Picture of "Cool" & "Look-Look" Response (Class Activity)

"Cool"



This is a picture I took yesterday when I went into NYC for a girl's night out with my friends. I thought a great deal about what I would capture with my digital camera and label it "cool". I think this picture is cool because there is a lot to look at here. I am a fan of Broadway musicals and liked all of the colors and familiar images (eg. the phantom, the witch) used in the ads to promote the shows. The displays above signify a major part of popular culture in New York City. I was born and raised in Manhattan and have been surrounded by this media frenzy environment all of my life. I think that the bright lights, all of the colors in the displays, and the overall set up of this area of town is pretty cool. I liked that all the Broadway ads were put together in on space, which is one of the reasons this caught my attention. These ads are intended to catch viewer's attention and be appeal to their senses. The whole purpose of promoting a Broadway show is to get people to go to it and provide them with an entertaining afternoon or evening, it's about the experience and enjoyment. Shows like "Wicked" and "Phantom of the Opera" are awesome and I guess I'm a dork when it comes to certain things but this is something that appeals to me and caught my attention while I searched for "cool" with my camera. I know that Broadway shows aren't cheap and one (the target) must be willing and able to spend a large amount of money for a ticket but there are also times when promotions go on for students and others who can't afford a full priced seat. Advertisers for Broadway shows promote to families, teenagers, adults, and the elderly alike but the avid show attendees usually have the money to do so. I feel like everything that is displayed in New York City, specifically the Times Square area is cool or else it wouldn't be placed there. This is a central location for advertising and getting people to buy and spend money on products/services and setting trends. It is one of the greatest examples of the media saturated society that we live in. Whether it's Broadway or just the area in general I think that musicals are cool especially when they are located in the center of one of the busiest cities in the world. People from around the world travel to NYC to experience these shows and the culture of the city, which is composed of a hectic and commercial environment. The media is ever present in this setting and I feel like the picture that I took captures one of the highlights on a visit into the city. My friends and I also went to see the heart that was set up in Times Sq. for Valentine's Day and thought it was pretty neat so we took a picture with it. The fact that there was a large pink heart shaped statue in the middle of the city made it a "picture worthy moment" for us to show people.
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It was interesting to learn from the "Look-Look" Press Kit that "cool hunting" actually exists. I think that it is really smart of marketers and people in the media industry to hire people to search for what is cool so that those who don't know what is "cool" are fed images about what is. Look-Look's main purpose is to be the pioneer for all of the newest trends, fads, and ideas concerning young people. They hire other young people to research the coolest aspects of our culture and in turn display it to the youth through the use of the media. Look-look is in charge of presenting young people with the coolest clothing items of the season, the newest and coolest gadgets, music, TV shows, books, stores, brands, and so forth. I also thought it was interesting that searching for "cool" means something different everyday. What may be "cool" today may not be cool tomorrow, and once "cool" is discovered and commercialized, it becomes uncool. Once a certain aspect of society is viewed as "cool" by the mass it becomes uncool due to overexposure. Once "cool" is found, it is lost; cool is only in for a limited time because trends and fads constantly change and die away. The meaning of cool is also different for each person because what is cool to the underground grunge kid is that his/her music isn't on the radio or popular, that way the music and the artists that they listen to are exclusive to them as opposed to pop music, which is everyone's music. The mass market has now become a niche market since people want things to be made specifically to meet their needs and wants. "Look-Look" is connected to a lot of popular brands such as WalMart, Virgin, Coca-Cola, and helps put together ads for some of the biggest products and names in entertainment. I found the "Style of Students" section to be interesting because I can identify with the items listed. As a college student jewelry, scarves, purses, sneakers, and so forth are items that I purchase for and during the school year so that I am able to put outfits together and keep up with the newest style. I guess that is why so many girls love "back to school" shopping and why the stores/marketers love it as well.

"Look-Look" gathers so much information and is forced to update its research constantly because trends and what is "cool" is always changing. Teenagers are the most difficult market to target because they can be very critical about what is "cool" and what isn't. They are trendsetters, innovators, and so forth but how much is really a result of their own individuality and not from the media or what they are shown. (eg. is the Green movement cool?, designing your own cell phone cool? why is the Ipod cool?)