Jennifer Chen's Blog

One of my favourite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

If you are a fan, you would know that Sheldon’s computer was stolen along with his Xbox 360 and all his precious games.

Sheldon used to own a Dell XPS but now it has been replaced by a MacBook Pro.

The change from a PC to a Mac is dramatic, to me at least. I used to be proud of having him in the PC user family, and now stock in the personal conflict of  my continuance as a Sheldon fan or ban him for he has betrayed the PC community.

This is obviously a “product placement”, now that we have been taught to correctly identify this marketing technique, I wonder what could be the reason of Sheldon’s change in taste in computers?

Having products in shows, movies even  cartoons are so common now that people are blind to their existences. However, they are still influencing our shopping decisions unconsciously.

I don’t think it is a bad thing that this technique seemed to be over used in the media industry, it is just a way how the society has evolve.

Our everyday routine has been heavily tide with a sorts of product, and for shows to be “realistic” it is inevitable to the appearance of certain product. However, when a specific emphasis is purposely used, the product placement technique has now intrude into our lives without being invited.

This is a follow up with my last post about logos.

Have you noticed that we are surrounded by them!? It is everywhere; on our cloths, computer, pen, water bottle,  IPod, bus pass and many more.

Do you remember the last time someone asked you for direction in downtown? How did you guide them to their destination?!

Did you happened to say something that sounds like :” So you make a left turn when you see the McDonald sign”

If you did, then you have now officially recognized your life to be part of the logo world!

Logorama, this is a Oscar winning animation. It demonstrates how our lives can identified by simply using all the logos that we associated with.

And with all the creative logos out there, it sums up the environment we all live in and taking part of.

A picture is worth a thousand words, that is why a logo is so important for a company.

I remember the activity in class where we were shown a fraction of a logo and asked to identify it. Some of the logos were quickly recognized while others take a bit longer.

We are influenced differently by our surroundings and our lifestyle influenced the type of brands we are exposed to. This contributes to our familiarity of the brands in question.

However, despite the external influences of lifestyle and culture, the speed in which a logo is recognized is highly linked to how well know the company is and how often they appear in each of our lives.

Thus, not only is it important to have a logo for a company, but to have one that is cleverly  designed.

A logo represents the company, and as the culture and goal of the company changes, the logo changes as well.

And sometimes, it is just in need of an up-grade to catch on with the time.

Below are some smart redesign of logos I came across while bloging and would like to share it with you.

credit: wefunction.com/2008/10/50-stunning-examples-of-a-great-redesign/

Upon graduation, I was facing difficulties in choosing the right school and the right field to study in. Unfortunately, I did not make the right choice even with all the information I obtained and people’s experiences I heard.

Luckily, a friend of my father who works in the commerce industry talked to me about choosing the right path to continue my study, therefore, I am now studying in Sauder and enjoying all the materials I am learning.

Uncle David, who had a extraordinary life story graduated from Sauder years ago. He was only 15 when he graduated. In his time, the economy was not at it’s best searching for a job was nearly impossible especially for a recent graduate. Uncle David, however, did not give up and blame on the society, instead he sent out over more than 100 resumes and cold called the companies that he would love to work for. He identified his strength and present his top skills to attract his potential employers. The experience was hard and frustrating, yet that was what made his story even more convincing and made him more competitive among others.

From Uncle David, I learned the inside stories of how to succeed in this competitive  industry and how only with one’s effort one can achieve their own goals, despite how the society is and how others view you as.

(This post is for the purpose of Comm 299)

There are many people that we encounter in our lives. Some we remember while some we forget; some pass us by while some stays in our lives.

While growing up, the questions of who inspires you has come face to face with me several times, and in different life stages, this inspirational individual has changed several times.

I have realized, it is not those famous people that we hear on the news or see on the television that inspires me, but rather the corner article of the new paper sharing stories of common individuals like. What they have accomplished may be minor, but sometimes very meaningful. With our society heavily focused on materialism in judging a person’s importance or success, we have forgotten many simple details in our lives which makes them meaningful.

Being a subscriber of Reader’s Digest, there are stories of amazing people doing amazing things, yet they are so humble in announcing their contributions that people often don’t know about them. To me, these are the people that we should be inspired by and should look up to.

I want to be inspired because of a person’s loving nature, because of person’s selfless act and because of a person’s desire in making others better. And by being inspire by these individuals, I hope to someday accomplish something that will too, inspire others and making my life more meaningful.

Since the summer, I have been following the blog LoveDesignFest by Bri Emery.

She is a graphic designer and as well as the partner editor for the Rue magazine. She shares her passion for typography and simplicity in design with her interesting and colourful posts.

With her updates on her life and pictures with her friends, it is very interesting to get to know someone’s life through pictures and videos. While with her busy life, she not only managed to sustain a creative buzz but incorporated into her life and share it though her design blog.

Not only is her blog a channel in sharing her daily activities, but a way to promote products that she is a partner of. The Ban-Do, an online shop offering cute accessories that are of multiple use.

She first promoted by selecting a random follower that made a comment and send them the product “shoe clip” as reward. Before she promote this lovely shoe clip and other product offered by BanDo, there were lots of cute “professional” pictures that feature these product.

Pictures of her and her friends, all wearing different colourful hair clip to allow not only interest in these adorable accessories but as a way to promote the products.

Look at these cute little things, don’t you want one too!? ( if you’re a girl )

Billboards have been around for a long time as a way of advertising. However, nowadays, there are so many other channels for companies to attract their consumers, such as TV commercials and online ads.

Nevertheless, many companies still uses billboards creatively with a WOW effect to attract people’s eye. Making this traditional method something new and innovative.

This McDonald ad is not only interesting but also clear of what kind of product they are offering to the public.

Cleans pores. Fights Pimples.

How powerful is Miele?! See for yourself!

These companies transform the ordinary way of posting on billboards with words and 2D pictures and make it something that is intriguing and genius!

Not only did the marketing companies found a new way to utilize the traditional billboard to create a wow effect, a campaign from Germany found some interesting surfaces to promote “life is too short for the wrong job.”

Not only was these ads appearing on non-ordinary surfaces, it interacts with their audience using a humorous attitude to raise awareness for purpose of their campaign.

In a time where people are exposed to multiple media, it is easy for company ads to be ignored. However, with a bit of creativeness and bold thinking, a dramatic effect is not hard to create.

When looking at these ads, many of them looked simple and straightforward, yet not everyone was able to think of it and apply it at the right moment. For an industry that requires new ideas constantly, sometimes it takes a little extra attention to life to find inspiration to create something that allows viewer to resonant with the idea. And that is what an effective advertisement should be.

Growing up in Taiwan, I was exposed to a very different lifestyle than in Canada.  Compare to the North American and European countries, Asia is much more conservative and values things much differently.

When I first came to Canada, hugging was something that I am not used to. We are more aware to physical distances and perceive maintaining personal distances as a form of being polite.  We still express our excitements, just not through hugging.

It is important for not only individuals, but companies to understand the difference between cultures to market their product and services effectively.

Chanel, the queen of fashion, invited Keira Knightley to campaign for their fragrance,Coco Mademoiselle. The interesting thing is, the same billboard picture of Keira, is very different in Asia and in Europe.

Can you tell which one is used in while demographic region?

In one of them, Keira is obviously showing less skin while the other is exposing A LOT.

People from Europe or North American may find that the amount of skin exposure is acceptable, however, by taking into account of the culture influences, the first picture could generate negative public reaction.

Just imagine, this half naked Keira ad on a billboard in  Saudi Arabia?! The public might be furious since in the culture, women are not allowed to show more than their eyes when in public.

Next time while traveling to a different country where the cultural differs a lot from Canada, pay attention to the advertisements. It might interesting to find how people perceive  things differently and how companies changes their strategies accordingly!

Last year African hosted the FIFA World Cup, although not personally a huge soccer fan, it is hard to miss all the commercial and enthusiasm around me.

My dear friend Anoushka Patel, at the height of  5’0 is perhaps the smallest and BIGGEST soccer fan. She can talk about soccer all day, her mood swing with the performance of her favourite team. Her enthusiasm for soccer fills not only her life but her blog as well.

Like all big events, the sponsors put in lots of money making ads to promote not only the event but their product. Pepsi, the soft drink giant who is always able to create commercials that catch people’s eye did it again with their promo video for FIFA 2010

It is simple yet cute and sends an obvious purpose.  FIFA, an event that brings people together to share their common passion and allow a “usually” friendly competition between nations.  But imagine a FIFA without commercials? Would it still be the same?!  Maybe not, you see, like me who is not a soccer fan and knows nothing about soccer would have no idea when or where FIFA is. However, with adds and commercials, we are forced to notice and forced to pay attention and finally forced to be part of it.

People everywhere is so busy with life that without these promo advertisements, we seemed to be lost in routines, and fell into the danger of ignorance to what is happening around us. Although not all advertisement provide us positive and useful information, but in our generation, these commercials has become a way for us to learn and understand our surroundings and keep us in touch with current while we focused to our complex path to our ultimate goal of life.

We live in the generation where it is all about eating the right food and being healthy, but the recent Youtube phenomenal “EpicMealTime” doesn’t seem to agree with that.

With their newest video, “Tequila Taco Night”, they have over 500,000 views with just two days, and“#1 – Most Viewed (Feb 9) – Canada “on Youtube. Fans around the world seemed to agree with their lifestyle of eating Epically!

The first video I watched was, The Worst Pizza Ever!,” after the video I was so shocked about how people can make food look this disgusting and still manage to swallow it. All the element of “unhealthy” was pack together to create the Epic meal.

However, there is something about the video that made me click the “Subscribe” bottom and became a loyal fan who waits for their new video every Tuesday.

Harley Morenstein, the cook and the host of EpicMealTime creates meals that defy what nutritionists say we should eat. No vegetable, but lots of meat, cheese, fat, alcohol, and BACON! Lots and lots of bacon, and it must be Canadian Bacon.

Although I still don’t think the food they made is in any condition good for anyone’s health, I am still impressed with their creativity and dedication in making ordinary food something amazing and epic. I watch it because it allows me to do something “bad” without actually doing it. Also, Morenstein just makes me laugh with all his random comments and somehow stoned-looking face. Yet when you listen carefully, it all somehow makes sense; that is if you this weird sense of humor like I do or you are a fan too.

One more reason why I am a fan, they are Canadian! And they love the Canadian Bacon.