Burger King Commercials

     Well the King of Burgers appears to have reacted to the recent second place rating in total revenue for 2011 by revamping its menu items and using popular celebrities to send its public a message; what exactly is that message?   When Wendy's edged Burger King recently in total revenues everyone knew including Burger King that it needed to make some changes and decide who it wanted to be.  Many believed that the changes needed to include new menu options, healthy choices, updating their look and focusing on promotions like a catchy phrase that can immediately be associated with Burger King.
   In response to the organization's small but possibly pivotal decline, Burger King has released five new commercials using the King of football (soccer) David Beckham, the King of late night television, Jay Leno and female counterparts Salma Hayek and Sophia Vergara.  Interestingly enough the commercials appear to be directed at the growing population of Latinos in this country as well as the late night goers.  David Beckham appeals to the Latinos because of his success as a football player as well  his attractive features and sex appeal.  Salma Hayek and Sophia Vergara are both Latina born actresses that appeal to different sectors in the community and have also been hired to assist Burger King in persuasive marketing.  Salma's commercial is both in Spanish and in English while Sophia's is geared towards the Spanish Speaking public.  As for Jay Leno as I mentioned earlier he is referred to as the King of Late night and attracts a more mature, adult late eating public.
     My expectations of Burger King included new commercials and promotions but the use of 4 high profile celebrities did not cross my mind.  I do however believe that this maybe in fact a great move for Burger King.  Despite it being the King of Burgers its strategy to use the sex appeal of the celebrities hired to promote their healthier products maybe exactly what the public has been waiting for and I do think this is going to work.  If nothing more it has certainly changed the way we look at Burger King and we all know that unfortunately sex appeal in many countries sells.  It will be interesting to see if Burger King is able to evaluate the effectiveness of their new commercials in the next 6-12 months.  As there new saying goes "Exciting things are happening at Burger King" let's stay tuned we do not want to miss anything....

President Obama & Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

     In communication class 506 we were presented with the You Tube video of a sidebar conversation that President Obama and Russian President Medvedev engaged in when supposedly the mics were off.  There were two things that intrigued me about this much publicized encounter between two world leaders.  The first was the level of comfort that they seemed to have with each other.  As if both men had been preparing for a personal adventure instead of a press conference.  As if they had known each other for decades and were enjoy some quiet negotiating time together.  The second was the nonverbal communication between the two men.  The closeness of their positions and conversation along with the tactile hand embrace that followed the very brief private encounter or so they thought blows your mind considering the tumultuous relationship that America and Russia have had over the years.
     It is not everyday that you see the United States of America and Russia practically become blood brothers in an instance.  Many times the audience is on edge about world peace and its negotiations because so many countries dislike America.  I myself enjoyed the video in its entirety and applaud President Obama for his confidence in not only himself but of his country.  The gesturing that took place in a matter of minutes reveals that there is a deeper side to the relationship between President Obama and Russian President Medvedev.  One that only the two of them are privy to and no matter what the media tries to do to embelish, embarrass or evoke there are bigger problems in the world that would benefit from such exploitation.  Seriously, in the end who cares, it is not the first time and will probably not be the last time.  All public figures at one point or another whether intentionally or unintentionally stick their foot in their mouth. 

Communication 508 - Personal Opinion of Debate

     At our last Communication class before all of us headed into spring break Dr. Lopez Medel divided us into groups of 4 and had us identify brands based on what we had discussed earlier in class.  We further categorized the brands by labeling them as either Fast, Strong, Social or Smart.  This was an enjoyable task among our group of four.  Bringing the class outside was also a welcoming change.  We brainstormed what we felt were appropriate brands for the suggested categories and then further reduced the number to come up with the preliminary four through the process of debating among our half of the team.
     Once we had identified our four brands we merged back with the other half of our class to further advocate on behalf of our choices.  It was an amicable debate accross the board.  We did not always agree on some of the selected brands and the category we had placed them in but the exercise was interesting.   For example one group had identified Stop and Shop as a social brand while the other group felt it was a stronger brand; and there was a bit of disagreement with the smart brand, one group identified Chrysler and the other Louis Vutton.  Everyone argued their rational for how the brands were identified and as I mentioned before no one was quick to judge or make insensitive comments.  Not everyone was happy with our final four but our discussion was full of enthusiasm, encouragement and support.  It was a comfortable debate and a appreciated experience.  Having to concede while not always something we want to do is something that helps groups move forward and therefore necessary.  As class continues I look forward to further stimulation from subjects like the one we worked on last Tuesday.  Thank you.

Pew Research Institute

After careful review of the document published by The Pew Research Institute on Internet use I could not overlook the areas that referred to health care. Their statistics revealed that adults 18 and over use the Internet to identify health problems solely based on their symptoms with the organization's results ranging anywhere from high 70% to 85%. As a medical professional I am concerned that individuals rely on answers from the internet to symptoms that could require further evaluation by a medical provider. This is a growing practice among our College Health population and students are coming in paralized with anxiety thinking the worse of symptoms like a bump under their armpit or a change in a mole or birthmark and in contrast others are choosing to ignore the information and move on with their lives until months later a serious problem develops. Easy access to the Internet that can provide you with a diagnosis of your symptoms can have both a negative as well as a positive outcome. Provoking unnecessary anxiety supports a negative disposition. Yes, the idea of being able to diagnose that new pimple on your face can have it's advantages if a simple over the counter remedy is recommended and it works but the disadvantage is someone not adhering to the suggested safe treatment and waiting too long to come in or ignoring all suggestions across the board. The latter behavior is dangerous for everyone involved. For example a student who is having a high fever and rash may ignore information on the Internet that addresses being contagious because they choose to rely on a diagnosis from the Internet and convince themselves that it is more important for them to be in class and run the risk of exposing hundreds of students and faculty instead of being seen by their PCP or University Health Services. So how can we protect each other and still enjoy having medical questions answered by the internet? It starts with educating everyone on the importance of seeing a medical provider for illnesses lasting more than two weeks or having key symptoms to specific illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and so on. I also understand that many of us in the United States do not have health care coverage and therefore for these individuals being able to treat themselves and their families as best they can with a quick review of the literature of their symptoms is a positive thing. In the end however one must still recognize that treating yourself based on Internet findings can be dangerous and a clear line needs to be established to avoid serious outcomes to an already delicate situation.