occupation requires constant feedback or collection of data for the purpose of improving your product/service.

2) More info on the tool

So why did I spend an entire post talking about this online survey making tool? Since the beginning of this blog, I've been talking non-stop about advertising, advertising, advertising, and its effects. But how do people know that advertising has a psychological affect on people in the first place? Through feedback!

A survey is such a useful way to gather such information because you can tailor the questions to solicit the answers you want. But I can see other reasons why a survey made through Stellar Survey is such a great way to get feedback.

Stellar Survey is cost-effective. In fact, it’s free. Of course, if you plan on continuously making surveys, signing up might be a good investment. It’s doable. Even if you’ve never made a survey before, Stellar Survey has the template you need to make a simple basic survey. And once your survey is made, it’s easy to send it out to the desired sampling population because it’s all done through the world wide web.

But again, why do a survey? Well, imagine that I want to know Asian American respondents’ reactions to an ad that depicts an Asian American as a “model minority.” I could create a survey with a picture of an appropriate ad, then ask questions about its effectiveness, accuracy, etc. Or I can be even more specific, and ask them directly about their experience and opinions about the stereotype. Through the survey, I can gather my own data to see if the answers support previous theories on advertising’s effects on identity formation! What an awesome idea!

If you're still in doubt of whether this tool can produce a real survey for real people, I decided to test out the tool... Yes, I created my own survey! I ran with the idea I just outlined. Take the survey and see for yourself.

***Click here to take survey

Or click on the link:
http://www.stellarsurvey.com/s.aspx?u=2D4ECC41-8292-4A9C-90CA-D52029437C79&

The reviews of previous users of Stellar Survey appear completely satisfied with their experience. A big reason is that the creators of the tool listen to its users (feedback, get it?). They constantly update the tool with new features in response to the users’ needs.

Here is what a few people had to say about it:

"I’ve been using the website for a couple of hours and its brilliant – it will definitely be recommended to people on my course."

"Enjoy working with your software - well done. In setting up trial surveys today, I find your interface to be excellent."

"Thank you for your prompt response, and the availability of this tool! I am in an MBA statistics course, and many of us are using your tool. You are turning a many of us into advocates for your product!"

"I looked at many survey sites and determined your site suited my needs the best."

Look at that! Actual proof of the tool's convenience and ease of use. People figured out how to use the tool in the span of only a few hours. Users found that the tool was able to accomodate to their specific needs. What's more, the reviews show that the tool can be used in real life situations. Although there are no statistics that say how many people are using the tool, it seems that satisfied users are recommending it to their friends, classmates, and co-workers. Through word of mouth, the number of people who know about and use Stellar Survey can grow significantly.

Despite the numerous advantages that surveys provide over other forms of data collection, everything has its limitations. One limitation is that although you can send the survey to a lot of people via the web, there is no way to guarantee that everyone who receive it will answer. You run the risk of not obtaining enough answers to make the data representative of your desired population. Another issue with the results is that their answers may not be indicative of an actual effect. To elaborate, if you are trying to assess if an advertisement prompted a person to buy a product, just because a respondent stated they bought the product doesn't mean it was a direct response to the advertisement. Another reason, such as a friend's recommendation, could have influenced them in their consumption decisions. Lastly, a survey is entirely dependent on self-response. You run the risk of analyzing data from respondents who may have purposely answered falsely. You rely on their motivation to respond entirely and accurately.

It comes down to knowing when to use the proper tool to produce the best results. The benefits of using a survey over other data collection tools can sometimes outweigh the limitations. To remedy the limitations, you have to be aware of where, when, and why errors can occur and then tailor the questions (and the overall survey) to lessen the possible negative results.

Surveys are an integral aspect of my line of discipline. So any tool that will help me create one is always welcome.

3) Stellar Survey Presentation

I'm not done with the tool quite yet! I believe so much in its usefulness that I created this handy presentation to re-elaborate my points. Besides, some people are much more visual in their cognition.

--> Stellar Survey <-- [Thanks Prezi!]

Check it out.

The presentation goes through the steps of creating a survey through this website. It's designed to look like a survey (for obvious reasons...).

First, it breaks down the aspects of (1) designing (with questions, pictures and organization) (2) distributing (through email, link, or embedding), and 3) analyzing (with charts and the report).

Then, it states all the good reasons why you should use the site. As a reminder, surveys provide valuable feedback, and the tool itself is cost-effective (free!) and do-able. Next, I provided an example survey theme: Effects of stereotypes in advertisements.

I thought it would be important to show you what real users have said about the tool, and they were all positive reviews. They thought it was "brilliant" and "excellent." They were becoming "advocates" of the tool and believed that it satisfied their "needs."

Lastly, I showed a survey that I created myself.

If I can use the tool, then you can too! If you're in a discipline like me that benefits from feedback, then Stellar Survey may be a useful tool for you.

Looking Forward

I've been writing in this blog for the past few months now, and its been a blast. I appreciate it so much more because I was able to write about something that I am truly passionate about. It's one thing to say that you care about a topic, such as the role of Asian Pacific Islanders in the media, and another thing to actively engage in the subject by researching what other people have said or done, joining in on the conversation, and furthering the discussion through your own voice.

On the other side of a couple of term papers/projects and final examinations is graduation. The all too real future is as close to me as is the end of this blog post.

In my state of contemplation, I can't help but look forward. I said in my first ever post for this blog that I aspire to bring the Asian Pacific Islander demographic into greater prominence in American culture (VERBATIM) through my future profession. I am almost to that point. Soon, I will have the opportunity to try and make a real difference, and after all that I've learned, how can I not? I think I owe it to myself and my identity as well.

But what is the future state of Asian American portrayals in advertising? I can only imagine. I believe that any change that does happen will be slow coming but inevitable. Yes, stereotypes still continue to persist this day, but we've come a long way in the past couple hundred years. And advertising has always proven to be versatile and adaptable. When society is ready to change, so will advertising. Advertising may even become the catalyst for this change. But as long as people who are in the position to change the current status quo are aware of the issues, such as myself, then maybe change will occur a lot faster than expected.

Quizno's $5

Let's analyze another fast food ad, shall we?



I highlight this commercial because

(1) it is a BLATANT knock-off of Subway's $5 footlong promotion (Come on, Quizno's! Can't you come up with your own unique marketing strategy?) and
(2) it features an Asian character.

Credit goes to them for choosing an Asian as their main character. But how arbitrary is it that Quizno's chose this setting for their commercial? How come she's not placed in a home setting, or in a restaurant for that matter (after all, this is a fast food commercial). No. it appears as if she is the owner of that small business.

Doesn't that sound familiar? Another model minority Asian who is business- and success- oriented. But something strikes me as odd. She is Chinese and the owner of a LAUNDROMAT… I guess the commercial decided to take the stereotype further by depicting another stereotype that is particular to the Chinese ethnicity. The commercial could have used an Asian character in any other location but they chose to depict a known Asian stereotypical setting. Why? Because they thought people would relate? Because people would understand the reference and find it amusing? I don’t see what’s so amusing, but maybe I’m one of the few people who don’t get their sense of humor. And if people, just as I did, can instantly recognize that subtle stereotype, than perhaps the stereotypes isn’t so subtle after all.

So much for perpetuating more stereotypes in American society.

I’m not a big fan of the commercial anyways. Why would an Asian woman, or anyone for that matter, want to eat $5? Oh that’s right. So they can remember that Quizno’s sandwiches taste so much more better than dollar bills… yum.

Wendy's 3conomics

(1)


(2)


(3)


So, I was a little bit confused by these commercials. The gist of it is that Wendy's is trying to advertise their new money-saving promotion where you can buy 3 burgers for 99 cents each. They call this "3conomics." Appropriately, they have three characters - 3 guys for 3 sandwiches.

Out of the three guys, two of them are white and the third is Asian. The choice of characters is what confused me. First, assuming that they are co-workers, they are all dressed differently. While the white men are dressed more casually, even ready to do physical labor, the Asian man is dressed in a button shirt and tie. Also noticeable is their difference in sizes. Sandwiched in between the two men, the Asian looks distinctly smaller.

I feel like this characterization is supposed to be a play on the Asian 'model minority.' But rather than exuding the superficial positive connotation of the image, this commercial gives it a more negative spin, even making fun of the stereotype. The Asian man is wearing the tie to indicate that he is at a different level as the other two in the work place. But he comes off as super 'nerdy' (check out that bowl haircut!). What's more, even if he is at a higher level working position, the other two still appear to dominate over him as indicated by their number (2 vs. 1), spatial positioning around the Asian man, their larger size, and their attitudes and behavior to him (Especially in ad #1. They don't acknowledge that he is there!). He doesn't even say anything 'intelligent.'

I don't get the choice in characters for this ad. Maybe the middle commercial could be considered funny, but the first one...now, what's that all about!?

More Info on the Tool

More thoughts on why Stellar Survey is a good idea.

The reviews of previous users of Stellar Survey appear completely satisfied with their experience. A big reason is that the creators of the tool listen to its users (feedback, get it?). They constantly update the tool with new features in response to the users’ needs.

Here is what a few people had to say about it:

"I’ve been using the website for a couple of hours and its brilliant – it will definitely be recommended to people on my course."

"Enjoy working with your software - well done. In setting up trial surveys today, I find your interface to be excellent."

"Thank you for your prompt response, and the availability of this tool! I am in an MBA statistics course, and many of us are using your tool. You are turning a many of us into advocates for your product!"

"I looked at many survey sites and determined your site suited my needs the best."

Look at that! Actual proof of the tool's convenience and ease of use. People figured out how to use the tool in the span of only a few hours. Users found that the tool was able to accomodate to their specific needs. What's more, the reviews show that the tool can be used in real life situations. If some can apply surveys for their MBA statistics course, then why not to asses advertising effects? Although there are no statistics that say how many people are using the tool, it seems that satisfied users are recommending it to their friends, classmates, and co-workers. Through word of mouth, the number of people who know about and use Stellar Survey can grow significantly.
----

Despite the numerous advantages that surveys provide over other forms of data collection, everything has its limitations. One limitation is that although you can send the survey to a lot of people via the web, there is no way to guarantee that everyone who receive it will answer. You run the risk of not obtaining enough answers to make the data representative of your desired population. Another issue with the results is that their answers may not be indicative of an actual effect. To elaborate, if you are trying to assess if an advertisement prompted a person to buy a product, just because a respondent stated they bought the product doesn't mean it was a direct response to the advertisement. Another reason, such as a friend's recommendation, could have influenced them in their consumption decisions. Lastly, a survey is entirely dependent on self-response. You run the risk of analyzing data from respondents who may have purposely answered falsely. You rely on their motivation to respond entirely and accurately.

It comes down to knowing when to use the proper tool to produce the best results. The benefits of using a survey over other data collection tools can sometimes outweigh the limitations. To remedy the limitations, you have to be aware of where, when, and why errors can occur and then tailor the questions (and the overall survey) to lessen the possible negative results.
----

If you're still in doubt of whether this tool can produce a real survey for real people, I decided to test out the tool... Yes, I created my own survey! I ran with the idea I outlined in the previous post.

***Click here to take survey

Or click on the link:
http://www.stellarsurvey.com/s.aspx?u=2D4ECC41-8292-4A9C-90CA-D52029437C79&

Take my survey and try the tool out for yourself!

Stellar Survey

So why did I spend an entire post talking about this online survey making tool? Since the beginning of this blog, I've been talking non-stop about advertising, advertising, advertising, and its effects. But how do people know that advertising has a psychological affect on people in the first place? Through feedback!

A survey is such a useful way to gather such information because you can tailor the questions to solicit the answers you want. But I can see other reasons why a survey made through Stellar Survey is such a great way to get feedback.

Stellar Survey is cost-effective. In fact, it’s free. Of course, if you plan on continuously making surveys, signing up might be a good investment. It takes away the cost of paper and printing and distributing…which brings me to my next point. It’s doable. Even if you’ve never made a survey before, Stellar Survey has the template you need to make a simple basic survey. And once your survey is made, it’s easy to send it out to the desired sampling population because it’s all done through the world wide web.

But again, why do a survey? Well, imagine that I want to know Asian American respondents’ reactions to an ad that depicts an Asian American as a “model minority.” I could create a survey with a picture of an appropriate ad, then ask questions about its effectiveness, accuracy, etc. Or I can be even more specific, and ask them directly about their experience and opinions about the stereotype. Through the survey, I can gather my own data to see if the answers support previous theories on advertising’s effects on identity formation! What an awesome idea!

Surveys are an integral aspect of my line of discipline. So any tool that will help me create one is always welcome.

'How to' Guide: Survey Making

As an aspiring marketer, I can appreciate the importance of receiving valuable feedback from your targeted audience. Nowadays, the internet is the choice medium to receive and send information because of its easily widespread distribution. One easy way to obtain feedback is through a survey, and now there are ways to create surveys online. I found this online survey making tool called Stellar Survey.

Stellar Survey is convenient because there is no need to make a profile or sign up to create a basic survey. What’s more, it’s free! The tool allows you to do three basic things:

1) design
2) distribute
3) analyze

DESIGN SURVEYS

Stellar Survey is comprehensive. They offer more than 25 different types of questions (from multiple choice to rating scales) to ensure that how you want your questions to be answered is possible. You can upload pictures to add more detail and specificity to your survey. Through pictures, you can provide examples of a product or an advertisement, etc. so respondents will be able to visualize exactly what you are conveying. Pictures also add personalization by putting your logo on the survey.

Along with designing the look of the survey, they can help you organize it. They utilize a form of ‘branching logic,’ meaning the order of the questions will follow a logical psychological progression. For instance, if a question does not apply to you, they can skip other irrelevant questions. Furthermore, related questions can be grouped together and/or randomized according to your preference. Randomized answers, multi-lingual versions of surveys, etc. are all available through Stellar Survey.

REACH THE AUDIENCE

Stellar Survey offers different ways to distribute your survey and/or make it easily accessible. There are three main ways: 1) send out a mass email; 2) post a link; 3) embed it on a webpage. Once its been sent out, you can continuously check the progress of the survey by tracking who and how many people have filled out your questionnaire at that point in time.

GET THE MOST OUT OF THE DATA

Stellar Survey will help you analyze the data. Although only you know the true significance of the results, the tool offers a way to organize results so that trends can be found. After collecting enough filled-out surveys, you can download the ‘sample report.’ Or, if you prefer, the data can be made into charts. The sample report simply provides the percent/total of how many people chose a specific answer in each question (Did anyone skip the question?). You can view the responses of a certain respondent. Lastly, you can filter through all the responses depending on your criteria. For example, if you only wanted to know the respondents’ gender, they will find that statistic for you.

Signing up for an account will give you access to premium packages (at different prices) and to better survey features. This may be a good investment if your related field of study or occupation requires constant feedback or collection of data for the purpose of improving your product/service.

Status Quo

For these past couple of weeks, I've been pouring over all that research I collected, and I'm not too crazy about what I've seen. Here is what previous research has to say about my topic thus far. Maybe you'll share some of my indignation.

Because Asian Americans are fast becoming one of the largest growing minorities in the United States, marketers have started to look at them as a prime target audience. Marketers can pick and choose how they wish to depict Asian Americans depending on their advertising strategiea. But what if those images are limited or negative?

Asian Americans are generalized as a single group, which greatly underestimates the different ways to define one’s ethnic identity. Race has long been the center of many heated debates, especially concerning its true definition. Race may entail one’s physical or behavioral characteristics…but a new definition I found focuses on an individual’s lived experience as a member of a racial group and its social meaning. Does that mean that we create our own definition on what it means to be a part of the ‘Asian American race?’ On the other hand, people may like to define their identity based on their ‘ethnicity,’ or the culture of their country of origin. And Asians in American can be US born, immigrants, or non-citizens. These complexities are important to consider.

Do advertisers even pay attention to all these nuances? Not really. Research that looked at both television and magazine ads found that Asian Americans are greatly underrepresented. If they are in the ad, they are only in particular places and settings, specifically technology, business, or science magazines. They are only shown at the work place (rather than the home) and engaging in business (rather than social) relationships.

Unsurprisingly, this is consistent with the ‘model minority’ stereotype I blogged about in an earlier post. As with all stereotypes, it assumes that a group is only fit to play a certain role, which bars their entry into other areas of society! Maybe some statistics support the stereotype (high income and education levels, people working in managerial professions), but again, it does not apply to everyone.


Theories try to explain the effect advertising may have on identity formation. First, the Social Cognitive Theory states that simple repetition, which is a typical advertising technique, cause viewers to learn from the media. Viewers may not necessarily copy the media, but images can provide a foundation and example of socially accepted behavior. The Expectancy Theory states repeated exposure to media portrayals potentially create and reinforce social expectations in others about a group. Since Asian Americans are considered “model minorities,” they will be expected to continually perform at a superior level. Cultivation Theory suggests that eventually, repeated exposure of a stereotype will not just reinforce, but will result in public acceptance of the image as reality. Lastly, the theory of ethnic self-awareness is instant and temporary. Self-awareness relies on a prime - a model of the same race can produce perceived similarity. When viewers feel similar to the model, the more likely they will categorize themselves as the same race/ethnicity as well as feel targeted by the advertisement.

Where does my indignation come from? I don’t like the idea that research shows us how limited Asian American portrayals are in the media and that there ARE theories that explain how this could affect us. Advertisements have great power to affect our 'lived experiences' and influence our definition of what it means to be Asian American rather than us figuring it out ourselves. I understand that it may be difficult for each and every advertisement to be sensitive to every single one of us out there, because it’s simply not possible. But is it too much to ask for an image to be neutral or at least show us doing other things?

Changing the World...

One ad at a time.

At least, that's a long term hope and goal.

As a new blogger, all one can really ask for is that people read one's blog and maybe post some nice and interesting comments (*wink *wink). But if something you say or write can serve as a catalyst for real change, even in just one individual, well, then that's more than anyone can dream of.

There is a cornucopia of papers, critiques, articles, and research out there dedicated to analyzing advertising strategies and their effects on numerous aspects of society, which I can only begin to touch upon within the limitations of my blog. This information is so easy to find, even as new information is being discovered everyday. I think the implications of these studies won't necessarily force some BIG sweeping change...oh, but the effect is still there, and it's quite a subtle one.

I'm talking about AWARENESS.

Awareness for who? Advertising agencies or the average citizen? Well, I suppose both. (Now, my focus has always been on identity information, but of course awareness can be applied to other effects as well.) I think that studies will show advertising agencies that the messages and images they create in their ads, especially if they are negative or incorrect or not there at all, can have a debilitating effect on one's identity. If they become aware, then maybe they will be inspired to change their previous strategies.

And what if advertising agencies don't change? Then it's up to the average citizen to be aware and make informed decisions on how they wish to see themselves. Because of the stress of going to school, joining activities, looking for jobs, etc. for the purpose of figuring out the kind of person we want to be, we sometimes turn to other people and other things for 'inspiration'. But what if we can look at these "things" with a critical eye, to stop and say "wait a minute..."?

Do you just want to be another stereotype?

Advertising is pervasive and persuasive. And it doesn't seem to be disappearing or changing anytime soon. In the meantime, we can just be aware of it.

The Next Top Model Minority

Model minorities, huh? "Whiz kids," eh?

Well...as far as stereotypes go, I suppose it could be worst...

Waaaait... How could anything that's considered a stereotype be good? It's a STEREOTYPE.

Today, in that advertising class I mentioned a long time ago, we finally got into the topic of ethnic representation in advertising. We managed to talk about African Americans and Latinos, but where are the Asian Americans??? EXACTLY. Aparently, there just isn't enough research that talks about Asian American representation in advertising.

Regardless, the effects of stereotyping in the media can definitely be applied to any ethnic group. According to the Cultivation Theory, those who are heavily exposed to media are more likely to have similar views to what is shown in the media. If the images are mostly negative, than people are likely to regard the ethnic group negatively. And if people rarely have any exposure to that particular group, then all they have are those preconceived stereotypes!

So, the advertisements that do exist say that we are the model minorities. Apparently, model minorities are supposed to be good at math, business oriented, technologically savvy, and geared toward success. It's not just advertisements saying it, but television shows and movies as well.

Do you know Dr. Christina Yang from ABC's Grey's Anatomy? (Sandra Oh, love her!)


OR Dr. George Huang from NBC's Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit?


Again, not so bad as far as stereotypes go, but that sounds like a lot of pressure. Actually, that just sounds down right stressful trying to live up to such an image. I suppose it's okay to think of someone as the model minority when they actually fit the profile, but I don't support making any generalizations because very rarely do people fit every single one of those characteristics (don't ask me to do a calculus problem..I'm a COMM major! jk jk).

Yet, if advertisements keep portraying Asian Americans as the model minority, then that will just perpetuate the stereotype even further in society. People will begin or continue to regard Asian Americans in that way. That pressure can do a lot of harm to our relationship with other ethnic groups. By presenting us as the "model," does that mean we are what other ethnic groups should aspire to be like? They can use us an example to say that "if Asian Americans can make it in mainstream society, than why can't you"? Not at all! By focusing on our successes, it does nothing to highlight the enormous amount of successes achieved by other minority groups.

And what about identity formation? What if the images drive 10 year old Asian American kids to take up extra calculus classes on a Saturday, join chess tournaments, take up the piano or the violin (yes, of course I am stereotyping!)...well, power to them, until they suffer from over-work and depression because they feel that they can't quite live up to the perfect image formulated of them.
-----


Here's an ad for Amp'd Mobile, a telecommunications service. See?! The worker breaks his composure while he's by himself but then reverts back to the reserved businessman when a co-worker joins him in the bathroom. What a good model minority.

Why can't people just be themselves, instead of trying to be what others think they should be?

Topics and Topos

Alright. So, a few posts back, I set up the context for a research topic that I thought would be interesting to delve deeper into.

My topic: targeted advertising
Tentative thesis: I propose that the prevalence of racial stereotypes, specifically about Asian Americans, in the media will have an effect on ethnic identity formation.

Unfortunately, the topic is far too broad, and the research I found broadened my scope of understanding even more. I can see this subject branching off into many different tangents… and some don’t even have anything to do with advertising.

My research kept giving me consistent data in that the main stereotypes of Asian Americans are that of the model minority, the hard worker, the business oriented, the smart one, or the technologically savvy. If I were to compare and contrast this with media representations of other minorities, I would say that these images are relatively positive (Asian Americans are not portrayed as gangsters, or hoodlums, or hypersexual, etc.). Because these images are considered positive, many would assume that Asian Americans are one minority group that has had a pretty easy time of assimilating into the United States. However, assimilation is one of those topics that’s been done before…

Were these images really created by the white majority? If so, then why must they be the ones who decide what images of minorities exist? Is this a battle between inferior/superior, dominant/subordinate? Perhaps I can make some assumptions from this. The United States has a history of imperialism. Even though relationships between nations have changed, it has been an evolution to get to this point. Maybe the persistence of racial stereotypes is a byproduct or even is a remnant of this long struggle between the oppressed and the oppressor...

Did you know that the Philippines was once a commonwealth of the United States? The Philippines is a very diverse country and derives much of its culture from indigenous, Spanish, Chinese, Muslim, and American influences. Yet, it’s funny how the American/European ideals appear to dominate even in the Philippines. From much of the Filipino television shows and movies I’ve seen, the actors/actresses/entertainers don’t even look like your “typical” Filipino. They have a very distinct “European” look with light skin tone. It’s no wonder we’re having such a hard time negotiating our ethnic identity when portrayals of our own people don’t appear in the US or Filipino media! I can see where much of the confusion is coming from. The fact that the Philippines emphasizes this particular ideal of beauty has had a lot of social consequences. The pressure this places on Filipino women is astounding. The drastic measures they take to live up to this ideal! I don’t even want to get into the types of beauty products women have resorted to which claim to help “whiten one's skin.” And these products are actually very harmful to your health! Some have been found to contain mercury...

So far I’ve taken a look at this topic from a social standpoint with underlying ethical values. Perhaps I can apply this ethical lens back to advertising. Is the existence of stereotypes due to institutional racism or individual bias? But can I even make such a claim about racism? Because despite the negative impact these media portrayals have, ultimately, do advertisers have the moral responsibility to present positive and correct images of Asian Americans? Do people in the advertising business even see this is as an ethical problem? Do they even recognize that it’s happening, and if so, are they open to creating imaginative solutions to the problem?

I made the claim a long time ago that advertising influences society and I still believe it does, especially in terms of identity formation. But advertising may also reflect society. Maybe these portrayals are just reflections of the images that Asian Americans put on themselves. It may come down to it that their own cultural and social norms and beliefs are what motivate them to strive for perfection, and advertisements are proof of that. Then, how is it the advertisers’ fault?

Wow. It looked like I just went off on a rant. But this really got me thinking, and I feel like I came up with quite a few good points. Now my problem is finding which point I’m interested in researching the most!

Do you have any ideas?

Tour of Pageflake

Convenience is key.

I present a one-stop source for everything you want to know (or didn't know you wanted to know!) about advertising and Asian Pacific American identity. I was able to do this through Pageflakes, which is a great site that allows you to easily create your own webpage through the use of "flakes." These flakes enable you to display and arrange any of your favorite sites all in one place... as long as they have an RSS feed.

This is what you can expect to find on my page:

RSS FEEDS

RSS feeds are very convenient in that they let you follow a website without having to go to the original page every single time. If you link to a website's RSS feed, you will automatically see any updates that are made on the page itself. On the right side of my pageflake, I have listed 11 RSS feeds. Now, as you can recall from a previous post, I struggled a lot with finding blogs that tailored to my very specific topic of interest. The majority of blogs talked about advertising in general. To compensate, I found a few very good Asian American culture blogs. So, on my pageflake you will find my RSS feeds divided into two sub-categories: 1) culture blogs and 2) advertising blogs. They will be updated whenever the blogs' writers post something new. I found a few posts that touched on Asian American stereotypes and the cultural consequences of targeted advertising (1, 2, 3). You may have to wait, but if you're patient, you might find a few gems that pertain to exactly what you are looking for.

ACTIVE SEARCHES

On the top left, there are a couple of search engines available. The first two are the Universal News Search and Universal Blog Search flakes. To get started, I've already entered some key words that I thought would turn up some good information. For News Search, I used the term "Asian Americans in advertising." Since experience has shown that Asian Americans are rarely shown in advertising, whatever information, pages, articles, etc. that come up should give some good insights on how (if) they are being portrayed and what that means. Under Blog Search, I already entered a blog that I knew about and thought was interesting but did not have a workable RSS feed. If you type in "Asian Americans in advertising" you can try to find some other good blogs, but as stated before, they are very few to come by. And just for fun, I've added a Wikipedia search because the site is a good source for any background information and context. Lastly, there is a video search. On the off-chance you do find a commercial portraying Asian Americans (e.g. Skittles), you can look them up here.

DIIGO BOOKMARKS

Diigo is another social bookmarking site (remember Delicious?). When I was researching for academic peer-reviewed articles on my topic, I bookmarked them onto Diigo. I found some really great articles that talked specifically about the types of Asian American stereotypes found in magazine and television advertisements as well as their effects on identity and personal self-awareness. Just like with Delicious, I was able to organize all my bookmarks by using several tags. What's different is that on my pageflake, I added RSS feeds of my Diigo tags. The tags I used are "advertising," "asianamerican," "marketing," and "identity." Therefore, articles that I saved with those specific tags will show up in the RSS feeds, and any future article I add on Diigo that contain those same tags will also be added to the feed.

SOULMATE'S BOOKMARKS

As I predicted, my soulmate proved to be another good source on my topic (In fact, it was through him that I found some more interesting culture blogs). Similar to Diigo, I added RSS feeds of his bookmarked articles/pages based on his tags. The tags that I believed would garner some useful information were "advertising" and "asianamerican." And just to be a bit more specific, I added on RSS feed of the two tags together. Hopefully, an article that MixedMediaWatch bookmarks as "advertising + asianamerican" will show up on my pageflake. You will find his feeds on the bottom left.

ZOTERO/CITELINE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lastly, I did a bit of extra work by reading some of those peer reviewed articles. I did this through Citeline by way of Zotero (It's super convenient because they create a bibliography for you!). My annotations will tell you exactly what the studies were trying to discern, how they collected their data, what were the results, and why they were important. Most importantly, the annotations will tell you how the articles differentiate from each other. So if you want an article specifically on stereotypes, or one specifically about identity, then you can just read the article descriptions and see which ones would be most helpful to you. As you can see, I also evaluated several books. They were good sources because they took an in-depth look at their respective topics as well as provided a context. The book by Chou and Feagin concentrated on a specific Asian American stereotype (the "model minority"), and Dr. Philip's book gave a very helpful analysis of how minorities formulate their identities. Both findings relate to and can be applied to the other online articles that I found. The bibliography is located on the left side of the pageflake.

The information you need is right here in a user-friendly (and might I add, visually appealing) format! I hope this saves you hours and hours of internet exploring. Happy searching!

Citations and Annotations (cont).

I KNEW you wanted more fascinating resources on Asian Pacific American identity and advertising!

3) Taylor, Charles R., Stacy Landreth, and Hae-Kyong Bang. "Asian Americans in Magazine Advertising: Portrayals of the "Model Minority." Journal of Macromarketing 25.2 (2005): 163-174.

The purpose of the study was to examine whether portrayals of Asian Americans in magazine advertisements have changed over time. In particular, hypotheses were formulated on 1) the frequency of appearance, 2) the types of representations, and 3) the settings/context in which they were placed. Data was collected through the observation of a sample of magazines. The results supported all the hypotheses; although there have been slight improvements over time, images were still consistent with the ideal of the “model minority” – the notion that Asian Americans are educated, technologically savvy, good at math, business oriented, etc. Although these stereotypes appear positive, they are limited and actually have damaging consequences on one’s peer relationships, self-motivation, and assimilation due to the large amount of pressure to live up to the image. Also, reinforced stereotypes are dangerous to society for they may eventually become accepted as reality. Therefore, the study has important implications for future advertising. Advertisers should portray Asian Americans in a wide variety of depictions/contexts because, just like a study cited earlier by Deshpande and Forehand, the mere presence of an ethnic minority in an advertisement influence viewers of the same ethnic group, and non-stereotyped portrayals are the ones that produce the most positive effect.

4) Mastro, Dana E., and Susannah R. Stern. "Representations of Race in Television Commercials: A Content Analysis of Prime-time Advertising." Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 47.4 (2003): 638-647.

The researchers of this study looked at the portrayals of minorities in television commercials. Their hypotheses were based on the Social Cognitive Theory which states that simple repetition, a strategy characteristic of advertising messages, cause people to learn from the media, and viewers are more likely to emulate models that they perceive to be similar to self, especially of similar racial backgrounds. They evaluated commercial images on their 1) frequency, 2) representation, and 3) quality. Although they looked at numerous racial groups, findings concerning Asian Americans were most relevant to my topic. Coding of prime-time commercials produced these results: Asian Americans were found to be underrepresented and only depicted in a minor capacity. Furthermore, Asian Americans were found mostly in technology ads, shown working, and not put in familial settings. These representations are consistent with the image of the “model minority” (Taylor, Landreth, & Bang). Lastly, Asian American models were young in age and passive. According to the Social Cognitive Theory, repeated exposure to these somewhat negative depictions may prime Asian Americans into the image of the hardworking, technological, but submissive minority. Just like images of Asian Americans in magazine ads, television commercials have progressed in their portrayals of minorities, but are still unfortunately limited in their scope.

A couple more resources that can be found in the library or bookstore nearest you!

5) Chou, Rosalind S., and Joe R. Feagin. The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2008.

6) Philip, Cheri. Asian American Identities: Racial & Ethnic Identity Issues in the Twenty-First Century. Youngstown: Cambria Press, 2007.

Citations and Annotations

Time for some critical thinking.

My topic: The prevalence of stereotypical representations of minorities, specifically Asian Pacific Americans, in modern advertising and their consequences on ethnic identity. Here are a couple of the thought-provoking articles/studies that I found.

1) Forehand, Mark R., and Rohit Deshpande. "What We See Makes Us Who We Are: Priming Ethnic Self-awareness and Advertising Response." Journal of Marketing Research 38.3 (2001): 336-348.

The authors, researchers at the University of Washington and Harvard Business School, hypothesize that the process of ‘ethnic self-awareness’ occurs when people are exposed to a ‘prime’ that compels them to categorize themselves as members of a certain ethnic group. For example, the strategic use of verbal or visual cues, such as the presence of a spokesperson of the same ethnicity or the direct naming of an ethnic group, in targeted advertising may prompt this self-awareness. The researchers conducted two experiments in which they varied the appearance of targeted advertisements, the targeted audience being Asian Americans, among a diverse group of participants. Their hypothesis was strongly supported; Asian Americans were more likely to respond positively as well as more likely to self-report themselves as a certain ethnicity when they were exposed to the prime. However, ethnic self-awareness cannot be confused with ethnic identity. Ethnic identity is the already existing tendency to identify oneself as being a member of a group, whereas ethnic self-awareness is characterized by its momentary effect. Viewers with a low sense of ethnic identity may still become temporarily self-aware if prompted. Therefore, this study has important implications. Advertising agencies should be made aware of this phenomenon because for Asian Americans who many not have a strong ethnic identification, advertisements, especially those that contain positive and/or negative stereotypical images, may skew their sense of self-awareness.

2) Appiah, Osei. "Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian American Adolescents' Responses to Culturally Embedded Ads." Howard Journal of Communications 12.1 (2001): 29-48.

The researcher from Iowa State University looked at how adolescents responded to advertisements, specifically whether the presence of racial minorities and cultural cues had a positive effect on their viewing. Cultural cues are the values, symbols, traditions, etc. that are indicative of a certain racial group. Research indicates the most effective ads are ones that contain characters viewers perceive to be most similar to themselves, and will therefore identify with them and believe the ad is intended for them. Viewers will also be more affected by ads that are strongly culturally embedded with cues that pertain to their racial group. Further, the Distinctiveness Theory posits that ethnicity has a much more profound effect if the group is considered to be the numeric minority. This study differed in that the researcher looked at how Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans responded to print ads only targeted to Blacks. These ads varied in Black models and Black cultural cues. Results supported research in that the similar race of the character was the most important predictor of the adolescents’ responses to the ads. Cultural cues did have an effect only if they were believed to be relevant to the lives of the audience. Hispanics and Asian Americans, although not the target audience of the ad, still responded favorably because they related to groups that were also considered to be the minority. The study pertains to my topic in that the theories can be applied to ads that specifically target Asian Americans and will hopefully produce the same results. Future advertisements should consider the amount of racial models and types of cultural cues present if they hope to produce the desired affect on the audience.

Diversity is Racist?

Maintaining a soulmate is a constant working progress.

Therefore, I want to give a shoutout to MixedMediaWatch (Hello!) by elaborating on something that I found on his profile.

He bookmarked a page entitled “It’s ‘racist’ to ask for more diversity in the ad industry?” The link took me to a blog post in which the author responds to a letter to the editor published in an issue of Advertising Age. In the letter, the Ad Age reader critiques the NYC Commission on Human Rights’ request for more racial diversity in the hiring practices of advertising agencies. He argues that their efforts are actually much more racist than the problem they are trying to correct. Some of his exact points:

“What the commission requests is much more racist in its core—as it will mean that, for example, a white copywriter or creative director with a better portfolio or more appropriate experience should be neglected in favor of a black candidate just because of a “minority quota.”"

"And how about the percentage of black students in Ivy League colleges? Or how about a “white-player quota” on NBA basketball teams?"

“By the way, do you ever wonder how many white vs. black candidates apply for each top agency position? Of course, when 90% or more are white, the end result would be quite obvious.”

The blog author's counterpoints are equally compelling. This post really forced me to broaden my thinking on the issue of advertising and minority representation. As much as targeted advertising concerns me, my vision has been narrow in that I failed to even consider the source itself – the advertising agency. It’s already difficult trying to enter into such a competitive job industry, but are the decisions on who gets hired based on equal opportunity, racism, or both? Is it possible that the uneven representation of minorities inside the advertising industry corresponds to the uneven representation of minorities in advertising itself? Is it too much of a stretch to argue that if non-Asian Pacific Americans are creating ads to this demographic, it would have an effect on their marketing and advertising strategies? Could it all connect?

In any case, this would be a promising topic to delve further into, say, a research project. Now, although the letter focused on the age-old battle of ‘black’ vs. ‘white,’ the results of the Commission’s campaign can have just as strong consequences on other minorities, such as, Asian Pacific Americans, and my own future aspirations.

Meet MixedMediaWatch

My soulmate.

Our courtship was a difficult and strange one. Difficult because it took me a very long time to find him, and strange because we’ve never even spoken to each other. In fact, I don’t even know his name. We are linked by our mutual affinity for the tag “advertising.”

I found my soulmate as I was exploring Delicious, which, as you will remember from my previous post, is a social bookmarking site. I eventually stumbled upon his page as I was searching bookmarks for specific tags. I had typed in the tags “advertising” and “asianamerican,” and the rest is history.

Mixed Media Watch has a total of 137 tags that cover a wide range of topics from “academia” to “yellowperil.” What I discovered was that his tags related to a couple of recurring themes, such as diversity and social issues. For example, his top 10 tags included “africanamerican” and “asianamerican” as well as “raciststereotypes” and “racism.” His tags are what drew me to his profile because it appears that we share a lot of the same interests relating to culture and community. Although his attention is not as specific as mine, for he does not look at only one ethnic group, he does show concern for the proper representation and treatment of minorities.

However, what really resonated with me were his bookmarks under the tag “advertising.” Although he only had nine advertising bookmarks, they, of course, pertained to the subject of racial stereotyping. This is exactly what I hope to touch upon in my blog, and Mixed Media Watch proved to be an excellent resource on this topic. It helped that he was very specific on how he organized his tags. First, each tag had a list of related tags, so it was very easy for me to find those advertising bookmarks that also talked about Asian Americans (2 out of the 9 bookmarks). Secondly, he was very thorough because each bookmark had a comment or abstract. This way, I was able to read the descriptions of the articles without even having to click on them and already see which would be the most useful.

I found a few blogs which I promptly added on to my blog roll. There were also a lot of great articles and sites. One bookmark took me to a blog post which talked about the lack of diversity in the advertising agency due to current hiring practices. This article really got me thinking. Up to this point, I had only been concentrating on representation in actual advertisements and not in the actual business. Isn’t it possible that the lack of minorities in advertising could be an influencing factor on how advertisements are aimed toward minorities? This could be an awesome topic to write about in future blog posts.

Another bookmark took me to a press release about how advertising firms are starting to consider the Asian American market but have such a limited view on about what this ethnic group is interest in – gadgets, anime, and video games. Consequently, the types of products that they will market to Asian Americans will also be narrow in its scope. Wow. Another great topic for a future blog post.

I believe that a mark of a great relationship is the potential to grow and learn, and in the short amount of time since I found Mixed Media Watch, I’ve already learned a great deal. A soulmate is very hard to find. Luckily, I’ve found one that I believe will be there for me whenever I need another great resource.

It's Delicious

Do you ever feel like you have way too many thoughts and information and wish you had some way to keep track of them all?

No…? Maybe…?

Maybe not. But it never hurts to keep some aspects of your life organized. For instance, people can learn quite a bit about me by the activities that I engage in online because there are certain websites, blogs, pages, etc. that I visit all the time. Multiple times. In one day.

And now, I have recently discovered a way to keep all of these things in one place online – through social bookmarking sites. The premise of these social bookmarking sites is that they allow people to store and organize “bookmarks” of their favorite websites and eventually share them with others. The one I would recommend, and the one that I just recently joined, is called


Now, I am not particularly savvy when it comes to technology. When I first heard about these sites, I thought they were beyond my capabilities. (Forget trying to negotiate one’s ethnic identity. Try negotiating a simple website!) However, Delicious appealed to me because I found it surprisingly easy to navigate. The most important concept that you need to know about social bookmarking sites is “tagging.” Once you’ve bookmarked a page, you can organize it by the tags, or categories, you assign to it. Delicious makes it very easy to find your tags; but not only that, you can organize them further by creating “bundles” of tags, meaning tags that fall under the same major category. If you ever want to find a particular type of article on your profile, all you have to do is click on the correct tag. Easy.

Now here comes the social part. Other people can look up the same articles or pages you saved on your profile by the urls or the tags that you assigned to them. In turn, you can search other people’s bookmarks by the tags that they assign. This allows for the possibility to find new information on your favorite topics of interest, even some you may never would have found otherwise. Incidentally, you may find people who have very very similar interests as yourself.

Not only can social bookmarking sites be used casually, but they are very useful for more scholarly purposes. I can attest to that. I am still in the midst of finding information that pertain to my blog’s topic. This time, I tried utilizing Delicious’ tagging system. I first typed in the tag “advertising” and I found several sites, including blogs that I already knew about. Idecided to narrow my search further by typing sub-tags such as “race,” “ethnicity,” “culture,” and “asian.” I looked through the articles that popped up to see how many of them matched my tags, and I found this: “Markets Focus: Cracking the Asian Conundrum.” The subheading:

“Asian-Americans represent a valuable market, but they're not a monolith.”

Perfect. I found an article that matched my specific niche topic. Furthermore, I can collect all the websites and articles that will help me write my blog and organize them on one page for later perusal.

What sets Delicious apart from other bookmarking sites is that it is one of the biggest and therefore, has one of the largest communities. Imagine all the information you will have access to! Also, they don’t cater to specific types of information; pages cover a wide range of topics, from academic to general. Because my topic is very closely related with issues in popular culture, I found this aspect particularly useful.

So, if you're just using it to have fun, to find people with similar interests, or like me, to look up research for a blog post (such as...about targeted advertising towards Asian Pacific Americans!), Delicious has a lot to offer – if you know where to look.

Blogorama

*UPDATED Tuesday, April 28, 2009*

1) My Debut

In the Filipino culture, a debut is a coming of age celebration, usually taking the form of a huge party, for a young woman who has just turned 18 years old. Now, I’m not exactly turning 18 years old, nor did I get a party when I was turning that age (hm…), but it’s an analogy! In a different kind of way, this blog will serve as my debut in the blogging world.

Hey everyone, and welcome!

I am a senior studying communication at USC. I want to pursue a career in marketing and/or public relations. My passions are culture, community, and philanthropy, and throughout my years in school, I have been an active participant in organizations that focus on a particular community close to my heart. As a Filipino American, I am greatly invested in the future of the Asian Pacific American community, and through my future work, I hope to bring this particular demographic into greater prominence in American culture.

I wasn’t quite sure what the focus of this blog would be, but then I thought about this advertising class that I am currently enrolled in. The course piqued my interest because of its unique perspective on advertising. Instead of focusing on the creative aspect of the business, we would be focusing more on the culture and social implications that advertising may have on society. Fascinating.

With this blog, I want to look into marketing and advertising strategies, specifically, those aimed toward Asian Pacific Americans. Did you know that as of 2004, there are approximately 15.0 million U.S residents who consider themselves Asian or Pacific Islander? That number continues to grow every year! We have so much potential to become a formidable part of the current marketplace. Yet, I wonder…Are we considered to be a vital part of the market?

We are continuously struggling to find and negotiate our identity among an ever changing American society. I think that having representation in advertising matters just as much as what images are being portrayed because those choices affect what society thinks about Asian Pacific Americans and even how we view ourselves within our own ethnic group. But where did all these images come from? This blog will also talk about other topics, such as the already existing preconceptions and stereotypes about Asian Pacific Americans. Overt or subtle stereotypes are found everywhere – in books, magazines, movies, etc. They are also on television. For fans of the primetime television comedy/drama on ABC, Desperate Housewives, they may remember a particular scene where Susan argues with her gynecologist asking for his credentials. Her line:

"Can I check those diplomas, because I want to make sure they're not from some med school in the Philippines."

This line lasted for only two seconds! But the outrage it inspired among the Filipino Community lasted for much longer. I remember having numerous discussions about this with my own friends. The point is that representations in the media, even throw-away lines such as the one uttered by a “desperate housewife,” can have surprising consequences. These preconceived notions can show up in advertisements. Advertising doesn’t only affect society, but society also influences advertising. The relationship is mutual!

As a Filipino American and a part of the Asian Pacific community, I am personally affected by marketing messages. This blog will have a very unique point of view in that I can speak of the topic both as a consumer and as an aspiring marketer. Asian Pacific Americans have the potential to become a formidable market audience. How, why, and to what extent targeted advertisements affect our identities remain to be seen.

Let’s start analyzing!

2) Ads? Goodness!

I was searching the internet in an attempt to find inspiration for my new blog, but alas, there were hardly any that talked about my same topic. Blogs about advertising and marketing in general, on the other hand, were much easier to come by.

This specific post from an advertising blog caught my attention. The post had a single image of an outdoor ad for McDonald’s in Helsinki, Finland. On the ad was a picture of a young woman of Asian descent holding a chicken nugget in her hand. The advertisement itself seemed innocent enough. However, what caught the blogger’s attention (and mine) was the fact that somebody distorted the image by folding the top corners of the ad to form a “hat” reminiscent of straw peasant hats, on the young woman’s head. Really, now?


[image from frederiksamuel.com/blog]

The post came from a Technorati ranked blog titled “Advertising/Design Goodness: The Best and Sometimes the Worst Around the Globe.” The blog was started in May 2005 by the writer Frederick Samuel, a German born art director/designer who is currently working for TribalDDB in Toronto, Canada. He has worked in the advertising and design industry for the past five years. The purpose of the blog is to showcase the best advertisements from around the globe while at the same time juxtaposing them with some of the very worst so that we can truly appreciate the merits of good designing.

Using his point of view as a designer, he posts advertisements that he finds visually interesting. They occur quite frequently with at least one new post almost every day, and many are short, simple, and to the point with usually just the image of the ad and some pieces of information about the designer. What interested me about this blog was the commentary – the people who commented, which were many, not only looked at the actual design of the featured advertisement, but also focused on the meaning of its messages.

Check out this comment one visitor wrote about the McDonald’s ad:

“As an Asian, I don’t see why this is racist. That looks JUST LIKE the hat I put on everyday before I head out into the rice fields. Oh, and your laundry and railroads are ready. Pick them up at 3pm.”

Yikes! What biting words!

Here’s the overlap between my blog and Samuel’s – it supports my position that advertising and society are mutually linked. Samuel posts specific ads not only if he admires their creative design but also if they make some kind of social commentary. That distorted McDonald’s ad definitely said a lot about the prevalence of Asian stereotypes. Here’s another example. This post showed an advertisement that was painted in parking lots before the school prom.


[image from frederiksamuel.com/blog]

Wow. The ad was commended for its clever use of location and catchy headline, but one cannot overlook the fact that it also makes a profound statement on the serious issue of drunk driving. The commentary,

“I think the message works. It stops to make you think. It’s straight forward without being over-stated. It’s encouraging to those that abstain from drunk driving, and certainly catches the eye.”

The purpose of an advertisement is to catch one’s attention, and it can be done through its artistic design. How society chooses to react to such designs varies from merely stopping and looking (Wheelchair ad) to physically engaging with and changing the ad (McDonald’s ad). We are constantly interacting with advertising messages – they are filtered through our cultural norms in such a way that we may interpret it quite differently from its original intent. And that’s exactly the point! Samuel’s hope is that people do look at the ads and be inspired, start a conversation, or share their points of view. A smartly designed ad can have cultural consequences. This is exactly what I intend to show in my own blog.

What were your reactions?

3) The Structure of Voice

Persistence does pay off!

Does this sound familiar? A blog that analyzes advertising, brands, communications, and marketing strategies towards…Columbians/Latin Americans!

Okay, fine. So maybe it’s not exactly like mine, but of all the blogs I’ve looked at, this one’s pretty close. The blog is called Ad Structure. Although it doesn’t talk about Asian Pacific Americans, the writer did decide to focus on a specific marketing niche – the Latin American community – and just like me, he is a part of that community. While looking at advertising from the planner’s perspective, the blog still touches upon a number of topics from the creative to the cultural. Since both of us are speaking on a topic that is very personal to us, I wanted to see how he managed to create a "blogging voice" that was true to his intents and origins.

I decided to first look at those posts that demonstrated his approach to speaking about cultural issues within advertising. In one post, the author contemplates about how advertisements sometimes depict a diverse group of people in such a limited way when human beings are actually much more complex than that. He states:

"The second one, was some sort of an analogy to trees, in where there are a central being and from it many ramifications grow. Those ramifications are the equivalents to the layers, and in each of these branches one part of the being is been developed. Those are the visible parts of the being, but is in the roots where the tree finds its meaning."

A number of different factors, I believed, influenced the type of voice with which the writer, Daniel Mejia, chose to convey his sense of character.

First, I found it interesting that he chose to write his blog in English despite the fact that his native language is Spanish and Portuguese. This probably accounts for the few grammatical errors and minor incorrect word usage [incorrect tense, singular/plural, lack of subject, etc.]. However, his decision was driven by the fact that the planning community's, what he calls the "plannosphere," universal language is English. As an aspiring creative for an ad agency, it says a lot about his desire to remain professional by choosing to write in the language of his chosen career. However, language barrier aside, he still spoke quite eloquently on his subjects of interest. He had a very good vocabulary, using such words as “ramifications,” “equivalents,” “sync-effects,” which does much to demonstrate his knowledge of professional jargon.

Secondly, in the statement above, he was trying to explain something as ambiguous as the human psyche. Therefore, some of the writing techniques that he uses are appropriate for trying to explicate such complicated concepts. For example, he greatly employs the use of metaphors and analogies in order for the reader to have something easy and everyday to relate to. He tells the story about the deep roots of a tree. He also describes the human mind as

"Onion layers, Principle a theory that explain how a person is not only what you see or assume he is, there are many more things beneath that surface.”

That certainly helped me understand a little bit better. His statements are comprised of long, complex sentences which are useful for expanding on explanations and providing examples. He also uses a number of rhetorical questions.

“So why we keep trying to define us by only one of our many faces? I know that the most simple things are the most complex ones (intriguing, right?).”

However, his writing style is not only exclusive to cultural posts. When writing posts that critique actual advertisements, such as this random truck ad for Cadbury Chocolate (because trucks have nothing to do with chocolate), he still uses rhetorical questions,

“You all know that I didn’t like the gorilla spot, so what can I say about “Trucks”?

And, he again tells stories, personal anecdotes, in order for the reader to have something ordinary to relate to,

“Perhaps that’s every kid fantasy come true (come on, who didn’t made races with toy trucks when was little… I totally can relate to that).”

"But in the end I must confess I really enjoyed this one, that I have watched it like ten times, that I can’t get the song out of my head and because of that every time I remember the ad, that it’s a shame that you can’t find a Cadbury chocolate here in Colombia."

Although his voice doesn’t necessarily stand out, he remains a likeable and consistent character across the span of his topics and posts. Regardless of what he writes about, his posts are easy to read, professional yet personal, appropriate to the topic, and relatable to the ordinary person.

Who wouldn’t want to read a post titled “Shut up and just have fun?”

(By the way, the gorilla ad...Hilarious.)

Reflect the Rainbow

Doesn't the topic of this post sound familiar?



[Thanks You Tube!]
-----
Comment Posted 02/04/2009 - 10:55

Strangely enough, I’m not surprised that it would be a commercial for Skittles. I’ve always thought that the Skittles advertisements have always been rather funny in a bizarre, “what was that?” kind of way (remember the human piñata?)

I believe I have seen this commercial on television before, but it must have been the shorter, edited version. I only registered the fact that the tailor was yelling at this random guy in the mirror in a language that I didn’t recognize, so I really didn’t take much note of the ad at the time. But seeing this complete version is really interesting to me.

I wonder if people do recognize that the dialect that the man in the mirror is speaking is Tagalog (the native language of the Philippines), and that the tailor, despite their resemblance, is Thai. The difference is so subtle.

Was that a conscious decision of the advertisers? What were they trying to say by choosing two ethnicities/languages? Were they hoping that people would/not realize the differences?

I think I get it now. The title of the advertisement is “Reflect the Rainbow.” Does that mean that the tailor isn’t yelling at a stranger who happens to be inside a mirror (huh?) but is actually yelling at “himself?” His reflection is a completely different ethnicity! Is this Skittles way of making social commentary on racial diversity?

Many can commend the advertisement for finally providing representation for Filipinos, but does it really? The fact that the two characters are bantering back and forth misleads one to believe that they are of the SAME ethnic group and therefore, a lot can get lost in translation. I get it because I do understand Tagalog. Hopefully, for the non Thai and Tagalog speakers, they don’t get too confused by the language barrier. (I’m sure many people did not bother to look up what the two men are actually saying.) And I can’t decide whether I appreciate the way the Filipino and Thai man are depicted in the commercial in the first place. Can people really take them seriously? “Angry Asian men” aside, it is a funny ad. So, whether or not people recognize the Filipino-ness, at least it’s being projected in a humorous and positive way.

The Structure of Voice

Persistence does pay off.

I came across this blog the other day entitled Ad Structure. The purpose of this blog is to analyze advertising, brands, communications, and marketing strategies towards…wait for it…Colombians/ Latin Americans!

Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly like mine, but it’s pretty close. Although it doesn’t talk about Asian Pacific Americans, the writer did decide to focus on a specific marketing niche – the Latin American community – and just like me, he is a part of the community from which he intends to speak of. While looking at advertising from the planner’s perspective, the blog still touches upon a number of topics from the creative to the cultural. Since both of us are speaking on a topic that is very personal to us, I wanted to see how he managed to create a "blogging" voice that was true to his intents and origins.

I decided to first look at those posts that demonstrated his approach to speaking about cultural issues within advertising.While contemplating the complexity of human beings, he states:

"The second one, was some sort of an analogy to trees, in where there are a central being and from it many ramifications grow. Those ramifications are the equivalents to the layers, and in each of these branches one part of the being is been developed. Those are the visible parts of the being, but is in the roots where the tree finds its meaning."

A number of different factors, I believed, influenced the type of voice with which the writer, Daniel Mejia, chose to convey his sense of character.

First, I found it interesting that he chose to write his blog in English despite the fact that his native language is Spanish and Portuguese. This probably accounts for the few grammatical errors and minor incorrect word usage [incorrect tense, singular/plural, lack of subject, etc.]. However, his decision was driven by the fact that the planning community's, what he calls the "plannosphere," universal language is English. As an aspiring creative for an ad agency, it says a lot about his desire to remain professional by choosing to write in the language of his chosen career. However, language barrier aside, he still spoke quite eloquently on his subjects of interest. He had a very good vocabulary, using such words as “ramifications,” “equivalents,” “sync-effects,” which does much to demonstrate his knowledge of professional jargon.

Secondly, in the statement above, he was trying to explain something as ambiguous as the human psyche. Therefore, some of the writing techniques that he uses are appropriate for trying to explicate such complicated concepts. For example, he greatly employs the use of metaphors and analogies in order for the reader to have something easy and everyday to relate to. He tells the story about the deep roots of a tree. He also describes the human mind as Onion layers, Principle a theory that explain how a person is not only what you see or assume he is, there are many more things beneath that surface.”

His statements are comprised of long, complex sentences which are useful for expanding on explanations and providing examples. He also uses a number of rhetorical questions.

“So why we keep trying to define us by only one of our many faces? I know that the most simple things are the most complex ones (intriguing, right?)”

However, his writing style is not only exclusive to cultural posts. When writing posts that critique actual advertisements, such as this random truck ad for Cadbury Chocolate (because trucks have nothing to do with chocolate), he still uses rhetorical questions,

“You all know that I didn´t like the gorilla spot, so what can I say about “Trucks”?

And, he again tells stories, personal anecdotes, in order for the reader to have something ordinary to relate to,

“Perhaps that´s every kid fantasy come true (come on, who didn´t made races with toy trucks when was little… I totally can relate to that).”

"But in the end I must confess I really enjoyed this one, that I have watched it like ten times, that I can´t get the song out of my head and because of that every time I remember the ad, that it´s a shame that you can´t find a Cadbury chocolate here in Colombia."

Although his voice doesn’t necessarily stand out, he remains a likeable and consistent character across the span of his topics and posts. Regardless of what he writes about, his posts are easy to read, professional yet personal, appropriate to the topic, and relatable to the ordinary person.

Who wouldn’t want to read a post titled “Shut up and just have fun?” Will do, Daniel Mejia. Will do.