Thursday, November 11, 2010

Creating The Perfect Essay

This week's topic was about ways to improve your essay writing skills. The most important thing when writing an essay is to start off with a strong introduction. The intro should begin the flow and tone of the essay and give a small preview of what the topic is without giving much away. Generally at the end of your intro, there will be a thesis statement. A thesis statement is generally a sentence that states the main points and focus of your essay. It is vital that the thesis statement is well written.

Also important in the essay is transition words which help everything flow together well. Sequential transition words such as "first" and "next" help papers look much more organized. Using transitions helps the reader understand what's going on and makes the writing look much better. And the final part of the essay is the conclusion. Many people make small conclusions that don't mean much, but this is actually very important. The conclusion is the last chance to get your point across to the reader. These components of an essay is what separates the good from the unreadable.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Ad Analysis

For this blog assignment, I decided to do an ad analysis of my own on the new Lebron James Nike commercial.

The backstory of this ad is Lebron James departing from his hometown of Cleveland, for the Miami Heat in search of an NBA Championship ring. His decision to go away from the place that drafted him first overall not only got it's own  90 minute show, but cause bigger controversy than virtually any other sports related news all year. Lebron was Ohio bred his entire life and was the one thing the city of Cleveland had. When he departed, Cleveland felt rejected and betrayed, causing riots and jersey burnings around the city. Lebron went from being an NBA favorite to hated, immediately.

This commercial documents the things going through Lebron's head ever since the decision. It makes amazing points about how he really shouldn't be considered a villain for what he did and how it's not going to stop him from playing basketball. Lebron showed great courage in doing this commercial and showing compassion to Cleveland, making up for some of the hatred. Lebron has said that if he could, he'd have done it differently. He acted spoiled in his decision and I believe that this commercial is the first step towards his revival.

For the bad news, as inspiring as this commercial led to be, it literally has NOTHING to do with Nike and it's shoes. I'm part of the demographic Nike is looking for. An eighteen year old kid who spends top dollar on shoes and thoroughly enjoys the NBA. And I find this commercial great and inspiring to watch, but it would never make me go out and buy the shoe. In comparison, the new Adidas commercials featuring Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose have a more comical approach to them but actually show off the shoe with the phrase "Fast don't lie". I would be much more drawn to buy Adidas shoes than Nike after seeing both commercials, even though the Lebron one is more enjoyable.

In conclusion, the Lebron James Nike ad is an awe inspiring commercial that probably cost millions and millions of dollars to make, but it honestly doesn't make me want to buy their shoe. As a matter of fact, I don't even get a grasp of the shoe from the commercial and there is virtually no sign of it. Although the commercial is enjoyable, it does a poor job advertising Nike product.