Sunday, January 26, 2020

Rhetorical Analysis of MAC Cosmetics Print Ads

Rhetorical Analysis of MAC Cosmetics Print Ads MAC Cosmetics is a non-traditional makeup line that appeals to middle and upper-class workers who need to be set free to express their true self. MAC is well-known for taking a bold approach to cosmetics, celebrating pop culture and individuality, and promoting makeup as a form of self-expression. In an industry where social appeal, sex appeal and feminine appeal are commonly used by cosmetic companies to emphasize the notion of looking younger or feeling more attractive through the use of a brands products, MAC defies traditional notions of femininity in its ads, setting themselves apart from other brands. MAC uses non-traditional imagery to advertise its products and elevates its brand as a high-end cosmetic line by limiting sales exclusively through online channels and department stores. With distribution in more than 43 countries worldwide, MAC appeals to a wide range of people, selling more products than any other nondrug store brand, and prides itself on catering to men and wom en, regardless of race or color. MAC is unconventional in its advertising approach and is well-known for being provocative and interesting. At the forefront of the brands message is embracing gender equality, and they are committed to raising awareness and money for gender issues, such as HIV/AIDS and the transgender community, through their charitable organizations. In so doing, MAC uses culture and gender issues as a means to reach their target market, encouraging all ages, all races and all sexes to embrace their personality. At the core of MACs message is creating an environment where people can write their own story, especially through the way they look. As the following advertisements demonstrate, MACs innovative advertising effectiveness relies on bold, often non-traditional imagery and the use of celebrity icons to celebrate individuality through the MAC look, appealing to peoples sense of self-expression and their desire to be beautiful and stand out. In so doing, MAC prese nts themselves as a brand that seeks to empower people and support everyones individuality and creativity. The drive to be unique, to stand out, and to be an individual are all emotions MAC promotes in its advertising. One such example of this can be seen in MACs recent collaboration with Caitlyn Jenner (Figure 1) in which Jenner is the spokesperson for a new MAC Cosmetics lipstick, appropriately named Finally Free. The initiative is an effort to help the transgender community, with 100% of the proceeds going to the MAC Aids Fund Transgender charity. By acknowledging the transgender community in its advertising, MAC communicates they are a tolerant, open-minded brand that supports diversity and inner beauty. This notion coincides with MACs mission statement: All Races, All Sexes, All Ages. Feeling comfortable in ones own skin is what gives an individual their sense of beauty. Being able to bring out inner beauty for the world to see, no matter what a persons gender, promotes the Finally Free slogan. The Caitlyn Jenner collection represents Caitlyns mission of sharing her transition with t he world, championing All Ages, All Races and All Sexes. The purpose of this ad is to inspire people to buy MACs product while encouraging them to embrace life, in whatever form they choose. This ad makes an ethical appeal to those who support the gay and transgender community by donating funds to MACs charitable cause, and due to Caitlyn Jenners celebrity status, MAC has successfully invoked an even larger audience by reaching the fans of this well-known celebrity figure. The decision to use Caitlyn Jenner as a MAC spokesperson represents the notion that beauty is found not only on the outside, as many cosmetic companies limit their focus to, but rather is both on the inside and outside. Jenner demonstrates that beauty is ageless and in order to project beauty, people need to love their inner self. MACs decision to sign a transgender celebrity that is also over 65 years old, sends the message that age doesnt have to be a defining factor in how beauty is perceived. MAC is famous for its celebrity collaboration collections, and this is especially true with MACs VIVA GLAM line (Figure 2), the first of MACs cosmetic products marketed to raise money for AIDS. Begun in 1994 during a time when other makeup companies were using famous supermodels as the faces of their advertising campaigns, MAC chose to go the unconventional route. Featuring notorious drag queen RuPaul as their first VIVA GLAM spokesperson, the VIVA GLAM ads included the tagline, We wont look down on you, and we wont intimidate you, because we know what it was like to be picked on by the cool kids. And guess what? Now were the cool kids. Since then, advertising of the VIVA GLAM line has featured such celebrities as K.D. Lang, a Canadian lesbian singer, and music legend/AIDS activist, Elton John. More recently MAC has included glamorous celebrities as spokespeople for the VIVA GLAM line, including Cyndi Lauper, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus. While Gaga and Lauper are long-time AI DS advocates, Rihanna is known as a charitable voice for young generations. MAC also enlisted Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin, daring people to Be Bold, Be Beautiful, Be Safe. These ads have succeeded in positioning MAC as a very hip company, catering to people who are open to accepting gay lifestyles and beliefs, while furthering MACs commitment to HIV and AIDS and promoting safe sex behaviors. The purpose of this ad campaign is to inspire people to buy VIVA GLAM lipstick and promote values of acceptance, diversity and glamour across MACs diverse range of products. By using culture and gender issues as a means to reach MACs target audience, the ads successfully drive demand for their progressive makeup as a form of self-expression. Additionally, the ads utilize bold colors to catch peoples eyes and appeal to their emotions by donating every cent of the selling price of the VIVA GLAM lipstick toward helping women, men and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The VIVA GLAM spo kespeople reflect the cultural narrative of diversity, personal triumph and embracing inner beauty. True to MAC Cosmetics non-traditional use of imagery to advertise its products, MACs Strength Collection (Figure 3) uses the tag line Flex your femininity. Featuring product names such as Posed, Brains and Brawn, Inner Strength and Absolute Power, the strength collection uses a photo of a female body builder, driving home the cultural narrative of inner strength, empowerment and beauty in MACs ads. Choosing to use Jelena Abbou, a Serbian-American competitive body builder and fitness model à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ complete in full makeup and a shiny black gown à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ promotes the idea that men and women are equal. Men are perceived as strong or tough whereas women are considered dainty and fragile. Having a women body builder in MACs ad demonstrates that beauty comes in many different shapes and sizes and that gender doesnt matter. The purpose of the ad is to grab peoples attention through the use of the striking and unusual imagery. The text Strike a powerful pose, stand out an d redefine the notion of beauty, paired with the image of a female body builder further creates interest and contrasts with traditional makeup advertisements used by other brands. By successfully glamorizing Jelena and highlighting her beauty and femininity, MAC contradicts the mainstream idea that women bodybuilders are masculine, thereby furthering the notion of gender equality and inner beauty. The use of a female body builder is a great example of driving home the cultural narrative of inner strength and beauty in MACs ads and demonstrates that beauty comes in many different shapes and sizes. Whereas most cosmetic brands feature idealized images of the female body to sell makeup, MAC contradicts dominant ideas about femininity, focusing instead on the psychological emotions of confidence and self-esteem achieved from inner beauty. In a similar fashion of using striking imagery, MACs Style Warrior ads (Figure 4) were made to celebrate the cross-cultural sophistication of the modern Amazon Princess, African Queen, Crouching Tigressà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The ads emphasize makeup as a form of self-expression, promoting a diverse color palette featuring bronzing shades for lips, cheeks, eyes and nails that keep skin looking glowing and radiant. The makeup line is full of bold colors with shades suitable for a wide variety of skin tones. The ads succeed in drawing peoples attention due to the dramatic and non-traditional application of makeup that is almost reminiscent of painted works of art, emphasizing makeup as a form of self-expression. By combining this bold imagery with the bold headline Style Warrior and the subsequent text that describes every woman as having an inner wild thing, MAC suggests that makeup is a great way to embody different aspects of a persons personality. By appealing to peoples need and desire to feel confident and beautiful, MAC succeeds in communicating the idea that buying their product will help to make people be bolder and more glamorous. Building on its philosophy to create makeup for all ages, sexes and races, MAC launched a contest in the fall of 2015 called MACnificent Me. The contest invited MAC fans to submit a photo of themselves, along with a 100-word life mantra, illustrating their style, heart, and soul. From the submissions received, MAC chose six everyday people, including Hispanic, African-American and Asian, to represent the MAC brand, providing each winner with a MAC makeover. The resulting MACnificent Me ad (Figure 5) celebrates diversity and is all about being creative, confident, and true to ones self, encouraging consumers to look beyond model stereotypes and use MAC cosmetics in an individual way. The six unique individuals from all around the world, including men and women, both young and old, all proved to be magnificent in their own way. Challenging the supermodel stereotype traditionally portrayed in cosmetic ads, the MACnificent Me winners consist of a plus size woman, a gay man, and a transge nder woman, to name a few. The cultural narrative is all about finding beauty in the everyday and moving away from traditional mass-produced notions of beauty. MAC succeeds in encouraging everyday people to experiment and see cosmetics as a way to promote individuality. Using names such as Make Me Proud and Its Really Me for its product line, the MACnificent Me campaign serves to define a new beauty standard, in which everyone is beautiful, no matter age, race, nationality or body shape. The cultural narrative of beauty is to make the average woman and even man feel more attractive and more confident. Many people today use cosmetics to fit in with the crowd whether its gender, age, or profession. Especially when it comes to ones profession, cosmetics boost your look and self-esteem making one more presentable in meetings, interviews, or the everyday workplace. The use of cosmetics promotes people to feel better and comfortable in their own skin. MAC Cosmetics advertisements are not specifically aimed at one gender, but instead cater to men and women, regardless of race or color, promoting empowerment, diversity and strength. MAC embraces gender equality and uses its advertisements to explore and celebrate inner beautyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦defining beauty using a combination of bold, striking imagery, captivating text and iconic celebrities in their ads. As a leading cosmetic manufacturer, MAC has gained strides by successfully representing cultural equality, individuality a nd self-expression and they continue to stay on the cutting edge in the cultural movement. Although MAC often incorporates famous celebrities in their advertisements who are known for their glamorous appeal, MAC has placed less emphasis on traditional markers of beauty and femininity than many of its competitors. MACs advertising approach challenges the norm found in traditional cosmetic advertising conventions, narrowing the definitions of female beauty. As a result, MAC has successfully positioned their messaging so that it is not undermined by glamour and sex appeal, but rather focuses on beauty being found in the uniqueness of individuals promoting feeling better and comfortable in ones own skin, embracing ones own personal perception of beauty (versus mainstream societys) and challenging traditional gender role associations. MAC Cosmetics is in the business of making people feel like their best selves. Their ads empower people to embrace self-expression. Their intended audience began as primarily young women but has evolved to include men and the transgender community, specifically 18-49 years old. This age group meets the needs of their consumers in terms of gender, income, ethnic background and family circle. Through the use of celebrities in their advertisements, MAC has successfully invoked an even larger audience by reaching the fans of those well-known celebrity figures. As a leading cosmetic manufacturer, MAC has gained strides by successfully representing cultural equality, individuality and self-expression and they continue to stay on the cutting edge in the cultural movement.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Unhealthy America

American is supposed to be the strongest nation in the world however we have managed to grasp the largest and most unhealthy nation trophy along with it. Americans care more about how quickly they can grab a meal rather than what that meals consists of and how bad the food is for the body. Americans are becoming increasingly unhealthy with every meal they consume. My aunt went on a trip to Greece recently where she says the food was exquisite and utterly delicious. While she was crashing a Greek wedding she got to experience some of the traditional food. She said the meats were fall off the bone tender with more explosive tastes than her taste buds could handle. She said the salad was a rainbow of green lettuce with mixed with reds of all colors for tomatoes. She produced a tiny bottle that once was full of homemade Greek salad dressing that the mother of the bride had made especially for her daughter’s perfect day. She recalled how immaculate the food was saying specifically she had never seen such amazing foods in America and wished she could bring the cooks back with her. She later told me that when she got back to the states, she realized just how bad she ate before she went on her trip and she sees more clearly now just how unhealthy Americans really are. Her story prompted me to step back and look closer at how we as a nation choses what we are eating. I took my son to the grocery store to get food for the next couple weeks. I made all of his food myself instead of buying processed baby food because I know it is much healthier for him and it makes me think about what I eat. While we were in the fruits and vegetables isle, I noticed we were one of three people shopping in this area while the rest of the market place was packed with people. With the previous conversation stuck in my head, I decided to look around at what others were purchasing around me. I spotted a woman with a shopping cart mounding over with food. The looks of her cart reminded me of a contest I watched on TV where the mom got 5 minutes to get as much stuff as she could and by the end of her 5 minutes her cart was overflowing with stuff. As I watch her carefully choose what she was placing in her cart I realized we were in the frozen foods section. She was staring at a glass door intensely. Behind that glass door sat probably 20 different variations of ice cream. While this stranger and her overweight daughter discussed the options together, I watched her pick up two different one gallon containers of ice cream. One container had chocolate swirls throughout the off white vanilla ice cream and the other had the same chocolate swirls accompanied by pink strawberry swirls. I could hear her daughter asking for one kind and her mother saying she wanted the other kind. So instead of having to choose between the two different gallons of ice cream, she placed both containers in her already overflowing cart. I could sense both of their insulin levels increasing as they began to walk away with their prized frozen treats. While I was standing in the isle with this mother-daughter duo, I was able to get a good look at what they had stuffed in to their cart. I saw several blue boxes of Mac-N-Cheese paired with packages of processed animal intestines otherwise known as hotdogs. I could count six boxes of Hamburger Helper and each one a different variation but all boxes had the detail in bold of being doubly cheesy. I would think that a box of processed food that only needs to have water added to it is not the healthiest meal a mother could make for her child. I also spotted a couple 12 packs of various types of soda. I saw short green soda containers of individual bottles of Mountain Dew placed neatly on the side wall of her cart. Thinking to myself I remembered something I read saying that Mountain Dew has the most sodium per bottle than any other soda drink in the business. I came to the conclusion that my aunt was right. We as a nation are not only eating unhealthy but teaching our children to do the same as well. After leaving the grocery store with our fruit and veggies in hand, I decide to stop at fast food restaurant to grab a salad for lunch. While in line the person ahead of me places his order. The young lady taking his order is a very short woman with a very wide stance. As he gives his order I recount the experience that I had just had, watching this stranger and her daughter purchase mass quantities of food that were processed and extremely unhealthy. The gentleman tells the cashier he would like a Quarter Pounder with cheese. He asks for an extra slice of cheese, extra pickles and no lettuce or tomato. While the young lady quickly punches thing in to her computer screen to detail the order to his specific wants, he also adds that he would like to supersize his meal and requests a fresh batch of French fries. In my head, still reeling from my conversation with my aunt, I thought about how much grease this man is going to eat in just his lunch sitting. The woman waddled over to the fryers that were full of what looked like grease that had not been changed in a week, pulled out a new bag of frozen French fries, filled the container full of them and slid them in to the hot, boiling grease to cook. With his order being made, I couldn’t help but to think of all of the calories in his meal that he was getting ready to devour. He stepped aside waiting on his food and I placed my order for a grilled salmon salad with no dressing. I quickly realized our two orders couldn’t be more on the opposite sides of the nutrition chart as his meal was nothing but fat and grease and mine containing lettuce, fish, cheese and tomatoes. Another stranger opting to eat absolutely nothing good for them. As I sit down to enjoy my salad I look around and see the meals of others in the restaurant. I take out a package of already cut up bite size pieces of peaches for my son to each since he is only 7 months old. Trying to be inconspicuous, I look at the table next to me. A mother and her two young children are sitting, enjoying their lunches. The mother had a cheeseburger with so much ketchup running out of the sides you would think there was more ketchup that meat. Her youngest son had a 10 piece chicken nugget meal. The nuggets were obviously fried but the meat inside was a strange color of grey leading me to believe it was imitation meat. The little boy devoured each nugget only after carefully dipping each one of the nuggets in to a tub of barbeque sauce, making sure to lather each inch of the nugget to his desired amount. The oldest boy had the same fried, strangely grey food but was dipping his nuggets in to ketchup. In my head I couldn’t help but to sum up their lunch as to being fried fat and fried imitation meat, all lathered in a sodium filled dipping sauce. I quickly finished my meal and headed for the door. I had set my mind that I would not be like that mother, teaching her sons that eating unhealthy was acceptable. As I started putting away my groceries, I also started riding my cupboards and refrigerator from anything processed. It was clear to me that the word unhealthy was quickly becoming our nation’s primary adjective. As I reflect on my conversation with my aunt and the experiences I had with the unknowing strangers I watched purposely chose fatty, processed, fried and ultimately the most unhealthy foods possible, I realized obesity is not just a term used to define a plus size individual but a growing epidemic that is quickly spreading across our great nation. Unhealthy Americans are more prominent in society today and the growing trend does not look to be slowing down any time soon.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Top Guide of Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner

Top Guide of Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner It's the mothers need for more money that results in the home. His very first inclination, to create the remainder of his mother's life worry-free by providing enough money that even she is going to be not able to spend everything in a brief period of time, soon begins to get additional, adverse results. The house senses this too, which is the reason why it constantly whispers the demand for more cash. Stick to that formula for every one of the paragraphs. The legalized gambling is the principal reason behind horse racings long life. In reality the lottery is not a great thing but a lousy thing, which will end in somebody's death. She believes that luck is the thing that causes you to have money (97). In the procedure for collecting the money he chose to keep it a secret by selecting an attorney to take care of the money. Getting the Best Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner Reading example essays works exactly the same way! 000 the most regularly asked questions. Lawrence not only utilize fairytale writing techniques but also uses the supernatural. So far as the students are involved, writing a research paper is among the toughest and frustrating job in their opinion. Character development happens in the brief passage. After each of the work you've done you ought to sell it. Lawrence utilizes this manner of writing throughout the story by means of linguistic repetition that stresses on particular phrases. Lawrence by means of dramatic relationships implies the topic of the story. New Step by Step Roadmap for Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner It is possible to choose another one if you want. They are easy and direct. But still it's insufficient. Now I believe I am extremely unlucky indeed(77). The Downside Risk of Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner The story has a rather substantial part to demonstrate in what way the parents are bad to their children. Paul's death is really not something which affected Oscar Cresswell. The system made Uncle Oscar nervous, but Paul explained he wished to make some money because of his mother so the house would quit whispering. Paul is very excited to have the ability to prove to his mot her he is, in reality, lucky. He declared that he was a lucky person. He does not fully understand what this statement means, but his mother suggests that it is inextricably connected to money and, in the case of their family, its insufficiency. Hester resents her kids and her husband. D. H. Lawrence is a great writer and The Rocking-Horse Winner is a choice instance of the talent which he has. He used multiple forms of secrecy to make this story a classic. In the story, nobody is fooled. It's what makes the characters do the things that they do in the story which contributes to the ending. There are two or three characters within this story. It is the section of the plot which results in the readers to be excited in being aware of what becomes of the characters at the close of the story. The topic of the story is a quest to discover a winner. It sets the tone as if he lottery is similar to a contest, but it is not. Moreover, it is much more consistent in terms of plot, and style. Although both stories are extremely different with diverse symbolisms, both key characters end in devastating situations. Top Choices of Essay Topics for the Rocking Horse Winner The story is all about a young boy named Paul who's gifted a rocking horse that appears to get super organic powers. There isn't a great deal of love in that household. It looks like there's a relationship between the boy and an outer being or mind-set. Needless to say, the empty space left by the absent father has to be filled by other people. It may be seen in a number of distinct locations throughout the town. But he reads clearly inside her face that she's still not happy, an observation that's further confirmed by the frightening gain in the house's whispering for more cash. The house represented the terrible wonts. The whispering in the house symbolizes the urge to please his mother so the family can remain in the social class which they're accustomed to.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Venturing a Budget Hotel in Sri Lanka Free Essay Example, 2500 words

As evident in the landing/disembarking cards of Sri Lanka, UK and USA there is no indication of social classes of tourist to these destinations. All it shows is the occupational category of tourists (Refer to appendix 12). The landing/disembarking cards are the main source of gathering tourist characteristics. Therefore the proposed venture will be using the occupation to identify various categories of the target market, which comprise businessmen, retired persons, educationist, another occupation category, and no occupations categories. According to Sri Lankan tourist board statistics in 2007, total international tourist arrivals were 494008 (Refer appendix 06). Out of the total arrivals 80523 (16.3%) were businessman, 135358 (27.4%) people were another occupation category, 25194 (5.1%) were retired people, 28158 (5.7%) were educationist and 88922 (18%) were in no occupation category. This totals to 358156 (72.5%) as our target market according to occupation category (Refer appendi x 13). Competitor analysis is an important strategy for a business to identify its competitors to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. Some of our competitors are Hotel Sansu, Renuka Hotel, Colombo City and Hotel Janaki (see appendix 14 28). We will write a custom essay sample on Venturing a Budget Hotel in Sri Lanka or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page These facts coupled with the current global financial crises, the demand, for low budget accommodations worldwide are expected to rise (Refer appendix-18).