Hunter S. Thompson's Disapproval of the Republican Party

Hunter S. Thompson wrote “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” to communicate his disapproval of the Republican Party and the ethnocentrism of its supporters in 1970.   Throughout Thompson’s career as a journalist, he has reported on many politicians, none, however, more than Richard Nixon.  He credited Nixon for getting him involved in politics, because he so strongly disapproved of his actions while in office.   He considered him an over-aggressive, merciless war criminal, who was willing to threaten the safety of Americans to prove a lesson to others (Crook 2).  Thompson believed that he was nothing but a negative influence on our country, and anyone who followed him was either uneducated about current affairs or easily persuaded by Nixon’s false promises.

            Thompson uses Jimbo’s character to criticize the Republican Party.  He uses stereotypical characteristics so the readers will identify Jimbo as a member of that party.  For example, in his dialogue with Thompson he informs him that he attends the Derby every year and is familiar with the crowd.  Jimbo makes the statement, “... [T]his is no town to be giving people the impression you’re some kind of faggot” (Thompson 1).  Thompson emphasizes this dialogue to imply that Republicans are generally homophobic due to their conservative beliefs as well as fear of being judged by other members of the party.  Another stereotypical characteristic that portrays Jimbo as a Republican is that he splurges on expensive liquor.  In the text, he disapproves of Thompson’s beverage choice when he orders a Margarita with ice by saying “Goddam, we gotta educate this boy.  Get him some good whiskey…” (Thompson 1).  The irony of Jimbo calling Thompson uneducated, when he clearly has no knowledge of anything going on in the US other than the Derby, demonstrates his ethnocentrism and hypocrisy. 

Jimbo’s lack of knowledge about current events that do not pertain to the upper class suggests that Thompson believes Republicans to be uneducated about the politicians they support.  His ignorance causes him to be extremely gullible.  Thompson tells him a fabricated story, claming that the Black Panthers are planning an attack, threatening the safety of everyone at the Derby.  Jimbo responds by saying, “Those sons of bitches!  God Almighty!  The Kentucky Derby!...Why here?  Don’t they respect anything?” (Thompson 1).  Thompson intends the fictional attack of the Black Panthers to juxtapose the invasion of American troops into Cambodia.  At that time in American history, “…without consulting Congress, Nixon placed twenty thousand American troops in Cambodia in an effort to covertly continue the war in Vietnam” (Kittredge 92).  He is demonstrating that Republicans are solely concerned about their own security at a time when their president is jeapordizing the safety of an entire country.  He is also emphasizing the ignorance of the members of the political party, because they elect and support a leader, despite their lack of knowledge about his decisions and how they negatively affect our country as well as others’.

            Thompson criticizes the Republican Party through Jimbo’s character to emphasize his disapproval of President Nixon and his decisions as a leader.  In the text, Thompson discusses how the only current event everyone at the Derby is aware of is the fact that a woman is permitted to race that year.  Although the Derby is taking place the same time as the bombings in Cambodia and the shootings at Kent State University, individuals attending the race are only concerned about news that affects them directly.  Thompson uses this example to emphasize that the only people who support Nixon are the individuals who are unaware of his irrational and self-serving decisions.  In a farewell letter to Nixon preceding his death, Thompson expresses his uncensored and honest opinion of the late president.

Nixon was no more a Saint than he was a Great President…He was a cheap crook and a merciless war criminal who bombed more people to death in Laos and Cambodia than the U.S. Army lost in all of World War II, and he denied it to the day of his death.  When students at Kent State University, in Ohio, protested the bombing, he connived to have them attacked and slain by troops from the National Guard.  “Crook” 4 

Thompson believed that Nixon bombed Cambodia as a statement to the rest of the world; to establish a reputation as a dominating military leader.  His illogical actions, however, caused the United States to be viewed as an aggressive bully, threatening the safety of innocent civilians for our own selfish gain.  He states that, “[i]t is Nixon himself who represents that dark, venal and incurably violent side of the American character that almost every country in the world has learned to fear and despise” (Crook 6).  Thompson elaborates on this point in “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” to communicate that despite the negative impact Nixon’s decisions have on the US, Republicans continue to support him due to their ignorance of the circumstances.  Thompson mentions the media attention directed towards the situation in Cambodia twice in the article, once when he reads the cover of a newspaper at the airport, and a second time when he hears an urgent broadcast over the radio.  He does this to show that the upper class individuals attending the Derby have the resources to educate themselves about Nixon’s aggressive and careless leadership tactic.  However, they choose to ignore how he is negatively affecting the country, because the damage he is doing does not affect their lives directly.  He also strongly disapproves of Nixon’s decision to take military action against American students at Kent State University, solely because they disagreed with his decision to continue the Vietnam War.  He believed that Nixon had a Nazi spirit, considering he attempted to destroy demonstrators who opposed his ideas, even if they were his own citizens.  Therefore, Thompson criticizes white, upper-class Republicans for supporting Nixon, because they cannot see past the façade that he creates by portraying an all-American image to the public, despite his poor leadership and illogical aggressiveness.

            By critically judging individuals at the Kentucky Derby, Thompson realizes that he is part of the problem, but fails to change his behavior.  Throughout his experience at the Derby, he and Ralph are on a tireless hunt for a face to sketch that captures the horrific scene he is trying to portray in his article.  In the article, Thompson describes the image of the face he was attempting to find. 

It was a face I’d seen a thousand times at every Derby I’d ever been to.  I saw it, in my head, as the mask of the whiskey gentry-a pretentious mix of booze, failed dreams and a terminal identity crisis; the inevitable result of too much inbreeding in a closed and ignorant culture. “Thompson” 5

At the end of the text, Thompson looks into the mirror to discover the face they have been looking for is his own.  His image embodies “a puffy, drink-ravaged, disease-ridden caricature…like an awful cartoon version of an old snapshot in some once-proud mother’s family photo album” (Thompson 9).  This demonstrates that despite his criticism and disapproval of the spectators at the Derby, Thompson allows himself to participate in the same behavior, while making accusations about everyone else.  Although he eventually recognizes his hypocrisy, he does not alter his behavior.  He proceeds to ignore significant news stories on the radio during his drive home.  He yells over the broadcast at Ralph, “Bug off, you worthless faggot...If I weren’t sick I’d kick your ass all the way to Bowling Green—you scumsucking foreign geek.  Mace is too good for you...We can do without your kind in Kentucky” (Thompson 9).  He criticizes Nixon for being over-aggressive when dealing with individuals from different countries in a professional situation, however, Thompson makes a physically violent threat towards Stedman when they are working together.  He is also judgmental of Jimbo’s lack of concern about anything other than the Kentucky Derby, but then proceeds to ignore a news broadcast to shout profane statements involving his own personal affairs.  His hypocrisy is relevant throughout the text and discredits his personal opinion and judgment of others.

            Just as people supported Nixon solely because of the public image he portrayed, many citizens in today’s society elected Barack Obama in the 2008 election for the same reason.  Howard Stern, a popular radio personality conducted an experiment where he interviewed Obama advocates as they went to vote.  He asked several voters if they supported things like the Republican Party, opposition to gay marriage and abortion, and a running mate named Sarah Palin.  Because so many citizens were uneducated about either candidate’s policies, and were solely voting for Obama because of his race or public image, many agreed that they supported several or all of the issues listed above.  This shows that despite the increased efforts by the media to attempt to educate people about the election, some will always ignorantly support a candidate for the wrong reasons, just as Nixon supporters did during his presidency.

How Social Factors Affect the Absorption of Information Presented by Advertising Campaigns

The research topic I have selected is how social factors affect the absorption of information presented by advertising campaigns.  This topic is of interest to advertisers looking to effectively reach a desired audience.  According to a study done by Puntoni and Tavassoli, “top-of-mind recall is one of the most commonly used measures of advertising effectiveness” (  294).   Social context is thought to affect the recall memory of participants viewing advertisements, thus making the ad itself more or less effective to its target audience.  Understanding how social factors influence ad recall can help advertisers create a more effective campaign to reach their desired audience more effectively.

            The first article I reviewed on the subject is Social Context and Advertising Memory by Stefano Puntoni and Nader T. Tavassoli.  This article examines the influence of the presence of others on advertising memory.  Three separate experiments were conducted to conclude their findings.

            Experiment 1 results were observed from a sample audience consisting of 67 female students who participated in the study in return for monetary reward.  Participants were met in a waiting room by a male experimenter who led them to the room in which the study took place.  Participants in the “alone” condition were left in the room alone for the duration of the study.  Participants in the “social condition” completed the lexical decision task in the presence of a male confederate in his mid-20s.  He was introduced to participants a research assistant who was to observe them performing the task.  In the participatory study the confederate was introduced as a fellow participant, was seated next to the other participants and used an inactive keyboard.  Direct social interaction in this scenario was discouraged.  Participants were presented with instructions on a computer screen, and told the focal goal of the study was to judge as quickly and as accurately as possible whether a series of target words were real or invented and to indicate their decision using two keys, marked in green and red.  Each word (32 words, 32 non words) was displayed for 2 seconds in random order.  All participants in all conditions completed the remainder of the study alone.  They were presented with a filler task lasting seven minutes, followed by a memory test where they were asked to recall the real words from the lexical decision test.  The original 32 words and 32 matched distracters were displayed one at a time in random order.  Participants were asked to indicate whether they had seen the word during the previous task.  At the end the participants were asked about the purpose of the study and the role of the confederate.

            Experiment 2 was designed to assess the influence of social context in a marketing setting and to reexamine the effect of social context on recognition memory.  Fifty-five male undergraduate students were chosen to participate for monetary reward.  After the elimination of subjects for various reasons, 53 participants were left: 27 in the alone condition and 26 in the social condition.  This study used 20 print advertisements that contained multiple sources of information applicable to social desirability.  Brand names used were nonsensical.  Ten ads were selected to have low applicability to social desirability.  Out of the ten with high applicability, 5 indicated how the product could help the consumer avoid making a bad impression on others.  Five indicated how the product could help the consumer make a good impression on others.  The assignment of male participants to conditions followed the procedure of Experiment 1 with a female observational confederate.  Participants were told to rate each ad on a 5-point scale, from “I disliked it very much” to “I liked it very much”.  A cardboard screen was placed around the keyboard to prevent the confederate from observing the responses in order to reduce evaluation apprehension.  Participants were exposed to ads for 15 seconds each in random order.

            Experiment 3 was designed to replicate the two-way interaction between viewing context and stimulus type for free recall and semantic recognition measure.  The study involved 86 undergrad students from an introductory marketing class who took part in the study in return for course credit.  A sample size of 78 (33 females and 45 males) was derived from the group, 39 in each scenario condition.  They were randomly assigned to conditions and provided with an envelope containing written instructions and other materials.  Participants first read the cover story.  As part of the “visualization technique” they were asked to imagine a doctor’s waiting room scenario then to browse four test pages of the magazine.  The first paragraph of the magazine provided a reassuring reason for the participant’s visit to the doctor, and a photograph of the waiting room was included to strengthen the manipulation effect.  The two scenario conditions were identical to the previous studies except the 3^rd paragraph that described the social scenario.  It described the alone scenario condition by describing the absence of other patients in the waiting room, and the social scenario as the presence of four other people and descriptions of their appearances and actions.  Participants were asked to imagine how it would feel to be in that situation then to browse the four test pages in the magazine, spending approximately 30 seconds on each page, while imagining being in the waiting room.  They were then asked to replace the magazine, take the answer booklet and answer some questions about the magazine.  The computer then introduced the recall task followed by the recognition measures.

            Experiment 1’s results concluded significant interactions between viewing context and stimulus type for reaction times and recall memory.  It found participants reacted faster to and recalled more words applicable to social desirability when in the presence of another person.  Performance on the goal of providing speeded responses was impeded by the alternative goal of making a good impression on others.  They concluded that social context plays a lesser role for recognition than for recall.

            Experiment 2 found that participants recalled more product categories from advertisements applicable to social desirability than from neutral ads.  There were no significant effects involving viewing context or stimulus type for recognition.  It also mirrored the memory results of Experiment 1.  It concluded that participants on the social condition were more likely than participants in the alone condition to recall product categories presented in ads applicable to social desirability.

            Experiment 3 found that across all dependent variables, no significant gender differences were observed.  Participants in the social scenario condition were found to remember more product categories than in the alone scenario.  Also, more advertisements pertaining to social desirability were recalled compared to neutral advertisements.  This experiment successfully replicated the two-way interaction between viewing context stimulus type for free recall and a semantic recognition measure.  In contrast, as in Experiments 1 and 2, the two perceptual recognition measures in Experiment 3 were not sensitive to social context.  This experiment concludes that social context affects memory for social desirability advertisements through semantic processes but not through perceptual processes.

            The second article I chose to examine is titled “Don’t Interrupt Me Now: Media ‘Transportation’ and Advertising Effectiveness” by Echo Wen-Wan, based on the research of Jing Wang and Bobby J. Calder.  This article examines how “transportation”, which is a term that describes being absorbed into the narrative flow of a story, affects advertising effectiveness.  Previous research on transportation experience has shown that a high level of transportation into narrative flow leads to more changes in story-related beliefs and produces a pleasurable experience.  When relating to advertising effectiveness, a high level of transportation into an ad leads to a more favorable brand evaluation and greater intentions to purchase the product.  This study hypothesizes that if an ad does not interfere with the transportation process into the media content, the positive experience will lead to greater advertising effectiveness, and vise-versa if the ad intrudes.  Two experiments were conducted to test this theory.

            In the first experiment, 56 participants read a 4-page book excerpt about a college life situation, which included a full-page ad for Wendy’s.  Half of the participants read the ad after the second page of the story, interrupting their transportation experience.  The other half read the ad after the last page of the story, which did not interfere. 

            In the second experiment, 50 undergrad students viewed an ad for fictitious brand of bottled water while reading a three-page short story.  The ad was positioned between the second and third pages of the story in all circumstances.  Before reading the story, half of the participants were told they would be in charge of getting beverages for a social event.  In this condition, viewing the ad for the bottled water was particularly relevant to participants goals, hence they were more likely to process the ad more deeply while reading the story, making the ad more intrusive to their transportation experience.  The other half were told they would be getting snacks for a social event, making the ad less relevant to their goals, thus making the ad less intrusive to their transportation experience.

            Results for the first experiment supported the hypothesis.  They showed when the ad was presented at the end of the story, highly transported participants had a higher evaluation of Wendy’s than those who were less transported.  When the ad was inserted in the middle of the story, participants who were more transported had a lower evaluation of Wendy’s than those who were less transported.

            Results for the second experiment also supported the hypothesis.  These results concluded when the ad was irrelevant to the participants’ goals, they were equally favorable towards the bottled water regardless of their transportation experience.  However, when the ad was relevant to their goal, participants who were more transported showed less favorable attitudes towards the bottled water than those who were less transported.

            The research question I have formulated that pertains to both articles mentioned above states, “How could advertisers make ads in magazines more effective?”  The first article shows that the social context in which ads are viewed affects the overall absorption and effectiveness of information from the advertisement.  Advertisers should make ads applicable to social desirability, because they are proven to have a higher recall than neutral advertisements.  The second article suggests that advertisements placed in the middle of an engaging text, such as a short story, generate a less favorable impression because they interrupt the reader’s transportation experience.  To avoid this negative effect and generate a more favorable impression of their product, advertisers should place ads before or after involved text features.

Wall of Shame: Janet Cooke

Janet Cooke wrote an article called “Jimmy’s World” that appeared in the Washington Post on September 29, 1980.  The article told the heart-wrenching story of “Jimmy," a young boy who was consumed in the thriving heroin trade that was, at that time, devastating low-income neighborhoods in Washington D.C.  Crooke reported that Jimmy had become a heroin addict after being introduced to the drug by his mother’s live-in boyfriend saying, “Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict, a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms.”  She also included in the article that Jimmy aspired to be a heroin dealer when he grew up.  Controversy surrounded the story as soon as it was released.  Many readers demanded Cooke reveal where the boy lived so he could be helped, but Cooke refused.  She claimed that she needed to protect her life as well as her sources’ lives from threats from drug dealers and by revealing Jimmy’s location she would be putting them all in harm’s way.  When Cooke refused to reveal the boy’s location, the city government launched an intensive search to find him.

            As time passed and Jimmy’s whereabouts remained unknown, people began to question if the boy even existed.  Rumors began to circulate around the city suggesting Cooke had fabricated the story.  However, the Washington Post stood by their writer and defended the validity of her article.  On April 13, 1981 Cooke was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her story.  It was on that day the editors of the Post, who had learned that Cooke lied about various credentials on her resume, demanded proof that Jimmy was real and the story she wrote was valid.  Cooke, being unable to provide such proof, admitted she had never met Jimmy and that she had fabricated much of her article.  She offered her resignation and the Post returned the Pulitzer Prize. 

            Cooke later appeared on the Phil Donahue show to offer an explanation of the humiliating incident.  She claimed the high-pressure environment of the Washington Post influenced her decision in writing the story, alleging that the newspaper was still “riding high” from the journalistic coup it had scored in the early seventies with the Watergate story.  She explained that a few sources had given her leads about “Jimmy”, but when she was unable to find him, she decided to fabricate a story in order to satisfy her editors.  Cooke then dropped out of the public eye for many years, disgraced by being caught fabricating such a story. 

References:

• Writer says drug story faked, paper surrenders Pulitzer Prize," The Globe and Mail. April 16, 1981. P1.
• "The Story." Washington Post. April 19, 1981. A12-A15.

Tipsy Trivia: Stumbling Their Way to the Top

Tipsy Trivia, an SGTV television program created and run by two USC students, has generated a substantial local fan-base.  The creators, Krista Bagley and Laura Kuhen, both senior broadcast journalism majors, are implementing their entrepreneurial skills in the hopes of taking their program to the next level and achieving national exposure on a major network.

The notion for the tipsy television show struck Kuhen while she was in a similar state of mind.

            “Laura came up with the idea of creating a drunk trivia show one night over summer break when she was, well, drunk,” Bagley explained, chuckling at the intended irony.  “When we got back to school, she told me about the idea and we decided to join SGTV together.  We came up with the name Tipsy Trivia, decided we would film at the fountain in Five Points, and well, the rest is history.”

            The first episode of Tipsy Trivia aired in September 2009 as a sex education trivia challenge.  The show started off as a three-to-five minute segment, which aired during SGTV’s entertainment news show, “Talk of the Town.”  During August of this school year, Tipsy Trivia was given their own 30-minute time slot.

            Since its start in September of last year, Tipsy Trivia has generated a significant fan-base at the university.  Bagley and Kuhen have taken it upon themselves to be, not only, the writers, directors, and producers, but also their own pubic relations team.

            “We’re pretty much a walking Tipsy Trivia campaign”, Bagley stated.  “We wear silly costumes and homemade Tipsy Trivia shirts on our ‘off-nights’ just to simply promote the show.  Filming our show downtown is a great way to spread the word, because when people either see us filming or participate in the show themselves, they become interested in what we are doing, and want to become fans.  Going downtown is also a great way to promote, because we will run into participants who have no recollection of being on the show, and they will go home and watch it, show it to their friends, and all become fans!”

            Bagley and Kuhen also promote the show by utilizing social networking sites such as Facebook, SGTV’s website, Blip TV’s website, a video blog at blogspot.com and YouTube, where they post random comedy sketches, full episodes, blogs, and their comedy segment “Top 5,” which they produce for USC’s “Talk of the Town”.  Last January they also organized a promotional blitz week, which has since resulted in the following of 200 additional fans to Tipsy Trivia’s Facebook page.

            Their accomplishments thus far, aside from generating a significant fan base, include a front-page article of “The Daily Gamecock” and two successful percent nights at Village Idiot and Z-Pizza.  Additionally their “Southern Twang” episode has just received the highest number of hits for Blip TV with 1,114 views.

            With all the hype surrounding the show, the girls have even bigger plans for the show’s future.

            “Our vision for Tipsy Trivia is to take it on the road to do a campus crawl and do episodes at famous college campuses around the country,” said Bagley,  “Our justification for the show actually working out is that college kids will always drink, and everyone loves trivia, so we will never run out of material.”

            Kuhen interned at Comedy Central in California last summer, so over spring break she took a trip and consulted with her old supervisors about how to go about pitching their show to major networks.  Following their advice, the girls have created a Tipsy Trivia pitch DVD, which explains what the show is about, along with their future goals for the program.  They are also working on trademarking the name “Tipsy Trivia” before they pitch it to major networks, so no one can take it. 

Unfortunately, very few major networks accept unsolicited pitches, so in order for them to pitch the idea they would have to contact a production company or an agent to get an unofficial meeting.  Not wanting to do this, Bagley said she has devised a way to get around the system.

“Because Laura and I are the queens of networking, marketing, and PR,” she joked, “I talked with a family friend named Gary Brooks who worked at Turner in Atlanta, and he is very interested in the show and wants us to get it trade-marked ASAP, because he also works with development at TRUTV, and he thinks they would pick it up, as well as other channels at Turner, so he is going to help us set up meetings and actually pitch the show!”

            Bagley and Kuhen plan to take a year off after graduation to continue producing episodes, promoting the show, and pursuing the contacts they have made thus far.  They also plan to take Tipsy Trivia on the road and film at other nearby campuses such as UGA and COFC.

            In the more immediate future, they intend to complete their “I Love the 90s” episode sometime this week and are in the process of producing a compilation segment titled, “Best of Tipsy Trivia 2010-2011.”  Tomorrow, they will be filming a special segment in honor of 4/20 called, “Toker Trivia”, followed by an “All-Star” episode next Friday where their craziest, drunkest competitors will come back to compete against each other in a reunion special.

            From chasing down drunk kids in Five Points to rolling around Strom field in mullet wigs, these girls are willing to go to incredible and hilarious lengths to make their dream a reality.

            “All in all, we dream big, and we will not settle for being average,” said Bagley, “Tipsy Trivia is a once in a lifetime idea, and we intend to do all we can to make it to the top.”

Intercom Feature: USC Graduates Share Their Journalism School Experience With Journalism Class

It is eight A.M.  A group of journalism students shuffle hurriedly into class.  Some slouch down in their chairs looking sluggish, like they hadn’t slept a wink the night before.  Some are buzzing on their morning coffee, busily clicking through various Internet sites. 

The room is bare and sterile-looking with white walls and a shiny, white tile floor.   The students take out their notebooks and stare attentively toward the front of the room.  A tall, unfamiliar character in a blue suit stands up and introduces himself to the class as “Buddy”.

Howard S. Price Jr., or “Buddy” as he is commonly referred to, is a graduate of the school of journalism at The University of South Carolina.  Buddy graduated from the j-school with a degree in advertising/public relations.  At USC he learned a wide range of skills that helped him become a successful journalist.  

            “The classes I took allowed me to get a feel for all types of journalism,” Price said in an oral presentation to Karen Flower’s Journalism 202 class.  “When I graduated I had skills in writing, public speaking and marketing with a general understanding of the media.”

            He not only gained these skills from what he learned from classes, but also by networking and getting involved in workshops throughout his college career.  During his presentation Price stressed the importance of networking, because it presents opportunities to meet individuals working in the journalism field. 

Price advised students to begin networking by getting involved in an association like the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). 

“Organizations like these give students a chance to network by meeting alumni who graduated from the school of journalism,” Price said.

Other than networking he also advised students to take a Web design course as part of their curriculum.  He says the media world has changed since he first began working as a journalist, and is now focused on Web content instead of hard copies.

“We used to rely on the news media to get information out, but newspapers are struggling,” Price said.  “Now there are fewer reporters writing for print news and more writing for the Web.”

 From a public relations standpoint this has changed the way PR representatives interact with reporters. 

“It has made it harder to establish relationships with news reporters,” Price said.  “They are now looking more at Twitter than press releases to get information for their stories.”

He says students should have experience working with Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and Web design, because information must now be communicated through all of these channels to reach the public and the media.

During his presentation Price discussed another skill he believes all PR students should learn: crisis management.  Through his professional experiences he has learned in a time of crisis it is best to be prepared, be honest and be brief when dealing with the media.

“It is important to build trust with the audience you are communicating with,” Price said.  “Be accessible and stick to the facts.”

The second alumni who spoke to Flower’s class was Jen Barclay.  In her presentation Barclay said the two most important skills she learned from the j-school were writing and editing.

These skills helped her get a job freelancing for several print publications straight out of college.  The experience made her realize she wanted a more permanent position with a more structured working environment.

“Writing on my own time led to many sleepless nights trying to catch up on my work, so I decided to look for a nine-to-five job,” said Barclay.

She landed a job working for the Girl Scouts as marketing and fund development director in late 2005.  Although she loved working with the Girl Scouts she left the organization in 2007 to take a job in the newspaper business.

She was offered the job by one of her mentors from USC.  He was a professor who taught one of her journalism classes.  They had kept in touch after she graduated and he knew she would be perfect for the job.

Like Buddy Price, Barclay stressed the importance of networking because of the opportunities it has opened for her.  Because she kept in touch with her mentor he was familiar with her personality along with her journalistic skills and when the position opened he knew she would be perfect for the job.

Barclay also advised students to take Web design courses and attend workshops that teach programs like Adobe and Flash.  As the member services coordinator for the South Carolina Press Association she uses these programs daily when updating the company’s websites.

“I had to learn most of the software myself by watching tutorials online,” Barclay said.

As a print journalism major she did not think she would need skills in Web design as well as knowledge of broadcast journalism.  She regrets not taking any broadcast journalism classes in college because she works closely with broadcast media now. 

“Get to know the broadcast journalism students,” Barclay said. “If I did I would have a much better understanding of how broadcast media works.”

Megan Herring, a 2009 graduate of the j-school, was the last to speak to the journalism class.  Herring pursued internships throughout her college career to help prepare herself for the work force.

During her four years at USC she worked for Conservation Voters of South Carolina and S & S Communications where she held multiple leadership positions.

In her presentation to Flower’s students she stressed the importance of pursuing multiple internships because individuals with extra work experience stand out to potential employers.

“If you can’t find a paid internship, volunteer,” Herring said.  “Work for a company for five hours a week and slowly move up to a paid internship with more hours a week.”

Herring explained how to prepare to interview for an internship.  She advised the students to dress appropriately and come prepared.

“Always wear a suit to an interview and bring a portfolio of any work you have done,” Herring said.  “If it is your first internship bring samples of work from your classes that show your writing ability.

When interviewing for her current job, she brought a portfolio of the work she had done for her prior internships.  She used the same style and type font for each page of her portfolio to make it look neat and presentable.

“One thing my boss told me he liked about me when I applied was I branded myself,” Herring said.  “I had a portfolio with my name and logo on it.”

Based on her experiences her best advice to current students is they must be aggressive in order to get what they want.  She says even if they are not the most qualified for the position, if they show the employer they want it bad enough they will most likely get the job.

The economic climate has changed significantly since Buddy Price graduated in 1975.  The alumni advised students to do whatever it takes to stand out to an employer because of how competitive the job market is now.

“In this economy there is no room to mess around and say ‘I want time off,’ because there is another person behind you who wants the job and is willing to work for it,” Herring said. 

SIDEBAR

Howard S. Price Jr. graduated from The University of South Carolina in 1975.  He majored in Advertising/Public Relations.  Since graduation Price has worked for First National Bank of South Carolina in the Master Charge Marketing Department until 1976.  He then worked for Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for eight years.  After that Price was the Director of Community Relations for Richland County School District One until 1995.  He now works for School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties as the Director of Community Services.  He currently handles all marketing, internal and external communications, employee morale initiatives, media relations, crisis management and community involvement for the school district.   

Jen Barclay is a 2005 graduate of USC where she studied print journalism and political science.  After graduation Barclay took a job freelancing for PC magazine and several SEC sports publications.  She then worked for the Girl Scouts as Marketing and Fund Development Director.  Currently she handles all communications, marketing, fundraising, events and member services for the South Carolina Press Association.  She is also responsible for all seven of the SCPA’s Web sites and social networking accounts which she updates daily.

Megan Herring graduated from The University of South Carolina in 2009 with a major in public relations and a minor in political science.  She held various jobs throughout college, her first being the director’s assistant for the Carolina Journalism Institute where she helped students with journalism design, photography and writing assignments.  She also worked for Scholastic Press as the Undergraduate Assistant for the S.C. Scholastic Press Association and Southern Interscholastic Press Association.  During that time she also worked for Conservation Voters of South Carolina where she was Assistant to Director of Development and the Governmental Relations Coordinator.  She currently holds two jobs.  She is the Public Relations Assistant for S & S Communications and the Assistant to Director of Public Affairs for the South Carolina Budget and Control Board.

            

Creative Brief

Client/Client Contact Info:

TRESemmé

www.tresemme.com

To speak with a live representative: 1-888-7054 Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-6:00 PM Eastern Time.

Project:
New Campaign for TRESemmé hair products

Prepared by:

Kayla Gasbarro

Cell: (412) 992-6239

Gasbarro@email.sc.edu

Katherine Thompson

Cell: (631) 379-3114

Thomps59@email.sc.edu

Background/Overview:
Through conducting our primary and secondary research we have discovered that the leaders in the premium brand hair care segment are Pantene first, grossing $436 million in sales in 2010, followed by Garnier Fructis which grossed $221 million in sales in 2010.  TRESemmé is ranked third compared to its competitors, grossing $211 million in 2010.  Though ranked third, TRESemmé grew faster than both brands in 2010 and was the only brand to increase sales in all four main segments of hair care products (hair spray, styling products, shampoo, conditioner).  The state of the market is currently overly crowded and competitive due to the high volume of products, and the fact that some people are shopping for value brands instead of premium brands because of their cheaper prices.

Objective/Purpose of the ad:

We want people to associate TRESemmé with not only quality, but affordability as well, in order to compete with bargain brands and premium brands alike.

Target Audience:
This ad will be aimed most specifically at teenagers, as they are already TRESemmé’s primary target audience.  Along with teenagers we will target upper middle class consumers, middle class and housewives, plus upper and rural consumers. 

Most important aspect of the campaign:

“Consumer- you can get salon-quality hair products for the price of the bargain brands by using TRESemmé.”

Why Should Consumer Buy TRESemmé over its competitors?

1.) We offer a range of styling products that can fit any hair type 2.) Rave reviews from current customers 3.) Affordable prices without sacrificing quality products 4.) Received various beauty awards from reputable critics

Don Orlando (Director of PR at St. Vincent College) -- Personality Feature

            The world of journalism was once a place where copies were made on carbon paper instead of by copiers and computers.  That was the world in which Don Orlando became a journalist.

            Orlando is the public relations director at St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania.  His responsibilities for the university include media relations, press releases, advertising, publications and community relations.  His ambition to pursue journalism started at a young age and was fueled by one driving force: his love for writing.

            “When I was little, my brother and I used to play at home and put newspapers together,” Orlando said.  “We would interview our parents and write stories about them.  We would even take pictures to go along with the stories.”

            He continued to polish his writing throughout high school by working as the editor for his school newspaper.  He said working with the school paper helped him develop interviewing skills, his favorite part of the job today.

            “When I’m interviewing someone, I always start out by saying, ‘Tell me your story,’” Orlando said.  “I love talking to people and hearing what they have to say because I am always learning something new.  No matter what they are talking about they know more about it than I do.”

            He further improved his interviewing skills during college.  Orlando went to St. Vincent College, the small, liberal arts school that he now works for.  The university’s curriculum had a variety of core requirements, including history, philosophy and religion, so it forced him to study a broad range of subjects.
          “Even today I could be writing about anything from science to education, and I know just enough about the subject to be able to ask good questions in an interview,” Orlando said.

            Straight out of college he went to work for a weekly newspaper in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  He worked as an editor and spent most of his time writing stories. 

The experience he gained from his first job helped him become a better writer and improved his communication skills.  Although he enjoyed his work as an editor it became redundant over time, and Orlando knew he was ready to look for a new job. 

His search lead him back to where he started, St. Vincent College.  He is now the director of public relations at the university, and although he is still writing stories like he used to the way he reaches his audience has changed.

            “I am communicating to a completely different audience now,” Orlando said.  “I used to write for news media, now I am mostly a Web writer because that’s where perspective students look to get information.”

            As a PR director for a college, he said his biggest concern is for the students’ safety. 

            “You have 2,000 young people, and they’re out doing all kinds of crazy stuff like drinking and driving and hanging out of windows,” Orlando said.

            His biggest concern from a PR perspective is that a student should die at the university.  In an event the worst should occur, however, his team has a plan.  They would come out with accurate information as quickly as possible and deliver it to the public.

            “We tell everything we know as soon as we know it,” Orlando said.  “We tell the whole truth, because if you don’t say it then, the truth will come out the next day and make your team look like phonies.”

            With the development of Internet sites like YouTube and Twitter, Orlando finds it difficult to be the first to reach the public with breaking news stories.  He says PR is more like damage control now because the public can view a story on YouTube and already have an opinion on the incident before they hear the real story from a reporter.

            “Although the Internet makes communication easier, it is scary how quickly communication can occur,” Orlando said.  “A week ago my daughter was on a cruise ship that crashed.  Two minutes after the crash occurred, someone on the ship had already posted it on YouTube.”

            Although the means of communication has changed since he started out as a journalist, his passion for writing has not.

            “If I weren’t working for St. Vincent College I would be writing for a newspaper somewhere,” Orlando said.  “There’s no greater satisfaction to me than writing something that reads well and communicates clearly to my audience.  I will continue to work to achieve that satisfaction.”