An Economical and Logical Advertisement Choice!

As our world is currently in a state of Economical recession, money can be a touchy subject. People are trying to make cut backs from their usual expenses and are looking for bargains on anything from clothes to food (such as the 18 cent wings fellow blogger "DaveyWavey" referred to). Although I could probably give my two cents as to many different ways you can save money during the economic crisis, I am going to aim my focus on one topic specifically; advertisement.

Example 1. Meet Nanerpus



I would like to extend a round of applause to the creators of "Nanerpus" (correct spelling unknown) for a multitude of reasons. The first round of applause I would like to give is to Denny's itself. Denny's, although not as popular as resteraunts such as Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse or Red Lobster, actually holds one of the highest standards in food service. During an investigation made by NBC Dateline entitled "Dirty Dining", the top 10 most popular family and casual dining restaraunts were investigated. Health inspection records taken during the 15 months before the interview were collected and recorded by NBC investigators. Out of all the eateries investigated during the process, Denny was on top of the pack for many different categories. Denny's was found to have had the fewest violations out of every resteraunt investigated in the survey. In fact, the amount of violations were so few that Denny's averaged less than 1 violation per resteraunt,quite an accomplishment! A curious point as well is that Denny's operates 24 hours a day, except when they are required to shutdown (ie. certain holidays) by Law. For Denny's to keep up such high standards with so little down time is quite the commendable feat.

My second "props" to Denny's is for the pure genious of the commercial. Yes, the commercial is childish and not elaborate, but isn't is just as affective as the most complex commercials? People aren't necessarily going to remember the message or point of a complex commercial as they will most likely become caught up with the elaborateness of the commercial. By the viewer not being able to remember who or what the commercial was about, the creators deliver a "goose egg" of epic proportions. A commercial is supposed to stick in your mind and remind you about what the commercial was about and who created the advertisement. A veiwer is likely to remember the humourous banana-octopus hybrid known as "Nanerpus" and that he brought promises of free food at Denny's on Tuesday! A dancing, singing "Nanerpus" is not going to leave a veiwers mind and so he will always remember that "Denny's is a fun place to be at!". Also, by using the banana in the commercial, whenever a person sees a banana they will remember "Banana...Nanerpus...Denny's!". Quite the effective advertisement!

By not having an excessively elaborate commercial, it also makes the commercial very cost effective! This is my third "Kudos" to the commercial and its creators as the commercial comes at a time of financial crisis. In this commercial, featured is a 1) Banana, 2) Googley Eyes, 3) Pancakes, 4)String, 5)A plate and 6) a Orange background . I believe that any person would be able to visit their local grocery or convenience store and pick up all the materials needed to make this commercial for under 20 dollars. For an advertiser to create such an effective commercial for such little money, it is quite an impressive feat. It is even more impressive when you compare the next-to-nothing cost of $20 for this commercial to the cost required to make the allegedly "most expensive commercial ever" (WHERE WHAT HOW WHY claims it to have cost $6 million to create. See Example 2), you cannot help but to give a standing ovation to the creators of "Nanerpus". To anyone stating that "That commercial was effective. No one really payed attention to it!", I provide this fact. The "Free Grand Slam" giveaway advertised in the commercial became a monumental moment in history. Sources claim that approximately 2 million people attended the giveaway and thus would give Denny the record of "Most visited Resteraunt in one business day since 2003". Can the non-believer claim such a monumental accomplishment? I rest my case.

Example 2.


In a time of great economic crisis, we can only look to commercials such as "Nanerpus" to learn how to create cost effective and "point" effective commercials such as the "Nanerpus" commercial. Businesses will be able to cut down advertisement costs which, theoretically, should also lower the cost of eating in the restaurants, which will make customers very happy. Kudos to you "Nanerpus"! Perhaps you are an early step in the right direction for society in order to fix the economic crisis!


References

"Denny's"Wikipedia.com. 31 March, 2009. 31 March, 2009
"What is the most expensive commercial to this date?"WHERE WHAT HOW WHY.com. 31 March, 2009.

How dare he mess with Musical Royalty?

Throughout our copyright unit we have been focusing on various cases that have dealt with the issue of copyright infringement quite differently. For me, one incident has stuck out more than other; the Queen/Vanilla Ice case. I have been drawn to this case in particular due to being a huge Queen fan myself. I have Queen shirts, CD's and DVD's and I have nothing but the utmost respect for them and their music. Of course, though, I am not the only Queen fan! I am sure if you asked anyone who sings "We Will Rock You" or "We Are the Champions" they would be able to tell you that Queen sings those songs. By being one of the best known musical acts in history, a lot of attention was brought to the dealings with copyright infringement when Queen encountered copyright issues.

In 1981, Queen met up with David Bowie in Montreux, Switzerland, in order to collaborate on a new song. The end result was the song now known as "Under Pressure". This song was later included on the Queen album known as “Hot Space” and became one of the band's best known signature songs. Not only did it become an anthem for many, but it managed to reach the Number #1 spot in UK Singles and was named the song #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's!

Less than 10 years later, a young rapper known as Vanilla Ice came onto the music scene. In 1990 the song "Ice Ice Baby" was released and created a large amount of controversy. The reason for such an uproar was because Vanilla Ice had sampled Queen's instantly recognizable bass-line without permission. To create an even bigger uproar, Vanilla Ice did not even credit Queen or David Bowie for the sample that was used. Our note called "Fair Use (U.S.A.) and Fair Dealing (Canada)" clearly states that no more than 30 seconds of a song can be used from another artist without their permission. As timed by myself, Vanilla uses approximately 1 minute and 24 seconds worth of Queen/Bowie material. This amount of time is almost 3 times as much as one can use legally and as a result Vanilla Ice could have, potentially, been in a lot of trouble.

Although this case was later settled out of court and Queen were eventually paid royalties, this case, to me, is very important. I, myself, am a musician and I have nothing but respect and praise for musicians like Queen. They had staying power. They could sell records. They could perform shows. They could create hits. They could play their instruments and these are the types of people that should get recognition. What bothers me is when artists such as Vanilla Ice STEAL talented artists’ material in order to get noticed or make money.

From the knowledge acquired from our note titled "Fair Use (U.S.A.) & Fair Dealing (Canada)" I gained further knowledge on copyright. Our note mentions that if an artist wishes to use another person's material, they must first acquire permission to do so by the artist or the song's rights owner. Although permission may be given to an artist, I believe that a true artist should be able to create their own material. In my opinion, an over-use of sampling reflects on the artist’s abilities. By not being able to compose original music, it shows that they are untalented and incapable of creating a hit using their own knowledge and skills. It is a known fact that sampling occurs almost exclusively in Hip Hop/Rap/Dance music. For me, there is nothing "Hip" about this music. None of these artists are true musicians. Artists such as Diddy or Jay-Z who rely on using other people's material to create a hit or, as quoted by Benedict.com "...to provide a feel, mood, or atmosphere; generally the same as the original", I see as unoriginal, untalented “wannabe” artists. If they are "masters of music" as they claim to be, why can't they produce hits simply by using original music? Queen did it. It's artists like Queen who deserve respect for their fame as they remained true to themselves by only creating original music and relying on their own knowledge, abilities and talents.

If anyone challenges my view that Rap and Hip Hop artists are untalented, take a look at the facts. On Benedict.com, the majority of copyright infringement cases involve a Rap/HipHop/Club/Dance/Whatever-they-call-themselves artist. This fact shows you that sampling is predominantly done in that genre of music.

I am sorry if you disagree with my views, but you need to face the facts. Sampling, in my opinion, is corrupt and shows a lack of talent. Why should untalented people get “on top” in a business in which it is so difficult to succeed?


Citations

“Under Pressure”Wikipedia.com. 2 March 2009. 6 March 2009

“Hot Space”Wikipedia.com. 2 March 2009. 28 February 2009

“Vanilla Ice”Wikipedia.com. 2 March 2009. 7 March 2009

“Ice Ice Baby”Wikipedia.com. 2 March 2009. 7 March 2009

“Diddy”Wikipedia.com. 2 March 2009. 4 March 2009

“Jay-Z”Wikipedia.com/2 March 2009. 7 March 2009

“Copyright Website”Benedict.com. 2 March 2009.

"Hot Space"Online Image. Queen Collector. 8 March 2009

"Vanilla Ice"Online Image. Daily Mail. 8 March 2009

"Thumbs Down"Online Image. Going Green. 8 March 2009

Puley, Aaron "Fair Use (U.S.A.) & Fair Dealing (Canada)".Media Studies-Copyright. 9 March 2009. 2007