Season Finale Alert-Project Runway

THE SEASON FINALE OF PROJECT RUNWAY!!!! Can you feel the joy?!
 
After a a season of intense challenges, break you down into tears judge commentary (Michael Kors and Nina Garcia I'm talking to you--and LOVE you for it) , catty hate (Gretchen and Ivy...um why?!), and inspirational stories (Mondo revealing his HIV positive status and Michael C. making it to the final four without proper sewing/pattern design skills) one of my favorite shows end until spring.  It is bittersweet: I look forward to seeing who wins the wonderful prize (GO MONDO!!) and who packs up and goes home empty-handed-except for the name recognition they created. I also can't wait to have some of my DVR space back.   On the other I am sad to see my product placement show end

Yes, you read that correctly. I did call this my favorite product placement show.  Project Runway shamelessly flaunts products throughout every episode in its entirety.  Sadly (or ingeniusly) I can remember a large number of of the products they promote including: Michael Kors, Marie Claire, Garnier Fructis, Saturn, Brother Sewing Machines, Hilton Hotels, Mood Fabrics, Atlas Apartments, Parsons School of Design, L'Oreal, Bluefly.com, and even Cadillac.  The odd thing about this is that I do not mind the shameless promotion on PR.  I am not sure if this is because I expect it on shows featuring the arts such as Project Runway, America's Next Top Model and Top Chef.  Truthfully PR has converted my mother and I to Garnier users.  I think that in shows where someone or something is created and/or transformed I love watching the product at work in the hands of professionals.  I know that I can't create that smokey eye like you can, but I can at least try with the same exact tools you have! Maybe just maybe, it will work.  Now, what I do not want to see happen is all reality shows because venues for product placement. Keep it on cooking, fashion, and design shows. 

Throwing my support behind the creative genius!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month??!

That's a joke.  In all seriousness these Breast Cancer Awareness (going forward we will say BCA because it's too much to type) marketers have really impressed me. This years media blitz hit the ground running!! It's only October 4th, and unless you live under a rock you know it's BCAM.  You have seen at least ten ads, and perhaps even already donated to the cause.  Personally, I attended a fundraiser Saturday--yes on the second day of the month.  Ford had Neil Patrick Harris encouraging the world to Suit Up! And wear a BCA tie in a prime time commercial of  "How I Met Your Mother." During Sunday's games the NFL players/teams/coaches are all wearing pink either in the form of cleats, gloves, or on their team gear. Even the goal posts are wrapped in pink padding!  But it doesn't end there. 

This evening when I returned home from class I turned on the game in time to see Kelly Rowland singing "Survivor" and breast cancer survivors marching on the football field. Now, I don't want to sound like I don't care about breast cancer. I do. BUT this is almost ridiculous.  I understand that you want to put your cause on the largest platform available, but this doesn't go well with football.  First of all, it's not tradition to see star-studded halftime shows during Monday Night Football.  What was the point?  Wouldn't this be better suited for a format such as Project Runway?  Sidenote: I do believe they'll tie it into Project Runway just wait!! Likewise, where was the rest of Destiny's Child?

There is a such thing as overkill.   It seems whoever coordinated this campaign did not believe in it.  This is based solely on the amount of BCA paraphernalia invading our world.

My rating of the BCA program is three stars.  You have done well with alerting us of your cause. It has become second nature to associate breast cancer with October and pink ribbons.  Congrats.  Where you messed up is in drowning us in your media blitz.  If you lose us now all your efforts were in vain.  It is only October 4th.  We have 27 days remaining in the month.  Let us breathe!

Update: Had some technical difficulties with this post. Better late than never!

Current Obsessions

TV: How I Met Your Mother.  It's a hilarious show.  If you haven't already;  check it out.  The cast is fantastic and I cannot get enough of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris).  His portrayal of a sex-crazed, suit wearing, bro code self is classic--or in his words LEGEN---wait for it  DARY!!

Sports:  Football.  I love you fantasy football. I love you Game Day.  I love you MNF.  I also enjoy the commercials featuring my favorite sport (more about those this week).  I know you signal the end of the summer but I love you regardless.

TV again: Welcome back prime time!!! I am so happy you have returned.  I feel badly that I have not had time to catch up with my DVR. But I might have to get another DVR just to keep up with all the loveliness that Thursday night has to offer.

Social Media: I have this amazing class Monday nights.  My professor challenges everything I have learned in school thus far.  

Fall: I hate the end of the summer but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fall.  This means we get to layer clothes and wear costumes soon.  Can't wait.  Living in Chicago we appreciate every warm day we have left.

My iPhone: No, I don't have the new one, but suddenly I have fallen in madly in love.  I truly don't understand how this happened.  I wonder if BlackBerry will exist in three years??  They need to come up with something and QUICK.  Having a touch screen isn't going to cut it.  I do like the new ad campaign that they're doing.  However I don't think BBM is a strong enough value proposition to lure people by the masses to BlackBerry.  They're on a slippery slope.

Running: I have recently gotten back into the hobby and it's starting to feel great.  I have started to get the feeling that I need a good run during the day.  Exciting stuff.

Apple advertising: I love that jingle they have for the iPad.  It's super catchy and very distinct.  Apple always does an A+ marketing job and they haven't let me down....Oh, and the product is pretty awesome too.

Let's make it a great week people!!!  Also, I really enjoy your comments and hope that you continue to leave them.  I want to interact with my friends. If you have any ideas on posts please feel free to email me. 

I (was) Loving it

I kind of feel bad for McDonald's.  They face what appears to be a constant stream of scrutiny of their products.  In an attempt to diffuse the negative press they have introduced healthy alternatives on their menu.  However, their critics will not be silenced.  Peep the lastest ad from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called Consequences: 

 As a self-proclaimed cheeseburger addict the ad scared the quarterpounders out of me!!!  The creative team did an excellent job: choosing a corpse that looks like someone you could encounter on the street.  Seeing his wife's distress over her husbands death is appropriate for the scenario.  Then you see the kicker: a half-eaten cheeseburger clutched in his hand.  That  is when the message hits home.  We all know burgers are not the best food for us, but we still eat them.  We know that eating McDonald's is horrible, but the fast food industry makes millions of dollars each year.   We are a culture that consistently chooses our temporary personal desires over long-term effects.  This ad puts the consequences (ha! Great name for the ad!) of those actions into perspective.   Overall, I think the ad has the potential to have a great impact on consumers.  I know that I am grateful for it, and I will reconsider eating fast food the next time I have the urge.

BIG Bliss??

I am a bridal show junkie: Bridezillas, My Fair Wedding, Rich Bride Poor Bride, and my newest fave Say Yes to the Dress.   There's something magical about seeing two people who really love each other decide to it official.  So this morning when I saw that TLC has decided to make Say Yes to the Dress feature plus-size women I was excited.  The one thing I was not thrilled about was the name: Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss.

Big Bliss?! Are. You. Serious.  Why do you have to emphasize the season is featuring plus-size women? Is it too hard to keep the original name of the show and let the faithful audience pick up on the fact that the brides are plus-size?  The ultimate insult to injury is the fact that they are calling the brides big and then add bliss. Is that supposed to conjure up some image of a beautiful blissful big bride?  What's next Say Yes to the Dress: Indian Sari's, Say Yes to the Dress: Mazel Tov!, Say Yes to the Dress: Jumping the Broom!!  We already know our culture loves to put people into boxes and it affects us all in various ways.  It just kills me that on one of things we all seem to do regardless of our differences the show found yet another way to point out our (obvious) differences.

Do I think the show is a great idea? Yes. As a woman I love watching brides of all backgrounds and body-types find The Dress.  Just change the name. That is my BIG request.

I want my MTV?

 

This Sunday is MTV's annual Video Music Awards or VMAs as they're known. Growing up this was THE show to watch. This year is supposed to be big with acts such as Drake, Kanye West and (wait for it) Justin Bieber. Odd lineup, but we'll get to that later. Hosting the show is author and E! Television star Chelsea Handler?? MTV has been running ads featuring Drake for the last month or so to get its viewers hype about the show. The only problem, I suspect, is that the world kinda doesn't care.

Why would I make a statement such as that? For starters, the lineup is just odd.  It appears as if they're trying to truly capture a demographic that is just too diverse: 12-40, all races, ethnic backgrounds, urban and suburban. I mean, Chelsea Handler??!  Don't get me wrong I like her.  I find her funny, and while I haven't read her books, I want to.  But I'm a 28 year-old woman who can legally DRINK VODKA!!  She also hasn't struck me as the type who relates to girls under eighteen.  Maybe she can just as Carrie Broadshaw related to "women" everywhere (aka girls who were having sex). Let's not forget the other half of the audience is male.  Young males are so into asserting their masculinity that I am not sold on her captivating their attention. 

As far as JB is concerned I understand it's important that MTV supports and acknowledges its large moneymakers.   There is something about a tween sharing the billing with Kanye that just does not sit well with me.  It could be that I am a huge hip hop fan, and while I like pop Justin Timberlake would seem to be a better fit.  Or maybe it's that I just view Bieber as a child, and I don't take him seriously as an artist.  Who knows.  Let's be real: outside a money-making perspective it makes zero sense; bottom line this odd host/guest lineup screams desperation for MTV to me. 

This morning they revealed their final ploy to reel viewers in: a bonus episode of Jersey Shore RIGHT before the VMAs.  Wow.  To me that means the VMA's are no longer capable of pulling the viewership they once had.  I remember back in the day EVERYONE watched the red carpet pre-show, the awards show, and the after show.  Now, you have to entice us with an extra dose of our favorite hard-partying guidos to try to get us to tune into your show?? I'm not sure if this is because MTV is in a strange position as the first generation grows up and shifts its focus on more stimulating material and no longer views the VMAs as necessary to view.  Personally,  I'll be recording Jersey Shore. Like many of my friends I will be tuned into HBO for the True Blood, Hung, and Entourage finales. 

I'm sorry MTV as much as I love MVP, Snooki, JWoww, Angelina, and the never-ending Sammi/Ronnie Drama there is NOTHING you can do to tear me away from my Sunday HBO.  Nothing.  And I think you know MANY others feel the same way which is why you used Jersey Shore as bait.  Not going to work.  Frankly as people who grew up watching MTV we know that you will re-run the show 50 times next week.  Perhaps I'll catch an encore.  Although, I may not.  After the premiere I will have a good idea of what occurred through Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere to know if it's worth my time. Or, like many others, I may just youtube the performances worth seeing and scrap the rest. 

A Muslim PSA: My Faith My Voice

America was built on the notion of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  In this dream freedom for everyone is innate.  Our racially-charged history shows that dream has yet to be actualized.  In recent weeks it has come to the nation's attention that a mosque is scheduled to be erected near Ground Zero and open its doors on September 11, 2010.  New Yorkers are upset and those who lost family members are beyond furious at what they perceive as a slap in the face.  In response to the backlash the Muslim community launched this ad campaign:

I'm not going to debate the merits of New Yorkers and Americans alike who are angry with the Muslim community for the location of the mosque.  That is obvious.  I am also not going to defend why the Muslim community felt it was a good idea to build the mosque at that location.  That is also obvious.  I am here to discuss the ad.

I like the ad.  The use of many different races and ethnicities used to portray the religion was smart. In my experiences people are surprised when you do not fit into their box of what a _______ (fill in the blank) looks like.  They just cannot wrap their heads around it and search for an explanation.  As a young black female there are countless incidences where I have been rudely asked, "What ARE you??!"  Like I'm an alien or some endangered creature they have never seen.  It is beyond offensive.  When I explain to these peons that I am Black it blows their minds. They are usually taken aback, "but you don't look black!" (What exactly does that mean??) So they immediately follow up with, "..you must be mixed with something!"  I have learned to handle these comments with a flippant remark that dispells that notion and (hopefully) their ideal that there is only one type of Blackness in this country.   I am happy that the My Faith My Voice commercial does the same thing.

The ad shows the world that not Muslims are not all Middle Eastern, African, or Indian.  They are also Black Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians.  They are deaf, women, and even children. 

My Faith My Voice shows us that the Muslim religion is not something to fear.  They are no different than any other religion that has fanatics. Do not let the fanatics speak for everyone.  It isn't fair. 

I wish a campaign like this had been run after the 9/11 bombings and even during our last presidential election.  Perhaps if we had not had nine years to let the fear and hatred of the Muslim religion fester, our country would be a little more open-minded to the religion.  I hope the campaign is received with open arms and that we can all try to move past our differences.  We are all just people.