Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Allstate Ad Essay Essay Example

Allstate Ad Essay Essay Example Allstate Ad Essay Essay Allstate Ad Essay Essay Student Name Mr. Hoyle English 211 Mm/dd/yyyy? ? Name 1 ? ? Emotional Appeal Advertising ? In the recent series of ads from Allstate insurance, Dean Winters, an actor notorious for playing dangerous roles in movies and TV series, plays the a version of â€Å"mayhem. † Allstate is notorious for their commercials showing accidents involving multiple vehicles, but with this new series of commercials they choose a fresh approach. Although he’s dressed like a man, and sports a bandage over his black eye, Dean Winters portrays a â€Å"typical teenage girl† as he drives through a mall parking lot and receives a text from his â€Å"best friend forever† that leaves him â€Å"emotionally compromised. † Winters, driving a pink car, hits another parked car in the parking lot and then drives away, without dealing with the â€Å"mayhem† he’s just created. Finally, Allstate’s closing statement, â€Å"If you don’t have the right insurance coverage, you could be paying for this yourself. Are you in good hands? † abruptly ends the commercial. The ad is funny and witty at first, but once it’s over viewers are left questioning their own car insurance coverage- not just for themselves, but also for their children. With this ad, Allstate is specifically targeting parents by tapping into their desire for the safety of their children. Parents, the ad suggests, are ultimately responsible for their children’s mistakes, even when they are not present to make sure their children behave responsibly. Although it’s not at first apparent because the ad is obviously hilarious, Allstate uses subtle hints to get this message across. Allstate’s choice of actor, their concept of a teenage girl receiving a text message, and their closing question all tap into parents’ desire to keep their children safe. Student Name Mr. Hoyle English 211 Mm/dd/yyyy? Name 2 ? ? Dean Winters has starred in T. V. series such as â€Å"Oz† and â€Å"Rescue Me,† playing a more serious and dangerous character in both. These shows tend to be popular with an adult crowd, which makes it easier for parents to realize who he is and to make a connection between his role as â€Å"mayhem† and other similar roles he has played. In choosing Winters for the role of teenage â€Å"mayhem,† Allstate already has the viewer subconsciously worrying about how dangerous their own teenager’s â€Å"mayhem† really is. This then triggers the need to protect their children. The tone of any piece of writing or commercial sets up the viewer for what to expect from the piece, and Winters’ effortless monotone does just that. If this were not such a witty commercial, his deep and serious voice would send chills up anyone’s backalthough he’s talking in the dialect of a teenage girl, his voice remains his own. Were he to talk instead in a higher-pitched â€Å"teenage girl† voice, Allstate would not be able to get their message acrossthe idea that mayhem is unpredictable and dangerous. Although what he says is funny, it is how he says it that triggers a parent’s worry for their children. With the increasing numbers of cell phone usage related accidents, many companies are pushing to stop text messaging while driving. When Allstate shows â€Å"mayhem,† aka Dean Winters, text messaging and hitting another vehicle as a result, it again taps into a parent’s desire for their children’s safety. Recent safe driving laws have prohibited the use of cell phones while driving. However statistics show increasing numbers in cell phone usage related accidents. A recent study by a local attorney’s office states that, each year, 21% of fatal car accidents involving teenagers between 16 and 19 years old are the result of cell phone usage. This fact surely influenced Allstate to use text messaging, and the resulting state of â€Å"emotional Student Name Mr. Hoyle English 211 Mm/dd/yyyy? Name 3 ? ? compromise† it elicits, as the cause of this parking lot fender bender. Most adults know better than to text and drive, but many parents are rightfully concerned that their teenage driver might not be so safety-conscious. From the same study: teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get nto car accidents that are related to cell phone usage. Allstate chose a â€Å"teenage girl† to be the â€Å"mayhem† because of this increased likelihood. They tap into a parent’s concern versus a teenager’s concern for an adult for two reasons: parents provide insurance for their children, and because there is more of an impact this way. Parents are not only concerned about their teenage driver text messaging and driving, but also about the possibility of an accident and what coverage they have for their family. By showing the worst-case scenario of a teenage driver’s experience, Allstate stirs up worry for one’s children. Allstate is known to end their commercials with the famous question â€Å"Are you in good hands? † which leaves viewers to worry that, with their current insurance provider, they might not be. With their new â€Å"mayhem† commercials, Allstate further expands this question, leaving viewers even more concerned when Winters says, â€Å"And if you don’t have the right insurance coverage, you could be paying for this yourself. They take the worry that was focused on your children’s safety and direct it to worrying about whether you have adequate car insurance coverage. As a result, viewers are left questioning their coverage for their new and inexperienced teenage drivers. Allstate’s choice of actor, their â€Å"teenage† driver’s accident as a result of text messaging, and their final question to viewers all stir- up a parent’s desire to keep their children safe. One might wonder, when looking back years from now, if this would have contributed to the Student Name Mr. Hoyle English 211 Mm/dd/yyyy? Name 4 ? ? recession. Is it possible that everyone is now so overcome with the emotions involved in obtaining the perfect house or perfect car that we have not stopped to think what we are getting ourselves into? Insurance may not be a bank breaker, but if every advertiser is able to play on our fundamental desires to protect our children, we must question just how susceptible we are to buying every product advertised this way.

Monday, March 2, 2020

The Boring, Old-Fashioned Way for Online Freelancers to Make More Money

The Boring, Old-Fashioned Way for Online Freelancers to Make More Money In the 21st century, finding freelance writing markets is more complicated than just opening your Writers Market book. A plethora of websites and apps exist online for freelancers, connecting writers to clients who want to buy their content. While many writers make a sizable living from working on sites such as  Fiverr  and  Upwork, others complain about the low rates clients pay. In fact, many gigs on Fiverr only pay five US dollars, oftentimes for extensive projects. Whats a freelancer to do when theyre earning low income on freelancing websites, and want to expand their portfolio and earn more money? Return to the boring Writers Market book. Online media may fetishize blogs and freelance websites as markets for freelance writers, but print magazines and newspapers still sell and still pay. For example,  AARP The Magazine, based in Washington, D.C., has about 35 million readers worldwide. Its not a market for most beginners, but it pays competitively, offering $1/word for original, unpublished content. Approaching magazine and newspaper editors with your Fiverr and Upwork clips is similar to approaching them with print magazine clips. Write a one-page query that succinctly describes your story idea, describes why the idea would be appropriate for the publication youre pitching, and shows your knowledge of the publication. Describe your previous writing experience and education, if you have any. Submit links to any published articles you may have. If you have no links, promise to submit writing samples in a future email. Get permission from your freelancing clients before you use their content as part of your portfolio. After you submit your query, wait. Wait between three weeks and two months. Print media still runs on pre-Internet time, and this discourages many writers used to fast emails and tweets. But the waiting is worth it. Even in 2018, being published in the print edition of a magazine like  The Atlantic as opposed to the online edition will give your writing career added prestige. Within that three weeks to two months period, you should receive a response from the publications editors. Unfortunately, youll receive a rejection most of the time. All writers receive rejection and have setbacks, but successful writers bounce back from rejection, write queries more appropriate to the magazine they want to crack, and re-submit. They keep on doing this until the editor breaks down and gives them an assignment, an opportunity to create an amazing article. Following are seven great print markets for online freelancers looking to make more money and have better quality gigs. These magazines accept a lot of new writers, and they pay at least 10 cents a word. 1. Wellbeing Magazine (Australia) wellbeing.com.au/contribute Pays up to $700AU for feature articles 2. M: Music and Musicians http://mmusicmag.com/m/   Editor: Rick Taylor Rick@Mmusicmag.com Pays up to $450 for feature articles 3. Symphony Magazine americanorchestras.org/symphony-magazine/about-symphony/submission-guidelines.html Pays up to $900 for feature articles 4. Alaska Airlines Magazine alaskaairlinesmagazine.com/contributor/guidelines/ Pays up to $700 for feature articles 5. The War Cry sanationalpublications.org/submission-guidelines/ Pays $0.35 per word for original content, $0.15 for reprints 6. Virginia Wildlife dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/writers-photographers-guidelines.pdf Pays up to $500 per feature article 7. The Contemporary Sportsman integrateddigitalpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IDP_Editorial_Photography_Guidelines.pdf Pays up to $700 for feature articles