NFL and Domestic Violence

Violent acts towards women by professional football players isn't something new to the NFL, and have always been swept under the rug, but this season has proven to pan out differently.  There were multiple large scandals that took hold of the news early this fall, one of those being Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Let's not forget about Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers, and of course OJ Simpson who was acquitted of murdering his wife in 1995. 

According to an analysis by Five Thirty Eight, domestic violence accounts for 48 percent of the NFL's violent crime arrests, but among average males that percent is much lower at 21 percent. 

Since 1994 the NFL has tried to take steps into handling situations of domestic violence, NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell tried to revise a personal conduct policy in 2007, but this year in the way he handled situations when it came to Adrian Peterson and the accusations of child abuse, he seemed to keep quiet and hide away if he wasn't digging himself a hole with what he was trying to do in front of a national audience. 

This commercial shows NFL players speechless when it comes to trying to talk about domestic violence for a campaign called No More that is seeking to end the stigma of domestic violence or sexual assault. They are aligned with hundreds of organizations working at the local, state, and national levels on prevention, advocacy, and services for survivors. 

Since February of 2014, the NFL has been taking a hit on these players giving the NFL a bad reputation and image. Too me it sends the message that it's okay for high paid professional football players to get away with murder, rape, violence  or even drugs, but for the rest of the world you are put away in prison for life. These are people just like everyone else, and being suspended for a couple games or the season, isn't much of a punishment that sends a direct message to the players I think. I think that if players do any violent crime, they should be treated like everyone else, no more football career, just a life in prison and whatever money they have can go to the family that suffered a loss or charity for organizations that are there to prevent or help survivors of violent crimes.

Also, why does the commercial seem like a "suck up" to the public? To me the commercial is to help cover the butts of the NFL as a whole entity, but where are the women or children who could attest to such crimes? Wouldn't that be more of an impact and hit home to not only the public, but players? Something needs to change in the NFL, and not just a coverup commercial from a public relations stand point. Real actions need to be taken to punish players, which I think is why the NFL has had such a hard time on bringing back and suspending Peterson a few times this season, they just aren't sure what to do with the public mad at the players. One thing that wont change, at least for a few more years, is that regardless of what the players and the NFL are doing, people will continue to watch football on Sunday and Monday nights. 

Stereotyping

When we see commercials on the tube how many of us are actually paying attention to what is going on. We see women in all the cleaning commercials doing laundry, washing dishes, or making dinner for the family. Does anyone ever stop to think, that it's purposely placing women in these old stereotypical jobs within the household. Today women do a lot more then clean and cook around the house, so do the men of the household. It's not just women that are being stereotyped though, men are also seen as being in the "handy man" commercials always fixing things. Not only that, but the stereotypical impression created by much of the commercial marketing is that having an abundance of possessions will lead to fulfillment and happiness, but the opposing message is that the consumer will not be part of the happy group if they don't purchase the product. 

I realize that marketers are trying to group people in a market segmentation, but they also have to remember that in todays society, men and women are a lot more versatile in things they can do and it's important in my mind for marketers to cut through the clutter and express that in their advertising techniques and campaigns. The main problem with stereotyping is that it may cause you to judge someone unfairly, based on previous experiences with others.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me
flittering
from the
autumn tree.

One of the Many Issues Within Advertising

As someone who hates commercials on the tube or the radio, it’s hard to appreciate those who work their butts off in the marketing world to come up with those 30 second to one-minute clips. The annoying blurbs of color and sound that are supposed to grab our attention and get us to buy something, or convince us we have some hidden disease. Some of the advertising companies thrive by coming up catchy songs, slogans, or stupid commercials that can never be unseen or unheard from our minds again, they are forever engraved, which I guess is one way marketers succeed. One that comes to mind immediately is the radio jingle “1-800-411-PAIN” that a consumer would call if they’ve been in a car accident.

I personally believe that marketers try too hard to get our attention to focus on one product that is ‘better” than the rest. One of my biggest pet peeves that I have with todays marketing behaviors is the manipulation of images of people in commercials and advertisements. I also think this is a large marketing issue because with advertisers using Photoshop to edit, touch up, or airbrush out imperfections to make a photo, actor, or model appear more attractive, what kind of messages are those marketers sending girls and boys growing up? Sometimes this sort of manipulation that is meant to be subtle goes too far.

With young girls being most vulnerable, they are often bombarded with images of “perfect” bodies. With younger minds being more impressionable, in every magazine, commercial, movie, or television show they see it all sends the same message: this is how you should look and behave and if you don’t look this way or act like this then something is wrong with you. These unrealistic goals set out by society, by marketers, is unrealistic and can add to anxiety and stress to growing up and can even last into adulthood.

Of course school counselors and parents try to teach their children the differences between what is real and fake, but with the amount of ads a child or teenager sees on a daily basis, it can still be hard to differentiate as a young person. Below is a link to The Perfect Lie, a short video on how the ads of women we see in our day-to-day lives, cause young girls and even adult women to think and how Photoshop works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUb5PZHcovA

“Advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it,” said Chuck Blore, a partner in the advertising firm Chuck Blore and Don Ruchman, Inc. While this quote may be true in the world of marketing, how far must you go to “arrest” someone’s mind to implant an idea in order to make money off it, if how you are going about selling the item is detrimental to the generation growing up?

I think marketers today would get a lot more attention, praise, following and money if they were to keep their photos and commercials as realistic as possible. Sending a positive message to young girls and even boys growing up that it is okay to be who you are, look how you look, and act how you act because we all think differently and are unique, but that is what makes us beautiful. Marketers need to be a leader of their own brands that they advertise to society everyday, not a follower of other marketing strategies and norms. I guarantee that marketers can find a way to show a commercial or put out a picture of a girl advertising their brand in a magazine or on a billboard, without making girls feel like they need to achieve some unrealistic goal of being perfect.

Companies like Dove and American Eagle have successfully advertised their products without enhancing pictures of their models. Dove specifically advertises women with full healthy figures, instead of having a tall size zero models like Victoria Secret. I applaud companies like such who decide to step outside the box of marketing strategies to make the “perfect” girl, because there is no perfect girl. Once big name companies grasp what these two companies have realized and jump on the train to success, girls and women in society can feel comfortable in their own skin, marketers can stop lying, and those companies will get more appreciation and money from their target audience.

A Tainted Truth

Many people believe every age marks something significant, that you should accomplish a certain something by a certain time. Your first kiss, losing your virginity, getting married. Learning to drive, knowing what you want to be, succeeding in your goals. But that’s not true. Let things just happen. Make sure you’re ready. Stay wise. Give yourself time to develop. There is no rush to live.

THERE IS A LITTLE TRUTH BEHIND EVERY 

{ just kidding }

A LITTLE CURIOSITY BEHIND EVERY

{ just wondering }

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE BEHIND EVERY

{ I don't know }

AND A LITTLE EMOTION BEHIND EVERY

 { i don't care }