Green Is the New Black

Pop culture is latching on to sustainability, as demonstrated by this Project Runway challenge. This catapult into the public eye via celebrity promotion acts as both a good and bad thing. It's good that sustainable are being promoted and celebrities are trying to save the world, but the message comes off as a little superficial. Expensive things have always been "in" and sustainable things are just another branch of this. I'm sure that some celebrities are being sustainable for conscientious reasons, but there are some that are obviously not. Being sustainable has gone from being about saving the earth to being just another fad in a lot of circles. 

I'm a Mac, I'm a PC

It is clear that Apple has more successful approach to building a brand. Their approach of taking what is already there and making it better is especially clear in the creation of the ipod and the series of electronics that have branched from it. Unlike Microsoft, Apple is in tune with what people want their product to look like and have been very successful with commercials. The recent stream of I'm a Mac, I'm a PC commercials reinforces the stereotype that Apple is hip and innovative with a laid back approach while Microsoft is work based and uptight, these commercials also highlight the pitfalls of Vista. Microsoft tried to counteract this branding by putting $300 million dollars into an advertising campaign, but it just gave Apple more for their commercials.  Apple's product isn't significantly better, they are just more creative and innovative than Microsoft, especially in advertising and establishing a brand. 

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl is a television show that focuses on the “glamorous lives of Manhattan’s elite,” but with excessive product placement anyone can feel like they live on the Upper East Side. The same technique used in James Bond, except the technology used on the show appeals to the teenage lifestyle. The Gossip Girl book series also uses name brands, but they mention Oscar De La Renta and Barney’s, product placement that no one profits from because they are not accessible to the common reader. For example, every character on the show uses a Verizon Wireless phone, and they are constantly being displayed, often playing a major in the plot. The glamorous Gossip Girl lifestyle is something that viewers want to live in, and having a Verizon Wireless phone can help them feel like they do. The website even has a list of all the things you can buy to feel like you live overlooking New York City. 

HIV Education

I've been thinking a lot about how low the chances of getting HIV are and how no one ever talks about the less than one percent chance of contracting HIV when having unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive. This website outlines what should be taught in when educating people about HIV/AIDS, but it fails to mention the unlikeliness of contracting the disease. The reason for HIV/AIDS education is to raise awareness and work toward eliminating ignorance. I just feel like I've been taught to be ignorant because I've been tricked into thinking I am definitely  going to get HIV if I have unprotected sex. It's effective because people are motivated by fear, but it's not true. I can see the other side of that too. Saying something has a less than one percent chance of happening translates to most people as this will never ever happen to them. It's easy to forget someone has to be that one percent. It's also hard to reinforce how the likelihood of contracting HIV increases after every occurrence of unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive because people latch on to the unlikeliness of less than one percent. It just feels like educators leave out important information because they assume it will cause people to ignore the consequences, and I feel like my mental capacity is being underestimated.