Posts Tagged ‘mobile’
“Commercials are about products in the same sense that the story of Jonah is about the anatomy of whales”*…
The Superbowl has, since its inception been… well, the superbowl of broadcasting; this year’s expected audience is over 100 million. Even in this pandemic-challenged economy, 30-second spots on today’s sold-out Superbowl telecast listed for $5.6 million each (though in Scott’s Miracle-Gro reportedly scored a steal at $5.5 million); there’s an extra $300,000 fee to be included in the livestream.
With that kind of investment at stake, and their sights set on the gargantuan audience who will see their commercials, the companies that advertise take their ads very seriously. And as for viewers, many report that the commercials are their favorite part of the show…
Like millions of viewers who tune into the big game year after year, we at FiveThirtyEight LOVE Super Bowl commercials. We love them so much, in fact, that we wanted to know everything about them … by analyzing and categorizing them, of course. We dug into the defining characteristics of a Super Bowl ad, then grouped commercials based on which criteria they shared — and let me tell you, we found some really weird clusters of commercials.
We watched 233 ads from the 10 brands that aired the most spots in all 21 Super Bowls this century, according to superbowl-ads.com. While we watched, we evaluated ads using seven specific criteria…
Superbowl commercials, as only FiveThirtyEight could analyze them: “According To Super Bowl Ads, Americans Love America, Animals And Sex“… sometimes even all at the same time. (Videos included!)
* Neil Postman
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As we contemplate our culture, we might recall that the first organized Mardi Gras celebration in (what is now) the United States was held by French settlers in Mobile, Alabama on this date in 1703.
The first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans processed on this date in 1827 when masked and costumed students danced through the streets.
“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most”*…
For Lapham’s Quarterly‘s fashion issue, designer Haisam Hussein reinvents the color wheel to show where various shades of colors were invented—from Int’l Klein Blue (Paris) to Scheele’s Green (Sweden), Turmeric (India), and Mauve (London).
Alongside the graphic itself are the origin stories for each color, which, as we’ve seen before, can be less than appetizing. White Lead, for instance, was created in Japan circa the year 700 by exposing lead sheets to vinegar and fermenting horse manure—then used by the elite class as face powder. Tyrian purple is derived from the secretions of sea snails, and Orchil (Florence) dye is made from dried and ground lichen that is activated with ammonia, such as that from urine.
[via]
Explore here.
And on a related note: “Pantone: How the world authority on color became a pop culture icon.”
* John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice
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As we tackle tints, we might spare a thought for Alexander Calder; he died on this date in 1976. A sculptor known for monumental stationary works called stabiles, he is also considered the father of the mobile (a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that respond to touch or air currents).
Everyday heroes…
Over the years (R)D has considered action figures of all types, from the political (e.g., Barak Obama) to the cultural (e.g., Shakespeare and Jane Austin). But heroism isn’t always an epic proposition; and it doesn’t always accrue to recognition, much less fame. In the end, these smaller and more anonymous acts of leadership, courage, and sacrifice are the lifts that elevate life-at-large.
Jesse Weiss, an assistant professor of sociology and environmental studies at the University of the Ozarks, has pioneered a way to redress the bobble-head balance:
A pop culture enthusiast and inveterate collector of kitsch, Weiss saw that the head had come off one of his collectible action figures: the professional wrestler, Rhino. “I guess it was kind of serendipitous,” said Weiss. “One of the heads popped off and I realized you could take them apart and put them back together”…
He has created more than 100 action figures modeled on fellow professors, administrators, students, community members and even the college’s president… Sean Coleman, an associate professor of biology who teaches interdisciplinary courses with Weiss, said he keeps his action figure next to the nameplate on his desk…
… [Coleman] praised the evident attention to detail, down to the mole on his figure’s lip and the color of his belt. “We’re academics, but we’re quirky a little bit,” he said. “Everyone I know would like one of those things. It’s definitely part of the campus culture.”
Find the full story– and more pix– at Inside Higher Ed.
As we strike heroic poses, we might might wish an animated Happy Birthday to sculptor Alexander Calder; he was born in Pennsylvania on this date in 1898. The son of a sculptor and a painter, Alexander studied engineering before following in his parents’ footsteps. While he painted and drew, he is best remembered for his wire and his motor-driven sculpture– dubbed “mobiles.”
Alexander Calder (source)
Calder mobile (source)
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