Nicole's Notebook

https://youtu.be/R59TevgzN3k After talking about how brands use many different techniques and appeals in their commercials, this specific commercial stood out to me as I saw it play three times on the same channel as I was typing my term paper. One of the things that struck me in this commercial is how much shade they throw at Apple. We talked about this during class during the discussion after the group that had Apple presented. We talked about how Apple's competitors, like Samsung, appeal to the need for autonomy, and that everyone has Apple, so with Samsung you'll be unique and stand out from the crowd. Someone also mentioned about how Samsung usually shows the long lines outside of Apple stores with people waiting to buy their newest phone. This was also shown in the commercial linked above, accompanied by a man with a haircut that looks like the controversially "ugly" notch at the top off the iPhone X. Overall, though, the message that the whole commercial is

https://genius.com/Sam-smith-say-it-first-lyrics My closest friends know that Sam Smith is my overall favorite singer. Every one of his songs are just amazing and full of raw emotion that are filled with his beautiful voice. His new album came out last month and was a total blessing since the last time we heard new music of his was around 2014. Anyways, one of my favorite songs from the album was Say it First. When we listen to songs most times we never really comprehend what the lyrics are even though we can memorize songs word for word, but we remember the rhythm and the beat to the song. This song is about the trust issues that people who have been in one-sided relationships have, where they have cared about someone much more than the other. This doesn't just apply to romantic relationships either, they apply to any friendship or relationship. At one point or another in our lives, we all will eventually or have already cared about someone who either turned their back on us and

https://youtu.be/hBozbfYg7Fk As I was watching a Warriors game on NBA TV, I saw this Nike commercial and it really hit home for me. Here, Nike isn't really selling a certain item or product of theirs, but instead they are selling their brand experience and trying to sell the values of their company to us, the consumers. I liked the commercial a lot because it appeals to the mindset of every athlete including myself where we all have these dreams and goals in our athletic careers while we're young and we still believe that we can make it there. I believe that Nike is selling this mindset to us, appealing to our need to achieve and they are trying to tell us that if we think and play with the mindset of a "Nike Athlete", for the only two real NBA players showed towards the end were Lebron James and Kevin Durant who both have a contract with Nike, then we will succeed like them. This could also be a representation of narrow-casting, since I've only seen this video

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/03/holder-comey-fight-trumps-fbi-slam-not-letting-this-go.html If you go to   http://www.foxnews.com/   right now, the top headline is labeled "War of Words", and has the debate in the link at the very top attached to it. This debate was on twitter, between Trump, f ormer Attorney General Eric Holder, and ex-FBI Director James Comey but included the opinions of others. Between all people involved and the tweets shown in the article, I don't believe any party used the "decay of language" suggested by Orwell. Because it was on Twitter, the writer can only use shorter phrases and not other long, and overly wordy phrases. When Trump exclaimed that the FBI's reputation is in "tatters", this interesting choice of a word is what sparked this conversation. The FBI also made their own response to President Trump,  “Every day, FBI Special Agents put their lives on the line to protect the American public from nationa

https://youtu.be/r3GZq53S0ng The other day I was watching Cupcake Wars on the Cooking Channel and I came across this commercial that kind of made me lose my appetite for well, anything. Here is the caption from Youtube for this commercial, " They are powerful. They are unique. They are beautiful. They are Plumrs . Each and every one. Because Liquid-Plumr doesn’t just destroy the toughest clogs, it empowers people everywhere to be their own Plumr. No matter who you are or where you’re from. So celebrate plumbers. Celebrate plumbers’ cracks. Show your crack with pride, because it’s a beautiful thing. And remember, with Liquid-Plumr, There’s A Plumr In All Of Us." I had no clue why any commercial would want to showcase these people's "cracks", which just made me feel uncomfortable. When my dad saw me watching this commercial, I asked him why they would do this, and he said that they're referring to plumber's crack, which is when your plumber's crack