Apps that need no introduction

The iPhone, created by Apple, has attracted so many consumers through its countless applications that when additional applications are added it is no longer surprising, it is expected. On Monday, November 23, 2009 in The Wall Street Journal, Apple purchased a page in order to advertise 16 applications that did not need an introduction. All were free with the exception of CNN, costing $1.99, which allows you to get your 24-hour news fix with live streaming video straight from the most trusted name in news. This application keeps you up to date with the latest headlines from the CNN newsroom and also offers clips of your favorite news shows. Offering a free application is a brilliant advertising strategy for small businesses and large corporations. Not only will the cellular user browse over the application everyday they may periodically use the application. These applications are the most efficient form of advertising that I have ever seen. From department lines to checking your bank account on the go these applications make life more convenient. How many times have you forgot to pay a bill or needed to check your bank account but you were not in front of a computer? Well with the Bank of America application you can do just that. From conveniently checking your accounts to transferring funds while in transient this application is ideal for people who are always on the move. With the purchase of a mobile subscription to the Wall Street Journal you are able to access articles, videos and podcast when you are in route to work or simply out and about. Applications like Target, Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble allow you to search for items before stepping foot in the store. These applications are fabulous for busy people. The companies, who have created an applications for the iPhone, will inevitably increase their sales due to this futuristic form of advertising.

Advertising Foes Meet in Court

In the competitive world of advertising, many companies have been winding up in court to settle claims for false advertisments. Two benefits can come from cases that end up in court, first if the plainiff can prove that the defendant's advertisments are false right away, then the plaintiff can get a restraining order on the advertisment and get it pulled from the airways. Hopefully before consumers have the chance to see the advertisment. Second, if the plaintiff can prove monetary damage, meaning that the market share has been impacted by these misleading advertisments, the plaintiff can get money from the defendant. However, in the time of a recession, lawsuits are expensive and a waste of money. But Progresso and Campbells seem to think otherwise, after a commerical launch by Campbells of an actress doing blind taste testing. First she tried the soup that was Progresso and claimed that she taste MSG and sodium. Then she tried Campbell's Select Harvest and claimed that all the flavors tasted natural and from scratch. Progresso took the claims to the National Advertising Division to figure out what could and could not be said. However by the time the decision was final the market share had already been impacted and neither company benefited and sales of soup had dropped altogether. Stephanie Clifford, reporter for the New York Times, in the article "Advertising Foes Meet in Court Companies Challenge Competitor Claims," November 20, 2009 audio edition, said that consumers and the government have always sued advertisers for false or misleading claims. Companines are now playing a bigger role in the court proceedings. Most advertising campaigns are designed to be competitive, the consumers have the right to know the faults of products even if that information is brought by the opposing company. Regardless of aggressive campaign tactics if a product is durable and beneficial then customers will buy it. On the other hand, if the product is poorly made there will little chance for the company to build brand loyal customers.

Web T.V.?

Advertising uses words and images to change the way people behave; mainly, it tries to get them to spend money. So how can we differentiate between a good advertisement a bad advertisement? Is it the use of vibrate colors or multiple pictures? Perhaps it is the use of a clever phrase or a creative title? While all these characteristics are contributing factors to the quality of the advertisement, I believe in the age old phase, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In others words, an advertisement that may stimulate one person may not have any effect on another. For example, in the November 13-15 weekend edition of the "USA Today" reporter David Lieberman cleverly incorporated an image of a life size remote control for the television into his article to better emphasis his point. For a while now we have been hearing about an application that electronic manufacturers are attempting to create called the television web. Big television manufactures including Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Vizio plan to launch a system that integrates Web content with television news and entertainment without connecting the TV to a box. If technology has already given us the ability to check our email through our phones and listen to our favorite songs on the internet, then why shouldn't we be able to watch our You Tube videos on the television? It has been predicted that by 2014, 45 million of these sets will exist in the homes of North Americans and will represent 69 percent of television sales. Manufactures have learned that viewers do not want their television sets to have similar characteristics to a computer that means no mouse or keypad. However, we are advancing in an age where technology is rampant. Every electronic device in our lives is being dominated by the internet. Americans expect 24/7 access to the internet but we must question ourselves, when does instant access to information become overwhelming? Do we truly need instant access to the media when it already bombards us in every aspect of our lives?

The Power of Broadcasting

The news can be brought to the public through multiple avenues including; newspapers, radio, broadcast, the internet and much more. While the local news focuses on subjects and events in the surrounding area the national news focuses in on events on a larger spectrum. I never realized the emotional control that broadcast journalist have over their audience. Anchors and reporters can set the mood on how the audience interprets a story. A reporter can even persuade the audience on a defendants guilt or innocence in a criminal case through pretrial publicity. Pretrial publicity can either be helpful or harmful depending on the reporters relationship and or feelings towards the defendant. While reports are suppose to remain neutral, body language, tone, and verbiage can play an sufficient role in manipulating the audiences opinion. In the unfortunate case of Somer Thompson, a seven-year-old, who disappeared in the Orange Park area after walking home from school one day and later discovered dead in a Georgia landfill, it is hard for a reporter to cover such a sad event but even harder to not demonstrate anger in demanding justice for the little girl. With this tragic event still fresh in the minds of people in the community, I can remember in detail the coverage of the story by local news stations. "News 4 Jax," was constantly updating any and all information on the little girls disappearance right up to recovering of her tiny body. Reading about this tragic event may not have evoked equal emotional tension in the viewers. Reporters in broadcast have the capability of reporting at the scene and interviewing people who are directly related or involved in the event allowing viewers to relate more on a personal level. Broadcasting is such an important medium for communicating the news and is a part of the daily agenda of many Americans.

Palestinian Womens Soccer

Freedom- 1.the state of being free of restraints. 2.Liberty of the person from slavery, oppression, or incarceration. 3. a. Political independence. b. Possession of civil rights. 4. Exemption from unpleasant or onerous conditions. 5. Free will (the freedom to do as one wishes). In the United States of America many citizens forget the importance of this word. Being born in the early 80s, I have never experienced political or sexual restraints. No one has ever told me that I could not do something because I am female. There was never any sexual orientation requirements for participating on a sport team. The teams were simply divided by sex. Growing up playing soccer, I never realize that the majority of women in the Middle East were forbidden to play soccer or any other sport. Jaron Gilinsky and Isabel Kershner, New York Times reporters, reported on the first ever Womens Palestinian Soccer home game. The soccer match between the Palestinian and Jordanian Womens soccer teams was featured in a video clip on the New York Times Web site titled "Palestinian Womens Socccer: International Competition Comes Home." The stadium is located 10 miles from Jerusalem's old city in Iran. But the security wall that Israel has built has cut it off from the rest of the Jerusalem and placed the town in the Palestinian West Bank, where check points delay players as they travel to and from practice. The Palestinian team is composed of Christian and Muslim women from the West Bank only. Israel prohibits players from Gaza from joining the team. Because Hamas which controls Gaza, discourages female athletics. But on this day buses of school girls and college students filled the stadium. Thousands of women out numbered the men, who were seated in a separate section. The tickets were free but after the stadium became full many had to watch from the roof tops. The crowd cheered and danced waving their flags prior to the match. And as the Jordanian team took the field before the game, they wore Palestinian scarfs in solidarity. Jackline Jazrawl a Palestinian player said, "We have to change what our mothers did. That women are free and can do whatever a man can do." The game ended in a two to two tie.