Selling ur culture

I thought that I actually found one, but it was not to be.  I continue to see Native American casions using their Native culture to promote buisness.  When I first watched this advertisement I felt happy that they were not using Native images then all of a sudden they hit you with it.  A slap in the face for all the potential customers that feel drawen to Native culture.  Basically, they are saying come play indian by spending your money at our authentic Native American establishment. 

These Native buisnesses often use “authentic native american” music to try to get customers.  I find that this music sparks something in the human mind that allows them to feel connected to the earth, or should I say become indian.  According to the western world that is what an Indian is.  I find that it is the little things like this advertisement  as well as mascot figures that continue to keep the Native American Indian oppressed.  Every aspect of Western culture has been designed to keep Native Peoples inferior.  The system was made to keep the Western society superior, so anything we create in the system to promote self determination is simply useless.

Exploitation

http://www.sandiacasino.com/Sandia-In%20Room%20Video%205-18Lg.mpeg

I think that in this case Sandia Casino is trying to promote an image.  Whether they like it or not this advertisement allows people to create a perspective of Native culture.  Every single image even the music radiates Native culture, so I think they are trying to sell their culture.  People using Native culture to make a dollar is nothing new, but Native Peoples using their own culture on their terms is something that Casinos are starting to do.  This advertisement is continuing to dehumanize Native Peoples because it is promoting them as a fantasy.  Tribes that try to use their “indianess” to make a dollar are only hurting the cause.  These kind of advertisements enforce stereotypes and contribute to the miseducation of our society.    

Old Spice

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jIPdQQyOL9s

After reading all the text and analyzing all the information up to this point I have realized that advertisements today are becoming very creative.  A lot of the concepts about advertising have been researched and written in the past.  Olgilvy’s perspective about advertising are very good but some of it is out dated.  Advertisements are a product of their time and the theme today is creativity.

This commercial uses its creativity to convey messages to the consumer.  I agree with the text beyond words  that advertisements are analyzing every single detail in order to perdict how people will react to the advertisement.  I find this is where the creativity comes in play.  Trying to predict what images, words, or fonts will convince the consumer to buy their product is the creativity aspects.  Everything in this advertisement suggest that real men use old spice, so you are not only buying the product you are buying your manhood.  Just like the chapter suggest, advertisements are creating style.    

Indian Country

According to the English discipline rhetoric has evolved since humans were capable of speech.  In the beginning it was considered the art of the spoken word and slowly changed to the power of persuading.  This was another tool that the western powers used to dehumanize Tribes in the Americas.  These powers used rhetoric among other aspects of their society to justify their actions when dealing with Tribes.

In terms of the western way of interpreting the world Tribes are still trying to catch up with the rest of the sovereign nations of the world.  Over five hundred years of genocide have forced Tribes to adapt to their changing enviornment and they are trying to use concepts such as rhetoric to promote their issues.  Indigenous languages have experience as much evolution as rhetoric has in the western world where processes of acquiring knowledge is as sophisticated if not more.  Based of the foundation of the western world they will always see themselves as supierior to Indigenous knowledge.  This commercial is an example of Tribes using aspects from the western world to adapt and survive. 

5th ad journal

I decided to analyze this ad because it is different.  It is different because it involves a peoples with a unique history.  I have yet to read a text that talks about Native Peoples and advertising.  When it comes to Native Peoples a lot of issues come into play.  Any ads produced about Native Peoples have been created by non-natives.  This is why this topic is so heated because any ads or movies made in the past have been produced by non natives.  These productions were a reflection of how Natives were viewed and still are.  Currently, Native Peoples have the ability to make ads on their terms in the past ads were based on fantasys of Native Peoples.  I doubt that Ogilvy has creditable theories about Native advertising because it is a very sensitive area that hasn’t been research.

I’d like to reflect on the concept Ogilvy stated that doing your own thing will not work and until you get something better use the same thing.  Prior to the whole civil rights movement non natives would use Native Peoples culture to sell their product.  Any senseable person could see that using another Peoples culture for their own benefit is morally and ethically wrong.  I find that most Native Peoples today are still playing of the notion and using the Native culture to sell their products.  Even artist are using their culture to sell their products.  Then comes in the issue of authenticity, so how far is to far?  Ads that use Native Peoples are only perpetuating sterotypes and adding to the problem.