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What are the major signs in the piece and what do they signify and why?

The major signs in this piece are the four professional athletes: Brian Urlacher, Rasheed Wallace, Gary Shefield, and Clinton Portis. They are all well-known athletes and role models for aspiring athletes. They signify strength, athleticism, agility, determination, and success. They signify this because of who they are. They are all professional sports icons from football, basketball and baseball that have had very successful careers.
    
What paradigm was used in the conceptualization of the piece?

To me I see the theme and concept of the piece being very similar to that of a video game. The aesthetic it seems to follow would be the aesthetic very similar to something like Grand Theft Auto. They all seem to be portrayed as some kind of tough guy super hero. The setting takes place in a dark and rainy urban environment that adds to the specific mood of the piece.


What are major symbols used in the piece and why do you think they were used?

Similar to my answer in question one, the symbols are the athletes. They were used because we can relate to them in certain ways. We all understand that they symbolize, strength, power, and fit physical condition. They are clearly being used to help sell the product at hand.

What was the piece’s denotative message?

The piece denotes the decay of urban street life. The athletes are tough guys who put bad men in their place. For example: “Best treat him nice or he’ll put you on ice”, “Stay out of his way or you’ll have a bad day”, “Don’t cross his tracks or he’ll fade you to black”, and He’s slick on the bricks and quick with his kicks”.


What was the piece’s connotative message?

Toward the end of my last answer we start to see what the deeper meaning to the message is. The last two quotes kind of give it away. “Don’t cross his tracks or he’ll fade you to black”, and “He’s slick on the bricks and quick with his kicks. Here is what I started to understand what is actually being sold in this piece, comfortable Nike boots that can handle some serious abuse because they are using tough athletes to sell them.

What myth(s) were at work in the piece and how do you know?

I think the myth here is that these Nike boots can stand up to anything. I know this because why else would they choose some serious athletes to help get their point across. If they can withstand the abuse put on them by these guys, then they can withstand the abuse anyone puts on them.


Did the piece use official or unofficial language?  Was it affective?

The piece used official language but it did not talk about the product until the very end. It was effective at telling the story but not so effective at selling the product.


What was the purpose of the piece?

The purpose of the piece was to sell Nike Neo Shock boots. By using tough guy athletes they are saying that the boots are tough and they can handle anything you throw at them.

What was the intended demographic of the piece?  Did the piece successfully target that demographic?  How did it accomplish this or why did it fail?

I think the target demographic is male’s ranging from the ages of 16 to 40, possibly males who live in tough urban environments that are active and looking for something durable and comfortable to wear. I think this piece is successful in hitting its target demographic.

How do you feel the piece substantiated brand?

Well, I don’t know about this one. I didn’t know what the hell they were selling until the last few frames. You do see some close ups of their boots during the piece but no Nike symbols or anything, and what I was shown was only in a fraction of a second or so. I think they could have drawn more attention to the actual product being sold.

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What are the major signs in the piece and what do they signify and why?

The major signs in this piece are the images of a locker room or team dressing room and the tennis court. They signify athletes and the game of tennis. We also see some text that seems to be the focal point of the piece that says, “ I believe that it is the nature of people to be heroes. Self trust is the essence of heroism”. These words signify that if you believe in yourself you can do things you never thought you could.

What paradigm was used in the conceptualization of the piece?

The theme and concept of this piece deals with photographic images of where the setting of a tennis match would take place. It takes us through the space of an empty locker room as well as an empty tennis court by panning and zooming in and out. It gives us the spatial quality of the rooms and court. The audio in the background consists of the sounds of a tennis match. It gives me the felling that great things will happen or did happen in this setting.

What are major symbols used in the piece and why do you think they were used?

Again this question is similar to question one. The symbols are the locker room telling us that some kind of sport is the subject. We don’t know what the sport is until we are introduced to the tennis court. The tennis court symbolizes a place where tennis players do their thing. It also takes place in what looks like a playground in an inner city. This symbolizes people who are new to tennis and works to inspire people to play the game or to continue playing. It does not take place in a professional setting so you know its not targeting people who are already established tennis players.

What was the piece’s denotative message?

This piece denotes the setting of a locker room and tennis match.

What was the piece’s connotative message?

The deeper meaning to this piece is found in the text that is presented. “ I believe it is the nature of people to be heroes. Self trust is the essence of heroism”. The meaning I took from this is that if you believe in yourself, if you believe you can do anything and work hard enough at it, you will accomplish your goals no matter what your trying to do. In this case they reference the sport of tennis but it could pertain to anything you do in life. Trust yourself and work hard and it will happen.

What myth(s) were at work in the piece and how do you know?

The myth at work in this piece is that if you believe in yourself and trust yourself than you can do anything no matter what it is. Nike is there to help you facilitate those beliefs.

Did the piece use official or unofficial language?  Was it affective?
 
The piece used official language. It was clear and concise. I believe it was effective in getting across the intended message.

What was the purpose of the piece?

The purpose of the piece was to get people to believe and trust in themselves and the possibilities of what can be achieved if you work hard enough at it. It was also trying to promote Nike sporting good products. Not sure which ones they were selling though.

What was the intended demographic of the piece?  Did the piece successfully target that demographic?  How did it accomplish this or why did it fail?

The intended demographic of the piece could be boys, girls, men and women who are interested in sports and personal growth. I think this piece hit the intended demographic because it was very broad, therefore reaching a broad audience.

How do you feel the piece substantiated brand?

I don’t think they substantiated brand very well in this piece. The only logo you see is at the very end and it is so small you can barely see it. I feel as though they were trying to get a message across rather than selling their products.