Chapter 7

I chose to write my term paper on logo redesign and its relation to the success a company has at branding, so this chapter on advertising and consumer culture was very interesting to me. Right in the beginning the chapter stated that, “advertisers and marketers are compelled to constantly reinvent easy in which they address and hold the attention of increasingly jaded consumers.” The constant demand for innovation and the latest thing leads to old products being sold with new looks, added features, new designs and new slogans and campaigns. These decisions, when they are made and how effective they are, is what I am interested in researching.

Another aspect of branding and logos is the necessity of understanding our complex consumer culture. It’s almost crazy how personally connected people feel to brands and products. While reading this in the chapter I kept thinking of my boss at the restaurant I used to work at. He was in love with Nike. Nike was the second most important thing to him, only after his wife. I know he has at least two tattoos that incorporate the Nike ‘swoosh.’ Permanently drawn on his body!

I’m not even sure if that’s considered brand loyalty, or mental illness. I also thought of a postcard I had recently received from a friend who is currently overseas with the Navy. He sent me a postcard from Dubai, and on the front is a picture of some sort of majestic building and then it says ‘Dubai Heritage’ in white letters at the top. However, the font that is used is the same font that we are used to seeing Disney use, and so every time anyone sees it they always ask when I went to Disneyworld in Dubai, even though no where on the post card is there any mention of Disney.

There is mention of the Obama campaign’s logo, and this is something I became very familiar with in Washington, DC last semester. As part of an assignment, I went canvassing for Obama in Richmond, VA one weekend. We were knocking on doors asking registered voters who they planned on voting for for President and for Senate. Since most people had their minds made up as for their Presidential pick, but were still undecided for the Senate, we were given leaflets to hand out in support of Mark Warner, the Democratic candidate. It was very interesting to me that it was obviously designed to make people associate him with Barack Obama, but without coming right out and saying it. The color scheme, font and overall aesthetics of his leaflet were identical to Obama’s ‘brand’ or logo. People say Barack Obama ran one of the best campaigns we have ever seen, and I agree. In my media and politics class we learned that with the evolving technology by which we receive our news, candidates much become entrepreneurs who are prepared to sell their message in a new media friendly package. The development of the Obama brand, which sold everything from handbags to jerseys to onsies for toddlers, was astonishing. This must have been the first time that there was ever a “Runway to Change” category in a politician’s online store, with designers like Donna Karen and Juicy Couture making special pieces in support of the President.


A term I had never heard before was metacommunication. I thought the liquor ad that talks about subliminal messaging in advertisements was really interesting. It reminded me of a commercial I saw probably a month ago. I don’t watch tv in my room at school, but do turn it on when I am exercising at the gym. This commercial came on then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCO02M2_A

It has similar intentions as the print advertisement does. It explains to the viewer how the creators expect you to interpelate the ad. It’s almost like reverse psychology, and I wonder if this is a successful marketing strategy. It stuck out to me because I immediately connected it to my visual communications studies, but I wonder how it affected the average viewer’s reaction.