Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Le Report
Was It That Bad?
For this assignment, we as a group were required to pick an advertisement we were most dissatisfied with. We were to conduct thorough research about the advertisement as to why it failed as an advertisement in relation to culture and society. We were then required to re-advertise the product or brand. The advertisement that we chose and were most dissatisfied with was the Diet Coke television advertisement which featured British singer-songwriter Duffy. This advertisement was aired in 2009 in the United Kingdom. The advertisement showed Duffy coming off stage after a gig and being handed a can of Diet Coke by an assistant who tells her: "You've got about two minutes, okay?" She then cycles through the night along quiet streets, into a supermarket while singing “I Gotta Be Me” with passers by joining in. After cycling around the supermarket she returns to the concert in time to perform the encore, with on-screen text of Diet Coke’s slogan stating 'Hello You'.
What Was It Even For?
The purpose for this advertisement was to attract the targeted audiences who were British and most likely aged around 10-60. Since this was a television advertisement, it was likely that many viewers of all age, gender, and social status would come across this advertisement. This advertisement was trying to show the audience that even a busy celebrity like Duffy has the time to take a break and just enjoy life doing what she wants. While singing the song “I Gotta Be Me”, this insinuates on her wanting to do what she wants, taking a break even with her busy schedule as she is a celebrity. This is reflected on the British culture as they live in a busy society where they’re the sixth largest national economy in the world. This is evident as they make a Gross Domestic Product of $2.3 trillion. (The Heritage Foundation, 2013) This advertisement is trying to connect with the audience in attempt to send out the message that even they, the audiences deserve to take a break from their busy day and enjoy a Diet Coke doing whatever as they please.
The advertisement can also be targeted at a slightly larger audiences as Coca-Cola used Duffy as their star in the advertisement. Coca-cola had the choice of many models and celebrities to pick from but they picked Duffy, and she isn’t exactly a slim sized celebrity. This message insinuates that Diet Coke is for people who are cautious about their weight or who want to lose weight by going on a diet yet still being able to taste the joy of a Coke.
This is reflected on the British as 20% of United Kingdom’s population is obese. 40% of males are overweight while 30% for females. (University of Birmingham Research Centre) This advertisement is trying to make a connection with the audience by using a slightly larger celebrity in an effort to reflect and represent those who are slightly overweight as well. By using Duffy, those who are slightly larger would be able to feel a connection with Duffy. And by drinking Diet Coke, they are able to live their life the way they want it yet being able to enjoy the taste of a coke.
Why Duffy?
The reason why Coca-cola used a celebrity for their advertisement is to further hope that the advertisement would catch more audiences attention. Celebrity endorsement is recognized worldwide especially in United Kingdom where many famous celebrities were born. The power of a celebrity image is powerful as the British live in a society where they like the image and idea of glamour and fame. Both which are represented through a celebrity. They are famous, successful, and rich. Who wouldn't want that kind of life? This is why advertising in all forms of media nowadays contain images of a celebrity or someone famous. For Coca-cola, they used Duffy to represent Diet Coke in order to attract more audiences. Be it Duffy’s fans, people who have heard of Duffy, or even people who find her attractive. In the audiences mind, they have this idea of “If my favorite celebrity is drinking Diet Coke, I want to drink Diet Coke too!”. And by them doing so, the audiences feel as though they are on the same page as Duffy, as though they and Duffy have the same lifestyle, ultimately achieving the satisfaction of drinking the drink that a celebrity drinks. As when we see someone famous that we know in an advertisement, we are tend to be drawn to the product subconsciously. This is because in our minds, we are drawn to the idea of how the celebrity looks in the advertisement. Their hair is fabulous, their smile is charming and their eyes are shining. In our minds, we want that, we want to look as good as that, we want to be that celebrity.
What Did We Do? I'll Tell You What...
Changes were needed to be made as the advertisement may have been misleading nor sending out a negative message. Firstly, the advertisement to most viewers made no sense as they viewed it as Duffy riding around on a bicycle while singing. It didn’t manage to sell or persuade the audience to drink Diet Coke. Many viewers also stated that her singing was terrible and she sounded more like a duck. The advertisement also violated the safety of road regulations as Duffy was not wearing any light reflective garment or gear that was installed on the bicycle. This could be imitated by children which would be very dangerous as children are young and naive and would do anything that they see in television.
Our groups idea was to take the most British things to do such as drinking tea, and going to the pub to drink, and having it replaced with Diet Coke. As the initial advertisement was unable to send a clear and direct persuasive message to the targeted audiences in relation to their British culture and society. We are redesigning the advertisement in order to make the message clear and direct yet not misleading or confusing. As the targeted audiences were the busy people of United Kingdom and the slightly larger audiences. We are trying to swap tea and or beer with Diet Coke. United Kingdom is a country where they love their tea, and is one of the highest tea consuming countries. In our redesigning, we are trying to get the audience the replace tea with Diet Coke. Our new slogan is “Live Life Light”, in this context, “Light” representing refreshing and cold. Tea can be heavy sometimes and what more when it’s hot. But by drinking a Diet Coke instead, you can enjoy both the refreshment and the taste of a Coke, satisfying your thirst. This can also be reflected in the busy British culture. They can be so busy sometimes, they just won’t have the time to sit down and enjoy a nice “cuppa”, but by replacing tea with Diet Coke, you are able to save time as it’s sold in a can or a bottle making it on-the-go. This would ultimately allow the busy British who are seeking a quick and refreshing fix to be satisfied with a Diet Coke.
It is also a very British thing to do to go to a pub after work or on the weekends, where they meet up with friends to socialize and have a few drinks. But sometimes, going to a pub isn’t just about drinking one too many and getting drunk which results in forgetting the night. So by going to the pub and drinking a diet coke instead, not only are you able to enjoy the refreshment and taste the drink provides, you are also able to enjoy your night out without getting intoxicated. And where the slogan comes in- “Live Life Light”, in this context the “Light” meaning having it easy, to take it lightly- by not drinking one too many beers and end up with a bad headache the next morning, therefore taking it lightly. This idea also aims at the slightly lager audience. As it is a known fact that beer gives you what everyone calls the “beer belly”. Everyone who drinks beer knows what I’m talking about. And by drinking diet coke, you are able to reduce your sugar intake which results in less fats, ultimately resulting to cutting down the “beer belly”. This idea relates to the society of United Kingdom as its population is 20% obese and it helps fight and tackle the problem.
Cheers Mate!
Overall our redesigning of the advertisement has been given plenty of thought and process into developing an advertisement that is much more effective and has an impact and cause that can relate to the British in many ways. Our redesigning of the advertisement is able to face the culture and social issues that the British are facing such as a hectic busy lifestyle and an increasing obesity rate. And it is able to overcome these issues through connecting with the audiences and creating impact by reflecting their lifestyles and culture in our advertisement.
-WOO
REFERENCE
A. Harzing, 2011. UK Culture [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.harzing.com/ukculture.htm
Latest obesity stats for England are alarming - NHS Choices, 2013. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/02February/Pages/Latest-obesity-stats-for-England-are-alarming-reading.aspx
New College Manchester -What Are British People Really Like, 2012. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.newcollegemanchester.com/2012/12/05/what-are-british-people-really-like/
Obesity in The UK - University of Birmingham Research, 2013. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/mds/centres/obesity/obesity-uk/index.aspx
A. Harzing, 2011. UK Culture [ONLINE]
New College Manchester -What Are British People
Really Like, 2012. [ONLINE]
Obesity in The UK - University of Birmingham Research, 2013.
[ONLINE]
Latest obesity stats for England are alarming - NHS Choices, 2013. [ONLINE]
Latest obesity stats for England are alarming - NHS Choices, 2013. [ONLINE]
Whatscookingamerica.net. 2013. Afternoon Tea History, High Tea
History, History of English High Tea, Tea Etiquette, American Tea Time.
[online] Available at:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Dillner, L. 2013. Is
drinking tea bad for you?. [online] Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/01/is-drinking-tea-bad-for-you
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Projectbritain.com. 2013. Spare time (Leisure) in England, Britain,
UK. [online] Available at: http://projectbritain.com/weekends.htm
[Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
Beerandpub.com.
2013. BBPA Home - Hot topics - Culture & tourism. [online]
Available at: http://www.beerandpub.com/hot-topics/culture-tourism
[Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
England.org.za.
2013. The English Pub. [online] Available at:
http://www.england.org.za/the-english-pub.php#.Up2qMGQW3GA
[Accessed: 3
Dec 2013].
London2012usefulinformationguide.com.
2013. English Pub Culture. [online] Available at: http://www.london2012usefulinformationguide.com/drinking-in-london/london-pubs/english-pub-culture/
[Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
Wallblog.co.uk. 2013. Infographic:
what do young people think of celebrity endorsements? | The Wall Blog.
[online] Available at: http://wallblog.co.uk/2013/06/11/infographic-what-do-young-people-think-of-celebrity-endorsements/
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Unknown. 2013. [online] Available at:
http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10636.pdf [Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
News.liv.ac.uk. 2013. Celebrity
endorsement encourages children to eat junk food - University of Liverpool News.
[online] Available at:
http://news.liv.ac.uk/2013/03/08/celebrity-endorsement-encourages-children-to-eat-junk-food/
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
PwC. 2013. The outlook for
the Entertainment & Media industry to 2016. [online] Available at:
http://www.pwc.co.uk/entertainment-media/issues/entertainment-media-outlook.jhtml
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Marketingweek.co.uk. 2013. The
UK's top 10 most popular ads on YouTube | News | Marketing Week. [online]
Available at:
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/in-depth-digital/the-uks-top-10-most-popular-ads-on-youtube/4006611.article
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Jahkno. 2013. Behind
The Scenes: Pepsi BeyoncĂ© “Mirrors” Official Video #BeyHereNow | Jahkno.
[online] Available at:
http://jahkno.com/2013/04/behind-the-scenes-pepsi-beyonce-mirrors-%C2%ADofficial-video-beyherenow/
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Makarechi, K. 2013. Beyonce's
Big Announcement REVEALED. [online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/beyonce-mirrors-beyherenow-pepsi-ad-video_n_3013780.html
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Concept for Final Outcome
After conducting all the necessary research, we have come to a conclusion where we would like to re advertise diet coke with the concept of replacing beer and tea into diet coke. This is because the original diet coke with Duffy singing advertisement did not make any sense. We choose beer and tea to replace with diet coke because going to pubs and drinking beer is a very popular and common thing to do in the British, and tea is the national drink in the Britain. Both beer and tea are culture of the British. As our tag is "live life light", we replace beer with diet coke because drinking beer long term will make you gain weight and have a "beer belly" which make you heavy. By drinking diet coke, you will live your life "light". Besides that, over consume beer will lead to hangover, one of the symptoms of hangover is headache, dizziness and it feels like your head very heavy, all you want to do is just sit at one place and not move. But if you drink diet coke instate of beer, you will not ever get hangovers and you will able to "live live light" as you are able to have fun and enjoy the situations or parties without any worriers. Moving on to the tea, tea is consider to be a very formal and serious. You will have to make the tea before drinking it, it has too many processes. But if you drink diet coke, you do not have to go through any making process, all you need to do is to get a can of diet coke, open it and you can drink it, its very easy and simple. "Live Life Light" means to live your life simple, take it easy, drinking diet coke is easier and simple compare drinking tea.
After conducting all the necessary research, we have come to a conclusion where we would like to re advertise diet coke with the concept of replacing beer and tea into diet coke. This is because the original diet coke with Duffy singing advertisement did not make any sense. We choose beer and tea to replace with diet coke because going to pubs and drinking beer is a very popular and common thing to do in the British, and tea is the national drink in the Britain. Both beer and tea are culture of the British. As our tag is "live life light", we replace beer with diet coke because drinking beer long term will make you gain weight and have a "beer belly" which make you heavy. By drinking diet coke, you will live your life "light". Besides that, over consume beer will lead to hangover, one of the symptoms of hangover is headache, dizziness and it feels like your head very heavy, all you want to do is just sit at one place and not move. But if you drink diet coke instate of beer, you will not ever get hangovers and you will able to "live live light" as you are able to have fun and enjoy the situations or parties without any worriers. Moving on to the tea, tea is consider to be a very formal and serious. You will have to make the tea before drinking it, it has too many processes. But if you drink diet coke, you do not have to go through any making process, all you need to do is to get a can of diet coke, open it and you can drink it, its very easy and simple. "Live Life Light" means to live your life simple, take it easy, drinking diet coke is easier and simple compare drinking tea.
Would you like some tea
HOW BAD IS DRINKING TEA
-Due to “The Guardian” online newspaper, British people drink
around three mugs of tea per day.
-There was a case of a 47-year-old lady, who had brittle
bones and lost all of her teeth because of drinking too much tea. (case taken
from New England Journal of Medicine).
-Another thing is that black tea may be not so good for
prostates.
-University of Glasgow made a research and found that, men
who drank more than seven cups of tea per day had a 50 per cent higher risk of
prostate cancer.
-According to the paper in the British Medical Journal,
drinking a very hot tea-above 70C may increase the likelihood of oesophageal
cancer.
English Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea in England is usually taken between 3 and 5 o’clock in the late afternoon and it’s also called Low tea. Why? Because it is taken in a room with low or coffee tables.
Here are some types of Low or Afternoon tea:
-Cream Tea-tea, scones, jam and cream
-Light Tea-tea, scones and sweets
-Full Tea-tea, savouries, scones, sweets and desserts
Prepared by Mohira
Dillner, L. 2013. Is
drinking tea bad for you?. [online]
Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/01/is-drinking-tea-bad-for-you
[Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Whatscookingamerica.net. 2013. Afternoon Tea History, High Tea History, History of English High Tea, Tea Etiquette, American Tea Time. [online] Available at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm [Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
Whatscookingamerica.net. 2013. Afternoon Tea History, High Tea History, History of English High Tea, Tea Etiquette, American Tea Time. [online] Available at: http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm [Accessed: 4 Dec 2013].
British Beer Culture
Beer in British
Beer was introduced into England in a very early age. Beer from this time had to be consumed fresh, was served cloudy and would have produced little or no foam. To aid its taste and keeping properties bitter herbs and spices may have been used. In the 20th century, Britain has one of the highest drinking rates in the world.The average consumption for males as 22 litres of pure alcohol a year compared with just nine and a half litres for women. Beer consumption in British is very high.
Here are 3 English must drink beers that through a combination of luck, drunken raving and sheer endurance have earned the reputation of classic.
Beer was introduced into England in a very early age. Beer from this time had to be consumed fresh, was served cloudy and would have produced little or no foam. To aid its taste and keeping properties bitter herbs and spices may have been used. In the 20th century, Britain has one of the highest drinking rates in the world.The average consumption for males as 22 litres of pure alcohol a year compared with just nine and a half litres for women. Beer consumption in British is very high.
Here are 3 English must drink beers that through a combination of luck, drunken raving and sheer endurance have earned the reputation of classic.
1.Newcastle Brown Ale: Back in year 1927, this is now the best selling bottled beer in Europe, and is one of Britain’s most well-known brews, famous for being the first Northern-style Brown Ale. Jim Porter, the brewer, had tried for five years to produce a beer to rival the clarity and purity of Bass. Even though he failed, he did come up with something new which has been much-copied since. This Northern Brown Ale is not to be confused with the standard British Brown Ale, which is a Mild beer in a bottle.
2. Bass Ale: Brewed since year 1777 in Burton-on-Trent. When dark stouts and porters were the most popular beers, William Bass set out to copy the London brewer Hodgson and make a pale coloured beer. He was fortunate that the waters of the Trent were perfectly suited to his hoppy ale, and soon other brewers flocked to Burton to make the new and successful Pale Ale. When served in the cask, drinkers found this Pale Ale more refreshing than the malt-accented ales they were used to, but it was more bitter, so the term Bitter was soon used to describe this popular new beer.
3. Worthington White Shield : Back in Year 1829 and changing brewers several times since then, White Shield is now owned by Coors, though brewed at the mostly autonomous Museum Brewing Company. This is the genuine Burton Pale Ale. When Bass took over the Worthington brewery in 1927 they began to filter and pasteurise their own Bass Pale Ale, but kept this going as an example of the real thing.
Effects of Drinking Beer
Drinking too much beer will have many bad effects after a long time of period. One of the bad effects is getting Live damage. Long term heavy drinkers have a high risk developing liver disease such as fatty liver (steatosis) or alcoholic hepatitis.Any amount of alcohol can produce damage to the liver.If an individual has an underlying liver condition such as hepatitis B or C, or prior damage from alcohol or other diseases, the liver is very sensitive to any amount of alcohol.Getting a "beer belly" is also one of the bad effects fir long term heavy drinkers. Drinking beer means drinking more calories than are expended each day, is the primary cause of larger bellies.A typical beer has about 150 calories and if you sit down for several hours in one position, you will end up with serious calorie overload. Beer is an alcohol and alcohol can increase one's appetite. Furthermore, when you're drinking beer at a bar or a party, there's a high chances that there will be food on your hand which are normally fattening, for example pizza, chicken wings or other fried food. Besides that, over consume beer will lead to hangover. There are many symptoms of hangover, which are headache, drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, concentration problem,swearing, nausea, anxiety and many more.Dehydration cause hangover and dehydration is cause by alcohol. However, hangover can be minimised by drinking plenty of water or sweet drinks.
Im doing research about beer because going to the pub and drinking beer is a very common thing in Britain, it is their culture. The reason of making and producing a advertisements is to promote and explain how good and effective their product works comparing with other competitors. In the original Duffy diet coke advertisement, they did not explain how good is the diet coke is and this will confuse the audience. And that is why we are re-advertise diet coke with different elements such as beer. Drinking beer will make that person gain weight and a "beer belly". By drinking drinking diet coke instate of beer, that person will not gain weight or a beer belly because it is a diet coke, it perpose is to reduce the chances of gaining weight.
-Ryan
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
British Culture and Pubs
Pubs are very much part of British culture, one must visit a pub once visits England. Pub is one of the national's significant heritage blended in with life style of british people. Pub is an English word originated in England itself, which stands for Public House. Its is a place for british people to socialise among friends. Pubs are considered one of the few places in England that breaking the conversation with complete strangers is socially acceptable and appropriate.
Alcohol drinks are served such as wine spirits and the most common can be non other than the English brewed beer. Food is also serves in the pubs mostly something tasty and filling. Entertainment such as life music, live broadcast football match, and fun games like dart are commonly used to attract customers. Pub is not just a place for people for working adults to go grab a beer, but it also a focal point of the local community. English pub welcomes every customers from all age groups, including teenagers, old people, and even family with very young children, however the alcoholic beverages are served to 18 years and above only.
There are over 5,300 pubs established all over British territory. Average british people spend at least once every week visiting pubs. More than 75% of adults visit pubs more than once a week and 30% are considered as regular customers. This shows that pubs play an important role in daily social lives of british people. Pubs are said to be the Heart of England by Samuel Pepys.
By Watsakan
Beerandpub.com. 2013. BBPA Home - Hot topics - Culture & tourism. [online] Available at: http://www.beerandpub.com/hot-topics/culture-tourism [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
England.org.za. 2013. The English Pub. [online] Available at: http://www.england.org.za/the-english-pub.php#.Up2qMGQW3GA [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
London2012usefulinformationguide.com. 2013. English Pub Culture. [online] Available at: http://www.london2012usefulinformationguide.com/drinking-in-london/london-pubs/english-pub-culture/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
What do British people like doing at
the weekends?
British
people (families, especially) usually spend their weekends with their families.
On Saturday and Sunday people normally go shopping. That is why all shops are
so crowded at this time.
In past few
years shops were not permitted to open on a Sunday. Nowadays Sundays already
became like any other day with open shops. And some families prefer to spend
their time shopping rather than visiting church.
Year after
year, Britain is becoming less Christian country, with fewer people who is
supporting the idea of going to Church every Sunday. But there are some
Christian’s who think that Sunday should be considered as a special time given
to worshipping God.
How do people spend their free time?
1)
Television
This is the most
common activity in the UK. According to the statistics, the average time spent on
watching TV is 25 hours per person per week. Television programmes are mostly
about gardening, cooking, holidays, animals and wildlife. These are common
television programmes UK society watch:
- DIY programs
(means “do it yourself”). They are very popular because many people love
spending their time by decorating their homes and gardens.
-Drama and sitcoms(“Men
Behaving Badly”, “Inspector Morse”, “Cracker”)
-Soaps(“Eastenders”,
“Coronation Street”, “Emmerdale”, “Neighbours”, “Home and Away”)
-Reality programmes(“Big
Brother”)
-American programmes(“Friends”,
“Will and Grace”, “Frasier”, “Sabrina the teenage witch”, “The Simpsons”).
2) Radio
People
in UK listen to an average 15 hours and 50 minutes of radio each week.
The most
famous radio station people listen to is “Top 40”(pop music chart).
3)
Digital Devices
According to the statistics done by the
UK government, 88% of Great Britain households had a CD player and 79% a mobile
phone (2005/06).
56% of households in UK had a desktop computer,
30% had a laptop, and 7% had a handheld computer.
4)
Entertaining
Another popular activity in UK is
visiting friends or relatives.
5)
Cinema
In 1998 visiting the cinema is became the
most popular outdoor activity in UK. British people made 123 million visits to
the cinema.
6)
Eating out
Sometimes people prefer to go eat out.
The average price eating in normal restaurant may be around 20 pounds sterling
(without alcohol drinks).
7)
Homes and Gardens
Gardening became a popular activity back from Roman times. British
are proud of their gardens.
8)
Pubs
“Pub”-is short for Public house. There
are around 60 000 pubs in the UK. Pub is an important part of British life.
People normally go to pub to meet fiends, socialize, eat, talk and relax. Pubs
have traditional names which date back over 600 years. Here are some of them:
-The Chequers
-The White Swan
-The Crown
-The King’s Arms
-The Red Lion
-The White Horse
9) Sports
Football is the most popular sport in
UK.
Reference:Projectbritain.com. 2013. Spare time (Leisure) in England, Britain, UK. [online] Available at: http://projectbritain.com/weekends.htm [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].
Prepared by Mohira
British Culture
Humour and understatement
Humour is the cornerstone of the British society. It is used in numerous ways: to establish a positive atmosphere, to create a sense of togetherness, to bridge differences, to introduce risky ideas, to criticise, to show appreciation or contempt of a person. British people joke about everything including the queen, politicians, religion, and even themselves. Humour is often combined with understatement. Depending on the tone "Not bad" can actually mean "very good" and "not bad at all" might be the highest praise you ever get from a Brit. However, British people tend to find humour in dark or bad situations. Sarcasm is common, as is the occasional joke at someone else’s expense. British people have also been known to enjoy ‘close to the knuckle’ humour that could interpreted as very offensive elsewhere in the world.
Indirect communication
In contrast to for instance Americans, Germans and Dutch, British people have a quite indirect communication style. They will not usually "tell you just the way it is to get things in the open." You will have to read between the lines to understand what they really mean. This can be very frustrating if you come from a culture, which has the motto "if you don't like it/me, why don't you just say so". Like the Japanese and the Chinese culture, the British culture is a high context culture. Words are not enough, you have to know the background and context to understand the message and interpret tone, expression and non-verbal behaviour.
Informality
In spite of the fact that Britain is still well known for its class society, relationships in the workplace and in an educational setting are very informal. Most people call their boss and other colleagues by their first names and tutors usually expect students to address them by their first names as well. In general, tutors, are very approachable and will often join you for a coffee in the break. Style of dress depends more on personal preference than on position or rank to break down the awkwardness between them so they could be closer.
No complaints & patient
Unlike the Dutch, who are professional naggers, British people are not very likely to complain. They will swallow and take in any bad service or bad food at a restaurant, because they don't want to make a scene. They might therefore become very nervous if you try to voice your dissatisfaction. Criticism should also preferably be voiced in an indirect way. They are all very welled manned. Otherwise it will only make your British counterpart very hostile and defensive and your criticism is unlikely to have any effect. The Brits are usually very patient and will queue for everything. It is best to imitate this behaviour. If you try to rush in or hurry someone, you will have to wait even longer.
Friendly
Although the British are generally seen as being reserved, you will find that in the North of England, people are usually quite friendly. They will appreciate it if you make a chat about the weather or take an interest in local affairs. Especially as a man, one might have to get used to the fact that many (older) people address them as "Love".
One of the most common stereotypes of British people is that they are unfriendly and unwelcoming to foreigners. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Britain is a multicultural society and British people are welcoming of every culture and creed. The idea that British people are unfriendly comes from their reserved manner. Unlike some European countries, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll find British people kissing and hugging each other in public, even married couples are cautious of making public displays of affection. Similarly, it’s unlikely that two strangers will talk to each other as they pass each other on the street. This doesn’t mean that British people are unfriendly, it’s just the way they are.
Polite & quiet
Even the rudest of British people has some semblance of manners; from a young age, British people are taught the importance of saying please, thank you and sorry. As a result, manners are extremely important to British people and failing to observe them is seen as incredibly rude.
The level of politeness among British people may surprise you at first as it’s certainly more prevalent than in some other countries. British are very polite. In a restaurant, you will have to say thank you when you get the menu, thank you when you place the order,they often use "thank you" when get your dishes, thank you when the waiter takes away the plates and even thank you when you pay. You'll have to say "excuse me" if you want to pass someone and "I'm sorry" if you accidentally touch or bumped into someone. British people even say sorry if you stand on their toes! They are also very "quiet" and keep to themselves. This can be hard if you want to make friends with them. It is a boon, however, if you are out with your own group or don't like noisy people.
Do British People Really Love Tea?
This particularly stereotype is 100% true! A good ‘brew’ is a staple of any home or workplace and if you are invited to someone’s house, the chances are they will offer you a ‘cuppa’.
Britain’s tea-drinking habits may not be as widespread as you think, however. Many Brits prefer a cup of coffee and other teas, such as mint, green and redbush tea, are also popular.
Similarly, it’s unlikely that you’ll experience many tea breaks. In fact, if someone invites you to their house for tea, the chances are you’ll be eating rather than drinking as the word tea is commonly used to describe dinner.
We're doing more research about the british culture because in the original Duffy advertisement, it does not relate to the british culture. There was not any british elements in the advertisement. So by doing more research about the British culture and elements, we are able to use this elements to put into the re-making of the diet coke advertisement. This will help the British people to relate more.
Humour is the cornerstone of the British society. It is used in numerous ways: to establish a positive atmosphere, to create a sense of togetherness, to bridge differences, to introduce risky ideas, to criticise, to show appreciation or contempt of a person. British people joke about everything including the queen, politicians, religion, and even themselves. Humour is often combined with understatement. Depending on the tone "Not bad" can actually mean "very good" and "not bad at all" might be the highest praise you ever get from a Brit. However, British people tend to find humour in dark or bad situations. Sarcasm is common, as is the occasional joke at someone else’s expense. British people have also been known to enjoy ‘close to the knuckle’ humour that could interpreted as very offensive elsewhere in the world.
Indirect communication
In contrast to for instance Americans, Germans and Dutch, British people have a quite indirect communication style. They will not usually "tell you just the way it is to get things in the open." You will have to read between the lines to understand what they really mean. This can be very frustrating if you come from a culture, which has the motto "if you don't like it/me, why don't you just say so". Like the Japanese and the Chinese culture, the British culture is a high context culture. Words are not enough, you have to know the background and context to understand the message and interpret tone, expression and non-verbal behaviour.
Informality
In spite of the fact that Britain is still well known for its class society, relationships in the workplace and in an educational setting are very informal. Most people call their boss and other colleagues by their first names and tutors usually expect students to address them by their first names as well. In general, tutors, are very approachable and will often join you for a coffee in the break. Style of dress depends more on personal preference than on position or rank to break down the awkwardness between them so they could be closer.
No complaints & patient
Unlike the Dutch, who are professional naggers, British people are not very likely to complain. They will swallow and take in any bad service or bad food at a restaurant, because they don't want to make a scene. They might therefore become very nervous if you try to voice your dissatisfaction. Criticism should also preferably be voiced in an indirect way. They are all very welled manned. Otherwise it will only make your British counterpart very hostile and defensive and your criticism is unlikely to have any effect. The Brits are usually very patient and will queue for everything. It is best to imitate this behaviour. If you try to rush in or hurry someone, you will have to wait even longer.
Friendly
Although the British are generally seen as being reserved, you will find that in the North of England, people are usually quite friendly. They will appreciate it if you make a chat about the weather or take an interest in local affairs. Especially as a man, one might have to get used to the fact that many (older) people address them as "Love".
One of the most common stereotypes of British people is that they are unfriendly and unwelcoming to foreigners. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Britain is a multicultural society and British people are welcoming of every culture and creed. The idea that British people are unfriendly comes from their reserved manner. Unlike some European countries, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll find British people kissing and hugging each other in public, even married couples are cautious of making public displays of affection. Similarly, it’s unlikely that two strangers will talk to each other as they pass each other on the street. This doesn’t mean that British people are unfriendly, it’s just the way they are.
Polite & quiet
Even the rudest of British people has some semblance of manners; from a young age, British people are taught the importance of saying please, thank you and sorry. As a result, manners are extremely important to British people and failing to observe them is seen as incredibly rude.
The level of politeness among British people may surprise you at first as it’s certainly more prevalent than in some other countries. British are very polite. In a restaurant, you will have to say thank you when you get the menu, thank you when you place the order,they often use "thank you" when get your dishes, thank you when the waiter takes away the plates and even thank you when you pay. You'll have to say "excuse me" if you want to pass someone and "I'm sorry" if you accidentally touch or bumped into someone. British people even say sorry if you stand on their toes! They are also very "quiet" and keep to themselves. This can be hard if you want to make friends with them. It is a boon, however, if you are out with your own group or don't like noisy people.
Do British People Really Love Tea?
This particularly stereotype is 100% true! A good ‘brew’ is a staple of any home or workplace and if you are invited to someone’s house, the chances are they will offer you a ‘cuppa’.
Britain’s tea-drinking habits may not be as widespread as you think, however. Many Brits prefer a cup of coffee and other teas, such as mint, green and redbush tea, are also popular.
Similarly, it’s unlikely that you’ll experience many tea breaks. In fact, if someone invites you to their house for tea, the chances are you’ll be eating rather than drinking as the word tea is commonly used to describe dinner.
We're doing more research about the british culture because in the original Duffy advertisement, it does not relate to the british culture. There was not any british elements in the advertisement. So by doing more research about the British culture and elements, we are able to use this elements to put into the re-making of the diet coke advertisement. This will help the British people to relate more.
References
A. Harzing, 2011. UK Culture [ONLINE]
New College Manchester -What Are British People Really Like, 2012. [ONLINE]
-Bryan -Ryan
Monday, 2 December 2013
Symbolic items of UK
As below are the symbolic items of England. many of them are so symbolic as we would know just from a glance where is it from or what is it representing. From these items, we can understand very briefly about their culture. And from this way, we try to pick out the thing that could tie with coke and move on to our concept.
The Flag
Three Lions Emblem
National Tree - Oak Tree
National Flower - Rose
National Animal - Lion
National Food - Fish and Chips
National Drink - Tea
Royal Family
Queen Elizabeth
Prince Charles
Prince William
Royal Guards
Life Guard
Foot Guard
Life Guard on Horseback
Beefeater
England Street
Red Double Decker Bus
Black Taxi Cabs
Pillar Box
Telephone Box
Sports
Football
Cricket
By Wai Ee
As below are the symbolic items of England. many of them are so symbolic as we would know just from a glance where is it from or what is it representing. From these items, we can understand very briefly about their culture. And from this way, we try to pick out the thing that could tie with coke and move on to our concept.
The Flag
Three Lions Emblem
National Tree - Oak Tree
National Flower - Rose
National Animal - Lion
National Food - Fish and Chips
National Drink - Tea
Royal Family
Queen Elizabeth
Prince Charles
Prince William
Royal Guards
Life Guard
Foot Guard
Life Guard on Horseback
Beefeater
England Street
Red Double Decker Bus
Black Taxi Cabs
Pillar Box
Telephone Box
Sports
Football
Cricket
By Wai Ee
Sunday, 1 December 2013
Diet Coke Slogan - Live Life Light
LIVE LIFE LIGHT
This slogan focuses on living your life lighter by drinking diet coke. As diet coke contains no
sugar, this means no carbohydrate and calories. Allowing one to cut down on their
carbohydrate & calorie intake is to cut down on one’s body fats. As any extra carbohydrate is converted to glycogen, or fatty acids, which are later stored as body fat. Therefore by
drinking diet coke, you are able to lose weight and ultimately, living life lighter.
In our company advertisement redesigning, we decided to use the slogan "Live Life Light".
What does it mean by living your life light? Light can mean many things in different context, in which we're trying to be as versatile as possible. Living your life light can mean to have a lower bodyweight by losing weight or going on a diet, cutting down on fatty foods, increasing on fat burning activities such as playing sports. In this context, we are trying to engage with the "not so light" audiences, who are people that are overweight or who wants to change how their physical appearance appear.
This doesn't only apply for people who are overweight, it also applies to people who have diabetes, or are simply trying to cut down their daily sugar intake for many health reasons as sugar is contained in many of our daily foods and drinks.
Another context where "Light" is implied is that it can mean to take it easy, cheerful, looking at things lightly, on the lighter side. It implies as a laid-back approach on life, not taking things too seriously. This also means to have fun, as taking something lightly, isn't taking it seriously. In British culture, the British take things lightly, they often joke a lot and are cheerful people.
-Bryan
Saturday, 23 November 2013
UK vs Obesity
Obesity rates in the UK are the highest in Europe and have increased dramatically over the past few years to such an extent that in excess of 20% of the population are now obese. In Birmingham, over 25% of the population are obese - the third highest rate in the UK. With national averages of over 40% of males overweight and more than 20% obese in the 16-75 year age range, while in women the averages are lower for the overweight classification but higher for obesity. (University of Birmingham Research Centre)
Although obesity can be tackled through increased exercise and a better diet, for those who are already obese the health consequences are severe. On average, being obese decreases life expectancy by nearly 10 years. In addition, it is associated with dramatically increased risks of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and hyperlipidaemia. It has also been suggested that in the future, obesity could not only become the leading cause of liver failure, but also the leading cause of cancer worldwide.
Reasons why obesity is gradually increasing
Firstly, there is easy access to cheap, high-energy food that is often aggressively marketed to people such as chips, junk food, soft drinks, McDonalds, KFC, and every other fast food joints. Secondly, people’s lifestyles and jobs are much less active than in the past and many leisure activities has bloomed such as watching television, playing video games and browsing the internet are usually done sitting down. Thirdly, people drive or use public transport nowadays and walk a lot less than they used to.
The causes of obesity relate to a fundamental imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. A reduction of physical activity in combination with an increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, have led to obesity rates that have risen drastically. (The World Health Organisation)
Although the importance of exercise and a healthy diet is widely reported, further research into the forms of exercise and the types of diet that are most effective at reducing obesity is needed. Furthermore, many people do not make the necessary lifestyle changes that are needed to tackle obesity and therefore, there is an urgent need for viable interventions that can successfully influence the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and healthy eating in the general and clinical populations of UK.
References
Obesity in The UK - University of Birmingham Research, 2013. [ONLINE]
Latest obesity stats for England are alarming - NHS Choices, 2013. [ONLINE]
-Bryan
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