I have noticed a way of marketing involved with Twilight recently. Twilight, and everything based around Twilight is a huge money making thing. When I was at summer camp a couple years ago my dad bought me the second Twilight book (New Moon), because he didn't know they were in a series. I didn't intend to read it, and I didn't think I would like the Twilight series.. One day I bought the first book, Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer). As soon as I started reading the book I got sucked into the whole series. I really don't count myself as the obsessive fan girl type, I try to keep it more under wraps. But I've always liked the idea of being able to live forever, and every girl wants their Edward, or for the Jacob fans.. They want their Jacobs. Which leads to my realization on marketing. Already, I have the two books.. Then the whole series of Twilight books.. For christmas my best friend bought me two Twilight posters, I wasn't going to buy them because I didn't want to seem obsessed, but she just had to buy them for me! They're down now, but after I watched Twilight again I want to put them up. Then for my birthday my mom just had to buy me a pink Waiting For My Edward shirt. I've only worn it a couple times, but I guess I'm waiting for my Edward, or the realistic one that will never come. Oh well. Then I saw the Twilight movie, and after that I bought Twilight on DVD. I didn't watch it or even open it for a really really long time. I just had to have it to have it. So me, as a teenage girl.. I have all of the Twilight books, a shirt, the DVD, the soundtrack for my ipod, and posters. I'll probably even get the second DVD (New Moon), and the soundtrack once I see the movie. I don't think of myself as lame, or like all the other girls. When Edward Cullen walks into the picture for the first time.. and all the teenagers behind me scream! I didn't.
In the movie Twilight there are a couple of other marketing techniques as well. My brother and I just watched Twilight, and we realized that all of the kids in the movie are eating Twizzlers throughout the whole movie. They're throwing them around, and laughing, and eating Twizzlers. After the movie, my mom was going to the store and I asked her if she could buy me the same kind of Twizzlers that they were eating in the movie. They never showed the wrapper or anything, but you can recognize a Twizzler if you see one. Seeing the kids eating Twizzlers put it in my head, and made me think that I wanted Twizzlers. My mom ended up buying two small packs of them. There's also another part in the movie where Edward says blah blah blah.. "You can Google it. I was telling my mom about this, as well as the whole Twizzlers thing and she said "I bet they payed them to do that." Everyone involved with Twilight made money off of the teenage fans, and the teachers who read it (I've seen a couple female teachers reading Twilight), and the people on the train reading the Twilight series. Hersheys also makes money off of having Twizzlers in the movie, and Google probably made money off of Edward saying "Google it."
There are so many different kinds of merchandize based around the whole Twilight movie. I liked a line from the first book, so I went online to try and find it. They make pillows, and t-shirts, and christmas ornaments, and bags, and gym bags, and gym shorts, and jewelry.. they make tons and tons of things with Twilight quotes written on them. They also have things to go with the movies, like books with pictures from the movies, and they change the covers of the Twilight series to go with the movies. There are also shirts that say "Team Edward", and "Team Jacob", or "Leech Lover", there's even a shirt for dogs that says "I am not a mini Jacob!" with a wolf on it. There's a shirt that says "I've got obsessive Edward disorder and I don't want a cure", which I told my mom about and she said "Now there's marketing/ merchandising at work!" My point on the Twilight rant is that no matter what we do, people are making money off of it. There are subliminal messages in theater to make us go out and buy candy, or fan items.. or whatever. If you aren't Team Edward, then you get the Team Jacob shirt! Or a shirt that I think is amusing "My Werewolf Can Kick Your Vampires A$$!" . Even me talking about Twilight might be merchandizing in some way!
I don't really think it's possible for us to ban every single form of advertisement! There will always be some kind of add swarming around us, if not in the subways, or in the movie theater, or in the mall... It will be somewhere, Everyone is trying to make their money somehow, and some people just happen to make money gipping off teenagers. I guess I do think it is unfair that the teenager boys in the "Merchants of Cool" episode seem to think they really are cool, when we know they aren't.. And they thought they were getting their own say, and that they were on tv, etc. But really they were still losers, and some of them didn't seem very nice. Everyone seemed to be ripping off everyone else. The people who studied kids were praying on the kids, which made the adults seem creepy. As well as the people that were perching around the little thirteen year olds, looking for "young blood". Those girls wanted to be like Britney Spears, and they wanted to be known, and look pretty.. I do think it's sad that all those young girls were putting on makeup, and modeling, and trying to act like adults. I'm not saying I wasn't a Britney Spears fan in third grade! But I wasn't stepping into the midriff role.
There's a lot of pressure on those young girls that are trying to be "cool"! And you know what happens to a lot of those girls? They become anorexic, or bulimic, they become cutters, suicidal, depressed, on pills.. Or eventually they become used and cast out, like Britney Spears was. I liked Britney Spears when I was younger. Like myself, a lot of kids grow out of her when they're older. I noticed how she shaved her head, got pulled over for DUI and how she was acting up, the whole problem with her kids etc. It's really difficult not to notice all of the celeb's lives going to a wreck when it's all over the news and magazines. Yes, they did use Britney Spears, and cast her out when they didn't need her anymore. When she was out, they made more money off of showing that she was out. They also did the same thing with all of the other stars, like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie.. whatever. Yes, I think it's wrong. But it's also Hollywood! Hollywood can be a vicious place that I do not want to ever experience.
In media, sex does rear its ugly head a lot. One of the snotty women from the "Merchants of Cool" episode said "Media is just a mirror after all" (this was about sex in the media). I really do disagree with her. I can say for myself, and as a teenager that I don't spend my every day and night thinking about sex. A lot of teenagers are perverted, and there are things reminding teenagers of sex a lot.. but still. Media is not just a mirror. Sex does sell, and where it's legal (or not) there are prostitutes and male prostitutes. Lots of stores sell things that have to do with sex, or remind people of sex.. Like sexy underwear at Victoria Secret, or condoms in Duane Reade.. But these days there is almost always a sex scene in the media. All of the advertisements for men's underwear, or clothing, or scenes in movies, are a lot sexier these days. Just looking at google images for pictures of advertisments can show how sex sells. Just take a look at this add for Calvin Klien , or an add for Abercrombie & Fitch, or Hollister (Titled "Couple Passion Love), and there are so many other commercials that use sex to sell. Whenever you watch tv there are really sexual adds trying to sell clothing, and a lot of super sexual adds these days are for perfume. Again, I'm ranting. Yes, they try and make sex sell stuff. No, if you buy that new perfume it will not make you look sexy if you aren't already. Sorry. You might just smell good, but the stars in the ads don't always wear what they sell, in fact, they probably don't. Sucks right?
While I was looking at adds for some name brands I came across some one named Karl Goin. He talked about how he has a pocket knife that his grandfather bought him, which has Abercrombie & Fitch carved into it. I might do some research when I have time, but the knife that Karl has is from before A&F evolved in to what it is today.
I also came across another person's blog talking about how people use sexy visuals for perfume adds, which I was already researching but I found a blog post by T. Baranski & J. Batt as well. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's interesting.
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