Go Green!

The "Go Green!" lecture was presented by the head of the company that initiated the movement for an environmentally friendly Democratic National Convention. Her company provides green services for businesses and events. This year, the worked with the Democratic party to make the convention as environmentally friendly as possible.

First, she discussed the convention and what steps they took to make it green. They used hybrid, flex fuel, and low emission vehicles in the caravan to the convention. Prior to the event, the company printed everything double sided to save paper. Volunteers helped at each waste station to direct trash into either recycling, landfill, or compost bins. The company also encouraged the delegates from each state to purchase carbon offset plans so their trips to Colorado did not create any excess CO2.

Overall, the speaker's company helped to make the event more environmentally friendly, educated people about being green, and left a lasting impression on the residents of Colorado. This all did not create more costs, as much of the initiative was sponsored by companies.

The second half of the event the audience broke out into groups and discussed how other schools were becoming more sustainable, and how CLU could become more sustainable. We came up with ideas such as putting out more bike racks to encourage students to ride bikes, offer a discount if you bring your own cup, and establishing a carpool for commuter students.

Overall, the event was very informative and motivated me to go green!

Superbowl Commercials

This years Superbowl was home to some very creative advertising as well as some not so creative advertising. Although a majority of the ads seemed effective, there were a few that were just obnoxious. There also seemed to be a "flashback" theme, where ads either made fun of famous old ads, or used the old ads as a base for new ideas.

The spot that stood out most to me was the one for Doritos. It showed a man walking down the street crunching Doritos and watching as amazing things happened every time he did this. An ATM began shooting out money, and when a police officer came to stop the crowd from taking the money, he crunched again and the police officer turned in to a monkey. Then, the bag runs out of chips and the man is hit by the bus. This ad seemed very effective because it was so far fetched and made a lasting impression in my head.

Another ad that was effective, but obnoxious was the one for Careerbuilder.com. It was very repetitive, but seemed to do the trick because I am still thinking about it. It kept repeating bad (but funny) aspects of a job, adding on another bad thing each time around.

Sadly, it was stated that possibly the ad that drew the most attention or profit was the cash for gold .com ad. The desperate nature of people in the economy are looking for any way to make a quick buck (even though the rate at which they buy gold is horrible!)

The Superbowl will most likely always be the "Superbowl" of advertising as well. It is widely watched and companies are willing to spend top dollar on airtime to show their clever (or not so clever) ad during this time.