Below is an excellent short film. Short films require immense creativity and planning because an entire story must be condensed into 3-5 minutes. This piece is well done. Quick Commentary follows.

The Black Hole

Moving Towards Desire
What I find interesting in this short film is how the main character slowly gets more and more tempted to push the limits. He starts off just fascinated with his new discovery. He tries it out on the vending machine and ends up eating his reward. However once he gets a taste of the “power” of his discovery, he then decides to use it to enter a locked office to see what is inside. Then his eyes light up as he sees a safe and uses it to access some cash. Then rather than being happy with what he found, he decides to take it all. Both in his expression and his actions the small steps he takes towards what is wrong only escalates. I believe this is very true to reality.

Flight or Invisibility
Someone asked me recently, if you could fly or be invisible, which power would you like? I would easily choose invisibility, however I also acknowledged how I could imagine myself slowly getting myself into really bad trouble and morally questionable situations if I had that capability. Could you say with confidence you would never abuse such a power?

Getting from Point A to Point B - Subtle Power of Desire
This character probably never intended to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and if he was told he would, he probably would laugh at the thought. But all it took is the access and slow seemingly harmless steps and there he was stealing the money he probably never dreamed of stealing. This is a short film so the progress went quickly, but we can see this happening in the real world across longer periods of time. No one starts wanting to steal, wanting to murder, wanting to commit adultery, wanting to get drunk, hurting people and betraying trust relationships. How many times have I found myself in point B and wondered how I got to this point. So how do we get from point A to point B? Gradual steps. It would be foolish for us to think we are not capable of doing really bad things (yes even murder!) just because we can’t imagine ourselves getting there. It is the small subtle steps that goes unnoticed that contribute to our moral degradation. It is so important for all people to be on our guard to protect ourselves from becoming insensitive to pushing boundaries and rationalizing what we do.

A music video, and a previous post, that helps visually present the same idea is Casting Crown’s Slow Fade.

Have you experienced getting from point A to point B and being surprised of how you got there? Agree or disagree with the notes above?

Share your thoughts below!

Toshiba Timesculpture Advertisement

So how did they make it? See below!

The Making of Toshiba Timesculpture Advertisement

What do you think of the video! Share your thoughts below!

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Dr. Douglas A. Gentile, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor in Iowa State University’s Department of Psychology, offered an explanation.

With the 21st century offering a greater number of media than any other period in history, younger generations can view or listen to almost any sort of content at the touch of a button.
“I think that alone makes the fair question, ‘Might it have a different effect than we’ve ever seen before in human history?’” Gentile said.

Gentile would go on to discuss how our concepts of normal behavior, our values, sense what is acceptable and unacceptable develops from our “spheres of influence”. First from Family, then community and the rest of society.

“The media influence us not just one-on-one when we watch them. They also influence us by influencing our families. They also influence us by influencing our communities. That’s one of the reasons it’s hard to tell if you’ve ever been affected because it’s not just a simple one-to-one relationship. You’re being influenced in multiple directions all at the same time,” Gentile said.

In the 1930s, when television sets first became available to Americans, families who were able to afford one, only had one for the entire house. Now televisions have become a common household item.

“Ninety-nine percent of American households have television sets - that’s more than have running water. That’s more than have telephones,” Gentile said. The average household with children has at least 3 televisions, 2 VCRs or DVD players, 3 CD or cassette players, 2 video game consoles and a computer with an Internet connection. Every single one of those items, a medium in which children and adults alike receive information on what the world is like and what “normal” truly is. With the average person watching nearly 3-5 hours of TV a day while listening to music on their ipods non stop, it would be silly to think that the constant bombardment of messages would not have an impact on how we perceive the world.

In its early days, television sets were primarily in living rooms, where entire families would view news among other shows together. Now it is common to have TVs in each of the children’s bedrooms.

Twenty percent of infants - 0 to 2 years in age - have TVs in their bedrooms while 40 percent of 3 to 4 year olds have them. Once children hit eight years of age, two-thirds of them typically view televisions in their rooms. 0 to 2 years of age. Why do they even need a TV!

Gentile went on to discuss how children spend their time outside of school. During a given week, children spend about 30 minutes doing something or talking with their father while spending about two and half hours with their mother. This are figures for a week not a day. Four hours are spent doing homework. Now compare that with media consumption. Twenty Hours of Television. Seven hours of computer use unrelated to school. Nine hours of video games.

“Now I have no doubt that parents matter but they’re not getting equal time. They’re not getting anything close to equal time. That’s 41 hours a week kids are in front of a screen - that’s a full-time job the average American kid is in front of a screen and that’s the average,” Gentile said.

If these figures don’t surprise you, note that these figures were collected by parents so it would not be a stretch to say the figures are probably considerably higher. What is even more amazing is how such figures shock parents yet it does not behaviorally change the way they engage or raise their children.

“Parents underestimate how much time their kids spend in front a TV pretty greatly,” Gentile said. “Parents are less able to monitor what their kids see and hear if there are TVs in the bedroom and parents are less able to have consistent rules for children who have TVs in their bedrooms.”

Also by engaging in so much media, children are less inclined to do other activities or engage in outdoor play such as playing sports, enjoying an hobby or reading a couple good books. It is also well documented that such sluggard activities contributes to rising obesity and poorer academic performance.

“Kids get worse grades if they have a TV in their bedroom and their risk of obesity goes up 31 percent just by virtue of having a TV in the bedroom,” Gentile said. “Every parent is going to be faced with this question. Every parent is going to be asked for a TV, video games or a computer in the bedroom. There’s a simple two-letter answer. I recommend it’s used highly.”

Advertising in the modern age also focus less on product features but on emotional appeal. What does this mean? It means it appeals to some emotion, a deep innate desire and once it latches onto that feeling, it ties their product or service to that need leading to an eventual sale or action.

So is there any positive utilization of media?

Educational programs like “Sesame Street” or “Blue Clues” were created with the intention of helping young children learn. Much research and effort has been put into such shoes and it has shown that those that grew up watching it as a young child end up doing better in school even through high school.

However there are many shows out there that has shown no evidence of helping children, so one has to be careful of what they deem to be helpful to their children.

Gentile offered some word of advice to parents raising children. “If you want your children to be brilliant, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more brilliant, read them more fairy tales,” Gentile said, referencing Einstein. When fairy tales or books are read to their children, it helps them to focus, listen, learn more vocabulary, learn to understand images, how to properly speak and helps stimulate their imagination and thinking skills.

“Everyone thinks brain science is difficult. It’s not. It’s very simple. Here it is in one sentence, ‘The brain becomes what the brain does,’” Gentile said. “What is most important is having an ongoing dialogue where you talk about why things happen in shows the way they do,” Gentile said. “You are in a very powerful position. When parents set limits on how much time their kids watch and what they watch - that is a powerful protective factor for kids.”

Please share your thoughts! Comment below.

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This research focused on shows that highlight “positive aspects” of sexual behavior without properly showing the risks involved. Such shows can lead teens to have unprotected sex. This study follows previous research from the same group that have already found that watching a lot of sex on TV can influence teens to have sex at earlier ages.

This study involved 2,003 12 to 17 year old boys and girls questioned by telephone about their TV viewing habits in 2001. They were asked how often they watched any of of more than 20 TV shows that are popular among teenagers that have heavy sexual content. Example shows are “Sex and the City,” “That 70s show”, and “Friends”. This followed two more follow up calls which asked about pregnancy. 58 girls became pregnant and 33 boys said they got a girl pregnant.

Pregnancies were twice as more likely among those who watched such shows regularly compared to those rarely ever watched such shows. The rate of pregnancy was consistent across all the age groups. Other factors were considered such as school grades, family structure, parent’s education levels. Some factors that were not factored in were family values and income, thus some feel the study doesn’t adequately cover other factors that could help contribute to a particular sexual behavior.

US teen pregnancies were on a 15 year decline until a 3 percent jump in 2006.

Psychologist David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, cited data that show only 19 percent of American teens feel they can talk openly with a trusted adult about sex. With many schools not offering sex education, that leaves the media to serve as a sex educator, he said.

“For a kid who no one’s talking to about sex, and then he watches sitcoms on TV where sex is presented as this is what the cool people do,” the outcome is obvious, Walsh said.

He said the message to parents is to talk to their kids about sex long before children are teens. Parents also should be watching what their kids watch and helping filter messages sex-filled shows are sending, he said.

Opinions? What do you think? Please Comment Below!

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What you will find in this post has nothing to do with how good the story is or how well the movie was made, just excerpts talking about the messages conveyed in the film. Note these are excerpts from articles or comments I’ve read so it doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with it! I tried not to leave in spoilers, but no promises.

Genre: Musical, Romance, Drama, Dancing, Family
Length: 1 hr. 40 Min
Director: Kenny Ortega
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Featuring: Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Bart Johnson, Olesya Rulin, Chris Warren Jr., Ryne Sanborn, Kaycee Stroh, Alyson Reed, Matt Prokop, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, Justin Martin, Robert Curtis Brown, Raquel Goodsell, Brad Johnson, Noli McCool, David Reivers, Tia Robinson, Leslie Wing

The “Good”:
“those who go into it bracing themselves for yet another coarse film aimed at the “tweener” set will be very pleasantly surprised. The movie is refreshingly clean and free of the angst and weighty themes that Hollywood pushes on younger viewers before they’re ready. Instead, it delivers a very pleasant story set to several catchy pop songs, quickly drawing in viewers and sending them out of the theater happy. In short, High School Musical 3 is a lot of fun—good, clean fun.”

“It’s halftime of the last championship game of the boys’ high school basketball careers, and Troy’s Wildcats are losing. Coach Bolton’s stirring speech about making the most of the last 16 minutes they’ll ever play together establishes the first half of this movie’s premise: Life as this gang knows it is almost over, so they better celebrate what they have.”

“Characters also grapple with weightier issues. Troy’s dad expects Troy to attend the University of Albuquerque and play basketball. Troy’s not so sure, but he doesn’t want to disappoint his pops. “I just want my future to be my future,” he tells Gabriella. It’s the kind of uneasy struggle that lots of real-life families deal with as children become adults, and at first Troy makes the mistake of keeping his indecision secret. But Troy and his father eventually navigate the matter well.”

“HSM3 salutes friendship, family, responsibility and opportunity. It embraces the idea of dreaming big—a time-honored Disney theme that, in other movies, can sometimes feel a tad irresponsible. But here, wishing upon a star is tempered by the onrushing reality of adulthood. “Maybe I don’t see life as a ball game anymore, man,” Troy tells best friend Chad.”

“The main message was to reach for the stars and your dreams. Don’t be anyone else but yourself. As Ms. Darbus the Drama Teacher (Alyson Reed) says, “It is far easier to play a role on stage then to be yourself in life.” Slowly throughout this movie we see each character break out of their shell or stereotype to be the person they were created to be.”

“Also prominent in the movie is taking this time for now. We hear this repeatedly in the movie. ‘This is last time to do this right! Now or never!’ The lyrics sing. ‘Now is the best time to find yourself. Not in ten years.’ “

“Troy must chose between his father’s desires for his life and his own. How should a young adult make those kinds of choices? Does “honoring your parents” mean living their plans for your life?”

“A recurring theme in all the HSM movies is that people can break out of their cliques (jock, brainiac, athlete, etc.) and have other aspects to their personalities. Do you ever feel restricted by people’s perceptions of you? Is there a talent or interest you need to encourage in yourself or in a friend?”

“In terms of modesty, I thought the swimsuits were great. No itty bittys. “Gabriella” and some of the other s all have regular figures. I thought that was very good to see. It seems so many of today’s young actresses are stick thin and let all their parts hang out of everything. I thought the whole message was wholesome and meaningful. Troy chose to pass up the big money and hopes of scholarships to remain true to himself. It seems that Ryan and Sharpay got their comeuppance in this movie. Just because one has lots of money and things doesn’t mean that they get everything. Sometimes hard work does pay off.”

No Sex/Nudity/Profanity/Drugs

The “Bad”:
“The costumes are perhaps a tad more revealing than they are in the first two High School Musicals, with girls occasionally showing a significant amount of leg, a bit of cleavage and a sliver of midriff. A couple of guys race through the school wearing only towels, and Troy takes off his shirt. Dances are generally restrained, but can sometimes be a tad sultry—largely on par with previous outings. The camera zooms in on Sharpay’s rear as she walks down the halls of East High, with the brief scene bracketed by shots of swooning underclassmen.”

“Other than having your girls go gaga over lead star Zac Efron, the only potential concern parents might have is one of the outfits worn by Gabriella.”

“Gabriella shares a pizza with Troy in her bedroom, apparently without Gabriella’s mother’s knowledge. (In an outtake, actor Zac Efron hams it up on the bed by pretending that he’s going to pounce on a giggling Vanessa Hudgens.) They share a brief kiss along with a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries.”

“This film includes a picnic scene between Troy and Gabriella in her bedroom. At one point, he feeds her strawberries, which could be considered sensual. Also, you and your kids will see some skin. Zac Efron takes off his shirt at one point and Vanessa Hudgens and Monique Coleman show quite a bit of leg in a few dance numbers.”

“There’s an entire song called “Fabulous” devoted to celebrating materialism and money….not a very healthy self-image messages being sent to the middle-school demographic who, unlike these characters, probably don’t frolic at a country club all summer!

“We see Sharpay walking down the hall from the back and a bunch of boys fainting. One of the lines of a song is ‘Dancing to impress a boy.‘ We see Troy change shirts.”

(Gabriella and Troy) are hard working and honest, but they’re still “top-of-the-school” at something: sports, brains, and good looks. It’s still sending that message that only the prettiest, smartest, and most talented kids deserve each other. Everyone else is just a “supporting role”!”

End of Quotes

Parting Thoughts

So what do I think? No clue, haven’t seen it. I am glad there seems to be an overwhelming consensus that this is a clean movie especially as it is very popular with the younger crowd. However our standards of what is “clean” has changed dramatically in the last 5-10 years. It is easy to see the “Bad” list here and think that people are overreacting or that their comments are too critical. However I see that as the first sign of how our general view of what is proper and not proper has changed so much over time and how little we consider the serious impact these scenes have on what we view to be the norm.

The perfect example is the scene where the guy and girl are together in her bedroom. Even the mere glimpse of that scene paints it as something not taboo, but as something very ordinary. When people, especially 8-15 years olds see this, they won’t even begin to notice how much it effects the way they will view such a situation in the future. Younger kids will soak it in blindly. Older kids may see such a scene as something perhaps slightly improper, but if you see it happening over and over again, before you know it isn’t that big of a deal. Do you think it’s harmless? Go ahead put your young daughter in the bedroom with a guy and let’s see how how long you’ll hold onto that claim.

Even more subtle is the ever present theme of love. That high school boyfriend girlfriend story. Everyone has to have one. Love is the big thing that gives life meaning. Teenagers envy those who have one and all desire one. What made this to be true? What does this movie add to that picture?

Alright I hope this helps you get an idea of the various themes and messages of this movie and know what to watch out for. I would normally discuss a specific message or a write about some “norm” the movie portrays, but since I haven’t seen the movie itself i’ll leave it at that.

If you’ve seen the movie or have thoughts about some of the quotes above please comment below!

Other Movie Related Posts
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To be honest I don’t like writing about politics, but in the spirit of voting day here is another!

Media Spend by Candidates Breaks Reocrds
So as everyone knows a candidate’s spend on media will have a direct influence on how we view the candidates and ultimately who we vote for. So how much has been spent on this election?

The country will have spent $5.3 billion on federal political candidates. 27% higher than 2004. The presidential race? $1.5 billion by mid-October, on track to be closer to $2.4 billion by the end according to Center for Responsive Politics.

The candidates raised $1 billion dollars shattering all kinds of records. That is nearly $8 for every vote cast. From that purse, Obama has spent about double of McCain. They have traveled more miles, had larger staff and of course spend millions on political advertising. Obama, who abandoned the public financing system, the first major party candidate to do so since the money reforms of watergate has found success utilizing the media which will only encourage future candidates to do so as well.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has spent three times more than McCain on television advertising in these final couple days before election. He has spend nearly 21.5 million dollars in spend just between October 21 to October 28th. McCain’s camp has spend about 7.5 Million dollars. Obama’s campaign is on track to spend more on TV advertising than any campaign in history with over 100 million dollars. The half hour infomercial alone costs more than three million dollars.

Market’s Failing, Job Losses, Spend 5.3 Billion on Elections!
With all the talk about markets failing, people worrying about sending their kids to college or worried about paying off their mortgages as aptly described by both candidates, literally over a billion dollars are being spent for this election. Does that bug anyone? Do you think it’s justified and “hey it’s just politics”? What if a candidate pledged half it’s funds to help the economy in some way? Unrealistic? Probably, but hey it’s interesting to think about. Comment below with your thoughts!

Another Note: Wonderful Promises! Now how much is it going to cost?
I always didn’t like it when politicians promise the world without explaining how in the world we are going to fund it. There is only so much money to go around, if you want 500 million here, you need to take it away from someone else! You can’t promise everything just to be on my good side. I found this link on the GOP site which adds up all of Obama’s promises. How accurate is it? I don’t know but it’s a perfect example of what I mean by… where is the money going to come from? This isn’t just Obama but for all past and present candidates.

Obama’s Fiscal Agenda - $1.2 Trillion in New Spending?

Creativity in getting Obama Supporters out to Vote!
Now that I’ve posted something pro-McCain, I must post some stuff that is pro-Obama! This was a very creative video paid for by moveon.org where you can send a video to your friends customized with their name. Looks like it was my fault Obama has lost the election…

Obama’s 3 Million Dollar 30 minute Spot
And here is the 3 million dollar 30 minute spot.

Do you think its responsible for candidates to spend this much money? Do you think something is wrong with the picture or do you think it is all justified since it’s such a huge decision? By the way, if you didn’t vote you have no right to complain :).

Record Month
October was a record month in terms of pageviews at about 1000 pageviews. That is nearly a 39% growth in views since September. The entry on “Influence of TV SNL Satire on Political Identity - Sarah Palin 2008″ had the most pageviews followed by an older entry on Latest 3D Holographic News posted back in Sept 30.

How do people find clean cut media anyway?
Many of you may think that the only people who view this blog are people I know personally especially as this blog is really young, however this isn’t the case. The majority of the traffic to clean cut media comes from search engines (56% of all traffic).

Searches: 56%
Referrering Websites: 30%
Direct (typing the URL): 14%

Example Searches
“influence of media on culture”
“how media impacts our life”
“movies inappropriate on children”
“don’t vote campaign”
“influence of media teens”

Very happy to see the blog pick up traction on finding viewers searching on such important topics.

October Post Recap
Oct 2: Surveillance of Skype Messages in China
Oct 8: Creativity - Classic Honda TV Commercial
Oct 9: Surveillance of Skype Messages in China Part II
Oct 13: Don’t Vote Print Campaign
Oct 16: Creativity: Leave Nothing Nike Commercial
Oct 19: Influence of TV SNL Satire on Political Identity - Sarah Palin 2008
** Most Pageviews
Oct 22: Apple vs. Microsoft. Mac vs PC Marketing
** Most Comment Activity
Oct 25: Social Network - Facebook - Friends Forever
Oct 28: Creativity - American Airlines & Holiday Inn TV Commercial Spots
Oct 30: Are Election Media Polls Trustworthy?

If you haven’t signed up for the RSS Feed please do!
You can sign up for RSS Feed Here or if you are not familiar with what RSS feeds are check out this post on RSS Feeds

As mentioned above please engage the community and comment when you have something to say!

Scared Heart University did a study on how much people trust the media. Less than 19% of adults said they trust or believe most of what the media tells them. 24% said they believe little or nothing of what is told to them. Most people believe the media is out to influence the public more than informing the public.

How does the public feel about the various media companies?
New York Times: Left Leaning (42%)
National Public Radio [NPR]: Left Leaning (40%)
MSNBC: Left Leaning (39%)
CNN: Left Leaning (12%)
Fox News: (49%)

How does the public feel about the accuracy of what is being told to the public?
Fox News: 27%
CNN: 14%
NBC: 11%
ABC: 7%
CBS: 7%
MSNBC: 4%
PBS: 3%

Those figures are staggering. The lack of confidence in our media is glaring. From the whole “weapons of mass destruction” debacle to the extra attention ABC/NBC vs FOX bias have gotten during this presidential campaign, it is not surprising to see public confidence falling. These media polls are now often looked at as an effort to gather important information, rather to create news for the sake of creating news. It doesn’t help when media companies funnel millions and millions of dollars to particular party.

40% of Americans now claim they pay little or no attention to opinion polls. 50% of people think polls are somewhat accurate while 20% say not very accurate. 10% say, they are not accurate at all!

Maybe McCain is onto something when he says he is still in the race and the media is getting it all wrong. Maybe not.

Do you think the media polls are trustworthy?
Do you think the media stations do a good job maintain objectivity or is it bias?
Share your opinions below!

Related: Media’s Financial Contributions to Political Parties

Holiday Inn
The Holiday Inn campaign has been running for a while now. Each commercial starts with person doing something good or extraordinary. When asked how they do it or how they managed, the response is that they don’t really know but they did stay at a holiday inn last night. This one brings a little humor. As with any commercial, if you could drill in a tagline that reinforces the brand name then the commercial has done its part.

Older Commercials:
Nike - Leave Nothing Commercials
Honda Domino Commercial
Mac vs PC Saga Commercials
Head & Shoulders - Clever Play on Words
Beijing Olympic Commercials

Share your thoughts! Comment below!

A perusal of my Facebook Friend roster reveals that I, a medium-social individual of only middling lifetime popularity, have never lost a friend. They’re all there: elementary school friends, high school friends, college friends, work friends, friends of friends, friends of ex-girlfriends—the constellation of familiar faces crowds my Friendbox like medals on Mussolini’s chest. I’m Friend-rich—at least onscreen. I’ve never lost touch with anyone, it seems. What I’ve lost is the right to lose touch. - Wired Magazine

Facebook is one of the most well known social network of our time. Millions of people are reconnecting with old friends and utilizing this network to stay connected with those in the present. It opens up another venue to keep in touch and drop a friendly hello while keeping track of what each person is up to. You can meet people with similar interest as well as discovering who in your circle is connected to who.

But being closely linked to a person is not always a good thing. Who do you have linked into your facebook? How many of them are actual “friends”, and how many are people you rarely ever talk to? How many of those are people you no longer want to associate with? How many of those are exs… what if you are married already? Could it potentially be dangerous? An open door for possible temptation? Is staying connected with everyone a good thing?

Every one of these individuals in your Facebook Friend’s List can potentially follow your every move and see every action depending on your privacy settings. What is worse is that not only can they see your pictures, they can post pictures of YOU and tag that picture with your name. Has anyone experienced old unflattering pictures from the past come back and haunt you? An old high school friend posts a very compromising pictures tagged with your name and suddenly it becomes viewable to your co-workers, to your spouse, to those who may never thought you could have been this way. What are the pros and cons of a network such as these?

Just throwing it out there. What do you think? Have an opinion?
Pros? Cons? Have your own horror story?

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-11/pl_brown

Microsoft however was not amused. After Vista failed to meet expectations and criticized across the board, Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft blamed the commercials for the poor view of Vista. Microsoft than launched a $300 million dollar ad campaign to fight back.

I find this “battle” quite amusing because the type of ads that are produced are only further affirming the image the public has of each company. Microsoft as the out of touch, big bad company that throws money to get what it wants. Apple as the hip young company who are well in tune with what consumers want and one of the best at marketing it’s products. I’ve summarized their campaigns embedded the relevant videos below. Definitely check out the Apple ones.

Mac vs. PC
Before starting the discussion, see below one of the old original Mac vs PC ad. This will give you a feeling for the Mac vs. PC ad campaign. These Ads are well done because they are fast, clean, to the point, addresses advantages of a MAC, highlights it’s features, builds a cool brand image, doesn’t sound condescending and is just simply well made.

Microsoft goes on the Defensive!
After announcing their $300 million dollar advertising initiative, Microsoft started off by launching the Mojave Experiment where they try to play off the issues with Vista as a big misunderstanding. Unfortunately this backfired as people perceived this ad as very condescending and blaming the poor launch on the ignorance of it’s consumers. It was also criticized because the issues of Vista were widely documented but rather than addressing the problem they seem to point fingers elsewhere. This campaign was immediately stopped.

Mojave Experiment

Microsoft then launched the widely anticipated TV spots starring Bill Gates and Seinfeld. Unfortunately the ads were not only excruciating long, they didn’t seem to have a point and said nothing about Microsoft products. They paid Seinfeld $10 million dollars to be part of this campaign. Unfortunately after two spots, Microsoft scrapped it. Get a feel for it below. I wouldn’t watch the whole thing. It’s long.

1 of 2 Bill Gates / Seinfield Commercials

I’m a PC
Microsoft then launched “I’m a PC” ads. These were the most well received. However Microsoft is clearly on the defensive trying to shake off their image by associating every day people with a “PC”. Only problem this does not promote Vista, Windows, or Microsoft for that matter. It doesn’t mention a single product features, doesn’t have simple message and just doesn’t have the type of focus the Mac vs PC ads were able to execute so well.

Apple pokes fun
Apple continues to pump out their clever Mac vs. PC ads. Their most recent ads decides to poke a little fun of Microsoft’s marketing problems. Just watch them. No need to explain.

Apple: Bean Counter
Addresses Microsoft’s $300 million dollar effort to “Market” their way out of the problem rather than investing the money in fixing the problem.

Apple: V Word
Another small jab at Microsoft attempt to mask the problem by using more neutral words like Windows instead of using Vista.

Apple: Mac vs PC - PR Lady
Addresses Microsoft’s attempt to cover up their issues. They already disassociate Microsoft from their more hip products like Xbox & Zune. Microsoft also bragged that 83% of their Vista users would recommend it to others while 89%expressed satisfaction. But it was later found that about half of those responses were “somewhat likely” to recommend and “somewhat satisfied” with their experience. Most consumer satisfaction ratings repesents only “very satisfied” users. For comparison the Apple iPhone as a 79% “very satisfied” rating in an independent study while Microsoft has a 43% rating in their OWN study. They also self-declared Vista as the “best operating system we had ever made”. Self-declaration. Nice.

What about others? New York times says “Windows Vista is beautiful”. Great, except the actual review was titled “Vista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks…”

Apple: Mac vs PC - Support Group

What are your thoughts about this? I find it humorous. You?

Sarah Palin commented “I love her (Fey), she’s a hoot and she’s so talented.” She later added that “It would be fun to meet her, imitate her and keep on giving her new material”. SNL did follow up and Palin made an appearance on SNL recently, but that is beside the point.

The point I wanted to bring up is that these sketches has had a tremendous impact on Palin’s image and there is a huge segment of the population that only knows Palin as Tina Fey. The power of media has never been so stark.

“I think it’s a tremendous help to the Democrats,” said John Leo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and popular culture expert. “It doesn’t create a feeling about Palin. But I think it solidifies or magnifies what’s in people’s minds. It’s probably fairer to say people who were leaning or already going to vote democratic just solidified their vote.”

With the growing use of the Internet, Tina Fey’s interpretations will probably impact this election tremendously. Videos of these sketches online have already had 10+ million views. The last time an comedic impression even came close to matching the impact it is having today is Chevy Chase’s impression of bumbling Presidential Gerald Ford in 1976. Many have claimed this comedic caricature could have cost him the election.

Below are some of the sketches. Though the original sketch with “HIlary Clinton” was probably the funniest, I found some of the comments made there a bit crude so I did not include it in this list.

If you have any opinions on this matter or just want to comment on the sketches, please comment below!

Vice Presidential Debate - Sarah Palin & Joe Biden

Sarah Palin Cameos on SNL

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