Entry #6 Starbucks or Dutch Bros?

Where do you go when you want some energy? Some might go to Starbucks or Dutch Bros. 

Orginally Starbucks was founded first in 1971, and Dutch Bros was founded in 1992. So starbucks been around since forever!  This might be a very biased blog but personally they are both overrated. Every time I go to starbucks I have have the rudest staff members, and I understand they might be overworked but they shouldn't give out poor customer service! Starbucks is truly overpriced for what they serve. For example for the price of a grande Espresso Frappuccino is $6.19 and at Dutch Bros the price of an medium golden eagle freeze is $4.25, they are very similar but prices vary. If anyone is confused on the sizes Starbucks grande contains 16 fuid ounces while at Dutch Bros medium contains 24 fluid ounces. As you can tell Dutch Bros is financially better but but still expensive if you buy everyday.

In addition, if we compare their drink options they are quite similar but if we compare the food items; Starbucks have breakfast and lunch options, such as sandwiches and croissants.(My favorite) They even provide there bestselling cakepops everyone loves. While Dutch Bros only have cookies, I think it's obvious Starbucks takes the win for that.

   Finally, I have surveyed my family on whose is better. There was a total of 6 people, and disappointly it was split in half. 3 people chose Dutch Bros and the other 3 chose Starbucks. Although my family did hesitate to make a decision on which was better, which tells me both are great. However, if I were to chose one it would be Starbucks because of the tasty treats!

  

Entry #5 Allstate Mayhem Commercial

 I chose the Allstate mayhem commercial where Dean Winters portrays as a teenage girl in a pink truck. This ad is hilariously accurate to teenage girls because first of all you see a bright pink truck. Which every girl dreams of! Mayhem coming out of the movies with his bedazzled flip phone and bright pink glasses!

The author of the commercial wanted us to see a glimpse of how teenage girls can be when driving. I believe they wanted us to feel how scared the parents would have been! The target audience was intended for parents and teenagers, probably because the parents should see the reality of teenagers on the road and for the teenagers because they can be as reckless as Mayhem!

The advertisement then proceeds to show Mayhem reading a text message from BFF Becky saying she's kissed Johnny then proceeds to say, "well that's a problem because I like Johnny, now im emotionally compromised and .... "WHOOSPIE." Mayhem runs into a car then drives off! He then says unfazed, "OMG Becky's not even hot!" It then cuts off to say,"If you got cut-rate insurance, you can be paying for this yourself." Meaning if you have the lowest monthly insurance, the hit-and-run teenager is not going to pay for it; you are. With Allstate, he says, "you can save money and be protected from Mayhem like me."

The commerical can be seen to capitalize on the stereotype that women are bad drivers, especially young teenage girls. For some people it may offensive and for some it may be hilariously funny. (Hilarious for me!) There is also an underlying critique about the dangers of texting and driving which caused the accident in the first place. This emphasis implies that teenage girls will text about issues that are "not serious" and because of that, they will cause accidents. However, it is very true if you text and drive that can cause an accident but the number of stereotypes in this advertisement is socially incorrect. I'm sure everyone has had this type of behavior behind the wheel from both male and female, young and old. On a final note, the commercial is still a funny advertisement with all the meaning behind it, the ad is doing what they intended to do, grabbing your attention and think about how you drive and if you need to rethink your auto insurance with Allstate!

Entry #4 Stanley Cup Craze

How many of you have been easily influenced to buy something just cause you saw a celebrity using it? Guilty. I been influenced to buy a Stanley cup just for the aestheic and hype for it, but the hype for the brand-new Stanley Cup collection is insane! By now everyone knows the stanley cup "craze" on social media. Back in November of 2023 people camped outside the starbucks for the Starbucks limited-edition red chrome cups. That was only the beginning of it, the certified cup girlies had no intentions of slowing down. 

Fully stocked shelf.

Everytime the "girly" Stanley cups got restocked in target, fights broke out. With a fully stocked shelf; went empty within four minutes.

Empty Shelf.

The Stanley cup craze leaves us questioning “What is so special about this cup?”, Although these cups are cute but not worth taking a punch for!

Target Fights

 If you're wondering, Why fight over stanley cups? Well if you are familiar with TikTok you might of seen Gen Z helping the cup go viral. Way before that they been around since 1913; cups were designed to keep hot drinks hot and cold icy drinks so cold your ice wont melt all week!

Stanley corporation antisipated the cups to go to male customers for campers or labor workers outside but they noticed they were gaining traction with women, so they shifted their product design to fit that new market. Due to that they started targeting their audience towards women with coming out with more colors and designs.

Coming back to the target fights, with all this going on we get to see a psychological phenomenon of the bandwagon effect. This is all psychological, Social media helps trust in a purchaser through influencers reviews and experiences. Then the consumers compare and contrast to keep up with the latest trends.

The truth is Stanley isnt just a cup anymore. It's ascended to a higher power. It's part of the aethetic of 2024. The more Stanley cups are sold out, the more people want it! But for a $45 cup is outrageous. The real question is, "Do I need a Pink Stanley cup?" the answer is, "Probaly not." but I just easily been influenced by the pretty pink color!