So, just today my media studies group and I were working on our "Ethnic Diversity in Television" project for our class. We were snacking on some "Little Debbie's Swiss Snack Rolls" (which are awesome, by the way). We were taking a little break from work and one of the group members (I won't say who) decided to prank call the "Little Debbie's Help-line". So, he called them and a guy picked up.
He asked the operator a stupid question, "I just ate 4 packages of your snack cakes, is that bad for me? Could I overdose?"
The operator responded, "You mean you just shoved them in your mouth?"
"Yeah, would you advise me not to do that?"
"Well, it is not my position to advise you what to do and what not to do."
Of course we all got a good kick out of the call, but it got me thinking: What does he mean "not his position to advise people what to do and what not to do?" I assume that he is referring to his occupational position, but he is still a human, he should be able to give advice on this subject. Obviously it wasn't a serious question but the operator has to keep in mind that there are some different people out there. Plus, it is part of a phone operators job description to advise customers accordingly. [1]
It was a ridiculous question and maybe the guy caught on to the joke, but he still should have given advice. I'm sure 4 packages of snack cakes would get you very sick, and probably wouldn't be too good for your liver either. I just don't understand why he wouldn't offer advice. It would seem like the reasonable thing to do. I mean, is it really something that his boss would get mad at him for? How far does the situation have to go before he can step out of his occupational title and act as a human being to help someone in need? I know this situation isn't a strong example of the problem. It would be very interesting to experiment to see if one could force a Help-line operator out of their occupational status in order to save a life. Though it would probably be unethical...and illegal.
References
[1] CV Library . Ed. CV-Library Inc. . 24/ 03/ 09. Visa. 31/ 03/ 09 <>
Mar 30, 2009
Are advertisers trying too hard?
Alright, so I got a little story: a few days ago my friends and I went to a show and after the band played we decided to grab a bite to eat. We were in an area of downtown Hamilton, so you can imagine the place was plastered with billboards advertising all sorts of food joints, but only one caught our eyes. It was a scrony little chalkboard leaned up against the wall outside of a bar, all it said was simply this: "18 cent wings". This bargain intrigued us, so we went in and ordered.
This is what advertising is all about, sending us a message through some sort of media medium so that we buy what they are trying to sell. I find it really strange that we were being bombarded by billboards advertising "Pizza Pizza" and "KFC" and yet none of them could convince us, except this one little chalkboard.
These days the cost for one billboard can range between $700 - $2 500 a month [1] depending on location and prices can even go as high as $300 000 [2] for locations like Time Square. Now I wonder: how much money did it cost that bar to put out that little chalkboard? $20? Plus, it's chalk so once they buy the board they can change the ad whenever they want. So, why is it that these companies are putting a fortune into their advertising campaigns but it's the small things that win us over?
Now, maybe the case isn't how the message is being presented but what is being said. These days the neat slogans and catchy jingles aren't catching the audience as well as they once did. What people want are bargains, especially in our state of economic recession. People are penny pinching, and 18 cent wings is a deal that will save them some money.
Anyways, back to the story: it turned out that the wings weren't half bad, not great but definitely worth 18 cents a piece. It certainly wasn't the nicest place I've ever been in but I walked out of there for under $4, and that's including a plate of wings, a drink and a tip. It's things like that that will make me want to go back.
So, are advertisers trying too hard? Maybe, it's not an easy question. I think that they just have to shift direction. They have to realize that high budget advertising campaigns aren't going to win us over right now. What we want are bargains.
References
[1] www.gaebler.com. Ed. Ken Gaebler. 26/ 03/ 09. Ads By Google. 30/ 03/ 09 <>
[2] Roffo, Sandra, "The Most Expensive Billboard Is...?" [Weblog entry.] Ugly Doggy. June 12, 2008. (http://www.uglydoggy.com/2008/06/most-expensive-billboards-are.html) March 30, 2009.
This is what advertising is all about, sending us a message through some sort of media medium so that we buy what they are trying to sell. I find it really strange that we were being bombarded by billboards advertising "Pizza Pizza" and "KFC" and yet none of them could convince us, except this one little chalkboard.
These days the cost for one billboard can range between $700 - $2 500 a month [1] depending on location and prices can even go as high as $300 000 [2] for locations like Time Square. Now I wonder: how much money did it cost that bar to put out that little chalkboard? $20? Plus, it's chalk so once they buy the board they can change the ad whenever they want. So, why is it that these companies are putting a fortune into their advertising campaigns but it's the small things that win us over?
Now, maybe the case isn't how the message is being presented but what is being said. These days the neat slogans and catchy jingles aren't catching the audience as well as they once did. What people want are bargains, especially in our state of economic recession. People are penny pinching, and 18 cent wings is a deal that will save them some money.
Anyways, back to the story: it turned out that the wings weren't half bad, not great but definitely worth 18 cents a piece. It certainly wasn't the nicest place I've ever been in but I walked out of there for under $4, and that's including a plate of wings, a drink and a tip. It's things like that that will make me want to go back.
So, are advertisers trying too hard? Maybe, it's not an easy question. I think that they just have to shift direction. They have to realize that high budget advertising campaigns aren't going to win us over right now. What we want are bargains.
References
[1] www.gaebler.com. Ed. Ken Gaebler. 26/ 03/ 09. Ads By Google. 30/ 03/ 09 <>
[2] Roffo, Sandra, "The Most Expensive Billboard Is...?" [Weblog entry.] Ugly Doggy. June 12, 2008. (http://www.uglydoggy.com/2008/06/most-expensive-billboards-are.html) March 30, 2009.
Mar 7, 2009
Wit's All Been Done Before
Alright, so lately copyright infringement has been the topic of discussion and I thought I'd bring up another case, it's a less famous case in fact I'm not even sure you would call it a case, cause it really didn't even happen. I think that this case really outlines what level of sampling in music is considered "okay".
It involves three songs by three different bands: "Pressing On" by Relient k, "Makes no Difference" by Sum 41 and "Dammit" by Blink 182. These three songs have been accused of using very similar guitar riffs. Take a listen to the three songs and pay special attention to the opening guitar riffs.
Now, it's obvious that these three riffs have some very similar properties but the actual songs are quite different. Yet, fans of the bands still let loose with criticisms, saying stuff like "am i the only one who sees a strange similarity in the songs "pressing on" by relient k and "makes no difference" by sum 41?" [1] or "first time i heard it i thought "man way to rip off sum 41 with that"" [2] Matt Thiessen, lead singer/guitarist/songwriter of Relient k, was questioned about their song's similarity to "Dammit" and "Makes no Difference" in an interview with truetunes.com Matt responded saying this: "Yeah, it’s just… everybody uses it. Actually I think I was listening to a lot of Sum 41 at the time." "it’s never going to be exactly the same, we’re never going to rip anyone off on purpose. So we’re just going to do it and if we get compared, so what." [3] It's obvious that if any copying did occur, it was by accident.
It is hard to tell who "copied" who. "Dammit" was released in 1997 while "Makes no Difference" came out in 2000 followed by "Pressing on" in 2001. So, plainly speaking, Relient K borrowed from Sum 41 who borrowed from Blink 182 who probably borrowed from someone else and so on and so forth. But honestly, who cares? The only people to bring it up were the haters who just want to support their favourite band over the other two. There was no professional music analysist who criticized any of the bands, nor did any of the bands blame one another for ripping them off. Why? They didn't care.
That's the way it should be, it's not really copying at all, they are simply expanding on the other artists original idea (in my personal opinion, Relient K put out the better song). Blink 182, Relient K and Sum 41 were all strong staples of the pop-punk genre, and I believe that that one riff stood as an example of what pop-punk was all about, so it's kind of cool that each of them put their own spin on it.
The incident was quite a few years ago and the break up of Blink 182 ended that era of pop-punk. Relient K and Sum 41 moved on and began to change their style a little bit but not before one last word on the whole subject. In response to the whole "copying issue" Relient K released a song called "Wit's all been done before" (It's all been done before) the song talks about how everything has been done before and originality is very rare. The full lyrics are listed below.
[4]
Relient K
"Wit's All Been Done Before"
I wish I could, innovate,
And try to stretch your minds,
Cause often times, when guys like me,
Do that they leave themselves behind,
To clean the mess, or to impress,
A little bit of everyone,
But to innovate, is a mistake,
Cause there's nothing new under the sun.
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they tries too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
And all my lines are warning signs,
But not all with dead ends,
And im not sure if the clever words,
All sit well with my friends,
I will not just sit and watch,
And me the victim fall,
I'll just have to do,
What my gut tells me to,
And hope that you will buy it all.
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they tries too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait Wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
Originality is a ghost town,
And it's oh so hard to get to,
And when you do, then people start to hate you,
Just scream what you believe out loud in a crowd,
People will hate you,
Cause repetition's just so safe,
And repetition is just like prison,
And I prefer to be out of place,
Cause I'm not really into prison.
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they try too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait Wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
References
[1] Dexter88, "Relient K forum". sputnikmusic.com. Jan 2003
[2] Lechuza47, "Relient K forum". sputnikmusic.com. Jan 2003.
[3] M, Matt. "Reilent k Interview 2002". truetunes.com June 2002: http://truetunes.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/relient-k-interview-june-2002/.
[4] Relient K. "Wit's All Been Done Before.". Gotee Records, 2002.
It involves three songs by three different bands: "Pressing On" by Relient k, "Makes no Difference" by Sum 41 and "Dammit" by Blink 182. These three songs have been accused of using very similar guitar riffs. Take a listen to the three songs and pay special attention to the opening guitar riffs.
Now, it's obvious that these three riffs have some very similar properties but the actual songs are quite different. Yet, fans of the bands still let loose with criticisms, saying stuff like "am i the only one who sees a strange similarity in the songs "pressing on" by relient k and "makes no difference" by sum 41?" [1] or "first time i heard it i thought "man way to rip off sum 41 with that"" [2] Matt Thiessen, lead singer/guitarist/songwriter of Relient k, was questioned about their song's similarity to "Dammit" and "Makes no Difference" in an interview with truetunes.com Matt responded saying this: "Yeah, it’s just… everybody uses it. Actually I think I was listening to a lot of Sum 41 at the time." "it’s never going to be exactly the same, we’re never going to rip anyone off on purpose. So we’re just going to do it and if we get compared, so what." [3] It's obvious that if any copying did occur, it was by accident.
It is hard to tell who "copied" who. "Dammit" was released in 1997 while "Makes no Difference" came out in 2000 followed by "Pressing on" in 2001. So, plainly speaking, Relient K borrowed from Sum 41 who borrowed from Blink 182 who probably borrowed from someone else and so on and so forth. But honestly, who cares? The only people to bring it up were the haters who just want to support their favourite band over the other two. There was no professional music analysist who criticized any of the bands, nor did any of the bands blame one another for ripping them off. Why? They didn't care.
That's the way it should be, it's not really copying at all, they are simply expanding on the other artists original idea (in my personal opinion, Relient K put out the better song). Blink 182, Relient K and Sum 41 were all strong staples of the pop-punk genre, and I believe that that one riff stood as an example of what pop-punk was all about, so it's kind of cool that each of them put their own spin on it.
The incident was quite a few years ago and the break up of Blink 182 ended that era of pop-punk. Relient K and Sum 41 moved on and began to change their style a little bit but not before one last word on the whole subject. In response to the whole "copying issue" Relient K released a song called "Wit's all been done before" (It's all been done before) the song talks about how everything has been done before and originality is very rare. The full lyrics are listed below.
[4]
Relient K
"Wit's All Been Done Before"
I wish I could, innovate,
And try to stretch your minds,
Cause often times, when guys like me,
Do that they leave themselves behind,
To clean the mess, or to impress,
A little bit of everyone,
But to innovate, is a mistake,
Cause there's nothing new under the sun.
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they tries too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
And all my lines are warning signs,
But not all with dead ends,
And im not sure if the clever words,
All sit well with my friends,
I will not just sit and watch,
And me the victim fall,
I'll just have to do,
What my gut tells me to,
And hope that you will buy it all.
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they tries too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait Wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
Originality is a ghost town,
And it's oh so hard to get to,
And when you do, then people start to hate you,
Just scream what you believe out loud in a crowd,
People will hate you,
Cause repetition's just so safe,
And repetition is just like prison,
And I prefer to be out of place,
Cause I'm not really into prison.
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause they try too hard to make you write something,
Cause we're all getting tired of the media,
Cause creating something new is just recycling,
Wait Wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more,
Wait wit's all been done before,
Yeah we do something to death,
Then we dig it up just to do it some more.
References
[1] Dexter88, "Relient K forum". sputnikmusic.com. Jan 2003
[2] Lechuza47, "Relient K forum". sputnikmusic.com. Jan 2003
[3] M, Matt. "Reilent k Interview 2002". truetunes.com June 2002: http://truetunes.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/relient-k-interview-june-2002/.
[4] Relient K. "Wit's All Been Done Before.". Gotee Records, 2002.
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