Plato on reality and the soul Essay Example for Free

Plato on reality and the soul Essay Socrates believed that the soul is pure and the body is corrupted, where wisdom is accounted for the soul and needs, thus the materialistic and carnal desires are to the body. Plato’s Phaedo discussed in the world of forms. Any entity or object has a quality or feature or multiple properties. And these properties are prior conditioned to the soul. Plato’s metaphysics can be drawn primarily from the influence of his teachers Paramenides, Heraclitus, and of course Socrates. First, the concept from Parmenides’ belief that there could be only one being, and this is a never changing entity. It has a static quality. This is where Plato derived his concept of the world of forms. It is a different concept in the material world wherein it is an always changing world. Change can be accounted as the only thing common and the only thing consistent as Heraclitus described the notion of â€Å"flux†. Academicians account that most of Plato’s thinking was influenced by Socrates. Socrates however was not at all articulate in conveying a Metaphysical or Epistemological discussion; rather, he conveyed more ethical notions. For Socrates, The idea is for one to take care of the soul so one can be happy, or attain the truth. This is especially true and evident in the Phaedo where Plato accounts the last hours before Socrates separated his soul from the body. Plato’s Metaphysics can be analyzed as a completion of that of Socrates’. The notion of the world of forms or the world of ideas is an eternal and immovable form. In contrast to this world is Chaos or the world of objects which receives the form. For example, an artist created a vase; the material form of this object is only a receiver or only partakes into the idea of the vase. The object is thus not a perfect representation of the real idea of the vase. The two worlds are joined together which infuses the soul and makes possible to Heraclitus’ idea of the visible world. The world of forms can be stated as perfect and the world of objects as an approximation of it. This meant that men strive to achieve it but fall short of achieving such perfection because the body is corrupted. Forms are independent and the world of objects is dependent to forms because they seek to compare to the perfect image. But because the senses are blurred they can never be perfect. It is also evident this pattern of ideas based on Socrates. Plato points out that a man seeks for the truth and in this speculative journey makes a man better and in turn achieve good. Another evident notion of this is in discussing perfect equality. When you look at perfect equality, you notice that it is not perfectly equal. There and then we can suppose that the idea of this equality had been existent to the soul prior to the unison of it with the body. This intensifies the ideas that the soul existed before the body. However, once the soul was united with the body, the soul’s knowledge of ideas falls into the subconscious. During sleep, man reminisces and recognizes the world of Ideas and thus there is realization. The soul from the moment it unites with the body recognizes an irrational soul that is derived from the corruption of the material world, dissatisfaction and the seeking of pleasure. This soul is situated in the heart. The soul that comes from the world of Forms is situated in the head, on top of the irrational soul, controlling its impulses and conditions the body to live within the confines of reason. Plato in his writings in the Republic described that the end result of an individual in the Good. In his society (or the republic), he stated that this is the final goal of everyone and it is not just a reward. A just man, one of Plato’s virtues, is rewarded not only in this lifetime but until one is reincarnated. This eminent idea that the soul preexisted before the body in the world of forms and its separation of the soul to reach the world of forms represents how the soul is immortal. For Plato, there is a division between the world of forms and the world of objects. In his analogy of the sun, he contrasted the two as those that are merely visible and those of intellectual value. He further explains this through the analogy of the line. Plato described four forms of knowledge. One is of the idea of pure images, dreams and imaginations. In account to the concept of the soul, as discussed earlier, the soul in the preexistence of the body originally comes from the world of Forms. Once the soul infuses with the body, all its knowledge of the world of forms becomes part of the subconscious. Through dreams and the imagination, which is a process of the head, the seat of the rational soul, it recounts and reminisces the truths in the world of forms. The next is the perception of sensible objects that gives attribute and judgment to visible materials. We imply that a certain item has such an attribute but it can change in another similar form. Another one is of mathematical knowledge which is not a perfect knowledge and one of philosophical knowledge that explains more the ideas as eternal and absolute realities. The four types of knowledge can be condensed into two more specific forms. The first two can be accounted as opinions for the things in which we perceive through sensing may look like such in one way and different in another. Another one is called understanding, in which the realities of these objects can or cannot be. It is a more logical, scientific knowledge. The idea of the soul reaching the world of forms is from an inferior to a superior level and its main goal is to reach that state where happiness exists. In the world of objects, there is always dissatisfaction. He further illustrates his ideas through the cave. He stated that the world the secludes us is an illusion to what is the truth, once we step out of the cave we get blinded by the light but as we refocus and look not into the reflections and shadows, but the real perfect forms,we see the truth and the real objects. This process of release from the cave to the outside world represents enlightenment, which in the case of Socrates’ beliefs is the separation of the soul to the body, to attain the truth. In Phaedo, Socrates sums up these arguments and philosophical intertwines by pursuing death himself. According to Socrates, the only way for one to attain the truth from all the imitations and corruptions of the material world is through death. One should never be afraid of something that would give enlightenment. Man should even welcome it when the time arrives. The world of objects prohibits a man to philosophize, thus he has a hard time attaining this virtue of justice and good. There are various distractions that hinder man to the truth. Death for Socrates is the liberation of the soul. Death is also not merely a separation of the soul and body. It is a process and an end state that progresses to achieve the truth. Dissatisfactions, pleasures, emotions inhibit the call of reason and wisdom thus inhibiting philosophy. This separation is an ultimate embrace to the truth until the time comes when the soul unites with a body as an incarnate. Plato ultimately bridges the connection between the soul and the world of forms. As is reiterated, the ultimate goal of man is good, happiness and wisdom. These ideas or forms are not of existence in the world of objects. The world of objects, are perceived representations of man through various forms of knowledge, (of opinions and of logical knowledge). The objects man builds are imitations, thus they are not perfect. Man has a perception of what is perfect because the rational soul is of prior existence in the world of forms. The world of objects cannot be perfect and man cannot be happy because the human body is predisposed to various entanglements with pleasures, emotions, diseases, and imperfections. Philosophers are to accept death for it liberates man from the soul. The soul has its ultimate goal in essence is to go back to the world of forms. In that way he would be able to attain good.

Global warming affecting fashion industry

Global warming affecting fashion industry Global Warming Affecting Fashion Industry According to an interesting article in Australias The Age, global warming is wreaking havoc on the clothing industry. In many parts of the world, there just isnt as much difference between the seasons anymore and overall the trend is towards warmer weather. The clothing industry relies on delineated seasons to sell different types of apparel. But if you can wear flip flops all year long (and not just in Southern California), clothing sales will drop. Warmer weather also affects the type of fabrics designers use and the styling. It is forcing fashion houses to ditch traditional seasonal collections for transeasonal garments that may lead to a drastic overhaul of fashion show schedules and retail delivery dates. The whole fashion system will have to change, Beppe Modenese, founder of Milan Fashion Week, told The New York Times last week. The fashion system must adapt to the reality that there is no strong difference between summer and winter any more You cant have everyone showing four times a year to present the same thing. People are not prepared to invest in these clothes that, from one season to the other, use the same fabrics at the same weight. Mr Modeneses comments came as New York fashion retailers blamed a prolonged Indian summer for poor autumn sales. Who needs a woollen pea coat when it is 30 degrees-plus? So worried are some fashion houses about the impact climate change is having on the way we dress and shop, they are calling in the climate experts. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that American retail giant Liz Claiborne Inc had enlisted a New York climatologist to speak to 30 of its executives on topics ranging from the types of fabrics they should be using to the timing of retail deliveries and seasonal markdowns. Other US fashion retailer giants, including Target and Kohls, have also started using climate experts to plan their collections and schedule end-of-season sales. And from January, Target will sell swimwear year-round. Closer to home, fashion designers say they are increasingly designing transeasonal collections using lighter- weight fabrics for a more temperate climate and readjusting their in-store delivery dates in line with the unpredictable seasons. Theres really no such thing as defined autumn/winter and spring/summer collections any more, says Margaret Porritt, of Melbourne fashion label Feathers. A lot of my garments are more transeasonal and rather than dropping them into store twice a year like I used to, I tend to move things in and out of store every couple of weeks, depending on the weather. Things were different when she started the business 35 years ago. Back then winter went into store in mid-January and summer in mid-June and that was it. There was nothing in between. I also used a lot more heavier wools and made great big heavy coats. I cant do that anymore; it just doesnt get cold enough, even here in Melbourne. They just dont sell. Its true that we dont buy as much heavy winter clothing as we used to, now that we think about it. And our boot purchases have also tapered off, which is a shame since we adore boots. But unlike Mary-Kate Olsen, we just cant wear sweaters, coats and boots on an 80 degree day. We adore winter clothes: cashmere sweaters, fabulous boots, wonderful hats and a gorgeous coat all make an appearance after the first frost. The thought of living year round in shorts is appalling to us. We may have to consider moving north in the future. Wednesday, February 07, 2007 10:51 posted by BlogMeister Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments American Fashion Industry Issues, Fails to Enforce Health Guidelines New Yorks February fashion week is one of the industrys most lavish, celebrated events. Amid the lights, parties and big names, it would seem to be very easy to forget the issue that has wracked fashion for the past year: the increasing prevalence of eating disorders among models and the young women they influence. Where Spains Association of Fashion Designers passed a ruling to forbid the participation of models with BMIs lower than 18 (the World Health Organization states that 18.5 or below is underweight) and asserted that display clothes be no smaller than size 8 (the average American woman wears size 14), the Council of Fashion Designers of America issued a statement containing general guidelines but no plans for direct enforcement. Among their suggestions: There should be no models under 16 and no work after midnight for models 18 and younger; the consumption of cigarettes and alcohol on location should be forbidden; statements on the early signs of eating disorders should be officially issued to those in the industry; models identified as suffering from eating disorders should be required to receive professional help; the industry should develop workshops designed to address the impact of eating disorders and the negative effects of smoking; organizers should provide healthy snacks backstage during shows. Glaringly absent from this list are any mentions of body mass or plans for enforcing the guidelines proposed within. While designer-sponsored press releases and conferences convey some degree of responsibility on the industrys behalf, they ultimately amount to little beyond empty attempts to satiate the publics desire for some form of regulation. Designers attempt to shift blame to the modeling agencies themselves which, they argue, serve as the mother(s) of the models. The idea that these agencies should control the eating habits of their models while designers continue to showcase remarkably small clothing is difficult to rationalize. In another flaccid attempt to deflect criticism, the organizations executive director claims that A lot of the girls who work the runway are genetically thin. You go backstage and you see a lot of girls eating a lot of food and theyre not gaining weight. Statements like these strain credibility, and many eating disorder advocates are not satisfied wi th the measures taken thus far, believing that PR campaigns and suggested guidelines constitute an insufficient response to a very serious problem. In a society where more than 80% of ten-year old girls describe a fear of getting fat and one in two fourth graders are currently on some kind of diet, those who are even indirectly responsible for shaping the popular conception of beauty and body image need to reassess their own principles. After viewing photos of fashion models, 70% of young women described themselves as angrier and more depressed than they had been before. In surveys, three out of four women listed an ideal size at least 10% underweight. And despite the presence of eating disorders and body image issues across the social spectrum, most insurance companies hesitate to approve treatment for these conditions, essentially making the argument that the issue is not a matter of diagnosable disease but a faulty sense of self-control. Designers, advertisers and models themselves argue that they have no control over the state of their industry and the ideals it projects they simply go along with whatever sells at the time . Who, then, is responsible, if not the producers of the very images that encourage the epidemic? PR campaigns aside, consumers and public health advocates cannot tolerate this continued reassignment of blame. The fashion industry must own up to its pivotal role in the eating disorder debate and strictly enforce regulations designed to promote healthier, more realistic lifestyles. Category: Diet , Aging and Eating Disorders

brief comment on the call of the wild :: essays research papers

Mystic journey to the wildness ------ Book report of The call of the wild T he call of the wild is, Jack London's classic 1903 story of Buck, a courageous dog fighting for survival in the Alaskan wilderness, is widely considered to be his masterpiece. Sometimes wrongly considered simply a children's novel, this epic vividly evokes the harsh and frozen Yukon during the Gold Rush. As Buck is ripped from his pampered surroundings and shipped to Alaska to be a sled dog, his primitive, wolflike nature begins to emerge. Savage struggles and timeless bonds between man, dog, and wilderness are played to their heartrending extremes, as Buck undertakes a mystic journey that transforms him into the legendary "Ghost Dog" of the Klondike. Above all, I consider it one of the best and fascinating books I’ve ever read. Summery of the book: Buck is a privileged, dignified dog who is taken from his southern Californian home and shipped to Alaska during the 1890's Gold Rush. Along the way, Buck is mistreated by a series of owners, and he learns to survive as a member of a dog sled team. As a result, Buck soon realizes that in these more primitive settings, "the law of club and fang" overrides the rules of civilized society. With each new experience Buck regresses, or reverts to a more primitive state. Finally, an experience of loss challenges Buck's last ties to civilization. Thoughts after reading: Having read the book, I was lost deep in meditation. I began to think all sorts of questions about the main character----Buck. His fightings and struggles against both the exterior severe natural environment and the interior instinct tied with the call of the wild, constructed the main frames of the story. During the processes of receding from the civilized world to the wildness, Buck experienced cruelty and brutality. And in this competitive world, in order to survive, he must adapt to it. He became more swift, more cunning, and spontaneous. As a dog, Buck has his own characters, psyches, emotions and thoughts, he accomplished his conquer not only through strength but also wisdom. Consequently, I was extremely fascinated and charmed by him. To some extent, what was written in the story does have their reflections in the reality. There are certainly cruel competitions in the current society, in order to achieve one’s long-dreamed aims, one also have to fight bloodily. However Buck’s courage, striving, patience and persistence inspired me.

jesse jackson, jr :: essays research papers

Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. began service in the United States House of Representatives on December 12, 1995, as he was sworn in as a member of the 104th Congress, the 91st African American ever elected to Congress. Representative Jackson currently sits on the House Appropriations Committee, serving on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education as well as the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs. Prior to his congressional service, Representative Jackson served as the National Field Director of the National Rainbow Coalition. In this role, he instituted a national nonpartisan program that successfully registered millions of new voters. He also created a voter education program to teach citizens the importance of participating in the political process, including how to use technology to win elections and more effectively participate in politics. Having been born in the midst of the voting rights struggle on March 11, 1965, Representative Jackson spent his twenty-first birthday in a jail cell in Washington, D.C. for taking part in a protest against apartheid at the South African Embassy. He also demonstrated weekly in front of the South African Consulate in Chicago. Representative Jackson had the privilege of sharing the stage with Mr. Nelson Mandela during his historic speech to the world following a 27-year imprisonment in Cape Town. In 1987, Representative Jackson graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management. Three years later, he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Theology from the Chicago Theological Seminary, and in 1993, received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Type II Diabetes :: Health, Diseases

Introduction Type II diabetes is a heterogeneous syndrome results from the progressive defects of impairment of ß- cell insulin secretion and insulin resistant of the target tissues. It also increases due to the rising rate of obesity which involves the deficiency of insulin to compensate for insulin resistance by increasing insulin secretion [1]. However it is increasingly clear that reductions in insulin sensitivity and ß- cell functions leads to the rise of type II diabetes [2]. The normal pancreatic ß- cells displaying the remarkable response to nutrients and obesity – associated insulin resistance by the hyper secretion of insulin to maintain fuel homeostasis. But the cellular resistance unable to sustain the ß– cells compensatory response in type II diabetes [3]. Although the cause of the metabolic deterioration is unknown, but several hypothesis have been proposed including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, ER stress, and gluco-lip otoxicity [4, 5]. Recent studies with intensive investigations suggesting that elevated glucose along with circulating free fatty acids distributed especially from the intra abdominal fat are the major culprits of insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction [6, 7]. But the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of gluco-lipotoxicity contribute to ß- cell dysfunction and loss in type II diabetes remains debated. A recent observation from experimental, clinical and genetic evidence suggests endoplasmic reticulum was responsible for molecular mechanism of gluco-lipotoxicity which may contribute to ß - cell dysfunction in type II diabetes [8, 9]. In this review, we discussed about the involvement of ER in gluco-lipotoxicity induced ß- cell dysfunction along with the brief involvement of mitochondria. ER stress response Adaptation to metabolic changes requires the high regulation and co-ordination of many homeostatic systems, since the quality and quantity of available nutrients does not temporally match their needs. Pancreatic ß - cells displaying remarkable response to nutrients by the balance between the anabolic hormone insulin and the catabolic hormone glucagon in order to maintain fuel homeostasis. For an appropriate response, the cells require the development of suitable sensors and signaling molecules, which integrates all these signals into an appropriate insulin secretory rate in order to maintain homeostasis.

When the Levees Broke Rhetorical Analysis

Chase Caldwell Professor Gwaltney English 1102 14 March 2013 When The Levees Broke Rhetorical Analysis Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana on the morning of August 29, 2005. The storm produced sustained winds of up 125 mph when it hit that morning. On that same day Katrina caused 53 different levee breaches in greater New Orleans, spilling the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into the city and flooding an overwhelming majority of New Orleans.The floodwaters destroyed countless homes and lives along the way. Some estimates of the cost of Katrina were up in the 200 billions but according to Kimberly Amadeo, â€Å"The actual cost of Hurricane Katrina's damage was between $96-$125 billion, with $40-$66 billion in insured losses. † This statistic makes Katrina one of the most expensive natural disasters to ever hit the United States. Money wasn’t the only thing that was lost; the storm killed roughly 1,500 people in Louisiana alone.Floodwaters stayed in New Orleans for weeks leaving many people stranded and fighting for their lives. Post-Katrina New Orleans was a war zone with looting, shootings, robbery, and people desperately needing help from the government. Help was slow to arriving though. People went days and days without food or any kind of help at all. Many people died from all sorts of different causes. Deaths ranged from heat exhaustion in attics to drowning in the street and even in the victims own home.The majority of citizens of New Orleans’ ninth ward feel like the government did not take the right measures in getting help to the victims of the storm and they also feel like the destruction altogether could have been avoided had the levees been built correctly. The story of New Orleans and the failing levees is right up one filmmaker’s alley. Spike Lee is known to make movies that examine race relations and political issues. The story of New Orleans during Katrina touches on both of these subjects immensely. Thus, When t he Levees Broke was born.The documentary is a heart-wrenching medley of eyewitness accounts, video news footage, and photographs of the destruction that mix together in a way that shows Lee’s dissatisfaction with what happened during Katrina. Lee was legitimately upset about what happened in New Orleans during Katrina and even toys with the idea that the U. S. government blew up the levees to rid New Orleans of poor blacks. Needless to say, Lee will not hesitate to tell anyone what he believes and is the center of many different controversies in Hollywood. His personality is best described as that of a ticking time bomb.His feelings for the people of the ninth ward coupled with his outspokenness on political affairs and race relations were the driving force behind When The Levees Broke. Lee’s intended audience is really anyone who takes the time to watch his work. He really wanted to get the story out to the public and that is exactly what he did, he let the world see exactly what was happening in New Orleans without any sugar coating. Lee does not hesitate to put a floating, swollen dead body on screen just to let the viewers know the grotesque reality of what happened.Lee uses this documentary to voice his opinion against how the government handled Katrina. He felt that the government did not do what it should have done during this time and he shows his disappointment with the federal government through the movie. Lee conveys a huge array of arguments in this film from the government blowing up the levees to George Bush not caring about black people. Throughout all of these arguments his barebones, central argument is that the federal government did not fulfill its duty to the people of New Orleans during the Katrina catastrophe.Lee conveys this argument in a number of different ways. For instance, he conveys the argument by interviewing a multitude of people that lived through Katrina and has them explain their unrest and disappointment in the government on camera. He also shows photographs of posters and paintings that read things like â€Å"Where’s Fema? † and â€Å"Fuck Bush†. These tactics make it quite easy to see that Lee is upset with the Government. He uses a number of appeals to get his argument across. He mostly uses pathos by using horrific eyewitness accounts and gruesome photographs to stab at the audience’s emotions.The audience cannot help but feel terrible for the people who had to go through this. One of the worst feelings is watching someone cry over their lost home or hear an account of someone who comes home to their dead mother. Lee undoubtedly does a good job of evoking emotion from the audience. Lee interviews a melting pot of people in this documentary. It seems like there is an interviewee from almost every walk of life. In fact HBO explored just how many people Lee interviewed: Lee and his team selected close to 100 people from diverse backgrounds and representing a w ide range of opinions to nterview, including Governor Kathleen Blanco; Mayor Ray Nagin; residents Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, Kimberly Polk, Shelton â€Å"Shakespeare† Alexander and Rev. Williams; activists Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte; CNN's Soledad O'Brien; and musicians Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Kanye West. This works in his favor and adds to the ethos of the film. Since he is getting the opinions of a number of different people it shows more of the bigger picture and does not focus on only one person or one group of people.Diversity and unifying people under their disappointment with the government is a key part of his argument. This shows that he is not the only person that feels this way about the government, in fact everyone in the movie feels the same as he does. This can cause some speculation. Spike’s argument is not perfect. There are multiple flaws in the argument that can cause it to be discredited. For one, the opinions of his interviewees ar e so one-sided that the audience does not see a single glimpse of the other side of the spectrum.Not one person in the film seems satisfied with how the government handled the situation. In a way this discredits Spike Lee’s argument because it seems as if he is only showing you what he wants to show you. He shows you nothing good that the government did or people that are satisfied with how the government helped. The audience only sees the people who are disgruntled by Katrina who just want more and more help. It is hard to believe that there is not a single person in New Orleans who was not satisfied with the help that they received from the government.Mr. Lee simply does not show the satisfied citizens of NOLA. If he had shown these people then his argument would be much stronger. Also, Lee does evoke emotion in the audience but after a while it just becomes too much. After 4 hours of seeing wreckage and dead bodies you almost grow tired of feeling sorry for people. The fir st time you see a destroyed home or a dead body you want to cry for the victims but after hours and hours of seeing the same thing you become used to seeing it.Spike lee definitely evokes emotion but he should have done so more in moderation so the audience would not tire of feeling sorrow for the victims. Lee’s background as an outspoken critic that really just seems to love controversy also discredits his argument. It is as if Lee could be making this film to just stir up controversy in Hollywood because that is what he seems to love to do. He has had countless run-ins with almost every director in the business from Tarantino to Tyler Perry. He imply loves controversy so why would he not take this story and blow it up and make a huge controversy out of it? It would not be out of character for him to do so. That is why his argument can be somewhat discredited by his background. It is not unlikely that Lee took this story and made it a huge ordeal just to stir up controversy in Washington and against Bush, whom he does not support. The story is really just a perfect opportunity to pin people against Bush. His background, one-sidedness, and excess of pathos all hurt his argument greatly.When the Levees Broke is a Spike Lee documentary that tells the story of the destruction that Katrina and a failed levee system had on New Orleans, Louisiana. The creator uses the film in an attempt to argue that the federal government did not do its part to help the people of New Orleans after the disaster. However, he fails at arguing that point due to his one-sidedness and his personal background. During the film, interviewees all agree on the consensus that the government did not help out how they should have but no one thinks that they did a good job of helping out.This just shows that Lee is only showing the audience what he wants them to see. If he had shown both sides of this argument and disproved the opposing side his argument would have been much stronger. Also , Lee’s personal identity as one who loves controversy discredits his argument in that it appears to be just another one of his critiques. He has so many critiques of things that this argument really just gets lost in the sea of them all. Works Cited Amadeo, Kimberly. About. com. The New York Times Company. n. d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. HBO. com. n. p. n. d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

The Hummer Campaign: An Overview

OVERVIEW When General Motors Corporation (GM) acquired the commercial marketing rights to the Hummer truck, the civilian version of the U. S. Army’s Humvee, it faced the challenge of promoting a vehicle that was never intended to be sold in high numbers. Part of the solution was to design smaller, less-expensive versions, the H2 and H3, but much of the success would have to depend on the marketing. Rather than turning to a roster of ad agencies it usually worked with, GM hired a young Boston creative boutique, Modernista! , in 2000. The initial goal of the $35 million campaign, begun in August 2001, was to establish Hummer as a luxury brand. Thus, images ofmud-splatteredHummers that played up the vehicle’s off-road capabilities were scrapped in favor of shots that made it seem jewel-like. Once the brand was repositioned, the marketers’ goal was to pitch the lower-priced H2 and H3 to a wider market, hopefully to more women. Factors such as rising gas prices and the perception that the Hummer was oversized for most consumers proved to be major hurdles for the marketers. However, by the end of 2003 the campaign had succeeded in redefining the Hummer brand, and with the introduction of the H3 in 2005, the marketers took on a new challenge: selling the Hummer to a mass market. HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Humvee was designed for the U. S. Army in 1979 by AM General Corp. , based in South Bend, Indiana. The 3. 5-ton vehicle became a star of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, spurring consumer demand for a civilian version, which was introduced in 1992 as the Hummer. It catered to an exclusive market, as demonstrated by the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the first buyers. The vehicle never received much advertising support; AM General spent less than $1 million on marketing the Hummer in 1999, when it sold about 700 of the trucks. Nevertheless, AM General did enough business to attract the attention of General Motors, and in the end bought the Hummer brand in late 1999. GM signed a seven-year contract with AM General to produce the next generation, GM-designed version, the Hummer H2 sport-utility vehicle (SUV). The agency Modernista! was hired to promote the brand. Prior marketing efforts had played up the military connection and the Hummer’s off-road capabilities, billing the vehicle as ‘‘the world’s most serious 4Ãâ€"4. ’’ Modernista! won the account because it was the only agency that attempted to fashion a wider appeal by going beyond the tough-guy, army-truck image. The principals involved in the campaign did not lack experience in selling cars. Modernista! ’s cofounder, Lance Jensen, had worked with Hummer’s advertising director, Liz Vanzura, when she was at Volkswagen of America and he was with the Boston-based ad agency Arnold Communications. Both played key roles in developing Volkswagen’s award-winning ‘‘Drivers Wanted’’ campaign. Vanzura commented that, while the Volkswagen ads were aimed at ‘‘cool, young people,’’ her new mission was to sell Hummers to ‘‘cool, rich people. ’’ TARGET MARKET Even before hiring Modernista! , GM had done a great deal of market research. According to Ted Evanoff, writing for the Indianapolis Star, ‘‘In 1999 researchers stumbled across the notion that an unlikely cross-section of America—surgeons, dot-com millionaires, rock stars, high school students, corporate execs—prized their individuality. And they regarded the rugged Hummer as a symbol of individuality, especially compared with the typical sport-utility common in suburbia. ’’ Modernista! was given 2,200 pages of market data to distill into an advertising message. The agency was also handed a brand that skewed very much toward males, averaging 50 years in age and with an annual household income of more than $200,000. The target buyer for the less-expensive H2, while still male, was 42 years old on average and had a household income above $125,000. Vanzura told Chris Reidy of the Boston Globe that the coveted audience included ‘‘rugged individualists, adventurous entrepreneurs, and adrenaline junkies. ’’ In other interviews she described the target market as ‘‘successful achievers’’ and ‘‘style leaders. ’’ She also told Evanoff that Hummer had to vie with other purchases the well-to-do might consider, such as yachts or vacation houses, stating, ‘‘We’re really not competing in an automotive category. ’ COMPETITION The yacht, vacation house, and other status symbols notwithstanding, Hummer competed in the luxury-SUV category against other SUVs, including the Lincoln Navigator, Land Rover’s Range Rover, and the Lexus LX 470. But Hummer’s chief opponent was DaimlerChrysler’s Jee p Wrangler. Boasting similar military roots but extending back to World War II, Jeep had defined the SUV category and at its height in 1993 controlled nearly 30 percent of the traditional SUV market. Over the following several years, however, the brand failed had to introduce new models, and its lessexpensive ones faced increasingly stiff competition, resulting in a severe erosion of sales. As long as Hummer was not a direct competitor, DaimlerChrysler took little notice of it, but as soon as GM acquired the right to mass-market the Hummer, DaimlerChrysler recognized the threat at the high end of the SUV category and became determined to hold on to Jeep’s reputation as the premier heavy-duty, off-road brand. The two vehicles had slightly different target markets, however. Jeep appealed to consumers who loved the outdoors and might attend one of the dozens of Jeep Jamboree off-road events held throughout the year. Typical Hummer customers, on the other hand, wanted the off-road capabilities the vehicle had to offer but were more interested in the image it created. They were as likely to drive their Hummers to an upscale mall as up a mountain. MARKETING STRATEGY In preparation for marketing the lower-priced H2, Modernista! instituted a bridge campaign, paid for by AM General, to sell the H1 while repositioning the brand. As Will Uronis, an associate creative director at Modernista! , explained to the Boston Herald ’s Greg Gatlin, ‘‘Hollywood had defined what Hummers stood for—war, explosions and arrogance . . . We just took a look at another facet of the truck. ’’ Jensen added, ‘‘We went out and talked to guys that drove them . . . they don’t all hunt and kill things. ’’ Nevertheless, Hollywood movies had done a good job of making consumers aware of the Hummer. Market research conducted in 1999 indicated that as many as one in five buyers of full-size SUVs considered purchasing the Hummer. The bridge campaign was intended to play to the ‘‘rugged individualists’’ who, research revealed, were attracted to the Hummer and to set the stage for the launch of theH2 by creating an emotional attachment to the brand that transcended the hard-edged image fostered by Hollywood. According to Evanoff, writing in the Indianapolis Star, the promotion of the H1 was intended to create a ‘‘halo’’ over the brand, providing ‘‘the foundation for a brand image that will carry the smaller H2. ’’ The first national ads for the GM-owned Hummer began appearing on August 13, 2001. It was an all-print campaign that featured photographs of the vehicle in lush locales in Chile. Not only did the pictures suggest where the H1, with its off-road prowess, could take the viewer, but they also made the big truck look small. It was the first time Hummer was not portrayed covered in mud or linked to the military. Reinforcing the visual message of the ad was the text, which included the headline ‘‘How did my soul get way out here? ’’ and the concluding text ‘‘Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself. The legendary H1. ’’ Hummer’s longtime tagline, ‘‘World’s most serious 4Ãâ€"4,’’ was replaced by ‘‘Like nothing else. ’’ The four ads ran through the rest of 2001, appearing in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Esquire, Spin, Wired, and Red Herring. Hummer’s 50 dealers were also encouraged to use the ads created by Modernista! to bring continuity to the brand’s makeover, with some of their media costs being reimbursed by a cooperative advertising program. The H2, based on GM’s Chevrolet Tahoe full-size SUV, was introduced in July 2002. A second model featuring a small pickup bed and a cargo door was supposed to be offered at the same time, but the launch was pushed back, partly because the vehicle needed more work but also as a way to extend the marketing buzz the brand was creating. The new H2, with a base price of $48,000, was about half the price of the H1 and, despite being called the ‘‘baby Hummer,’’ essentially the same size. But it featured a smaller, less noisy gas engine rather than a cumbersome diesel one, and it had comforts and customizable options the H1 lacked but that were expected in a luxury SUV. The introduction of the H2 was supported by another print campaign developed by Modernista! While the ‘‘Like nothing else’’ tagline of the previous ads was retained, the look of the new ads was markedly different, relying on dramatic close-ups set against bold, sky-blue backgrounds. Like the first ads, the new ones ran in a wide range of magazines, with the text tailored to the publication. For example, in the Robb Report, which covered all things luxurious, the text read, ‘‘Excessive. In a Rome at the height of its power sort of way. ’’ The Vanity Fair text read, ‘‘Threaten the men in your office in a whole new way,’’ part of an effort to increase the number of women buying the vehicles. Another ad proclaimed, ‘‘Perfect for rugby moms. ’’ About 10 percent of H1 owners were women, and one goal of the H2 campaign was to increase that number to 25 percent. Outdoor ads were also produced, running in 14 major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit. Print and outdoor ads were made available for the use of dealers. The first Hummer television ads aired in mid-August 2002. The initial three 30-second spots, intended to romanticize the truck, were shot in Iceland and in Vancouver, British Columbia, and featured both natural and urban locations. They showed friends in a Hummer speeding over the tundra of Iceland or a professional woman weaving through traffic in a city. Set to rock music, the only words in the spots were text statements such as ‘‘Maybe if you can, you will. ’ A second phase of the television campaign played on people’s perception of the Hummer as a gas-guzzling road hog. In one spot a young boy constructed a small wooden version of the Hummer to enter in a soapbox derby, while The Who’s ‘‘Happy Jack’’ played in the background and the little girl next door looked on. At the start of the big race the other boys scoffed at little Jack and his less-than-streamli ned racer, but he prevailed by abandoning the asphalt course, breaking the rules to go cross-country and win the race and the girl. Through the humor of the spot Jack was portrayed not as a blatant cheater but as a heroic iconoclast, offering subliminal reassurance to potential Hummer customers who might feel guilty about buying a vehicle that got about 13 miles to a gallon of gas on the highway. A second Hummer spot, also displaying a tough side, hearkened back to the Asteroids video game of the 1980s, with a spaceship blasting boulders only to confront an indestructible Hummer, which chased the ship off the screen. OUTCOME GM and Modernista! ucceeded in introducing Hummer to a wider market, but after a strong showing in 2003, sales began to tail off, partly because of high gas prices. To regain lost ground, in 2004 GM introduced the H2 SUT (sport-utility truck). This was followed by the unveiling in 2005 of the H3, a midsize Hummer priced from $29,500 to $32,000. Almost 17 inches shorter, 1,700 pounds lighter, and more fuel-efficient at 20 miles per gallon, it was a vehicle GM hoped women and younger drivers wo uld find more appealing. In pitching the vehicle to a mass market, Hummer and Modernista! aced a new task. Putting a positive spin on the challenge, Jensen told Jeremy W. Peters of the New York Times, ‘‘The brand has a lot of different personality levels . . . You can do the serious capability stuff, the real rough-and-tumble rock climbing stuff, the peaceful back-to-nature stuff. ’’ Industry analyst Mary Ann Keller disagreed, telling the New York Times that it was impossible to sell Hummer to the masses: ‘‘How in the world can you possibly fathom that something that looks like a military vehicle is practical for the average driver? ’’