Beyond Dreams

This song, "Beyond," is part of the Random Access Memories, the album released on May 21, 2013 by Daft Punk, the French electronic music duo. This album is new in many ways, as the songs in the album are different from Daft Punk's normal style.

This song is extremely creative, as all the songs in the new album are, and unique from all the rest. Using instrumentals with electric violins and dramatic rising music and then transitioning into the synth vocals is a unique way of presenting a song. Also the violin in the background throughout makes the atmosphere of the song very calm. Daft Punk did a very good job of making the song upbeat but dramatic. The synth voices and electronic music are a very common element for Daft Punk and they are not overused unlike some other electronic songs.

Having already listened to this song and every other song in the album many times, I can say that the song is not only good, but also catchy and something that can be listened to over and over again (I also think Daft Punk's helmets are awesome).

Who's that Lady?

This commercial is extremely dependent on the wit and humor of the viewers who watch the commercial. It does not matter much if the viewer did not grow up with the song that plays in the background. However, the commercial is clearly targeting middle-aged people who grew up hearing that song. It also uses the wit and humor appeal by animating the fake flamingo and the broom, making them seem like they are in love by playing the music in the background.

Another element of this commercial is the use of magic ingredients to advertise the product. The advertiser says that electrostatic fibers will pick up the rest of the items on the ground. They don't explain how "electrostatic fibers" even work, but since the name sounds cool, it must work.

This commercial capitalizes on the stereotype of the stay-at-home mom who cleans the house and is so tired from cleaning the house that they need an amazing new product that will make their job easier. Also, it replaces your old broom and does it all with one sweep with the help of the "electrostatic fibers."

Acura is Superhero Worthy

In the 2012 action flick, The Avengers, there is only one type of real life car in the whole movie. Acura. Whenever a cool car is shown and the logo is seen on the front of the car, it's an Acura. Product placement is something that many advertisers take part in to try to sell products through movies and shows.


Putting Acura's coolest models in The Avengers subliminally places an image into a viewer's head. Connecting the Acura with iconic Marvel super heroes makes the car seem so much more appealing, since Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) drives one in the movie. The company is attempting to get viewers to see the Acura logo as many times as possible as they watch the Avengers so they will make sure to think about Acura when looking for a new car.

The Avengers are so cool, and the movie was watched so much, Acura got a lot of product placement into one movie to maximize the advertising that they get. Movie theatres and dvds don't have commercials so the next best thing is to put the commercial in the movie.

GEICO Basketball

When GEICO asks people how happy saving hundreds of dollars with GEICO makes them, the first answer that comes to mind is definitely "happier than Dikembe Mutombo blocking a shot." Showing a very tall, very happy basketball player block random office items and a cereal box connects to how happy people will be when they switch to GEICO.

This commercial uses testimonial to send the message to people that they should switch to GEICO by counting on Mutombo being well-known enough for people to react to seeing him on the commercial. If people watch basketball and have seen Mutombo play, then GEICO hopes that it will forge a connection between the viewer and the company. 

At first there is no clue as to what the commercial is advertising, all there is is Mutombo blocking everything he can get his hands on. The only known thing is that he is very happy. Then the spokespeople for GEICO, playing guitars, explain that Mutombo, although he loves blocking things and is allowed to block everything, is not as happy as someone who switches to GEICO. That means that they will be some very happy people, because Dikembe seems to be having a blast.

Princesses Eat Doritos

This commercial is very clever, because normally, men aren't supposed to play princess over football, but the father decides to wear a dress, a fluffy scarf, tiara, and make-up instead of playing football with the guys because his daughter has Doritos. He's not ashamed to be wearing make-up either, because it is worth the humiliation from his friends since he gets to eat Doritos. However, he is not ridiculed by his friends, because Doritos are SO awesome that they join in and play princess with them, dancing around and chanting, while stuffing their face Doritos. When the wife comes home, she adds to the comedy of the commercial by asking the fattest of the men with the large beard if he is wearing her wedding dress. When he answers, "It could be"        
while crumbs from the chips fall into his beard and on the dress, and the wife walks away, exasperated, it wraps up the whole comedy of the commercial.

The way that this Doritos commercial makes people want to buy Doritos is by saying that everyone would do anything to eat Doritos, even if it means, for a man, that they have to dress up princesses and wear make up, betraying the societal stereotype of a masculine man. This makes it seem like Doritos has to be good. Also, using the comedy with the wedding dress makes the product seem much more appealing.

Stuffed Animals in Music Videos

This music video is strange. There is almost no other way to describe it. I am not saying Radioactive by Imagine Dragons is bad, but it is definitely strange. A fight club where stuffed animals go to die at the hands of a bigger stuffed animal is not the normal scene for a music video. This atmosphere helps make the song look more dramatic and mysterious. Also, being out of the ordinary is pretty popular and Imagine Dragons is pretty good at being out of the ordinary. One of the reasons I enjoy how the music video portrays the song is that the band is actually performing in the dungeon below the fight club, with dusty guitars and drums in a dark room.

The song has an angry mood to it because the lead singer is aggressively beating the large drum as dust flies everywhere, and he sings about revolution and fitting in and being "radioactive." The song also favors the underdog. The girl who seems like she isn't dangerous at all comes into the building full of rowdy gamblers and her stuffed animal is a pink teddy bear. When it seems like she's going to lose and the gangster guy is going to drop the bear into the dungeon, it uses some magical power to punch the beast in the face. Then it vaporizes some thugs and tosses the bad guy in the dungeon. The song reaches out to all the people who feel like they can't and are unable to win. It shows that Imagine Dragons understands how the underdogs feel and vocalize it in their music.

I can not explain why the stuffed animals are used in the video but it is still pretty cool. Again, the music is very catchy and I enjoy it but it is also out of the ordinary, and gives the band more attention, enabling them to stand out more.

Mercedes are Pretty Affordable!

This commercial by Mercedes-Benz, advertising their new Mercedes CLA, which aired on the super bowl, has a few interesting things about it. First, it features a few famous people, Kate Upton and Usher. Showing the "protagonist" of the ad hanging out with those two people shows that the ad is using testimonial to show that their product is good. Since Usher and Kate Upton will like this guy because he has the CLA, it must be a cool car. Also, the ad appeals to the need for attention. A devil-like man who is asking the protagonist to sign a contract for the car says that he will get"all that comes with it," meaning the Mercedes. It shows the guy becoming famous and walking the red carpet, crowds of girls chasing him around. This appeals to the part of a person that wants attention.

Another interesting thing that i saw about the ad is that getting the car will "set your soul free." The guy doesn't take Satan's offer because when he sees the price of the car, he realizes he doesn't need the contract. He can buy it all by himself. Since the car is so affordable you can tell the devil to go away because your soul is free. The protagonist is able to get the car and everything that comes with it by himself, showing an appeal to the need for autonomy. He is a special person because he drove away the temptation of the devil and chose to buy the Mercedes. This, in a way, pressures people to buy the car.