Daily Archives: September 3, 2020

RCL Blog

Commonplaces in Advertisements: Macho Marlboro

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The Marlboro Man originates from a 1954-1999 campaign series for the Marlboro cigarette industry. Marlboro was originally advertised for women, selling “feminine” filtered cigarettes with the slogan “Mild as May.” Sales were not very good, so the company decided to hire a new advertiser in which they would completely revise their advertisements and target audience. They wanted men to buy their cigarettes, and thus, the rugged cowboy Marlboro Man was born.

The advertisement was a huge success. In the first two years, Marlboro sales increased by 200%. However, this feat could only be done because of the commonplace of the time. This accepted standard was that the the ideal man should be hard working, reserved, and macho. This idea is clearly shown in the campaign.  In the advertisement inserted, we can see a young man dressed in a outdoor working outfit, boots, and a cowboy hat kneeling in the dirt of what appears to be a farm. He is looking away from the camera and holding a cigarette in one hand. All of these details put together create the image of an independent and confident man not relying on his mom to care for him. He seems very assertive and is comfortable in his natural environment. By using this image of a cowboy to be the figure of their brand, Marlboro is implying that boys who use their cigarettes will turn into the ideal man desired by all. This greatly persuaded the male audience who debated buying what was once a female product. The cowboy image became ingrained in their mind as they could picture their faces being the face of the cowboy.

If this advertisement was still around now, it would be under fire immediately (and not just because of the scientifically proven negative effects of cigarette use). Today’s commonplace of what a man should look like or act like is completely different. Luckily, we are in more progressive society where we view the ideal man as just being who he is. This includes showing emotions and relying on others, as well as dressing in whatever clothes they want to express themselves. Trying to conform individuals into a certain stereotype is seen as negative, and this advertisement enforces the idea of toxic masculinity. It is interesting to see  how commonplaces change over time and how company who understand commonplaces of their audience can manipulate their advertising to appeal to a majority and gain success.

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_Man

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/goodbye-marlboro-man-how-marketers-are-breaking-with-traditional-notions/530094/

Passion Blog

Passion Blog Ideas: Cats and Crafts and Nature, Oh My!

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As a very indecisive person, even thinking of things I am passionate about enough to write an entire blog challenges me. However, trying to put myself in other peoples shoes, I imagine they think of me in 3 words: cats, crafts, and nature (I tried thinking if nature has a good “c” synonym to add some nice alliteration, but I found nothing). So, I will elaborate on each of these points to think of a blog idea that could fit the theme.

1. Cats

I love cats. I love most animals actually, so I think this theme would go more broad so it encapsulates all animals/pets. I myself have 2 cats and 1 dog (I even made an Instagram for them @nemojoeyandoreo) and have volunteered at an animal shelter for 5 years (where my family and I adopted both of our cats… and hopefully a third!). In a time of stress and confusion, I think a jovial topic such as this could be a good idea to add some simple happiness into my everyday life. One blog idea could be looking at famous pets every week and researching their life stories as well as reviewing their content (and sharing videos and pictures I find). How did they become famous? What is their backstory? Where are they now?

 

Another idea, a little less cheerful, but very important, is to research and shed light on a different endangered species every week. This one is really interesting to me because I see have seen images such as a photo of an endangered species made up of pixels that equal the amount of that species left. I have also seen an artists series of painting endangered species with a mix of their decaying portrait and flags or tribal marking signifying their indigenous regions. Both images really made me stop and think and want to learn more about such a critical issue. I think it would be amazing to explore and hopefully educate myself and others of some of the many endangered species and what actions we can take to make a difference.

 

2. Crafts

I have always been a very creative and artsy person (not good at it, but I enjoy doing them). Recently I have gotten into flower pressing and embroidering. Both of these things have always calmed me down and I love making them as gifts for people. The blog idea for this would be to make and review different crafts every week. However, this one would be very limited as I am not home and do not have access to a lot of materials. I do think this would be very fun and calming for me though!

 

3. Nature

Going into an environmental related field, I have a lot of passion for nature and protecting the world around us. I wrote numerous college essays about this and how being around nature is a second home to me. I do not travel much, so I make sure to always look around me and not take the little things I see and hear for granted. Waking up and hearing the birds chirping, or watching the sunset always gives me a piece of mind. For this topic, I was thinking I could look into and write about both the bad and the good things that are currently happening  to our planet. Climate change, deforestation, pollution, exploitation of resources and many more negatives are causing harm to the world we live in, but it is always good to focus not only on the bad. I think this topic would be a good mix of alarming and uplifting.