Week 12: Media Literacy of Beer Commercials

There are many different types of beer advertisements. Beer companies know that the cost to the consumer of brand switching is very low, and many people will switch back in forth between what their favorite beer is. For example, I usually drink premium beers from local breweries such as Harpoon or Blue Moon, but every now and then I get the urge for cheaper beer so maybe I'll buy Coors Light. Then again, maybe I'll buy Heineken. Eh, I kind of feel like Bud Light Lime this time.

Picking what beer to buy can, at times, be a dilemma. When I'm stuck in the beer aisle, dancing around figuring out what brand of beer I am going to buy, it sometimes comes down to which beer commercial was the funniest.

I believe there to be three main types of beer advertisements: those that appeal to having fun/being funny, those that appeal to having taste, and those that appeal to sex. Many beer companies use one of these types of advertisements and make an entire advertising campaign based around it (see Budweiser's "Bud-Weis-errrr" frog commercials from the 90s). And, other beer companies make commercials that appeal to all three.

Here are some of the more recent commercials that exemplify this.

1. Heineken's Fridge Commercial- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rat7GOknhRM
This is Heineken's most recent commercial, and I have to say, it is by far one of my favorite beer commercials of all time. It is one of the funniest commercials I have seen in awhile. Heinken's main purpose of this advertisement is to convey to the consumer that Heineken beer is so good, it should be an everyday staple in a man's life (like shoe's and pocketbooks are in a women's life). Heineken's target market with this ad is males probably 21-40. I say 21-40 because you don't really see any older people in the commercial, which is advertising's subtle way of defining their market. The creative language used in this advertisement is the stereotypes that men put on women (as being obsessed with clothing and shoes). It provides the perfect undertone for the punchline that men are obsessed with beer. I think this advertisement will be universally understood, but more appreciated by men than women.

2. Dos Equis: The Most Interesting Man Commercial- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2SSZA0CjdQ
This is Dos Equis' most recent commercial, and is also very well done. It is one of the beer companies that incorporates the funny, the sexy, and the classy all in one commercial; and this is a perfect example of it. I think the main message of this commercial is that Dos Equis drinkers are classy because they wanted people to know that drinking beer, occasionally, can be classy. The target audience of this ad are males between the ages of 30 and 60. By using an older gentlemen in the commercial, that is still out socializing, it gives the target audience the feel of being classy. The creative language in the ad is in the first few seconds, where they show the man doing classy things such as playing racquetball instead of basketball, saying he once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels (comically implying that he has the power to determine his awkward moments), and saying he lives vicariously through himself. Also, the older man is always surrounded by young beautiful women (in one scene they are Miss America contestants). This makes the viewer feel like if they are more classy then they too will be surrounded by young beautiful women. I don't think anyone could misinterpret this advertisement,really. There aren't many different ways to interpret it. It's a classy gentlemen, that drinks Dos Equis, and whom is surrounded by beautiful women.

3. Bud Light Lime "Summer State Of Mind"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1kbIBGpYUs
This is a commercial by the makers of Bud Light Lime from earlier this year. It is a good example of how beer is about fun. In this commercial, Bud Light Lime gives the person the feeling that it is summer. The makers are creatively associating the lime flavor with citrus growing in the south where it is hotter outside. So, wherever the person goes with a Bud Light Lime, he has a bubble of summer around him. And, in the commercial, people are partying and having fun, associating the Bud Light Lime name with having a good time. The target audience is younger beer drinkers that like to have fun. This message makes me feel like going out, buying some bud light lime, and having a barbeque with my friends. The lifestyle presented in this ad is having a good time but not over-doing the good time and being unsafe. The commercial is valuing the idea of having good summertime fun.


After viewing these three examples of beer commercials, it is clear that beer companies are competitively trying to get consumers to switch to their brand of beer using creativity and not slandering other brands. Dos Equis says "stay classy" but doesnt say "Budweiser is for cheap-os."
There are many assumptions about American life in beer commercials. You can see that sex appeal is very important in a beer commercial, as the men are always normal looking, and the women are always extremely good-looking (I can't recall a beer commercial that had an ugly woman in it). It always says that many males care about their image (as shown by Dos Equis). But, mostly, beer companies assume that Americans of all types drink, and love, beer.

Week 11: (My own) The Transition to DTV...OKAY WE GET IT!!!

I know I'm not the only one who has seen Oprah's "switch to dtv" ad. We get it; if you have analog tv, you're gonna need to switch to digital tv.

My problem with this is, how many people are STILL using analog tv sets?? I feel like this isn't as big of a problem in the television world as they think. I'd be curious to see the number of U.S. homes that are still using analog television sets.

The Smothers Brother's Comedy Hour

No, I have never seen the show before today. I have never even heard of it until today. It was significant to the time because the two brothers were very much against the current mainstream political scene, especially Johnson and Nixon. And, ofcourse, they were against the Vietnam War, and therefore really embraced the counterculture of the time. This is why the program was so popular, because it was basically a political satire, and the amount of people that were against the government at the time because of the Vietnam War was very large. So, many of them watched the show.

I think that censorship of any kind goes against our right to freedom of speech. I think it is unfair to tell someone that they cannot say or do something just because it is offensive. The way I have always seen it is, if you don't like something you hear or see, don't listen or don't watch.

The "Daisy Girl" ad

The "Daisy Girl" ad of 1964 is said to be the first real negative political ad. This ad was when Lyndon B. Johnson was running for president, and he made his opponent look like a bad guy.

It is important to American politics because after this ad, many more politicians after him ran political ads. It is one of the most disgusting practices in politics, today. The number of negative political ads has increased dramatically since the 1960s. And, as we saw with the last presidential election, negative ads aren't going anywhere.

Week 8: Elvis on Ed Sullivan in '56

1 Between 1955 and 1965 public opinion of television began to turn a bit negative. Chose one event during this time in history and blog about how it contributed to the thinking that television negatively impacted individuals and society?


When Elvis appeared on Ed Sullivan's show in September of 1956, there was much concern, especially by Ed, himself, that Elvis' provocative dancing/movements would outrage some television viewers.

For his first performance, the cameras stayed mostly above Elvis' waist. But, during his second performance, the camera zoomed out and tv audiences throughout the United States were able to see Elvis' provocative hip swinging.

This offended many parents, as they did not want their children to be able to see such displays on television. And, at the time, there were no sort of tv-parental controls or ratings, so parents had no way of stopping their kids from watching shows like this if they weren't home to physically stop them. So, parents had every right to be worried that such performances would negatively impact their children.

Martin Luther King's Speech

The speech was a very powerful speech. It inspired millions of people around the world, black and white alike. It was significant because it was broadcasted and recorded, and like I just said it inspired millions of people. It also created more of a driving force for the Civil Rights movement. The speech is still relevant today. There are still minorities fighting for their civil rights, that can look back on Martin Luther King's words and gain hope for their purpose.

The Recent abundance of shows not being limited to the Fall Season

Maybe I'm crazy, but I remember a few years ago, all of the new shows would be scheduled for the fall, leaving no new shows in the spring and summer.

I feel like over the past few years, we've seen a shift of new programming spread out throughout the year. NEW shows are even being scheduled in the summer ("Monk", "The Closer", etc.) There are even new shows having their season premiere this week ("Kings").

I'm wondering why the recent shift in programming schedule. I am thinking maybe it has something to do with the increase in the amount of homes that have DVR & TiVo. I think stations are beginning to realize that not everyone watches shows at their air time, and a lot use their DVR to record to watch shows at a later time.

Anyway, thank you, TV scheduling committee (hah what if there was one?), for giving me something to watch in the summer when the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees both have the day off.

TV shows taking "breaks" in the Middle of a Season Unappreciation.

I am starting to get frustrated with a few TV shows right now. I hate when shows take a week off, but I get over it quickly. But, when shows take two or more weeks off, I think its kind of unfair to the viewers. I think producers need to give their viewers a show every week.


Here are a few shows that are starting to "grind my gears". "Lost" is taking two weeks off from airing any new episodes. By the time the next episode airs, people will have forgotten the key revelations of 3 weeks ago. It is really not an ideal move on their part. This leaves me with nothing to watch on Wednesday nights for the next couple of weeks; I'm not thrilled about it.

"Heroes" is another show taking two weeks off (what the hell is it with these shows?!?) Anyway, the show is at a climax point (Peter's brother was discovered to have a superpower, himself. Then, he is shown at Claire's house, saving her from being captured. Also, we found out the "Matt Parkman" that Hiro and Ando were supposed to save is actually a baby named Matt Parkman. It was a very good episode, but left the viewers confused, puzzled, and now forced to wait two more weeks to figure it all out.

How about "Family Guy"? This show frustrates me the most. It is taking an off week more than it is actually being aired, it seems. More than half the time I turn on Fox on Sunday nights, Family Guy has not been new. This is disappointing. (luckily, a new show called "Kings" is coming out this sunday night!)

Ignoring the actual product, I posted the colors red and yellow. (This graphic just happened to have both in it). Tv in the early days was about who was a communist (red) and who wasn't. I posted the yellow because tv was also about which stations weren't afraid (Not yellow) to push the envelope and go against popular opinion or governmental ideas.

Thus far, what have you learned that was particularly interesting, surprised you and was new information?

Interesting: I learned that when radio was first being used for the military, people that were also experimenting with radio would call in false orders on military channels.

Surprised me: I was surprised that Westinghouse, now a popular tv company, was around in the 1930s and were a big name back then also.



New information: I learned that the first baseball telecast was in 1939 and was actually a college game. I thought baseball wasn't popular enough to make it to tv until after WWII.

Old vs New

The old show that i watched was The I Love Lucy Show. The new show I watched was The King Of Queens. There is a lot that has changed in television. In the I love Lucy Show, Ricky always down talks Lucy because she is the woman, and that kind of view was stereotypical of the era the show took place. The clothing is completely different ofcourse. Now, in The King of Queens, Carry talks back to Doug and they call each other names and such. The women all wore dresses, and men were in suits (in the old shows). In the newer show (king of queens), doug was wearing sweats and a t shirt and Carry was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Also, Lucy always had make up on her face, whereas Carry is occasionally seen without make up.

What I Watched By Monday Feb 2nd

On Tuesday night, I watched both new episodes of scrubs at 9 and then 9:30 pm. I watched this show because it always makes me laugh because it is so over the top-cheesy that it is funny, and it has a great cast. I like the way that the writers bring everything together at the end with a sort of "moral" message, even though the majority of the show was humorous.

On Wednesday night, I watched episode 2 of this season's Lost at 9:00 pm. I think the writers of this show are just geniouses. The way that the writers intertwine all of the characters pasts' is very well done, and it keeps the show interesting. This week, viewers found that Charles Whitmore (Or Whidmore?) was on the island in the 1950s, which threw back everyone that watches the show. It was one of those "Did that really just happen" moments. This is the reason that I watch the show; because there are so many twists and turns, but they all make sense and fit with the show (so far at least). Except the black smoke...