The Art of Advertising

Advertising is important. How else is one supposed to get their product noticed? You could say that every product advertised is guaranteed at least some sales based on the advertisement alone, if the ad is good enough. Some ads aim to be funny while others try to expose truths. Depending on what the company is trying to accomplish, the resulting ad can be very interesting. Advertisements can use both original material and “cameos” from other franchises.

That smile! |Source|

The gecko from GEICO is perhaps one of the best known ad campaigns in North America. The gecko ads are both interesting and humorous. There’s just something appealing about a CGI gecko talking with a smooth voice about why you should switch to GEICO. The gecko is GEICO’s mascot and is not originally a pop culture icon, but he has become one over the years. According to GEICO, the gecko ad campaign has certainly helped them in the long run. To this day, the gecko ads for GEICO still air on TV with new material and most certainly more ad revenue.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. |Source|

One of GEICO’s less successful campaigns was the caveman ad campaign. The premise is that there would be an ad pitch within the ad itself where someone would say “GEICO, so easy, a caveman could do it!” which ended up offending the caveman community. The commercial would continue with a caveman becoming upset and usually throwing a tantrum. The caveman ads were well received at the time, and even warranted a TV series. However, the show didn’t catch on and was cancelled. After the show’s cancellation, GEICO retired the caveman ad campaign.

One of my favorite ad campaigns was a short lived attempt from Burger King. The “king” was shown in various commercials, usually stalking unassuming people and giving them food. Most would call it creepy, and it is, but I personally love the “king” brand. The tagline, “Wake up with the king”, is funny to me. Maybe I’m just a weirdo. The “king” became popular enough to warrant three Xbox 360 games being developed and sold for a limited time. While not as popular as a certain clown, the “king” certainly has his fan base.

Yes, this is Ronald? |Source|

Speaking of a clown, Ronald McDonald is another of the most popular mascots in ad campaigning. The idea behind Ronald is that he makes people happy and brings joy and peace to the world. When people see Ronald, they immediately think of McDonalds. Ronald even has his own charity foundation, which definitely helps with his happiness campaign. If you love McDonalds, you probably love Ronald.

Of course, not all ads have to use original characters. Here, we see Goku and some of the other characters from DragonBall Z appearing in a Japanese ad for KFC. DragonBall Z is extremely popular in Japan, and KFC was smart to collaborate with the series and make an ad. The ad is promoting the new Battle of Gods film that premiered in Japan last year. Using pop culture icons is much easier for ad creators to use than making their own and hoping that they become popular.

Regardless of what kind of icon and brand is used, advertisements are a powerful asset to companies and content creators. With ads, people become aware of what kinds of products companies are making for their customers. It’s interesting to see what companies will come up with when making their ads. It’s creativity at it’s finest!

Censorship in Television and Why it's Not so Good

What makes television unique, and in some cases more enjoyable, than movies is that it is broadcasted on a global level and can be viewed from the comfort of one’s home. If you want to go see a movie, you have to go to the theater, pay an absurd amount of money, and then sit in a large cool room while watching what I generally feel is too long of a movie (i. e. two or so hours.) With TV, one has access to thousands of channels and programming of different kinds. Do you like sports? Why not try ESPN? Do you like foreign cultures? Then the Travel Channel is right for you. Love music? The best place to go is MTV, or at least it used to be. The point being; there are so many different channels on TV that you could spend hours upon hours watching shows. Just like different styles of clothes go in and out of style as time passes, new trends in TV arise and replace the old ones. However, with a new age come new sensibilities. What was okay to show in the early 90’s may not be as socially acceptable in the mid 2000’s. Whether it is due to parents trying to control what their kids see or our minds becoming more sensitive to what used to be fine, censorship in TV has changed from what it was back in the day, and not in a good way.

Burn marks probably hurt more than gaping holes. |Source|

These days, TV show producers think twice on the amount of violence shown in their shows. Blood is removed, gory scars are covered, and brutal scenes are either done off camera or taken out altogether. While some may feel that violence is not something that should be shown on TV and that brutal scenes are better when done off camera, they also need to understand that violence is very real and continues to happen, warranted or not. By trying to censor the violence in a show, viewers will be taken out of their immersion while they look at the pretty, unscathed face of a character that just got his nose bit off by a shark. If said character loses his nose to a shark, there is no reason to make it seem like he was born without a nose and didn’t tell anyone.

In the image above, we see a scene from the popular anime DragonBall Z and the re-aired DragonBall Z Kai. In this scene, Raditz and Goku have been shot with Piccolo’s Makankosappo (called Special Beam Cannon in the English dub.) In the original, Goku and Raditz’s stomachs are shown with an open wound pouring out blood. When the show aired on North American TV, the scene was naturally edited, as the Japanese seemingly have a different view on violence in animation. However, in the refresh broadcast known as DragonBall Z Kai, the blood is removed and the whole is now a simple burn mark and isn’t really a hole anymore. While it makes more sense for a burst of energy being shot from a demonic alien to burn when coming into contact with flesh, the fact of the matter is that the scene was altered in order to look less violent.

 

Which would you rather be: a tortured soul or a loser? |Source|

Religious content has also been the subject of censors. While not as prominent as before, religion was a subject that broadcasters and producers felt was best left alone, possibly in order to avoid controversy. Again, let’s take a look at DragonBall Z. After Goku is killed in the fight with Raditz, he travels to King Kai’s planet in order to receive training. However, on the way there, he trips and falls into hell. Yes, Goku went to hell for a little bit. Childhood ruined. If you watched the show on Cartoon Network back in the day, you will be confused, because the name of the place Goku falls into is not called “hell”, but is instead called “H. F. I. L” or “Home for Infinite Losers.” The writers of the English dub changed the name in order to remove any religious themes in the show. This could also be interpreted as an attempt at humor, as villains are generally losers. In recent times, and in the English dub of DragonBall Z Kai, the original name has been restored, at least on the uncut DVD.

Blue is not the new black. |Source|

 In my opinion, the saddest and most pathetic form of censorship is the censorship of racial stereotypes. While also the most “offensive” of the three types of censorship I’ve listed, I see it as a major misinterpretation of the artist’s intentions. Here, we are going to take a look at the character Mr. Popo from DragonBall Z. As you can see, his skin color is black in the original. However, in the public TV broadcast of DragonBall Z Kai that aired on CW4Kids recolored him to blue. This is the perfect example of a misunderstanding and a waste of a censor. It is very clear from the moment he first appears that Mr. Popo is not human. Much like Piccolo, he is of a different world. Therefore, he should not be the subject of race.

There are other examples of censors and “offensive” content, especially in DragonBall Z, such as Vegeta giving Gohan the finger. It’s clear to me that people’s views on offensive content have changed. Not only are there more censors, but because of the interest in foreign shows, people are becoming more aware of censorship in TV shows. People are becoming so aware of it, that even content creators have taken notice and joke about it. Personally, I think we should be a little looser with our censoring, especially with foreign content. If we continue to censor content, characterizations are lost and meanings within names and dialogue are changed. As a writer, the meanings behind characters and names and what they say are very important to me. If a creator had a point to prove in a character or their actions, we shouldn’t censor them, otherwise we miss the point.

Video games as an art form

Video games are one of my favorite hobbies. They are fun, engaging, and challenging all at once. Video games have become popular hobbies for like-minded people, including myself. Today, thousands of people play video games. There are several different issues in games that stand but today I’d like to focus on one: are video games art?

Dragon Age and its sequel use a dialogue tree system, in which the player character can say (almost) anything they want. |Source|

 Video games, like films, are visually stimulating. Both have pretty colors and flashing light but that’s not the only thing to their presentation. Films challenge artists to tell their stories and messages through what the viewer will see. Video games do the same, but the approach is more direct and interactive. When you watch a movie, you can’t control what’s going to happen. The good guy will save the world in the exact way that the directors want. With video games, however, players are part of the story telling process, where what they do has some sort of effect on the present situation. Games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect have taken the player’s interaction into consideration and let them make their own decisions that affect the story of the game on major levels. The developers of these games make you feel like you were part of a writing process and that’s what makes them enriching, in my opinion.

The Last of Us is one of the most memorable games of the past generation. |Source|

On the other hand, a common complaint among gamers today is that video games are becoming too much like movies. While I personally think that it’s only a small hand full of developers who are making games too similar to movies, those developers do indeed make film-like games. Games like The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls are good examples in recent memory. The way I see it, the reason why gamers don’t want games to be too much like movies is because they want a strong balance of storytelling and action. They don’t want to play a story game that doesn’t have any interaction at all, nor do they want to play an action game that doesn’t at least attempt to have a plot behind it. Gamers don’t want to watch a boss fight; they want to actually fight the boss. Although I’m a writer who enjoys the stories of the video games I play, I do think that action and gameplay is important. If a game isn’t fun to play or hardly playable at all no one will play it. The games they seem too much like movies do have some gameplay in them, but there usually isn’t much to the gameplay.

Final Fantasy is considered to be a mainstay within the video game community, among Mario and Legend of Zelda, and is known for its Active Time Battle System, one I personally find boring. |Source|

"I don't think I have what I takes to make a good action game. I think I'm better at telling a story." - Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy.

 

So, why do these kinds of developers choose to make their stories into video games instead of films? That’s a difficult question to answer. Everyone’s motivation is different, but I feel that the reason is simply because the developers enjoy video games as a medium of art. The developers are just that; video game developers. That’s their job. They could choose to make a film instead and, arguably, achieve what they are trying to accomplish better than they could in their game. Yet, the developers chose to make a game. I think that video games will eventually become an accepted and respected medium for adaptations of novels or many even comic books. The Batman: Arkham series of games are a prime example of pop culture icon adaptation.

Overall, I would say that, yes, video games are art and that we shouldn’t worry about the unique qualities of gaming going away, for I think that developers and franchise owners will find that video games are a good medium for adaptation of other stories.

Toei Animation: A History Review on Quality Anime

The anime industry, while still relatively niche, has been growing since the early nineties. Much like Japanese monster and horror films, anime has quite the following, with merchandise and various conventions all across the globe. There are several companies that all produce different kind of anime for fans to watch. However, while anime is a niche market, it does have a reasonably large market and some figure heads are more well-known than others. One of those companies, Toei Animation, is a perfect example of one of the juggernauts of the anime industry

Toei's logo is donned with an image of Pero, the company mascot. |Source|

 Toei is an animation company that produces various anime in Japan. The company was formed in January of 1948. According to their history timeline on the official Toei website, Toei Animation was originally located in Shinjuku, Tokyo but has also set up various studios and departments located in Nerima, Tokyo, the Philippines, and Los Angeles ("Toei animation corporate,") Their very first film, The White Snake, premiered in Japanese theaters on October of 1958 ("Toei animation history,") The company is best known for producing various TV shows, generally targeted towards kids. Toei is one of the oldest anime production companies, as well as one of the most renowned. Any hardcore anime fan will have seen at least one Toei show and are likely watching one of their latest anime. Not that it means anything from a comparison stand point, because the general public has as well, without even realizing it.

DragonBall Z is one of the most popular anime out there, and for good reason! |Source|

 To both the Asian and Western public, Toei Animation is perhaps best known for producing the hit anime series DragonBall Z. Despite having what has appeared to be major quality control issues, DragonBall Z garnered a huge following internationally. The success of DragonBall Z led to many forms of merchandise, such as action figures, movies, music, cards, video games, and clothing. Even today, DragonBall Z is fondly remembered as a masterpiece of fiction worthy of standing next to cult icons such as Superman or Batman, and is considered to be one of the classic anime that any fan should see.

Fighting for a Greek goddess has never been so awesome! |Source|

Although none as stellar of a hit as DragonBall Z, Toei has produced other titles that many hardcore anime fans consider fantastic, if not a little overhyped. One of my favorite anime, along DBZ, is a slightly obscure series called Saint Seiya. While it never made as big of an impact as DBZ, Saint Seiya did air edited in English under the title Knights of the Zodiac on Cartoon Network, the same station that aired DragonBall Z in English. Saint Seiya was popular in Japan and did get some attention in North America, but never caught wind like DragonBall Z. Since its cancelation after the first thirty episodes, Saint Seiya quietly died down, but not without a release on DVD and a separate translation done to be more accurate to the original Japanese. There has been some attempt to bring the series back, but only time will tell whether or not Saint Seiya will become the next DragonBall Z.

Admit it, you watched it too. |Source|

While most of Toei’s shows were targeted towards young boys, they do have at least two major franchises targeted towards girls. Around the same time as when DragonBall Z started airing in English, Sailor Moon also began its run. Sailor Moon, much like DBZ, is considered a classic among the fans that remember it. When it aired on television, Sailor Moon garnered almost as much praise as DBZ and practically split the anime niche in half. Unfortunately, the series has long since finished, with DVDs out of print and merchandise hard to find. Recently, Sailor Moon has seemingly had resurgence. The original comic books have been finally released in English and talks of a new TV series arise as well as the English voice cast reuniting after twenty years from the series original debut on North American TV. Ah, Sailor Moon, you’ve been missed!

Pretty Cure is kind of like a mix between Sailor Moon and Saint Seiya. |Source|

 Toei’s other female-oriented show is a franchise called Pretty Cure. While primarily popular in Japan, Pretty Cure could be considered one of Toei’s “safe-guards”, meaning it keeps Toei afloat when they are in trouble. Unlike the other series mentioned earlier, Pretty Cure is a long going series will a new season being produced almost bi-yearly. Due to its popularity, Toei has released a plethora of Pretty Cure merchandise including toys and movies. There was a short lived attempt to market the series in North America, but not only did it hardly ever see the light of day, there has also been no further attempt to bring the series into the English speaking market.

One Piece is too big for one TV. |Source|

 Currently, Toei Animation has been producing and airing the hit series One Piece on Japanese television. One Piece has essentially taken the past two generations of fans by storm and may have even surpassed DragonBall Z as the series that fans needed to watch. One Piece has been ongoing for roughly 600+ episodes and has quite the following internationally as well. Most anime fans, if not all, love One Piece and Toei is proud to be the one helming the anime adaption of it. One Piece has garnered films, video games, toys, clothes, and even food merchandise, all of which are happily consumed by fans. One Piece is currently considered to be the best selling anime franchise of all time.

|Source|

 Despite all this success, Toei is apparently struggling. According to Toei's second quarter of 2014 report, their TV ratings have been on the low side ("Toei animation data," 2013) I’m not sure if I agree with that statement, but I can see evidence of its truthfulness. The way I see it, for the past five years, Toei has been switching out franchises, going from DragonBall Z Kai to Saint Seiya Omega to back to Kai. From an analytical perspective, Toei’s primary goal is to make money, as opposed to creating content for their fans while making money. To some, this may make Toei appear as if they don’t care about the consumer, but I see it differently. In my opinion, Toei is taking these ratings in as a sign that the fans aren’t enjoying their content anymore. Thus, Toei is trying their best to give fans what they want. Plus, with a juggernaut franchise like One Piece under their belt, Toei shouldn’t have to struggle with other franchises in order to make money. From my point of view, Toei is trying to please the fans that aren’t necessarily interest in One Piece (like me.)

Toei's next big project. |Source|

 With that in mind, Toei doesn’t seem like that bad of a company to me. While they may in fact be struggling a little, I don’t think that they are in danger of going bankrupt. Toei has plans for other shows in the future, such as one based on Marvel’s The Avengers franchise, according to Anime News Network. Clearly, Toei Animation has no plans to stop creating awesome shows that fans of any age and gender can enjoy.

Bibliography

Toei animation corporate. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/english/corporate/coporate.html

Toei animation data sheet from the second qaurter of fiscal year 2014. (2013, October 10). Retrieved from http://corp.toei-anim.co.jp/ir/201403_2Q_keisu.pdf

Toei animation history. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/english/history/history.html

Where can the media take us?

As I stated in my introductory post, the media plays a big part in my life. When I'm not playing some game, reading a comic, or watching a show, I'm researching news about my media. I recently got an iPhone, which is useful when I want to check for news while on the go. With this in mind, my media intake is relatively large. It makes me think about the kinds of media I enjoy and how it affects me. I'm not one to believe that the media has major, life changing effects on us, but I do think it makes an impression.

Tycho is pretty level headed and stable. Gabe, on the other hand... |Source|

As a gamer, the rich humor of the comic above makes clear sense to me. For at least a couple of decades, various new sites and the government has been constantly trying to link video games with violence and the acts of several teens across the world. Personal feelings aside, the article Tycho is referring to does have some merit. I do feel that violent video games and movies desensitize us to violence, but I don't think that they are the cause of violent behavior. The people who harm others in these kinds of stories are, to be frank, mentally unstable. These people don't necessarily need to be banned from gaming, but should be getting some attention to make sure they are well enough to play violent video games. If I were to point a finger at a cause, I would say the parents of these certain kids are to blame. From my point of view, if a child commits a violent act, they are clearly mentally elsewhere, but they didn't get that way from nothing. While we look at our parents as role models, we also have to remember that they are human; they can make mistakes. The children who cause violence are simply a product of their environment, which I believe a parent has some control over. I can understand that no parents wants to be told that they are doing a bad job, but I feel that trying to cover up parental mistakes by blaming media isn't going to fix anything. I suppose it's just easier for media to be blamed for affecting us in a bad way.

Nothing's more relaxing than sitting in from of the TV and being worthless for several hours. |Source|

With the media's effects on our view of violence in mind, the media can also be very helpful. Television, in particular, can be very soothing. Millions of people all across the world come home after a long day of work or school ready to take a load off and watch some TV. While some may argue that TV shows aren't as good as they used to be, and perhaps they aren't, but the content that's currently on air is still a very much welcomed escape from reality. Those who detest video games can look at TV as a safe alternative. On the other hand, TV can also desensitize us to violence. However, I think that video games and TV are two completely different entities. With video games, there is interaction. Most of the actions that happen are controlled by the player. The viewer doesn't control anything that happens on the TV. Like a book, TV has no interaction at all. It's up to the viewer to become immersed in the world of his or her favorite show. TV is like an antidepressant or a nice big box of chocolate; it makes you feel better.