Dear Dr. Walter Williams,
As I began to read your “Nazi Tactics”, it became very clear your position on the government banning smoking, by comparing anti-smokers to Nazis. You wrote in 2002 in Ideas of Liberty that 40 million Americans smoke cigarettes, but do you know how many have quit? Or if any of them are legitimately addicted (par.4)? This claim just seems to be numbers with no information backing it up. You also state your concern about the “widely successful vilification of cigarette smokers and tobacco manufacturers”, but this is due to health care costs and concerns, not about just the pure hatred of cigarettes like you make it seem (par.5). These people are just looking out for the health of Americans now and in the future, and they have done plenty of research to know that this is of great concern. You claim “These people who control our lives are almost finished with smokers; but never in history has a tyrant arisen one day and then decided to tyrannize no more”, just solidifies the fact that this isn’t over and second-hand smoke is a problem that we will have to face in the future (par. 7).
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Reflection 1.2
In my second draft I really tried to focus on the flow of my paper. My first draft sounded pretty choppy so I wanted the second draft to just sound better. I did that by taking out words like "another example". By doing this the transition from paragraph to paragraph sounds much better. I also tried to incorporate my sources more. I had plenty of examples in my first essay but didn't really back them up or say much about them. So in this essay I used my sources and more quotations to make my paper seem more researched than the previous essay. This makes it sounds like I know more what I am talking about, because I have done the research and now it shows in my paper. In my next draft I hope to take that even further and incorporate my sources in an even better way by making it more apparent that I really took the time to do research on this paper.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Essay 1.2
Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you would do anything to have it in your possession? Has that something ever happened to be a product endorsed by a celebrity or athlete? Today more and more companies are relying on famous people to sell their products. Anita Elberse writes in “Risks and rewards of celebrity endorsements”, how essential it is to have celebrity endorsements to be successful. She states that endorsements are flourishing in three ways. Celebrities help tap into the companies fan base, endorsements trigger sales by reassuring consumers of the quality of the endorsed brand, and that an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Although endorsements, according to Elberse, may seem like a positive incentive for most major companies, she fails to also note the risks involved. By endorsing celebrities companies are potentially portraying a bad image of themselves, false advertising and gaining a negative reputation.
Elberse explains that celebrities help tap into the companies fan base. This can be seen in a negative light though. In 2005 Paris Hilton did a very risky commercial for Carl’s Jr., wearing nothing but a bathing suit and heels, washing a car eating their $6 hamburger. How does this tap into Carl’s Jr.’s fan base? What does washing a car have to do with their new burger? Let’s face it Paris Hilton will probably never eat a $6 burger. This poses a problem for the younger Carl’s Jr. fan base. Kids idolize Paris Hilton, and seeing her scarfing down a greasy burger in her bathing suit gives them the impression that they should too. Parents seem to be picking up on this though and are not happy. The Parents Television Council even stated their opinion on this commercial saying that it is “soft core porn”. Will those parents ever let their kids eat Carl’s Jr? Have they potentially lost customers because of the dirty image seen on the commercial? This commercial has nothing to do with the product trying to be sold. Before Paris Hilton, Carl’s Jr.’s customers could care less about who is representing it; the burgers still taste the same. Obviously, recruiting Hilton had a negative effect on their fan base, at least according to angry parents. Commercials have become so far fetched that any celebrity can represent any brand.
Elberse also believes endorsements are successful because they reassure customers that the quality of the brand is good. A great example of this is Maria Sharapova, female tennis star, endorsing the camera brand Canon. Sharapova is a phenomenal athlete, but what does she know about cameras or the quality of cameras? This just seems to be false advertising. People who are looking for a camera probably aren’t going to buy one based on what the tennis star endorsing it says about it. These endorsements make people believe that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but just because they are being paid to endorse them so it doesn’t mean they are using them. Another example is actress Eva Longoria endorsing L’Oreal Paris hair color. Do you really believe the millionaire actress Eva Longoria goes to Wal-Mart just to pick up her L’Oreal hair color? Just because someone buys the same hair dye as Eva Longoria doesn’t mean their hair is going to look like hers. L’Oreal Paris’ website says that “Eva’s talent and charm make her the perfect choice to represent L’Oreal Paris as an international spokesperson”, what does her charm have to do with the hair color she is using? Just because she is a popular actress the brand knows the hair color she is endorsing will sell. These commercials put images in people’s heads that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is that just because they are endorsing the product doesn’t mean they are actually using the product. They are being paid to “use” these products, so of course they are going to say it is the best out there. But it is just false advertising, masking the truth.
Elberse states that celebrity endorsers are successful because an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Tiger Woods had a six year partnership with Accenture, which is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. While with Accenture Wood’s emphasized the attributes such as strategic focus and discipline, the payoffs of its risk-taking behavior, and its ability to recover from setbacks. But after his affairs with other women were publicized, the firm decided to cut ties with him to limit a negative impact on its reputation. They believed that this public affair would put their brand in a negative light so they decided to do away with Wood’s altogether. Obviously Accenture cared more about their sales than all the money that Woods had previously brought in and had no problem dropping him. Reputation is everything to major companies, and if it is in jeopardy then they will do anything to salvage it.
Endorsements are not always a good thing. Yes they sometimes bump up profit, but there can be negative effects in the long run. Such as children not thinking on their own because they are programmed to want to be just like celebrities and athletes. The quality of a brand not as good as the endorsed celebrities promised so they don’t gain repeat customers. Also, certain brands reputation meaning more to them than the actual product and the satisfaction of their customers. Celebrity endorsements play up image in order to get customers. Most of the time they are successful, but that doesn’t mean that the customers are going to be happy with the outcome.
Elberse explains that celebrities help tap into the companies fan base. This can be seen in a negative light though. In 2005 Paris Hilton did a very risky commercial for Carl’s Jr., wearing nothing but a bathing suit and heels, washing a car eating their $6 hamburger. How does this tap into Carl’s Jr.’s fan base? What does washing a car have to do with their new burger? Let’s face it Paris Hilton will probably never eat a $6 burger. This poses a problem for the younger Carl’s Jr. fan base. Kids idolize Paris Hilton, and seeing her scarfing down a greasy burger in her bathing suit gives them the impression that they should too. Parents seem to be picking up on this though and are not happy. The Parents Television Council even stated their opinion on this commercial saying that it is “soft core porn”. Will those parents ever let their kids eat Carl’s Jr? Have they potentially lost customers because of the dirty image seen on the commercial? This commercial has nothing to do with the product trying to be sold. Before Paris Hilton, Carl’s Jr.’s customers could care less about who is representing it; the burgers still taste the same. Obviously, recruiting Hilton had a negative effect on their fan base, at least according to angry parents. Commercials have become so far fetched that any celebrity can represent any brand.
Elberse also believes endorsements are successful because they reassure customers that the quality of the brand is good. A great example of this is Maria Sharapova, female tennis star, endorsing the camera brand Canon. Sharapova is a phenomenal athlete, but what does she know about cameras or the quality of cameras? This just seems to be false advertising. People who are looking for a camera probably aren’t going to buy one based on what the tennis star endorsing it says about it. These endorsements make people believe that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but just because they are being paid to endorse them so it doesn’t mean they are using them. Another example is actress Eva Longoria endorsing L’Oreal Paris hair color. Do you really believe the millionaire actress Eva Longoria goes to Wal-Mart just to pick up her L’Oreal hair color? Just because someone buys the same hair dye as Eva Longoria doesn’t mean their hair is going to look like hers. L’Oreal Paris’ website says that “Eva’s talent and charm make her the perfect choice to represent L’Oreal Paris as an international spokesperson”, what does her charm have to do with the hair color she is using? Just because she is a popular actress the brand knows the hair color she is endorsing will sell. These commercials put images in people’s heads that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is that just because they are endorsing the product doesn’t mean they are actually using the product. They are being paid to “use” these products, so of course they are going to say it is the best out there. But it is just false advertising, masking the truth.
Elberse states that celebrity endorsers are successful because an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Tiger Woods had a six year partnership with Accenture, which is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. While with Accenture Wood’s emphasized the attributes such as strategic focus and discipline, the payoffs of its risk-taking behavior, and its ability to recover from setbacks. But after his affairs with other women were publicized, the firm decided to cut ties with him to limit a negative impact on its reputation. They believed that this public affair would put their brand in a negative light so they decided to do away with Wood’s altogether. Obviously Accenture cared more about their sales than all the money that Woods had previously brought in and had no problem dropping him. Reputation is everything to major companies, and if it is in jeopardy then they will do anything to salvage it.
Endorsements are not always a good thing. Yes they sometimes bump up profit, but there can be negative effects in the long run. Such as children not thinking on their own because they are programmed to want to be just like celebrities and athletes. The quality of a brand not as good as the endorsed celebrities promised so they don’t gain repeat customers. Also, certain brands reputation meaning more to them than the actual product and the satisfaction of their customers. Celebrity endorsements play up image in order to get customers. Most of the time they are successful, but that doesn’t mean that the customers are going to be happy with the outcome.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Reflection 1.1
The feedback I received from my group members was extremely helpful. It was most apparent that I need to incorporate my sources better. I have plenty of information I just need to make better use of my sources and also put some quotation s in my essay. Also there was helpful advice that the flow of my paper could be improved by leaving out “Although” and “Another example”. I think once I do this flow of my paper will be much better and it will sound more put together. In my next draft I hope to achieve better incorporation of my sources. I used my sources in this draft but I didn’t really point out where my sources came from so I want to do that. I also just want my paper to feel more put together. I think I could move sentences around or come up with new sentences entirely to do this. So far my process has just been to write everything down, whatever thoughts come to mind. Now is the time to clean it up a bit. I want to improve my conclusion paragraph as well. I think conclusions are very important because it summarizes the whole paper. I feel as though mine does not, I want the reader to read the final paragraph and completely and fully understand my paper. So I have a few things to work on, and I think I can really improve my second draft.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Essay 1.1
Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you would do anything to have it in your possession? Has that something ever happened to be a product endorsed by a celebrity or athlete? This is the case for many people today. Anita Elberse writes in “Risks and rewards of celebrity endorsements”, how essential it is to have celebrity endorsements to be successful. She states that endorsements are flourishing in three ways. Celebrities help tap into the companies fan base, endorsements trigger sales by reassuring consumers of the quality of the endorsed brand, and that an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Although endorsements may seem like a positive incentive for most major companies, there are risks involved and they are not always a good idea, not necessarily for monetary reasons but for the reputation of the company.
Elberse explains that celebrities help tap into the companies fan base. This can be seen in a negative light though. In 2005 Paris Hilton did a very risky commercial for Carl’s Jr., wearing nothing but a bathing suit and heels, washing a car eating their $6 hamburger. How does this tap into Carl’s Jr.’s fan base? What does washing a car have to do with their new burger? Commercials have become so farfetched that any celebrity can represent any brand. The younger generation look up to celebrities such as Paris Hilton, so if she does it is it okay to walk around in skimpy clothing? Younger children may think that whatever Paris Hilton does is cool, so they follow suit. But the case is that it has nothing to do with the product trying to be sold. Are these younger girls buying Carl’s Jr. burgers just because Paris Hilton represented them? The answer is no. This commercial failed to tap into the fan base of Carl’s Jr. because the fact is that people who buy that burger could care less about Paris Hilton.
Another reason why Elberse believes endorsements are successful is because they reassure customers that the quality of the brand is good. A great example of this is Maria Sharapova, female tennis star, endorsing the camera brand Canon. Sharapova is a phenomenal athlete, but what does she know about cameras or the quality of cameras? This just seems to be false advertising. People who are looking for a camera probably aren’t going to buy one based on the celebrity endorsing it. These endorsements make people believe that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is they are being paid to endorse them so it doesn’t mean they are using them. Another example is actress Eva Longoria endorsing L’Oreal Paris hair color. Eva Longoria had millions of dollars and she is using hair color that can be found at Wal-Mart? Just because someone buys the same hair dye as Eva Longoria doesn’t mean their hair is going to look like hers. These commercials put images in people’s heads that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is that just because they are endorsing the product doesn’t mean they are actually using the product. They are being paid to “use” these products, so of course they are going to say it is the best out there. But it is just false advertising, masking the truth.
The final reason Elberse states that celebrity endorsers are successful are because an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Tiger Woods had a six year partnership with Accenture, which is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. While with Accenture he emphasized the attributes such as strategic focus and discipline, the payoffs of its risk-taking behavior, and its ability to recover from setbacks. But after Wood’s affair with other women was released, the firm decided to cut ties with him to limit a negative impact on its reputation. They believed that this publicized affair would put their brand in a negative light so they decided to do away with Wood’s altogether. Obviously Accenture cares more about their sales than all the money that Woods has previously brought in and had no problem dropping him. Reputation is everything to major companies, and if it is in jeopardy then they will do anything to salvage it.
Endorsements are not always a good thing. Yes they sometimes bump up profit, but there can be negative effects in the long run. Children growing up not thinking on their own because they are modeled after celebrities. Quality of brand not as good as expected so they don’t get repeat customers. Brands reputation means more to them than the actual product and the satisfaction of their customers. Celebrity endorsements play up image in order to get customers. Most of the time they are successful, but that doesn’t mean that the customers are going to be happy with the outcome.
Elberse explains that celebrities help tap into the companies fan base. This can be seen in a negative light though. In 2005 Paris Hilton did a very risky commercial for Carl’s Jr., wearing nothing but a bathing suit and heels, washing a car eating their $6 hamburger. How does this tap into Carl’s Jr.’s fan base? What does washing a car have to do with their new burger? Commercials have become so farfetched that any celebrity can represent any brand. The younger generation look up to celebrities such as Paris Hilton, so if she does it is it okay to walk around in skimpy clothing? Younger children may think that whatever Paris Hilton does is cool, so they follow suit. But the case is that it has nothing to do with the product trying to be sold. Are these younger girls buying Carl’s Jr. burgers just because Paris Hilton represented them? The answer is no. This commercial failed to tap into the fan base of Carl’s Jr. because the fact is that people who buy that burger could care less about Paris Hilton.
Another reason why Elberse believes endorsements are successful is because they reassure customers that the quality of the brand is good. A great example of this is Maria Sharapova, female tennis star, endorsing the camera brand Canon. Sharapova is a phenomenal athlete, but what does she know about cameras or the quality of cameras? This just seems to be false advertising. People who are looking for a camera probably aren’t going to buy one based on the celebrity endorsing it. These endorsements make people believe that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is they are being paid to endorse them so it doesn’t mean they are using them. Another example is actress Eva Longoria endorsing L’Oreal Paris hair color. Eva Longoria had millions of dollars and she is using hair color that can be found at Wal-Mart? Just because someone buys the same hair dye as Eva Longoria doesn’t mean their hair is going to look like hers. These commercials put images in people’s heads that the product must be good if celebrities are using them, but the fact is that just because they are endorsing the product doesn’t mean they are actually using the product. They are being paid to “use” these products, so of course they are going to say it is the best out there. But it is just false advertising, masking the truth.
The final reason Elberse states that celebrity endorsers are successful are because an alliance with an endorser can convey important information about an attribute that helps differentiate a brand from its competitors. Tiger Woods had a six year partnership with Accenture, which is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. While with Accenture he emphasized the attributes such as strategic focus and discipline, the payoffs of its risk-taking behavior, and its ability to recover from setbacks. But after Wood’s affair with other women was released, the firm decided to cut ties with him to limit a negative impact on its reputation. They believed that this publicized affair would put their brand in a negative light so they decided to do away with Wood’s altogether. Obviously Accenture cares more about their sales than all the money that Woods has previously brought in and had no problem dropping him. Reputation is everything to major companies, and if it is in jeopardy then they will do anything to salvage it.
Endorsements are not always a good thing. Yes they sometimes bump up profit, but there can be negative effects in the long run. Children growing up not thinking on their own because they are modeled after celebrities. Quality of brand not as good as expected so they don’t get repeat customers. Brands reputation means more to them than the actual product and the satisfaction of their customers. Celebrity endorsements play up image in order to get customers. Most of the time they are successful, but that doesn’t mean that the customers are going to be happy with the outcome.
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