June 2, 2013 Post #14 Stop Making Fun of Us

Stop making fun of us. This is serious guys. Serious. SERIOUSLY DUMB. These ads and commercials were seriously bad and I honestly hated them. It felt like the scum scraped off someone's hiking boot after a heavy rain in the muddy mountains was being served to us as advertising. Yuck. The only thing that kept me from screaming every time I encountered these ads was the fact that Justin Long was one of the actor and I supported him because I thought he was Asian, and we Asians stick together. Turns out I was thinking of the Matrix's Keanu Reeves so therefore I don't feel bad writting this blog.

I cannot imagine what went through the minds of the creators of these advertisments, I only hope that they were humans and not goats behind typewriters (because those are still used, right?). I believe they rely on many stereotypes, techniques and needs that have become very apparent to me as a student of critical thinking.

One stereotype present in this advertisement above and below is the appearance of the "PC" and "MAC" characters. The "PC" appears to middle aged, less-fit and has an over-all Disney-channel-style-geeky nerd. Whereas, the "MAC" is this chill, young, fit still slightly-geeky-but-laid-back-and-cool nerd that has become a popular style in recent years. Therefore the advertisers are conveying the message that PCs are an ordinary geek but MACs are geek-chic®. In the advertisement below, the stereotype of the female Public Relations spokesperson is present, who is clarifying what the "PC" is telling the audience. This stereotype shows a woman cleaning up the mess of the man, which could possibly be a stereotype-defier because the woman is censoring the man and dictating what he does. But then again, a prominent woman-figure dominating a "lesser" man is shown through many types of media, especially the television show Desperate Housewives.

Bree van de Kamp from ABC's Desperate Housewives

     

The technique of Plainfolks is used because both the PC and MAC look like ordinary characters but the MAC looks just a tad bit cooler. Also, the technique of testimonial is used because the character of PC is John Hodgman and the character of MAC is Justin Long, both actors and celebrities. And also the technique of wit and humor because the PR spokeswoman for the "PC" character essentially censored the truth of what the PC was saying and put a more positive spin on it, making fun of companies and advertisers who do this as well. The need to achieve is depicted because the PC is trying to be better than MAC, which also goes along with the need to dominate and the need for autonomy because PC wants to be the best and stand out from others like MAC. 

 

Now, these pictures and commercials are extremely hard to watch because of their poor quality and just awful lines and humor. It's honestly degrading reading and watching these advertisements. Now other countries have copied the PC vs. MAC commercials to sell products and messages through their advertisements.

To the left we have an advertisement from Japan trying to copy what Hodgman and Long have produced in their commercials. Below and to the right we have a very offensive picture from, based on appearances only, comes from a Middle Eastern country.

Now, I'm not sure if these are genuine pieces of advertisement from these countries or spoofs made by the Great Americans who pride themselves on racial-humor. These racial-humorists solely rely on stereotypes of the other people, which to me is offensive. I will admit that certain forms of racial-humor can be entertaining, but there are DEFINATE lines that should not be crossed. And the forms that are entertaining are the good-natured from one-Asian-to-Another kind of humor, not ignorant white (that's a stereotype right there) men in suits coming up with these advertisements. I believe that advertisers should take a stand against racial humor and try to re-instill some sympathy into the cold hearts of the goal-oriented-money-in-hand advertisers (another stereotype, I'm just as bad as them). 

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