I’m on reading week right now, and although I planned on blogging a lot (to make up for my recent silence) I haven’t finished a piece yet.  Thus, here are some recent ads I think are amazing.  Enjoy!

This ad from Old Spice is a nice departure from the usual female objectification we see in advertising.  Although it does play to stereotypes (Diamonds, anyone?), it’s also unique in that it is selling the product to a consumer outside its target market (girlfriends, rather than the men who use it).  If anything, …

I am a feminist.  I had to take a women’s studies course to figure that out.
Sure, I spent my younger years in a male-dominated (both in numbers and patriarchal fashion) family, calling my brother, father, uncles, cousins, & innocent passerby names that ran the gamut from “sexist pig” to “chauvinist” (just imagine how well THAT went over…), thinking that was the way to make a change.  After that brave showing of activism, I shied away from referring to myself as a feminist, given that the term reminded me of the …

Gone are the days of anonymous women in Virginia Slims ads, coupled with their memorable tagline.  In today’s celebrity obsessed culture, it seems that advertising and marketing has taken a turn from Mad Men esque ads, focused on witty taglines and imagery, to a focus on celebrity branding.  While the constant publicity garnered by a celebrity sponsor may be an initial boon to a company’s product, it remains that by having them promote a brand a company is, in turn, promoting the lifestyle they lead and the product’s place in …

When people find out I have Twitter (and tweet frequently) they often ask why. Why would I, an insignificant university student, want to let the world know what I had for breakfast or where I’m headed for the evening?  To most who are not in the know, mindless tweets referencing the weather or daily minutia seem permeate the Twittersphere.  However, as evidenced by the vastly growing number of users on Twitter and increased user retention, there must be something drawing people in.  What is it?
By using Twitter, you are opening …

As the dust over Aberdeen settles, and the horse excrement is washed away by the ever-present Kingston rain, we must come to terms with the effects of this first “Fauxcoming” weekend and take inventory of what occurred.  I, for one, must admit that my predictions were wrong. Very, very wrong….but you wouldn’t know it from the media coverage given to the event.

For many who have followed Fauxcoming in the news, it would appear nothing had changed.  Numerous students were arrested, debauchery was witnessed, and the cancellation of Queen’s University official …

I was at Spring Reunion 2009.  Were you? Didn’t think so.
Consider yourself lucky.  After three fantastic years of Homecoming experiences, I was thoroughly depressed when I witnessed what was being touted as a fantastic alternative to the September festivities.  I have always looked forward to Homecoming, and not for the reasons many would think.  I’m not an Aberdeen supporter.  While I stop by to take a look, I don’t find pleasure in being crammed onto two blocks of SWAT-team-bordered, fenced in street with 5,000 of my closest friends.  I also …

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all”. This mantra, instilled into preschoolers by their parents, seems to be forgotten once one reaches middle school. Bullying has always been a problem amongst pre-teens, something that tends to clear up with ‘maturity’. However, with advances in technology new forms of cyber-bullying have evolved, trapping even supposedly logical and mature adults into its web. It is not uncommon to find anonymous attack comments on blogs, newspaper articles, and even Twitter. What’s worse …

When ‘stripper poles’ and ’16 year old girls’ are mentioned in the same sentence, most will think to stories such as a recent one out of Rhode Island – where girls under 18 are ‘permitted’ to strip for cash under a loophole in the law (Projo). What generally doesn’t come to mind are 16 year old Disney-bred starlets grinding on a pole at the Teen Choice Awards.
Miley grinds on the pole during the 2009 Teen Choice Awards
(Photo courtesy of LA Times)
While the pole dancing itself does not concern me (as …

Last week was the pilot episode of new ‘reality’ dating show, More to Love.  What’s the difference between this and the Bachelor/Bachelorette?  Well, apparently it’s helping obese girls find love.  Lucky them!
(Photo of contestants courtesy of EW.com)
Officially, the show is billed as “the first broadcast dating show entirely cast with heavy and “average-looking” contestants,” (THR). Based upon the hour I watched last night, I would venture that the show is not only cast entirely with heavy and people, but also those with deep emotional scars and identities that revolve around …

Apparently Queen’s holds a grudge. At least, the buildings on campus do.
For those of you who are unaware, in late fall of 2008 the Queen’s Arts & Science Undergraduate Society President, Jacob Mantle, a then-3rd year Politics student, commented “I like your Taliban picture” on friend’s Facebook photo. The photo showed two girls wearing towels around their heads as well as large sunglasses. Immediately, there was an onslaught of anger and accusations of racism and Islamophobia. Assemblies were held so that students could voice their concerns, apologies …