Mark P. Mays (CEO of Clear Channel):

I am contacting you in regards to a billboard displayed in the city of Baltimore, Maryland sponsored by Clear Channel. The billboard reads “Married people earn more money. Marriage works.” After doing further research on this billboard I found that the “Marriage Works” campaign was created through the Campaign for Our Children (CFOC). I personally was offended by this billboard and am concerned about why the advertiser created such a message.

The message portrayed by this billboard stands as extremely bias and by no means particular to every person’s situation. The false generalization made by this statement majorly excludes the gay community. Gay marriage is not legal in Maryland, so for every gay couple or person that drives by this billboard is quickly reminded of the rights they are revoked of because of their sexual orientation.

Not only is this advertisement excluding a percentage of the population it ‘s also sending the wrong message to younger individuals. It’s not marriage that works; it’s love that works.

After reading an article titled “Marriage Works. Or Does It?” in the Urbanite, a local Baltimore Magazine, by Heather Harris I gained a better understanding of the Campaign for Our Children’s outcome of “Marriage Works.” By displaying this sign they hope to influence 15-19 year olds to wait till marriage to have children. Although this is a positive message, they are taking an extremely confusing and contradicting route.

I personally view this advertisement as an unnecessary push for marriage, especially when we are living in a time period where divorce rates are on the rise. Also, there are plenty of individuals that earn more money than married people; you can’t make such a bold statement that does not prove itself universally true.

In hopes of change, I strongly persuade you to take down this advertisement. Perhaps by teaming up the Campaign for Children you can determine a more neutral advertisement that supports positive change for all people.

Marriage does not work for everyone and it should not be solely used for a means of gaining money. What happened to people getting married because they love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together? And for those who cannot get married, this does not mean you can’t earn more money than a married couple. This billboard is clearing displaying the wrong message and I strongly persuade you to take action upon this bias message.

Sincerely,

Erica Miller

Urbanite: Marriage works. Or does it?

Man & Dog at The Golden West Café (Photo taken by Erica Miller)

This small little café was filled with collage covered walls, antique furniture, and vintage goods, as a means for decoration and not for sale. The back left corner of the first floor to this building featured an active bar and at the entrance there was a dining-in storefront.

Starting at 10:30 p.m. this small café transformed into a rock-n-roll music venue with high energy and overwhelming excitement. Man & Dog, a local Baltimore band, started out the night with some folk-y beats, followed by two other bands that were from out of the area.

It wasn’t until after Man & Dog’s set that I was slapped in the face by a press release. A person associated with The Golden West Café came on stage to further promote Man & Dog. Although this press release was more informal rather than formal, but it was still an announcement that pitched a story, in the form of a band biography.

The speaker first gave a brief biography and positive review on the band. Then this individual went on to talk about their next show, which featured their CD release with the band Bowerbirds. They also included a website to find their music on MySpace and Facebook.

It was hard for me to judge if this press release was effective in getting the people at the show to check out more of their music and buy a ticket to their next show because I am dating the lead singer. Although I did have some of my friends come to the show that had never seen Man & Dog play.

After the show they told me they were going to buy tickets to the next show so therefore that meant that the speaker was able to persuade the listener into visiting the website and attend the next show. I believe that this press release was effective in engaging the listener a promoting a story.

THE EVENT at The Golden West Café

Man & Dog MySpace

Man & Dog Facebook

Man & Dog Blog on TUMBLR

CD RELEASE Nov. 28th, 2009

PURCHASE TICKETS THROUGH OTTOBAR: Man & Dog/Bowerbirds/Secret Mountains November 28th, 2009

Man & Dog-A Boat’ll Abide from joe austin on Vimeo.

For the user, alcohol is more than just a bubbly liquid, or a fruity mixed drink; it is either a self-confidence booster or an outlet to quickly escape reality. The next time you crack open that Bud-Light, or twist the cap off of your Yuengling, look deeper into the product you are consuming.

First, we could take a look at its effects differing in males and females, a main topic in which they touched upon in “Spin the Bottle.”

FOR MALES we have the aspects of masculinity portrayed through outrageous mass drinking capabilities. I mean lets think about that for a second…is that really “man-ly” or just plan stupid? I know I personally do not find attractiveness in a male that can drink an extreme amount, but for many women this may be attractive. As far as male friends go the type of guy that can drink excessively and still function would be his “bro” or “the man.”

Take a look at the Fraternity lifestyle, whether examined in the stereotypical frat life portrayed in movies or witnessed on your college campus, drinking surrounds a good portion of their lifestyle. Although this may not be the case for all fraternities, one may notice the influence of drinking within Greek life on a college campus.

AND as for the so-called “girly” men who are caught drinking wine coolers or fruity mixed drink, alcohol might not be boosting your social appearance.

Next, FOR FEMALES, attractiveness may not be sought from drinking in excess, but once the liquor hits your blood stream you are flowing with a wave of confidence. Under intoxication women may feel sexier and their self-esteem will rise, so talking to that cute boy on the football team will be a breeze.

There really is much more behind the liquid than the decorative label. How is alcohol affecting you? And what can you do to change the social appearance of drinking?

Differences in Male and Female Alcohol Attitudes & Preferences

This newly designed, sleek laptop is so energy efficient that it was awarded the ENERGY STAR certification for its low power requirements. The new Mac Book Pro was also awarded the highest rating of EPEAT Gold, which rates how recyclable a product is.

Along with these awards, the Mac Book has become a safer product with a Mercury-free and Arsenic-free LCD screen. Lastly the computer contains a longer lasting battery than its previous model and precision shipping has been developed with minimal packaging to cut back on materials used and gas used to ship the product.

Apple’s “world’s greenest lineup of notebooks” takes on a multimedia approach. To begin with, Apple has an extensive ad featured on its website giving in-depth details about every “green” aspect of the new Mac Book.

Aside from the Apple website, I have also seen ads for the Mac Book on the margin of Facebook.com. Next, this ad campaign has also been featured in many newspapers and magazines. Last but not least, we have the awe-inspiring TV commercial featuring the new environmentally friendly Mac Book.

We can find these ads any day of the week and at all hours of the day. This may be explained because the target audience for the new Mac Book ranges from college students to adults who we can find viewing TV and reading ads any time of the day, whether it’s early in the morning or late at night.

I believe that Apple’s Mac Book “going green” campaign is extremely effective in reaching its target audience. Just take a look across every college campus, how many students do you see using Mac Book’s?

I, myself, even own one of the new Mac Book’s. I waited four months into my freshman year before getting a laptop because I heard about that the new environmentally friendly Mac Book was going to be released sometime around December.

Although, not everyone is using the Mac Book, many previous PC users are quickly noticing the draw of Apple’s products. From their persuasive promotions, practicality, and user-frendlisness, many computer users are switching to the Mac Book.

Who could resist any product promoted by Apple in such style and trendiness? I know I couldn’t!

A Greener Apple

The World’s Greenest Lineup of Notebooks

“Consuming Kid’s” opened my eyes up to the marketing power company’s have on children and how far they will go to sell their product in the most successful manner. I do believe that there should be an increase in regulation on this matter to stop marketing companies from exploiting children. I mean come on, they’re just children, they don’t know any better!

I believe as a consumer we can begin to solve this problem simply be monitoring where our spending money goes. If you see an aid in the newspaper or a commercial on T.V. that portrays the exploitation of children then don’t buy their products.

A Sober Look at Ads and Children

In 9th grade my step dad handed me about 5 or 6 books that he insisted I read before heading off to college. I read over the titles, and presented my step dad with a blank face. Why would I want to read these books and how did they relate to me, I was only 16 years old? Still in my “rebellious teen era” I had little interest in what my parents wanted me to do. In the four years that I had to read these books, I managed to read one of these, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki.

This book opened my mind up to new and creative aspects that impacted me for the rest of my life. Within this book, it held all the answers to acquire wealth without working 40 hours a week or climbing some sort of corporate ladder. I learned that there were two different routes in making money. One route involved working an hour to get paid an hour or some sort of set salary job and the other route involved continuous cash flow even when you’re not working. I learned about the wonderful term “residual income,” which is when you do one thing one time but you continue to get paid month after month, year after year.

With the start of my sophomore year in college I finally put this education to action and got involved in a network marketing company, which would profit me with residual income. I knew that network marketing had lots of negativity towards it because of the whole Amway scandal so I sought advice from my step dad to find a sound, ethical company. My step dad, mom, and I became involved with a company called Melaleuca.

The reason why we choose this company was because they sell earth-friendly products that are manufactured in the United States for costs cheaper than Wal-Mart. The products this company offers are everyday products we use, such as toothpaste, detergent, vitamins, shampoo, and much, much more so it wasn’t a matter of whether we were going to use the products it just meant that we had to convert our shopping habits.

The thing I liked most about this company was that it wasn’t only a way for me to make money but also a way to try and shift consumer-spending habits to create a positive environmental impact.

The next book I plan on reading that will help enhance my education on the alternate forms of cash flow is “Think and Grow Rich,” by Napoleon Hill.

Robert Kiyosaki Video

As a child that grew up immersed in the fantasy world of Disney, I believe that these movies had little impact on my life according to contextual value. Although, I do believe that socially these movies impacted my childhood. Disney movies mainly served as a bonding experience for my family and friends. I remember countless times when my parents and I would go on a family outing to the movie theaters to see a Disney movie when I was in pre-school and elementary school. I also remember the excitement of walking into the Disney Store in the local mall and having the overwhelming feeling of wanting everything in the store. From stuffed animals to lunchboxes, this store had everything from any Disney movie that I had ever seen.

Although the constant themes portrayed in most Disney movies are unrealistic I found that they had little impact on my life or upbringing. If I were able to remember back when I was watching Disney movies maybe I did think that the scenarios in Disney movies were common but as I grew older I recognized the misconception of these themes. I believe that the majority of children watching these Disney movies are not analyzing the themes of these movies and are just simply watching them because the graphics look interesting and the voices are normally funny and entertaining.

I do believe that Disney is over-commercialized but I do not view that as negative. Kids love Disney and I believe that kids will always love Disney so of course the company is going to continue giving the consumer what they want: MORE DISNEY!

Disney is a way for children to entertain themselves and a way for adults to bond with their children. Why should we look deeper into it when all Disney is doing is bringing satisfaction to the majority of its consumers? Let kids be kids! AND adults stop over-analyzing!

Disney Effect on Society

After reading this article, I asked myself the same question, “Does Facebook have an effect on my school performance?” I think that I would have to answer this question by saying, “Yes.” Up until now I never really thought about Facebook interfering with my schoolwork but when I look back I can think of countless times when I sat on Facebook instead of doing my homework. Although I always turn in homework assignments on time, I definitely can recall times that I stayed up later than I needed to working on assignments because I used Facebook as a form of procrastination. I don’t know if I’d go as far to say that it has impacted my grade point average but Facebook has definitely diverted my attention from my schoolwork on countless occasions.

I believe that many students are unaware of the impact of Facebook on their daily lives. I also think that as students, maybe we should all take time to actually analyze how Facebook is impacting our lives. What if we weren’t socially connected every waking minute of the day? I personally think it would be relieving. I personally have over 800 friends on Facebook, and now that I think about it, do they really need to know what’s going on in my life during every minute of the day?

Although I am a frequent Facebook user, I have questioned the concept of social networking on many occasions. Have we reached a point where we are too connected to others too often? I think so. How about a little privacy in our lives? Just yesterday I was in the car with a friend and we were discussing deleting our Facebook accounts solely because of the time we waste looking at other peoples pictures and chatting. Could I really do it though? I don’t think so, I would feel too out of the loop from my so-called “social community”. How would I know what events were going on campus? What shows were coming up in our area? Or who’s dating who and who broke up? Even as I state these points I feel more and more pathetic about my Facebook use, but I just don’t think I could bring myself to completely detach from it.

Congratulations Facebook, you’ve created a social empire and you are our leader.

Link to the article: STUDY FINDS LINK BETWEEN FACEBOOK USE, LOWER GRADES IN COLLEGE

Related article: The Impact of Facebook on Our Students