Given the fact that I am latina, you can be sure that I grew up watching telenovelas every day. The songs for Chiquititas (a show about orphan girls - who ever thought of this??) are permanently encrypted in my brain. Once, I landed a job to be part of Chiquititas. Seriously a dream come true. I BEGGED my parents to let me do it, but as the great parents that they are, they kept me away from the drama of a famous life (true story!) I grew up wanting to be a TV star because I would watch these shows everyday from the time I was 6 until I was 14. When it came down to it, I started liking boys when they did, became rebellious when they did, and filled up each and every single stickers book made of them. I was kind of a big fan.
(I literally spent half an hour trying to choose which clips to put on here cause there are sooo many and somehow I am attached to all of them)
So needless to say, I'm a fan of scripted shows. Tears streaming down my cheeks hilarious comedies (Modern Family, need I say more?) and overly dramatic medicine shows (ahem, Grey's Anatomy) rule my personalized page of Hulu. But, there's more.
I, Valentina Almeida, will finally and publicly accept, that I love reality shows. There's something about them. Maybe it's The Situation's giant pecs, or the Bachelor's dreamy eyes that have me stargazing into my computer day and night. Or maybe it's the ridiculousness of people making a fool of themselves. But then there's the thrilling competition of The Amazing Race and Iron Chef. And who can make it through a whole episode of The Biggest Loser without feeling like they can do it all? They may be a bit addicting and sometime ludicrous, but apart from entertainment, I think America has changed since Reality TV began. For better or worse (and hopefully more for better), Reality TV has inspired and made us all more involved.
It used to be that girls just dreamed of being supermodels and that the fashion doodles on your notebook were famous only until you turned the page. Now, as cheesy as it may sound, these dreams are possible. Sure, there are shows that are mostly for entertainment (like Jersey Shore, Wipeout, and many many others), but even through these, we can learn about people. How else would I know that people from Jersey have a funny accent if it weren't for Jersey Shore and Cake Boss?
What would my closet look like if I'd never seen What Not to Wear? How would I ever know how to survive in a rainforest with a ill-weathered tarp and a pocket full of lint? (Thanks Bear). Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit, but on a more serious tone, I know so much more because I watch Reality TV. Apart from that, people are more actively involved. They run, travel, explore, learn of other cultures, and pursue their dreams. Have you ever heard of Kitchen Nightmares? Gordon Ramsey, the bad-mouthed, angry, never forgiving, boss in Hell's Kitchen (another show where dreams come true) shows his soft side by helping restaurant owners near the point of bankrupcy to revamp their locations and menus; all while he teaches them business essentials and takes on the role of family counselor.
(sorry about the language)
I could go on for hours listing shows that have changed America, but I think you all get the glimpse of this story. Whether it has made your dream come true or the treadmill your new best friend, Reality TV has taught us all something. Of course, there has got to be some moderation to all of it, because there is certainly some exaggeration in each and every single one of them. But if we don't become couch potatoes, chances are that we may learn something new or take on a new hobby. Pretty cool, eh?
So, let's give it up for Reality TV. Because before it's invention I would have never become a hopeless romantic, recreational chef, admirer of fashion...and as I always say, a sucker for all things humane.
I can't help myself...here's one last Chiquititas song...probably my favorite.
So, my brother always tells me how irritating it is to watch the Super Bowl with me because I analyze everything (his exact words). I'm sorry, but I can't help it. Good news though, I am not going to analyze ads on this blogpost. I know, it's a shocker, but it' s probably much too late to tell you all about my most favorite and least favorite ads two weeks after the game. I still talk about the spots, but for the majority of you it's a done deal. Totally last week's topic. Instead, I want to share what I learned about the digital world during the Super Bowl. The World Wide Web.
When I was 12 it was that annoying little dial-up thing that would shut down every ten minutes. Ten years later, we've got it all. You name it, it's probably there. Not only has it become all-encompassing, but now it's also personalized. Ten years ago, I would have never had a blog; much less, a reason to write this blogpost. Back then, the Internet was a handy tool to find your much needed sparknotes for your English book report and to chat online with your friends and their avatar selves. Now, it is SO much more. These last couple years, I've been learning about how everything can have an online prescence. In advertising we take advantage of this. For us (advertisers), it's another tool, and a very efficient one, to get people involved. In Super Bowl XLV, brands and their respective agencies took advantage of this. Here are some examples:
1. VW "Mini-Darth" & VW "Black Beetle" + YouTube
Deutsch leaked the "Mini-Darth" video on YouTube the day before the Super Bowl. To many this was a big mistake, until they realized their brilliant strategy. What did they do? They leaked the :60 second (aka full-length) version of the ad for all to fall in love with. The next day, they showed the :30 second spot in the Super Bowl. Why was this smart? Because people fell in love with the ad and when it came to the real paid spot, all they had to do is remind America of cute little "Mini-Darth." Results: a memorable brand and a cheaper spot. Genius.
Oh yeah, after everyone fell in love with "Mini-Darth" they leaked the "Black Beetle" spot. Double whammy.
2. Brand Bowl 2011 + Twitter
Mullen and Radian6 put together the Brand Bowl once again. For those of you who are not obssessed with everything Twitter and advertising, Brand Bowl was the brilliant idea to track Twitter posts about Super Bowl ads and then rank them according to number of tweets and sentimental attachment. By the end of the night, there were 302,977 total tweets and 18,068 visits to the Brand Bowl website. Very impressive. I admire not just the idea, but also the warm bodies who followed each and every tweet (including my 18 insignificant tweets) that night. Results: the #2 trending topic of the night, a more digitally conscient staff, and involved customers. All in all, happy people.
So what's the point? Human involvement. This concept is drilled into our heads every day. A brand that involves their customer and creates a positive experience for them will succeed. It sounds simple, right? But only the best can do it. Digital media has made this more possible than ever. People love getting their voice heard and with the use of social media they are more willing than ever to participate. It works like magic. The best part is that it will only get better. There is so much space for new ideas in this realm and plenty of ridiculously creative minds that will take advantage of it. So I'm going to keep my eyes open, cause soon enough I hope share 14 hr. work days with those ridiculously creative minds. What the heck, I want to be a ridiculously creative mind.
We all know how the story ends. Columbus didn't quite find the Indies, but instead he found Caribbean islands where much of what we know of began. Recently, my parents moved out to the Dominican Republic. Although the beaches and forests are breath-taking there, the historical sight seeing was also definitely worth every minute of my tourist days. I may not remember every story and every date, but just seeing the places were society in the Americas began to flourish is amazing in itself. The first cathedral, the first government system, the first university, are some of the firsts that Dominicans claim and are surely proud of. So here are some pictures from my June 2010 trip to the DR:
Christopher Columbus
First cathedral in the Americas
Side note: the people in the DR are also amazing. Our guide, although always miles ahead of us, was talkative as can be and taught us everything from the coral on the wall to the rum factories in the horizon. Later on he introduced me to his good friend Valentin; they were both so excited that his and my name were basically the same! Watch out for my picture with Valentin.
Altos de Chavon: a very rich man decided he wanted to have a little piece of Europe in the Caribbean. So he built this 'city' in the middle of the jungle. Then he gave it to his daughter as a birthday present. Thanks dad!
"Let us be happy people. The Lord's plan is a plan of happiness. The way will be lighter, the worries will be fewer, the confrontations will be less difficult if we cultivate a spirit of happiness."
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Smiling is contagious, so turn that frown upside down and make someone's day a brighter one!
People like to think that advertising is all about fun and games, but truly, there are probably a handful of days when we have to do some legitimate work. As an advertising student, it is no different, and of course I give it my all. I love what I do! And I see the importance of getting to know the history of the media industry to better understand current trends. For a media history class, I was assigned to interview an older person about their interaction with the mass media. I chose to interview my dad: Daniel Rodriguez de Almeida.
My dad is from a tiny little town in Uruguay, where the current count of three traffic lights serve as their traffic mechanism. His upbringing with technology and the mass media between 1955-1980 is a recollection of the upbringing of mass media itself in Uruguay. The following interview was conducted in Spanish on November 16, 2010.
*Look out for the fun stories about 2001: A Space Odyssey and Superman!
Transcript and Audio File (download to MS Word Notebook Style) are attached.
