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  • It’s a SAD Day

     

    blog1 Now that Valentine’s Day is over, we can get down to the real celebration of the season: Single Awareness Day, or SAD. A dedication to all the single people out there, sick of the holidays and searching for a break from the commercialism that is Valentine’s Day.

    With no evident background explaining why Valentine’s Day is the cheesy, romantic holiday we all know and endure, the media has flourished coming up with its own meaning and traditions. The day itself cannot be pinned down to a single event, all we know for sure is that it is a mix of Roman and Christian traditions. The Catholic Church recognizes three different St. Valentines, each carrying their own legend. It is a holiday with a mysterious history, yet it is deemed the day of love.

    Single Awareness Day has its own history, believed to be started by a college student at Mississippi State University. It became prominent on social media year after year on Valentine’s Day, but was recently changed to February 15th in order to give it its own celebration. Single Awareness Day is now officially a national holiday!blog2

    According to the website, singleawareness.com, suggested activities for this celebratory day include sending yourself flowers, partying with other singles, and exchanging gifts with single friends. And don’t forget to wear green, the complementary opposite of red, or black if you want to symbolize your absence of celebration.

     

    For all the single people out there, you made it through another over-sentimental Valentine’s Day. Now is the time to assemble with your single friends, and buy the discounted chocolate. Being single is not a curse, but a celebration of independence and empowerment. That is what Single Awareness Day represents.

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    -Eva Mewborn

  • “He got me yellow roses…?”

    Today is the one day of the year where LOVE IS IN THE AIR, and it’s totally socially acceptable:

    yvngswag love heart valentine valentines day

    love disney heart flowers valentine

    But before half of you start thinking already, “it’s just a Tuesday, the institution is a sham, love is dumb, I don’t care about Valentine’s Day”, this isn’t about the history of Valentine’s Day.

    It isn’t about what you should get your significant other,

    and it isn’t bashing the holiday either…

    It’s honestly about flowers.

    According to CNN, it is estimated that on Valentine’s Day, nearly 224 million roses are grown for the sole purpose of being cut into long stem bouquets for your honey-bunny. That’s not even including other popular Valentine’s Day gifting flowers like carnations, lilies, and tulips. Those poor angiosperms.

    flower

    But back to the roses, the cliché of them all.

    Our culture deems roses as the unofficial-official flower of February 14th. If any of you have talked to a florist or self-proclaimed flower expert, you know that there appears to be a cultural agreement that a color code system exists for what kind of roses you should get depending on the person or purpose they are for. I have put in some research, and this is the general internet consensus for which color roses mean what:

    Red roses: Love and romance, the perfect way to say “I love you” 

    White roses: New beginnings or purity

    Yellow roses: Friendship

    Pink roses: Admiration and appreciation, the red roses distant cousin

    Orange roses: Enthusiasm and passion

    If you’re reading this hoping to figure out what rose you should give your significant other because you waited until last minute, congratulations, I just did half the work for you. If you’re like me however, and wonder why flowers have meanings to begin with, keep reading.

    Flowers have been used to communicate human emotion and meaning for ages. There are stories dating back to ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome that show flowers to be an integral part of social culture, such as gifting. Our society today identifies gift giving as a way to communicate and express something from gift giver to receiver. Even at less festive occasions like funerals, flowers are given as a way to communicate to the grieving family that you are sorry for their loss.

    Hate it or love it, but I personally think that the fact that we as a culture communicate with each other through flowers, like colored roses, is fascinating. Sure it might all be a sham, it might just be a way to boost rose sales.. but it is also important to think about the implications rose giving says about our culture. We communicate in more ways than verbally speaking, even if it is just giving a flower.

    Caro Martini halloween pink creepy flowers

    love girl kiss amor i love you

     

    So here is a toast to all of you, may the loves of your life get you red roses as an expression of their eternal love for you, and not yellow as a way to say “we need to be just friends”.

    crying emotional break up breaking up ugly crying

    –Kayla Millie

  • Best Day Ever Followed by Worst Day

    Today is an important day. It is the most important day in the world for many girls and other people who watch the show Parks and Rec. February 13th is officially known as Galentine’s day. This is a special holiday for girls to get together, hang out, and appreciate each other. As a boy, I am a little bit jealous that there is not a Guyentine’s day. I am pretty positive the only reason for this is because of the name, it just doesn’t have the same flow. Galentine’s Day is a time to be with friends because tomorrow you will see all the posts on Instagram and Facebook of what couples got each other and while most of it is lame, some of it isn’t and you deny liking it because you don’t want to seem jealous. Then you sit in your apartment or house by yourself and watch something on Netflix that will take your mind off of being lonely. Galentine’s day is a feel good holiday for single people before their spirits are torn down 24 hours later. So instead of scoffing at people holding hands tomorrow, celebrate today with your friends… and then stay inside all of February 14th.

    -Bryan Murray

  • @POTUS

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    Donald Trump as a citizen and as a presidential candidate was known to get himself into sticky situations on social media, more specifically Twitter.

    @realDonaldTrump engaged heavily in Twitter communication during the course of the election cycle. His ‘twitter-happy’ personality often came across aggressive and disrespectful. However, this was the brand that Donald Trump created for himself, as he knew what I was getting himself into.

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    Donald Trump, just minutes before the inaugural ceremony, took the time to tweet for the first time with his newly adopted Twitter handle @POTUS.

    A little less than a month ago, on January 20th, Donald J. Trump was sworn into the Office. Also on that day, the now 45th President adopted the Twitter handle @POTUS. With this transition comes a bigger responsibility of how the President chooses to communicate using social media. President Trump must now reinvent his social media communication strategy, and re-brand himself as the President of the United States.

    Former President Barack Obama was the first president to utilize Twitter to communicate with the nation; However, the 44th President was not nearly as dependent on this form of communication as is President Trump.

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    Ever since President Trump entered office, he has been utilizing Twitter and Facebook heavily. I have personally seen several events streaming live via Facebook. As many of us know, it can take up valuable time to generate a powerful message with only 140 characters. As students who are studying communication, we understand that a key skill to have in the process of “managing mutual responding” is to be able to generate effective and efficient messages to convey understanding to listening parties. It is not easy, especially with a limit of 140 characters. President Trump, however, seems to have no problems generating messages throughout the day among his Presidential duties. I can almost see the book on the shelf now…The Art of the Tweet by Donald Trump.

    Regardless of anyone’s opinions of President Trump’s policies, decisions, and beliefs, he is still breaking through barriers by trying to cut out the middleman in bringing you important information. If he is able to maintain ‘presidential etiquette’, do you think it is appropriate for President Trump to continue his frequent tweeting? Can this help prevent news sources from misinterpreting his attitude towards something, or an event that occurred? Just a couple points to think about.

     

    ~ Ben Yerby

     

  • Foxy Roxy

    Life near the beach means seeing surf shops by the dozen.  And what do you think lies inside these surf shops? Brands like Roxy, of course.

    In 1990, Quicksilver began a venture to create Roxy, a swimwear brand that encompassed the female surfer, the first of its kind in a sport dominated by men. The brand grew and was well received by the surf-ette, and Roxy even created the first women’s board short.

    sports summer surf surfing skating

    So what can we learn from Roxy’s brand identity?

    1. Their products are for women.

    2. They target these products to women.

    The logo, two Quicksilver logos reflected against each other to create a go to feminine symbol, a heart, encompasses the brand’s feminine spirit.

     

    Image result for roxy quicksilver logo

    “Daring, confident, naturally beautiful, fun, alive: Roxy“

    Roxy took a plunge into a market dominated by menswear, and came out drenched in success. But Roxy faces a definite challenge-

    How do you advertise an all women’s surf-wear brand, especially swimsuits, without receiving backlash for objectifying women’s bodies?

    The answer? I don’t think Roxy has been able to do it yet.

    Critics were quick to comment on this ad for the Roxy Pro Biarritz competition from 2013 featuring surf pro Stephanie Gilmore.

     

    This is the teaser video that doesn’t reveal Gilmore’s face, but the focus on her body was enough to send consumers into a critique frenzy

    Advertisements seek to sell the product to the consumer, and noise, like a consumer not paying attention, can affect the ads effectiveness. The problem is that women’s bodies, even men’s, are often objectified as a tactic to break the noise that can distract consumers. Sex appeal holds attention, it gets consumers talking.

    objectification

    What are some alternatives when advertising a ‘women’s’ brand? Vera Bradley tried last year in 2016 with their #itsgoodtobeagirl  campaign that was supposed to celebrate the everyday woman, and sell the luggage and handbag company’s products of course.

    Image result for #itsgoodtobeagirl

    verabradley
    @KatMurti

    Consumers were OUTRAGED, calling the campaign sexist and offensive not only to women, but men as well (ouch). The campaign eventually released less abrasive content, and called on a more girl-power type approach by quoting inspiring women.

    sassy model girlpower stumblrndxfblqidm1qk08n1o1250

     

    The hashtag #itsgoodtobeagirl is still trendy on Twitter today #PRsave.

     

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    @islasianxjacki

    Gender objectification in advertising is obviously a hot topic to critique, but as everyone knows, sex sells. And when you’re trying to sell a product, you need to sell.

    There has GOT to be a way in advertising that can celebrate and use the human body without objectifying it.

    Since the Roxy Pro Biarritz scandal, Roxy has laid pretty low in terms of video advertisements.

    The question is this, if you were Roxy, how would you continue to advertise your all women’s apparel and surf wear? Keep in mind surfing isn’t done in hoodies and sweatpants; it is done in swimwear, boardshorts, and wetsuits.  So…would you use sex appeal, or pull a Vera Bradley and try something risky and innovative (even if it could possibly fail at first)?

     

    –Kayla Millie

     

  • #Femvertising

    Today, more than half of key purchasing decisions are made by women. As their piece of the purchasing pie grows, women are increasingly demanding that brands build more respectful and empowering messages and images into their ads that target women. Thus, femvertising is born! Femvertising is advertising that employs pro-female talent, messages, and imagery to empower women and girls. Here are 3 examples of brands that are using advertising as a way to challenge gender norms and empower women.  

    Always’ #LikeAGirl

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    Originally played during Superbowl XLVII (2014), the video made by filmmaker Lauren Greenfield recruited women, men, boys, and girls and asked them to show what it physically meant to run like a girl or throw like a girl. The adults mugged for the camera – throwing and running, looking weak and embarrassed; but the young girls asked to do the same things ran and threw hard and fast. The result: viewers were forced to consider that doing things “like a girl” should be seen as strong, not pathetic.

    HelloFlo’s “First Moon Party”

    source.gif“First Moon Party” tells the cringeworthy and hilarious story of a tween girl who fakes her first period by putting red glitter nail polish on a pad. Not convinced, her mother throws her a mortifying “First Moon” celebration, complete with pin the tampon on the period and a game of bobbing for ovaries. What a way to celebrate becoming a woman!

    Ram Trucks’ “Courage is Already Inside”

    2015042932-pdfIn a change from traditional truck advertising, the 60-second “Courage is Already Inside” spot is an empowering message that reminds women that they have what it takes to break stereotypes and achieve their goals.  This ad aims to destroy the misconception that women aren’t as brave as their male counterparts and reminds viewers that women serve in the military, hunt and, yes, drive pickup trucks.

    Here are the Facts… 

    According to Gallup, the average American woman is expected to earn more than the average American male by 2028. 51% of U.S. Private Wealth is controlled by women, women account for over 50% of all stock ownership in the U.S. and control more than 60% of all personal wealth in the U.S. Talk about girl power!giphy

    What does this mean for the advertising industry? In a survey done by SheKnows Media, 52% of women said that they have bought a product simply because they like how the brand and their advertising portrays women. That’s huge! Bottom line, not only does is fiscally make sense to advertise to females, but it’s also important to give girls and young women role models to look up to.

    What are your thoughts on Femvertising?

    –Kyndall DySard, ’17

  • Not Your Grandma’s Darwin Day

    Darwin Day. What is it? Where did it come from? And why is the Communication Studies Department so gung-ho about it?

    20170207_191916Darwin Day is the celebration is Charles Darwin’s birthday! Charles Darwin was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He established that all species descended over time from common ancestors; i.e. humans descended from apes. Darwin had a major impact on Anthropology, but also on other studies; such as music, biology, psychology… and dare I say it, communication studies.

    The Department of Communication Studies’ Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) II and Advertising II classes planned this year’s Darwin Day event. Everything from the IMC plan to the funny memes on the events’ facebook page, it was all done by students in the COM Department.

    Which brings me to the event itself, #UNCWDarwinDay2017. Presented by the Department of Anthropology, and sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, ETEAL, Honors College, and the Anthropology Club, Darwin Day was an evolutionary event at UNCW! The event included five-minute lightning talks from various faculty members on campus, trivia games, parody songs, delicious food, creative costumes, and even a lifesize cutout of Charles himself! In short, it was #LIT.

    Our IMC II and Advertising II classes had a lot of fun working on this event, mainly because it was different! Together, we worked through the steps: research, creating content and graphics, writing the IMC plan, client presentations, and executing the IMC plan. Not only was this event a learning experience and a fun time for all who attended, but it taught the students working with this event countless lessons about Darwin and IMC.

    Now, who’s ready for #UNCWDarwinDay2018?

    –Kyndall DySard, ’17