Are Fads Important?

                    So, I was taking a walk one day, when the idea of fads suddenly struck my mind. Essentially, I remembered what someone said about the 3d craze for video games.  How he believed that while it ruined what could have been great games, it showed what works, and what doesn't. Now, I am not saying 3D games are a fad, but the idea that every game has to be 3D is. Eventually that idea died down, people learned from it, and moved on. So what I am asking is, do fads teach us what works and what doesn't?
   
                  To give you an idea of what I mean, remember silly bandz? Those weird toys kids would bring to school, wear, trade, etc?                                   If you don't, hopefully this image they own, and from their Amazon listing will remind you. They were pretty popular for awhile, but most teachers found they were distracting kids. Eventually, it got to points they would take them from kids, or ban them, and then one day.... They weren't popular anymore. The generation that liked them grew up, and someone showed the kids something else, all in the span of a year.
   
                   So what happened to them? Well, when people age, or certain events like banning occurred, nobody would be interested anymore. Either that, or a sort of semi-controversy formed.  Advertisers will see this, and move on to something else, or they go bankrupt. So fads are important, as they show what will work, and what won't Anything that works will stay, and you build around it. Stuff that doesn't, well they disappear.

                 End of the day, just pay attention to them. I'm not saying you have to buy them, or cash in on them, but see what can be learned from their success or failure. You might just be surprised. With that, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!

Maturity in Media

                        During my last class, maturity as a blog topic came to mind when presenting touch points. Without going into to many details, one touch point reminded me of the ad campaign, Joe Camel. For those uninformed, Joe was the mascot for Camel Cigarettes from 1987 to 1997, an anthropomorphic camel, and kind of controversial. You know how today there are so many ads telling young kids and teens to avoid smoking? Joe here was kind of the catalyst, being a Looney Tunes-esque design that was depicted as smooth, and cool. He was also in several print advertisements, and was reportedly recognizable to hundreds of children.

                    So, with that in mind, what went wrong here? For example, the video-game Conker's Bad Fur Day came out when this ad was around. Said game is much, much more mature, with sexual references, alcohol and smoking, swearing, you name it. You also have adult cartoons like South Park and Family Guy that are still around, and doing well. Well, for one thing, they're not marketed to children. I know, there are probably children that wind up watching or playing them, but they are blatantly put in the mature markets. On top of that, a responsibility is put to the viewers to not re-enact the actions, or to watch it at all.

                    Well, can't the same happen for Joe? Parents telling their kids to not smoke? Yes.... and no..... you see, when that child gets older, they may like what they saw in these ads, and try smoking camel.  Also remember, these ads with Joe were everywhere, and felt both mature, and light-hearted. Combine that with the negative stigma smoking has gained,  and Joe has fell through for a reason. He wasn't just a mature cartoon character, he was, as the people saw him, manipulative. He wasn't just something they could tell a child not to see also.

                  So, in conclusion, you can have cartoon characters be mature. However, you need to market it to the right crowd if you do, no kids, so no public billboards near Mcdonald's. If not, make sure said character isn't advertising anything, so no beer. With that said, thank you again for reading. I hope my point came across, ask you to comment, and stay tuned.