I can’t believe that this six weeks has come and gone. So pumped for the fall semester.

Link: First Year Experience

1) Wag the dog means that the dog is the one that controls the tail because he is smarter then the tail itself. The media is the dog because it is in control of the people. The media is in charge of what the american people believe and know.

2) Mr.Fix it is Conrad Breen who is in charge of fixing things in the media that end up looking bad for the president.

3)This shows the producer is much wealthier then the president and that he has a lot of power over the public. Almost seems like he has more power then the president.

4) The significance is that is we don’t actually remember what went on in the war, only the slogans because that was catchy and stuck with us. This means how the media is very powerful and able to control us.

5) This shows that we believe whatever we see on tv or whatever we read about. The media controls us and seeing pictures and videos, we automatically believe it is true.

6) The producer is definitely more powerful because he is in charge of everything, he choreographs the whole thing and also the fact that we never actually see the president shows how much more power the producer has.

7) This is product placement. This is used in many movies when a company pays to have their product in the movie. Examples in other movies and Tv shows are: In Modern Family an Apple iPad is used, in Transformers they had a Chevrolet Camaro, and ToyStory with many different types of popular kids toys at the time.

8) The reason people followed it was because it was what everyone was doing. Trends lie clothing trends, hair trends, and shoe trends, are all like this. People see other people wearing/doing something and they join and do the same thing just for the simple fact that everyone else is doing it.

9) Wag the dog demonstrates Media construct reality by the fact that they actually created a war. It demonstrates media present ideology and value messages by showing the people watching this movie how you can’t always trust the media because it can be fabricated. In commercial interest is shown by how they used the 303 burger in their campaign. Lastly, they used codes and conventions by the music and all of the extras they added to the war story like the main video of the war in Albania.

10) The were portrayed as being able to do and say whatever they wanted. This is a negative portrayal because people who watch this movie are going to be more skeptical of the media and what data they put out.

When I moved in to my dorm 39 days ago, starting my career as a college student, I was excited, nervous, and ready to start this new chapter in my life. I figured from what I had heard that this would be the best summer of my life, and that the work load was easy, and you had a lot of free time to enjoy yourself. I figured this is how it would be, I figured thats how college in the fall would be (besides the easy workload). Thinking about how I only had two classes this summer, I figured I would have a lot of free time to just do whatever. I thought I would be able to sleep well, go out and meet people, and also just relax because thats what summer is about. But once I started classes I realized how different summer session, and college is in general. After being here for one semester I now know things that I was expecting college to be like, are not true. College is not as easy and fun as everyone expects it to be. Its an adjustment and one I still have to work on for the fall. The following are things that I expected to be different about college, and how now I am prepared (preparing) myself for the fall.

1. You have a horrible sleep schedule. When I moved in and saw my schedule, classes not starting until 12:45, I was on cloud nine. I figured I would be able to get a great night sleep, wake up every morning without an alarm, and feel ready and well rested everyday. What I failed to take into consideration is how hard it is to get to bed at a decent time when you have hours of homework every night. This is the first shock I had. Every morning I wake up, unwillingly, to an alarm, barely able to keep my eyes open. I go through out my day until I get back to my dorm around 4, and lay in my bed. Next thing I know Im waking up at 6 o’clock due to the fact I passed out from exhaustion from the day. Then I am busy doing homework and such until late at night. Many nights even when I shut down and turn off my electronics, I toss and turn for hours until I can fall asleep. Basically, I have a horrible sleeping schedule that is hard to break and I feel like thats just the life of a college student.

2. You have so much free time you don’t know what to do with yourself. I imagined that I would have plenty of time to myself to do what i’d like. I figured i’d be able to walk around downtown, watch TV, take walks, lay out in front of old main, and maybe even go swimming. I figured I would actually be bored. But that has not been the case at all. I am always busy and barely have anytime to myself (yes I do sleep after class which could be my time to myself, but I need to nap to keep my sanity). From going to class, eating meals, doing homework and keeping my room, myself, and my clothes clean, I have little to no time to do anything. This was an eye opener to what its going to be like in the fall. With more classes means more homework, so I am going to need to buckle down and really get myself on a schedule, and try to make some time for myself to relax and be able to have a break.

3. Meeting people is harder then it looks. I believed when I came to Penn State I would magically meet people and I would some how make friends without having to put myself out there. I figured that I would just fall into a group, and I would immediately know that these people were meant to be my friends. Unfortunately, that has not happened. I have meet tons of new people and I have made friends this summer. But, it is not what I expected. I figured people would be friendlier and more inviting. I figured I would make friends easily. But being a very shy person, I don’t go out of my way to ask people to do things. I wait for people to come to me (obviously that isn’t working for me). I am hoping in the fall I am able to break out of my shell a little more and I am able to meet people who I really connect with and can see myself being best friends for a long time with. Yes there are thousands of people on this campus, but in a way that makes it even harder to feel like you fit in somewhere when you are one in thousands.

Overall, I feel I had a successful summer semester, I am not going to say it was one of the best summers of my life, but I will say it was one of the best decisions of my life to attend. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything and going into my fall semester as a Penn State student I am a lot more aware of who I am, and what I need to do to be successful.

I grew up in a town that was not very racially diverse. With about 95% of my community being white, I was not around people of different races often. Coming to Penn State I was excited to be put into an atmosphere that I would be able to expand my knowledge and friend group from the people who were just like me at home, to meet people of other races. I met a girl named Victoria Wan and she was very excited to help me out on this paper. So thats where my interview with color began.

As I got to talking to Victoria, I quickly found out that she likes to be called Vicki.

Vicki went to Emmaus High school, which is in Pennsylvania. She lives with her mom and dad and a younger sister. I felt like this was a good place to start. Her family. We had something in common right away, the fact that we were both the oldest children. After we realized our similarities she told me more about her family life. She explained to me how her parents are very traditional. Her mother, Emily Iy, is from Vietnam and lived there until she was about 4. That is when her family moved over to America. At the time of their move to America it was during the war and conflict going on in Vietnam. Vicki explained it to me by saying “its actually interesting because my mom and her family had to flee Vietnam because of so much conflict and war going on”. I found this very interesting and felt like it was a cool story to have in their family history. This is where me and Vicki started to see our differences. Next she told me about her father, Joseph Wan. Vicki’s father is from Hong Kong. He was born in 1969 so when he was born Hong Kong was still under British rule. So, ever since he was little he had known American because in school they were required to learn Chinese and English. Now me and her both are similar in the make-ups of our family, but my parents were both born in the states, and my parents parents were too. To find the ancestors in my family that were the ones to come over from Ireland and Hungry (a few of the places my moms side of the family originated) we would have to go way back. I think it is very cool how her parents were born in another country and that she still has that culture with her today.

After we talked about the background of her family I wanted to talk to her about what her life now is like, and was like back at home before she came up to State College. I started off by asking her what it was like living as an asian in her high school and her community at home. She told me that there was not many asians from where she grew up and she was not friends with any from home. She also said that where she grew up since she was one of the only asians, she did not always see herself as an asian and neither did her friends. She was and still is able to joke about the asian stereotypes because she is okay with that and she said something that I felt was very true and a very powerful statement about stereotypes. What she said was, “I am able to joke about the stereotypes but they haven’t really affected me. I don’t let it define me, because I am my own person”. I found this to be a very strong statement and shows that she is accepting of who she is, loves who she is, and is able to joke and have fun with the parts of her that are different then her friends. I then asked her what were hobbies and things she liked to do and she said she enjoyed snowboarding and long boarding. She also really likes extreme sports. Also, she loves to shop and me and her both had that in common! Vicki told me how coming to Penn State it is weird and different how many asians there are. She never really lived around them when she was home so its different having such a bigger population here. One thing she said was that it seemed harder because people here see she’s asian and automatically put her in a stereotype, but what they don’t know is once they get to know her she does not really embody many of the stereotypes, she’s just a normal girl. So she feels that was a little bit of an adjustment coming to penn state and being with more people of her own race.

Next, I asked her about different customs and beliefs that her family and her culture had. Chinese new year was something she pointed out that was different and something I doth celebrate in my culture, as well as saying that many funerals and weddings were different from american weddings and funerals. Vicki explained to me how the region and places her parents are from practice the Bhuddist religion, and that they see it more as a way of life then a religon. feng shui is another belief that traditionalists in the asian culture believe, and this means luck. She explained how they have to take their shoes off in the house and that when they eat asian food for dinner they are all served a bowl of rice and the meats and vegetables are in the middle of the table and you serve yourself what you would like with chopsticks.

Vicki has traveled to Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand and she said that they were great experiences and ones she may not have had if her parents weren’t from those places. She also said that her and her family often like to go to china town and get food and its one of the fun experiences her and her family have.

I am different from Vicki, but not in a bad way. I most likely will not go to Hong Kong, or Thailand. I don’t believe in feng shui and I am not a Bhuddist. But me and Vicki are still very similar in that we are both new Penn State students who want to be accepted and included in our university. Just because Vicki’s culture is different doesn’t make our wants as teenage girls different. We are both very excited to meet new people, join clubs, and especially go to the football games.

Overall, Vicki was a very interesting and nice girl to talk to, she made this assignment easy for me because of how inviting and willing she was to talk. I am glad I got to hear about her culture, which was a culture I knew little to nothing about. I realize everyday being at Penn State I will meet people everyday who are different then me, but I am excited for that opportunity.

Vicki didn’t want me to take her picture right then so she asked me to use one from her prom.

By: Aubrey Schoen, Emma Stewart, Goldie Robins, Amanda Murcia

An Analysis and Criticism of the Portrayal of Mass Media in the 2010 movie La Mission

Thesis

The movie La Mission undergoes the journey of a homosexual boy living in the unaccepting Latino community in San Francisco, and an even less accepting father. The film address two main stereotypes: being gay in an unaccepting local society and interracial relationships. The film follows the progress the son and father must make together to accept their personal adversities.

Step 1: Detection

Identification

The subject of this analysis is the 2010 movie, La Mission. This movie is available for streaming online, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Step 2: Description

Detailed Description

Benjamin Bratt plays Che Rivera, a former alcoholic and ex-convict living in the Mission district of San Francisco. Che Rivera, a widower,  is attempting to get his life back on track while living with his son, Jes Rivera. Jes Rivera, played by Jeremy Ray Valdez, is a high school senior who was hiding homosexuality from his close friends and family.

Che and Jes are both are struggling with personal matters. Jes is having difficulty accepting his own sexuality with the pressures of the Latino community surrounding him. Jes gets ridiculed in school and is evicted from his own home by his father. To augment matters, a local neighborhood gang shoots Jes. Whereas, Che results to his alcoholic ways when he became embarrassed of his son’s homosexuality. Che relies on his neighbor’s aid, Lena, who helps Che realize his mistakes of using violence to attempt solve his problems. Lena was there to lend a helping hand to the Rivera family throughout their hardships. In the end, Che comes to the realization that his relationship with his son is more important than the opinions of his community.

Creator/Creators Purpose

The film’s writer and director Peter Bratt, who grew up in The Mission District of San Francisco, had a lifelong dream of creating a film that took place there. It was Bratt’s own experiences that created the content for this very unique film.

Function/Purpose

Bratt’s purpose in creating the film seems to be to infuse pure entertainment with drama, but still took real life experiences to bring to light the underlying racial tension and homophobia in the Latino community. This will serve to educate the audience of these issues while still presenting an entertaining, gripping tale that captures the viewer’s attention.

Step 3: Deconstruction

Underlying Stereotypes

The underlying stereotype in La Mission are that latino men must be hypermasculine. If men are homosexual in these neighbors they are considered to not be a man and that they are weak.

Evidence for Linking Stereotypes

Hypermasculinity within the Latino community is addressed in the movie. Che results to physical abuse when he first discovers his son’s homosexuality. Jes is also victimized by his fellow peers, who also did not accept his sexual orientation. However, at the conclusion of the movie Che comes to terms with his son’s sexuality. Jes also come to terms with his own sexuality by starting a new life journey at UCLA.

In the latino community a man is supposed to be tough and strong. With his son being gay, Che feels that he is being punished for his past mistakes. Also, Jes becomes ridiculed because the kids and men in the neighborhood see him as less of a man. The stereotype is portrayed by Che kicking Jes out of his house, and is further proven when Jes gets shot by some kids his own age because they now see him as a “faggot” or less of a man.

Significant Omission

A stereotype that is often overlooked in this movie is the single dad raising his son after the death of his wife. Many hollywood movies portray this stereotype of a single father going through rough times raising his son/daughter after a tragic death. The stereotype is embodied in this movie because Che’s has raised Jes all on his own since the death of his wife. Since the death of his wife he had a downward spiral period, first with alcoholism, than going to jail. This is typical with stereotypes of families with the mother deceased. They are often shown as spiraling out of control and they deal with struggles that would be more easily handled with a women figure in their life.

Step 4: Diagnosis

Meaning and Possible Interpretations

Meaning and Possible Interpretations: There are many interpretations of the film La Mission.  To start, Bratt was attempting to recreate the Latino race through the film. Che represented the hard edged Latino man, that results to violence to solve his family issues. To add, Jes’ homoesexauily, that was not accepted by the community, represents the values of The Mission.  However, the conclusion of the film represents new beginnings. Che becomes accepting of his sons homsexlaulity and chooses to engage in a bi-racial relationship. Jes begins to create and accepts his own life at college at University of California Los Angeles.

Comparison With Rational Models

Comparison with Rational Models: In The Mission district, homosexuality and different races were not widely accepted. However, the collective society is generally more accepting. For instance, homosexuality is starting to become an everyday value. Also, diversity in race is also accepted within in the general society.

Potential Effects (Harm)

The effects of this moving portraying a stereotype of the latino culture is it generalizing a community of people that may not all have the same views. People seeing this movie may feel that all Latinos respond this way to homosexuality, and that all Latinos are not accepting of this. I see the biggest potential harm in this movie is how Latinos will be seen to view homosexuality. I think viewers need to remember when watching this movie that this is not how everyone in this category feels and that it is a movie so the portrayals may be exaggerated or overplayed.

Judgement/Evaluation

We found this movie entertaining in respect to it’s surprisingly non stereotypical aspects, such as a seemingly stereotypical Latino teeanger turning out to be a closet homosexual, mixing with it’s more expected stereotypical personas, namely Che with his hard, manly image. However, we felt that the plot was very drawn out, and there were some scenes that seemed irrelevant to the flow of the story. The issues and problems presented in the plot honestly could’ve be resolved in a shorter time frame, thus moving the plot quicker and keeping the viewer’s interest. There were times during the movie where we found ourselves bored. Also, we felt very unsatisfied with the ending, because there were loose ends that weren’t quite addressed, but rather vaguely left to the viewer’s interpretation.

Step 5: Design

Realistic reframing

We would have liked to see Che push aside his pride as a “tough” and “hard” Latino man and accept his son for who he was much sooner than he did. After seeing Jes in the hospital, it almost seemed like he would come around, but he didn’t and physically threatened Jes’s boyfriend from visiting him. Also, we would’ve wanted Che to not result back to alcohol in lieu of solving his problems with himself and his son towards the end, as that wound up as a downward spiral of sorts for Che and delayed his realization of his wrongdoings. And overall, we would want Che to deal with his problems in ways other than using violence; all it did was complicate the issues at hand.

Likelihood of Use

The film would likely not be as dramatic if these changes were made, and it would’ve made it much shorter than it was. These elements of Che’s character– being tough, struggling with alcoholism, using violence– were used as dramatic factors that were essentially driving the plot forward. So, the changes we wanted to see would not have been used.

Existing Reconstructions

The only movie we can recall that partially incorporates our reconstruction is the 2011 romantic dramedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. Although, it does not relate to the main plot but rather the character development of Jacob, a womanizer who often goes to the clubs and takes women home with him nearly every night. He does this throughout the movie until he meets Hannah, who helps him vocalize his problems and issues that he has bottled up inside himself for years since his mother’s death. He learns to open up to other people and confront his problems rather than internalizing them in an unhealthy manner, unlike Che, who turned to alcohol in an attempt to run away from his problems.

Step 6: Debriefing

Personal Impact

At the start of the film, we had no idea how the plot would play out given the are, The Mission district of San Francisco. However, the movie made us realize the role that stereotypes play in any society. La Mission made brought to front the homosexuality within the Latino community. We were able to personally connect with each of the characters in the film. We were able to connect with Jes through his coming of age journey into self-realization. For Che, every viewer could feel a personal connection through his alcoholism. Every person has a weakness and it makes it easier to relate to the characters of a film when the thero is overcoming an addiction. Therefore La Mission made us as viewers personally connect with the film, even though it was geared towards another race.

Personal Harm from Myth

Any “myth” can be harmful in society. This movie helped us to realize the damaging effects it causes. As viewed in the movie, not accepting differences (like homosexuality) results in a conflict of extreme measures.  It is important that members of society celebrate all types of diversity.

Step 7: Dissemination

Advocacy Action Plan

Stereotypes are always going to be present. It is hard to stop them once they have been created, and it is hard to make people stop believing them. But, what we can do is put a stop to hatred among stereotypes. I feel like in this movie it really shows how violent and hurtful people can be towards certain stereotypes. I feel if we make people more accepting of certain stereotypes then maybe even if we can’t stop people from believing in stereotypes, we can make the hate and violence towards certain groups be diminished.

Timetable of Specific Activities

Our group feels that in our personal time we will put effort into stopping everyday hatred towards homosexuals that we see. We will make people aware of how hurtful it can be to call those peoples names. Professionally, I feel like groups and organizations can make people aware of how homosexual, males especially, are not any less manly or are not considered to be a “women”. Genetically they are men and they will always genetically be men even if they love another man. Who you love should not change how manly or how feminine you are. I feel like educating the public is what needs to be done to make people more accepting of these groups. I do feel like efforts are being made, and I do feel like since this movie came out in 2009 that a lot has changed with peoples views on homosexuality. So I feel society is already moving in the right direction with accepting this way of life. Now all that needs to be done is reinforcement and teaching the public more and more on how these people are still like everyone else.

Work Cited

La Mission. Dir. Peter Bratt. Perf. Benjamin Bratt, Alex Hernandez, Christopher Borgzinner, Erika Alexander . Global Cinema, 2009. Film.

“La mission.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1200272/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2>.

Johnson, Reed. “Peter and Benjamin Bratt Are on a Mission.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2010. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/10/entertainment/la-et-bratt10-2010apr10>.

Now that our time here this summer is coming to the last two weeks, I am finally starting to enjoy myself and feel like I am fitting in. I have made friends with people, I have worked on projects, and just hangout! These are the things that I feel like college is partly about. Having fun is necessary and being silly is a part of growing up! I have had fun working on projects with people, and being silly along the way. Memories that are made during those times are the things I will remember, like getting stuck on the third floor of the hub for around 2 hours due to cleaning, and our friend bringing us insomnia cookies at 12 o’ clock at night so we could work on a project. Those are what I will remember, not the project but how we worked together and enjoyed ourselves.

Also, me and some of my leap 227 friends have done some fun activities, from going to the spikes game to laser tag. I feel those things are important especially in the summer. If I spend hours and hours doing homework I am always going to be stressed, but these fun activities, that  also help me make connections, are what we need to relax and have a little bit of fun.

Almost ending my third week here I have been learning and adjusting to many things. But, one thing I am still struggling to adjust to is the food. When I was home, me and my family ate together every night. Whether it was a home cooked meal or take out, it was something we always did. Also, I always had someone telling me and reminding me to eat all meals. Coming to college was a big change. To start, I do a lot of eating of meals alone, due to the fact that I am so busy or that I am in a rush to get to class or to meet up with people to work on a project. Adjusting to that was hard and still is. I enjoy having company when I am eating and I just need to get used to being independent. Second, my mom or dad is not here to make sure I eat. I skip breakfast everyday, only because I wake up at 1130, and by that time lunch is being served. There have been times where I have chosen to lay in bed an extra ten minutes instead of getting lunch, which I regret about thirty minutes into Professor Nichols’s class, when I realize I should have grabbed at least something for lunch. Lastly, when I do go to the dinning hall I have trouble choosing whats best to eat. Everyday I seem to have the same thing, and the nutritional value of the foods I chose is not very good. I feel like I still definitely need to work on balancing my diet and figuring out what I need to eat to stay healthy and not get sick. I feel this will come in time when I am used to the whole dinning hall concept. Lets hope that is sooner rather then later so I don’t gain the freshman fifteen!

As I finally began my walk to professor Nichols office for our real-time chat I was nervous and unaware of how and what was going to be said. I walked in as she was eating a Rice Krispy treat and she had me take a seat. Sitting down and having some light conversation, I was trying to figure out what we would talk about and what I would say. Then, we began to talk.

The first thing that she asked was my major, and I said “undecided”. She quickly corrected me and said “so you’re deciding”. Suddenly I knew this talk was not going to be hard or uncomfortable like I thought. After she said that we started talking about how I am considering a major in criminology. The way she responded to this was very different from anyone I have ever told. She instantly was drawn in and wanted to know more. I went into explain how I was intrigued and interested in how criminals minds work. I told her how serial killers fascinate me. Now, normally when I tell people this they give me a weird look and I have to say something like, “I know that sounds weird, but I am interested in why they do what they do”. After I tell people that they normally understand. But, professor Nichols immediately told me how she felt the same way and how she was always fascinated by that.

After an office visit, that turned into almost a half hour, I felt like I had made a connection with Professor Nichols. It was awesome for someone to understand what I wanted to do and to have someone who truly said go for it. Overall, my real time chat made me excited to figure out if criminology is something I want to pursue. Also, I learned that Professor Nichols and I share a love of Criminal Minds.

How it All Began

On May 2nd 2006 Apple Launched their first Get- A Mac (GAM) commercial. This campaign was created the advertising agency TBWA/Chiat/Day. In the first year the campaign produced 19 ads. After 4 years the campaign included 66 advertisements trying to convince the public to ‘Get- A- Mac’. These 66 commercials included “Mac” played by actor Justin Long and “PC” played by John Hodgman. Each actor was made to look like the computers they represent along with their creators. Actor Justin Long bears a resemblance to Steve Jobs while John Hodgman was dressed to look like Bill Gates. “Mac” represents a young fun guy who always does the “right thing”. “PC” comes across as a much older male who is uptight and all he cares about is work and not creativity. In each commercial “Mac” and “PC” have conversations which unless end up with “PC” embarrassing himself and showing all the reasons why “Mac” is a better computer.

Research conducted by the company

Prior to the campaign, Apple’s sales seemed to be slowly decreasing. PC’s still dominated the market and Apple was struggling to convince consumers that their product was better. It wasn’t until Apple saw a survey on the American Consumer Satisfaction Index and realized that Macs were constantly rated higher than PCs in customer satisfaction. PC users knew of all the different malfunctions their computers suffer, and Apple wanted to make the public aware of these problems in a way that could make MAC’s look superior. They took all of PC’s many weaknesses from its constant viruses to its inability to give its users any creative control, and showed the audience that MAC doesn’t have any of those issues.

Strategies

The main message throughout all of the commercials is that MAC is a better computer and overall a nicer guy. Many of the character traits “PC” represents include being arrogant, slow, boring, mean, unreasonable, and most importantly a nerd. On the other hand “Mac” displays a sense of caring, humility, and an overall cool and energetic vibe.

One of the main strategies that Apple used in this campaign was the theme of simplicity.  The backdrops of these ads are a plain white seen with nothing else to distract the eye. It is easy to watch and simple, which is what Apple is trying to portray that MAC’s are. The company is subtly making the viewer aware of how simple their product is to use, and how simple it is to switch from PC to MAC (which is who their target audience is, current PC users who are scared to switch). Another strategy is in every “episode” that they aired; they highlighted a specific problem that PC had. Doing this they were able to make their audience question if a PC was the right type of a computer to have. But ultimately they were trying to point out all the flaws to make PC look bad, maybe even worse then the company actually is. Lastly, the main strategy in the campaign was to be humorous. People enjoyed seeing the ads and wanted to look for the next one. This campaign was one that played out like a story; people enjoyed watching them because of the humor and satire that is going on in the ad. Also, the relationship between the two men is a friendship. In the friendship though, a strategy the MAC used was making the character “Mac” the more friendly, caring character. While the “PC” character at times does not always seem to appreciate “Mac’s” friendship and is seen as the cold-hearted friend. Overall, the strategies Apple used are able to capture the audience and keep them attentive and interested throughout the whole campaign. As well as ultimately increasing sales.

Target Audience

This GAM campaign targeted an audience that was not exactly the most ‘tech savy’. This campaign was for those individuals who have a PC but are not quite sure what else there is out there. This campaign was for the average person, those who do not know a lot about software or viruses and never really thought about purchasing a MAC before this campaign.

Critics of the Campaign

With any popular campaign you have to expect some backlash. This campaign was no expectation to that rule. But members of the GAM campaign welcomed the backlash because as they say “no publicity is bad publicity”. Some of the ‘backlash’ comments on the Internet included

• “If you’re a PC user, these ads are more likely to irritate you than convert you.”
• “Apple certainly got a lot of people angry with the Get a Mac ads as well, but that only added to the overall media coverage.”
• “There are other people whom the ads could have the opposite of a desired affect on. Some people don’t want overbearing statements such as ‘Macs are better at life stuff’ without some sort of backing.”

Here is a cartoon that showed criticism of the campaign:

Success

Only after the first few commercials of the campaign sales dramatically increased by 12% in the first quarter of the campaign. In the last quarter of 2006 after more commercials came out, Apple sold a record breaking 1,600,000 Macs, an increase 39%. In the last quarter Apple sold over 2,300,000 MACS. Sales continued to dramatically increase throughout the entire four-year campaign.

Today

Today the Apple campaign against PC is settling down and there are not many current campaigns. But in 2013, Windows fought back at Apple, not on the MAC vs. PC level, but about tablets. The ads were similar to the ones that the Get-A-MAC campaign put out, but instead of the two men representing the products, they had the actual products (IPad and a tablet) banter back and forth through the voice activation systems. Other than that campaign that Windows launched back in 2013, there has been no active campaign launched recently from Apple attacking PC.

Conclusion

The “Get a Mac” campaign turned out to be a huge success for Apple. Although they were humorous commercials, it effectively showed all viewers that Apple is the better product in a way that everyone could understand. They managed to make MAC’s look like the hip new product that everyone’s buying and they managed to make PCs look like the outdated product with many problems that Macs don’t have. This campaign boosted sales for Apple to a level they have never reached before and it convinced many PC users to switch to a MAC. Although it did receive some criticism from some people for “attacking” PCs, the campaign received proved to be extremely effective in reaching its target audience and is considered one of the best advertising campaigns of this decade.

As I have almost made it through my third week of college, I find myself finally adjusting to living away from home. At first I had a lot of trouble being away. I missed my family, and my friends and all I wanted was to be at home and not be living three hours away. But after visiting home both weekends that we have had, I finally am starting to not miss it. This weekend I will be staying here and I am excited for that.

Another challenge I have had to overcome about being away from home is my loneliness. I still struggle with this sometimes. Its hard to meet new people and try to make new friendships in a place that you are not used too. A lot of times all I wanted was to have my friends here to do something with because I felt like I knew no one, and was so alone. I felt like no one from home even missed me, I haven’t gotten a text from any of my friends back at home besides a few. But after feeling upset and alone for a few days, I realized that I can’t let my friends at home and my home sickness make me miss out on the opportunities I have sitting right in front of me at PSU. So I have started looking at school in a new light and realize that I am only lonely because I chose to dwell on missing home. But now I am looking forward to making Penn State my new home and make everyday count and have the time of my life.