Sarahel's Semiotics 4U

this was a deodorant for women ... or at least the ad had a woman in it with her arms outstretched. I think I used said brand for a little while as a teenager.

hah, then I have no idea. oddly enough this discussion has given rise to the desire to proclaim what deodorant I use, which is Gatsby Unscented.

I have no brand loyalty for products like that ...

takin it way back to croquet and use of the word "baby"

i call my BF baby sometimes, is this bad? i dont think i do it in an annoying way. no one has ever really called me that, though i did date a guy who said "babe". i was ambivalent about it tbh

my current boyfriend went to a Grey Gardens-themed croquet party thrown by our very flamboyant friend and he got mad and hammered the ground with the mallet

lol

No, I don't think it is bad ... it's one of those things I'm ambivalent about, because on one hand you have the "infantilization" thing, but it has become so ingrained in culture, that there are other signifiers as well that cloak it.

croquet story is lol ... did he make a hole?

okay - I've been thinking some more about what I find weird about the woman's deodorant fandom on facebook thing:

Historically, the objects of fandom were aspirational: sports teams/athletes; cultural works/artists, authors, musicians, actors; political parties/politicians; religious movements and figures. Other historically common objects were things that were associated with pleasure: food/alcohol, architecture, nature, sexual practices. With further advances in capitalism, people became fans of particular brands of goods - though these were generally associated with public display and/or leisure, fashion and cars, to name two obvious categories.

For something like a women's deodorant to command or demand fandom (which connotes a public display of appreciation/liking), is definitely a departure from these historical categories. Primarily, because it is what I would call a corrective product: something one would use to remove deficiencies in order to conform to societal norms. By expressing public appreciation for products like this is to the publicly admit that one has these deficiencies.

Granted, one of the trends of advertising is to more prominently and frankly discuss these deficiencies -- it wasn't until the 70s that feminine douches were advertised on American television, partly to make up for loss of revenue due to the ban of cigarette ads. However, these products tend to be things that people use and if they work, are grateful for, but aren't likely to publicly praise.

There are definitely products that are exceptions to this, though these tend to be things that are more uniquely liberating, in that the deficiencies they correct aren't universal. Contact lenses are a good example of this. I can understand someone being a fan of contact lenses, because they allow their users to appear like those fortunate to not require them. Deodorant, on the other hand, is not.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/primrosehill/lolatlife.jpg

^^^the incident covered upthread

well, right after it tbh

guess I shouldn't be too harsh on croquet, since I'm entertained by mini-golf ...I think my problem with my ex being a croquet aficionado was that it was just another signifier of a certain sensibility that came to seriously annoy me.

the word "momma" in songs. do you like it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oiLfTnrC40

posted this in that thread, partly for cute animals, partly because due to years of going to loud shows my hearing is kinda fucked and I honestly mishear lyrics a lot.

[brand name women's deodorant] is making sure all your hugs are the freshest. Give your BFF a hug today. (And smell great doing it.)

now up to 259,000+ fans ...

which is better:
http://startupblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/dyson-vacuum.jpg

or

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IEIb52dl720/SekjpU5-H2I/AAAAAAAAAF4/dTwwK-bBzp8/s400/dyson-vacuum.jpg

i saw some marmosets the other day

the yellow one with no personality.

i'm kinda leaning towards the pink one because it's more dynamic

on the other hand the straight verticality of the yellow one signifies a firm no-nonsense appliance.

it looks hapless on youtube, you can't blame it though.

i think i came across the relevant thread during an insomniac random thread click.

i know those well.

how many post have you made now? this is 5192 for me.

s

uh oh 5202 for me

<3

thank you for indulging my vacuum cleaners

thank you for indulging my interest in your posting total.

Straight one is like a straight, "You suck."

Flying one is like someone in a sing-song voice, "You suuUUUuuuUuuck!"

well, it has multiple connotations. It could be interpreted as "you suck," but as the vacuum cleaner is the thing doing the sucking, it could just as easily connote "i suck," or "this sucks"

pol·y·se·mous (pl-sms)
adj.
Having or characterized by many meanings:

haha i love what bamcquern said

i saw that yellow dyson at the store this morning

i love it too.

meanwhile - over a million facebook users have become fans of vitaminwater

damn them

apparently vitamin water is successful enough that some other company has come out with vitamintea

sue them

both products have the same sans-serif font product label thing going on. The vitamintea (one word) company is "Pureamerican" - which makes me wonder whether sans-serif fonts in food packaging and in supermarkets are supposed to connote organic-ness and purity or something.

sure!

did innocent smoothies invent that thing where every product label acts like ur pal. kept expecting the directions on the frozen pizza box 2 call me "bro," prolly serves me right for reading them tho

i dunno - Odwalla juice did this quite a while ago. That was the first time I noticed it. I read these things as well.

btw happy birthday u r awesome!

thanks!

This is from a bottle of "Honest Ade Superfruit Punch"

Not all superheroes are real (we're pretty sure Green Lantern doesn't exist), but our Superfruit Punch is nothing but real. The dynamic duo in this drink is blah blah blah ingredients blah blah nutritional benefits blah blah description of product made to sound enticing.

whoever invented this shit should be killed immediately

tell me about innocent smoothies.

they are cunty and expensive but irresistibly delicious

what does the packaging say though?

happy birthday
i also totally hate when ad copy pretends it cares about you

oh they have this thing where they go 28 grapes! 5 apples! 6 strawberries! and no bungalows! and ur meant to be like "oh shiz i didn't see that coming!"

i hate products with annoying stupid names that it almost triggers a fit of self-loathing to even say to yourself, let alone out loud.

current ad copy placed on each label of Arrowhead:

THE ULTIMATE HYDRATOR
Arrowhead brand mountain spring water has no calories, and we do not add anything: no sweeteners, no caffeine, no sodium - it's pure refreshment that quenches your thirst and replenishes your body.
Be Healthy.

This bag of Doritos has this inspirational story about a kid on the back, but I can't get past the bold type on bright yellow that says:

Buddy Booby's
Birthmark Read Along

In the Mouth of Madness.