Dasani Vending Machine

Item: Dasani Beverage Vending Machine

Location in School: Cafeteria, towards the South-East corner

Brand(s): Dasani, Minute Maid.

Corporation: The Coca-Cola Company

Company Motivation: To sell beverages.

My Thoughts: In a school relatively advertisement free, the large vendingmachines throughout the school stand out as corporate billboards. Given, I’m not going to complain about the presence of bottled water in schools, except for the price (ba-dum tssss.) With a quick Google search I learned that Dasani is owned by Coca-Cola, one of the leading businesses in the beverage industry. Their website actually has a page devoted to their regulations regarding their sales in public schools(http://tinyurl.com/CCSchoolPolicy.) They seem to be surprisingly conscious of their product, and pledge to always provide healthy alternatives for their unhealthy counterparts.

Even though they pledge to have “commercial-free classrooms,” the Dasani vending machine still clearly promotes the brand, even though subtler vending machines are a valid option.

Item: University of Oregon Poster

Location in School: Ms. McLellarn’s classroom

Brand: University of Oregon

Corporation: N/A

Motivation: Recruit and encourage students to attend their school.

My Thoughts: Cleveland High and UO have always gone hand in hand, and many of our departing seniors are headed their way. UO’s literature throughout the school is in place to raise awareness of their college and its benefits. The poster is pretty subtle, as far as ads go. In fact only the signature duck mascot, the large O on the lower left, and the blurb of fine print really provide any indication as to what it promotes. Even in a commercial-free school I would expect to see college fliers out and abundant.

Blazers Sticker

Item: Portland Trail Blazers Window Sticker

Location in School: Ground floor of the East Wing

Brand: Portland Trail Blazers Basketball

Corporation: The National Basketball Association

Company Motivation: N/A

My Thoughts: This one was most likely not knowledgably placed in the school by the administration, but rather a teacher who wishes Greg Oden had better knees; a Blazers fan. It’s really only a small logo, and placed in a location making it mainly visible to people leaving the classroom. Still, a brand (The Blazers) is being represented. Paul Allen & Co spread their influence all around Portland, and Cleveland is no exception. This image, in some odd way, represents all the jerseys, bags, and caps that pass through the doors of our school each day. Out of curiosity, I looked up what products the official Blazers store produces.

That’s a fair amount of gear, and I’m sure much more is being produced by their affiliates. There might even be enough merchandise to rival Biebs.

Girl Who Fell From the Sky Promotional Poster

Item: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky Promotional Poster

Location in School: Mr. Hillis’ Classroom

Brand: Algonquin Books

Corporation: Workman Publishing Company

Company Motivation: To promote a new book.

My Thoughts: This novel was our official Cleveland book of the year this year, if I’m not mistaken. Copies of the book are all over the school, but seeing this poster surprised me a bit. You can’t really tell from the photo, but the poster is a good 2-3 feet tall. I was surprised that a school on a tight budget had bought or been given this gratuitous piece of cardboard. Oh well, if it promotes reading, it’s all for a good cause.

Vending Machine Snacks

Item: Various Vending Machine Snacks

Location in School: Cafeteria, West side

Brand(s): Doritos, Cheez-It, Jack Link’s, Rice Krispie Treats, Corn Nuts, Nature Valley, Goldfish, Lays

Corporation(s): Pepperidge Farm, Kellogg, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Link Snacks

Company Motivation: Sell products, feed Taylor.

My Thoughts: %100 of products in this vending machine were what you would call brand-name, and I suspect this very machine contains the highest advertisement content per square foot in Cleveland. All of the products contained in it have their individual logos easily visible and facing out.

I do concede that it would be near-impossible to have a logo-less vending machine display; the bombardment of brands certainly stands out in the cafeteria. I imagine that eating your own lunch while sitting next to:

leaves you wanting to buy a bag.

Vitamin Water Zero

Item: Vitamin Water Zero

Location in School: Vitamin Water Vending Machine, in entrance to choir hallway.

Brand: Vitamin Water

Corporation: Glaceau

Company Motivation: To sell the product.

My Thoughts: Haha, oh wow. Glaceau’s website has an interactive in-depth display showing that Vitamin Water is as “pure as the first drop of rain.”

Pictured: rain.

Never has flavored water seemed so complex. But that’s aside the point. The Vitamin Water vending machine has the same tactic going on as the other machines. They make their product visible by placing it at a busy intersection of the school, showing that location is everything. In my class at least (opposite the machine,) “Can I go get a drink?” more often than not refers to the vending machine than the water fountain.

"America's Navy" Calendar

Item: “America’s Navy” Wall 2010-2011 Calendar

Location in School: Ms. McLellarn’s classroom, North wall

Brand: U.S. Naval Reserves

Corporation: U.S. Navy

Company Motivation: Encourage students to enroll in the Naval Reserve.

My Thoughts: This calendar is actually what got me thinking about choosing this as my project. Basically I saw it every day in class which got me wondering just how much advertising was in the school. The calendar is quite large, about 2X 2.5 feet, and seems grossly out of place in the classroom. Generally we are a Liberal school and this is the only example of military literature I can recall seeing around the building. The calander, though it doesn’t explicitly say it, is intended to get the kids interested in a military career.

It promotes this by showing images of strong people doing strong people things, but maintaining the function of a calendar so as not to end up in the recycling bin. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that a useable calendar sponsored by the National Education Association was pinned underneath.

Welp, how’s that for advertising?