Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Lovemark- Vans shoes.


       A Lovemark is something that consumers like and buy for other reasons besides what the product does for them. We see them in our everyday live, Nike's will make you jump higher, Gatorade will improve performance. People buy these products because they think that it will be more than just a shoe, or a refreshing drink. We almost feel an emotional attachment to the product that causes us to buy the name brands, even if the off brands look, or taste the same.

       Personally, I can only think of two lovemarks that I have and those would be Apple products, and Vans shoes.
     
       One of the main reasons that I prefer and Apple products over anything else is the fact that in my eyes they represent the future. Apple is always coming out with new technology that blows our minds, and all their products are very visually appealing. To me things such as Macintosh computers are better built, longer lasting, more visually appealing, and more environmentally friendly than any other computers out there. Also when comparing the iPod to the Zune, the iPod is much more technologically advanced, they had touch screens first, you can get free apps on the iPod Touch, and they are easier to get music onto because most music is bought and stored in iTunes. When looking at any products whether its a new computer, a music playing device or a phone I will always choose Apple products over everything else.

       Apply also puts out that they have better values and morals than other competitor companies. They are always coming out with some new environmentally green batteries that won't help in the depletion of our ozone. Or a new recycle program so old pieces that could be reused aren't filling up our landfills. When I see someone with a Mac one of my first thoughts it "If they chose to have that mac over a PC they are probably more inclined to recycle."

       There is also the idea that people who prefer Mac's, or Apple products in general are more "hippies" and "environmentally friendly, because at least in my experience, when I walk in to Prescott College, or the local, "fair trade" coffee shop I see the majority of people using Mac's. The reason for this can go both ways. Yes, maybe some of those people to care about the environment, and want the best for our earth. But also, who wants to be the odd one out? A lot of the reason that people choose Apple products is because other people choose Apply products and no one wants to be the odd one out.



       Now the reason that Vans are a Lovemark for me is more personal. When I first started caring about my appearance, and I was beginning to figure out who i was as a person, my mother took me shopping for the first time where I was able to pick out clothes and shoes that I liked. I remember walking into Journeys shoe store and seeing the section of vans. They were all very visually appealing to me so I decided to get my first pair. I ended up loving them so much it was almost like a comfort thing to me, every time from then on out when I bought shoes they were always Vans.

       Over the past 10 years vans have been very popular shoes, they are comfortable, lightweight, and stylish. Van's company has done a very good job at keeping up with incoming and outgoing trends also. Van's are such  versatile shoe that there is almost one fore every kind of person. For the California surfer or the local skate boarder there is the original, for the goth kids there are black ones, for the scene kids there are bright colored ones, and for the hipsters there are ones with little designs or old fashioned floral patterns. No wonder they are one of the most popular shoes brands, they know what people want and they give it to them. That's why Vans are my favorite shoes out there.





                                                                                               








                               

Terrorism PSA

To watch the video section of my PSA click here.  After watching read below.


Did your child do this? Teach your children to play nice.


Visit www.antiterrorism.org for more info. 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pop Culture Tour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfhwqhrEAus This is the URL to my Pop Culture Tour Video.

Book vs Movie (Where The Wild Things Are)

Where The Wild Things Are
           

In today’s culture books and movies are two of our most prominent forms of entertainment. There are constant changes in books and even more so in movies. Movies are remade and digitally altered to be more appealing to the people watching. Good movies are turned into books and more often good books are turned into movies. Sometimes audiences are disappointed in the change from a book to a movie like the first three Twilight movies. The Twilight books got people hooked, and the movies were just eh. Other times the movie remake of a book is just as good as the book if not better like the Harry Potter movies, or the Lord of the Rings. One of the most amazing transformations from a book to a movie, in my opinion is Where The Wild Things Are. (If you would like to watch the trailer click here.) What originated as a twenty page, ten sentence children’s story (Click here for a link to read the book online) was turned into a full length movie. There is a lot of controversy over the movie, but there is a reason why so many changes had to be done during the creation of the movie.
One of the biggest changes done to the story is the addition of many extra scenes that were not in the book. They added scenes of Max playing in the snow outside, his mother having people over, and Max’s older sister being mean to him. They also extended scenes to make them longer, like the scene of the wild rumpus that was two pages long in the book and was much longer in the movie. The main reasons for these changes are that a twenty page children’s book would most likely turn into a really horrible five minute film. The changes had to be done in order for the book to be turned into a full length movie.
The producers also made changes that made the movie more appealing to a different audience. Where The Wild Things Are the book is a children’s story that almost any aged child would enjoy, while the movie is a little m ore in depth and geared towards a different age group. The movie is also a little scarier, there is much more hatred, violence and depression which makes it more appealing to an older audience, from teens to adults. They probably did this because making the movie more appealing to a larger audience brings in more revenue.
Other changes were made to the movie because they just made more sense. For example it makes more sense that Max gets angry with him mom, runs away and finds the boat that takes him to the wild things than it does that his room just began to turn into the forest. Also, in the book when Max finally gets more he has a hot bowl or porridge waiting for him, while in the movie he has a slice of cake.
Although overall most people were disappointed in the turn out of the movie ( I wasn’t at all) we have to give some credit to them for turning  such a short children’s story into a movie. Not only were they very creative with adding details and extra scenes they still kept the same message – Don’t’ disrespect or disobey your mum because if you do giant monsters will threaten to “eat you up”. 

Compare and Contrast


 Where the Wild Things Are Book
·         He eats porridge at the end of the book.
·         The book is 20 pages, 10 sentences.
·         He literally sees his bed turning into trees and his walls turning into the forest.

Where the Wild Things Are Movie
·         He eats cake at the end of the movie. 
·         They build a large hut out of stick and rocks.
·         The book goes way more in depth about Max’s emotional issues. (fear, hatred, depression)
·         They add many more plot lines to the movie.
·         He runs away from home and finds the boat to take him.

Both the Book and the Movie
·         There is an epic wild rumpus.
·         Boy is misbehaving and goes to the island of the wild things.
·         The wild things look the same in both. 
·         The wild things make Max Their king
·         Max gets hurt (emotionally) learns a life lesson and decides to go back home.
·         Wore his wolf costume
·         Terrorized the dog
·         Threatened to eat his loved ones.