Generation Like

This is my second viewing of the documentary Generation Like. My immediate thoughts are... it makes me uncomfortable. The way some of the kids (and parents) behave for "likes" brings out my judgemental side. Starting out with the kids carefully crafting their profile picture to get the most comments, likes, retweets, shares; it's representative of the social media society we have right now. When you're sitting at home comparing your life to everyone else's "Greatest Hits Highlight Reel," it can be hard to remember that real life isn't a carefully crafted Facebook status and filtered profile picture
But then I have to step back and remember that my friends and I were pretty terrible as teenagers, we just weren't being recorded and uploaded for the world to see it. We were caught up in advertising and brands as well. We had to have the white Ked shoes with the blue tag on the back (if it didn't have that tiny Keds tag, don't bother). We were all walking billboards for Addidas, Nike, Keds, Sam&Libby and the like. We even had songs about it.

Kids are still kids, they just have a much larger stage today.

Today, I try to be aware of when I'm being advertised to. I'm sure that I am so numb to it that I don't even realize it anymore.I can remember being a kid and noticing product placement in The Karate Kid(1984).

"During production, the studio (Columbia Pictures) was actually owned by Coca-Cola, who insisted that it's products appeared on screen. Minute Maid at the breakfast table and Sprite in Miyagi's workshop, for example.

Ralph Macchio objected to this, especially after having to actually say "Minute Maid" in the breakfast scene and so, did his best to spoil the Sprite product placement by deliberately covering the logo with his hand... So they made him redo the scene. This time, Ralph showed the Sprite logo for the smallest time he could get away with.

If you watch the scene knowing this, its really obvious." Source

It feels like today's product placement is a lot more blatant, whereas in the past you would simply see a character using a product without much discussion about it. I was recently watching a tv show and in the scene, two people are driving somewhere having a conversation, but one character is busy playing with buttons on the car dash. The second character asks a question, like "Are you listening to me?" and the first character says something like, "I'm sorry, I just can't believe all the feature on our new (car make and model)" Then went on to list all the features of the car. There wasn't even an effort to seamlessly integrate into the storyline.
In this day of watching tv through online streaming or DVRs and skipping commercials, advertisers have to get creative. Putting the ads in the shows we are watching is just one way of doing this. As much as we block ads on our computers, algorithms will still catch up to you. Even typing this blog about advertising will probably get me on a list somewhere and I'll start seeing ads or "suggestions" about Nike.
I'd like to think that I'm not caught up in labels and brands, but I am. I am, obsessed, let's just cal it what it is, with a certain brand of workout clothes. The company creates a fervor by releasing limited designed "Art on clothing." The fans of the clothing clamor to get the newest release before it's gone forever. The resale of these items are at retail and above (shirts have sold for over $200 on ebay). It's ridiculous. I recognize that. But my closet is full of this brand.
As I've started doing triathlons and getting involved in the social media of triathletes, there are discussions about so-called "M-Dot" tattoos. When someone completes an Ironman, they want to show off this accomplishment (and believe me, if I ever swam 2.4 miles, rode a bike 113 miles, then ran a full 26.2 mile marathon, I'd probably never shut up about it). But, Ironman is a brand. You can do this distance without paying Ironman. But, people not only pay the Ironman corporation upwards of $700 to compete in the event, they then adorn themselves with Ironman gear, and then some....get tattoos of the Ironman logo. Just imagine if you loved Pepsi so much you got the Pepsi logo tattooed on your body. In the triathlon community, an "m-dot" tattoo is almost seen as a rite of passage.
Commercials, as we know them, may be fading away, but advertising will always exist. Companies will always want you to know about their product or brand, and they will find new ways to get you to notice them.