B C What De nes “Crazy”? J R Every Kiss Begins with Kay

the debate surrounding women’s equality in sports and society. is is a sensitive, aggressive topic that seems to be a worldwide debate. Nike titles this ad as “Dream Crazier”, which raises the question, are women who go above and beyond in sports and in their careers crazy? Or, is this the new normal? It’s the twenty-first century; we are no longer in the eighteenth or nineteenth century where the role of women was to take care of the children by being a housewife. I personally connected with this because as a female who is very athletic, it is important to me that more young girls become involved with sports. Also, that they feel comfortable enough to escape their comfort zone in any aspect of life. Nike makes this ad especially effective because the company is not forcing you to buy its products; it doesn’t even mention the products at all. e narrator is having a conversation with the audience about a real issue. e ad appeals to everyone, but its target audience is young female athletes because the ad serves as inspiration to contradict societal norms and pressures. e use of appeals to logos help Nike make this ad more convincing and reliable. e company also uses many famous female athletes to help support this point. If Nike just used random female athletes, then people wouldn’t pay attention, and the ad wouldn’t be as influential. Having celebrities endorse a product or promote an issue generally engages a larger audience because we feel that if a celebrity approves a product, then the product must be worth pursuing and then purchasing. Nike uses the most well-known female soccer, tennis, track, and basketball players (just to name a few sports) to convey its message. In addition, using female athletes shows that they are allowed to have a voice and that someone actually values their opinions. roughout the entire ad, the narrator lists many stereotypes that are placed on women in sports. e most powerful ones that stood out to me were that “If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic” and “And if we get angry we’re hysterical, irrational, or just being crazy”. If we show any sentiment, it’s presumed as not lady-like which is collectively unfair. is raises the question, why are men allowed

to lash out in any way, but women are supposed to be composed at all times? e use of the female athletes demonstrates that it is okay to have a reaction to anything that you’re passionate about. is advertisement is effective because of its dominant appeals to pathos. e opening scene sets the tone for the entire commercial: Paralympic runner, Sarah Reinersten, is very emotional after winning a race and at a press conference. is is one of the stereotypes that women are not allowed to show happy or sad emotions. We are held to a double standard if we show even the slightest amount of emotion. In the next couple of scenes, there’s WNBA players, coaches and tennis players verbally attacking the refs after a bad call. To say the least, this is a good thing; we’ve always been forced to bottle our emotions in, and now we’re at a major turning point in women’s sports. Also, the tone of voice of the narrator makes the ad seem serious. She’s not in a cheerful mood nor is she angry; she has a neutral voice that isn’t draining, but keeps you engaged in the conversation. Not to mention, the narrator of the ad is Serena Williams, the hardworking and successful African American world champion tennis player. At the end of the ad, she goes on to say, “So if they want to call you crazy fine, show them what crazy can do” and that just left a mark on me personally, and probably many other people as well. After watching this commercial, it actually made me want to go out and work harder to prove all the people who place stereotypes wrong. e women in this ad and women all over the world are being celebrated for breaking down the barriers for sports and in the real world.

Every Kiss Begins with Kay and Ends with Money

J R

Usually during the holiday season, television advertisements synchronize with the spirit of the holidays. So, if it’s Halloween time, the ads will be Halloween themed. If it’s Christmas time, the ads will be Christmas themed, and so on. No matter what type of ad it is, it usually has a select audience that it’s targeting. ere’s something about certain ads in particular that make them stick in our minds so that we can’t ignore them or the products they market. e “Every Kiss Begins with Kay” 2018 holiday ad is a perfect demonstration of this. is ad is memorable because of its little jingle at the end. Every time you hear of Kay Jewelers, the name of the company, you hear their little jingle and either smile about it because it makes you remember someone in particular, or it’s stuck in your head and you can’t get it out. So, when someone doesn’t know what to buy for one of their family members or their significant other and they’re watching television and this ad just happens to come on, they’ll think of that jingle which increases their likelihood of going there. Every Kiss Begins with Kay ad seems effective on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper, you will find out that that’s not entirely true.