Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2008 November 17

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November 17

Lego Indiana Jones Question

In the game Lego Indiana Jones for Wii, I unlocked a Thuggee by typing a code in the board in Indy's classroom at Barnett College. It worked, but how do I use the guy now that I unlocked him? I don't see him anywhere around the college, and he's not in the list of characters for Free Play. --76.194.231.152 (talk) 00:17, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I may sound like a video game addict, but I'm not. I just have a lot of questions about the ones I play.

Oh, and so you know, it was me that wrote this, I just forgot to sign in. Nick4404 yada yada yada What have I done? 00:18, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Well, if he's unlocked properly, he should be wandering round the college and available for free play. I've never unlocked characters with a code, I always buy them as money is simple enough to come by. The best way to find him is to go to Professor Jones' study, and wait there until he comes in - all the unlocked characters who can be useful in there arrive sooner or later so you can solve the rooms puzzle (Someone with explosives, someone with a shovel, someone who can jump high, someone who's short, a Thuggee and someone with a book). -- WORMMЯOW  10:23, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Does David Morgan-Mar know about this? (see [1]) —Tamfang (talk) 03:28, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

ICP, Soaring Eagle?

Is ICP going to perform at the Soaring Eagle, anytime in the resonable future? I've heard lots of talk about it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.188.45.87 (talk) 00:51, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

What are ICP and Soaring Eagle? Little Red Riding Hoodtalk 01:58, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

See our featured article on Michigan-based Insane Clown Posse and our (non-featured) article on the Soaring Eagle Casino (in Michigan). Alas, neither the Casino's nor the Posse's website mention this performance. The fact that Willie Nelson, Aretha, Buddy Guy, and Chaka Khan are scheduled at the Soaring Eagle soon, makes an ICP performance look a bit unlikely and out of place, however(!) ICP will be performing at the Eagle Theater in Saginaw, Michigan on Dec 20th, according to ICP's website. I hold you responsible for making me click that website, 66.188.45.87. I suffer from coulrophobia and won't be able to sleep tonight! ---Sluzzelin talk 03:25, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Identifying some electronic music

Can anyone identify the music in this video? — Kieff | Talk 01:18, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Not sure...sounds fairly generic...backing track type music to me. Sorry to be so unhelpful but nobody has replied to this so far. 62.249.220.179 (talk) 22:33, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Is Blizzard...

...the only one who's Real Time Strategy games feature funny quotes from the units after clicking repeatedly? Spade9 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 02:57, 17 November 2008 (UTC).

In the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War games (made by Relic Entertainment), the units say things when you click on them. Some of them (like the Orks) say funny things. I don't know if they say funnier things if you click them repeatedly. -- KathrynLybarger (talk) 16:13, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

...I meant along the lines of funny refrences an jokes, such as the dwarven riflemen who quip stuff like "This...is...my...BOOMSTICK!" or Muradin Bronzebeard who often channels Sean Connery.Spade9 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 02:19, 18 November 2008 (UTC).

"I'm a PC !" ads

There are ads running on TV in the US where various people come on screen and say "I'm a PC !". I don't understand these ads at all. Is this supposed to get us to buy (non-Apple) personal computers and then get the Windows operating system and other Microsoft products for them ? If so, this seems like a completely ineffective way to sell Microsoft's products. If people claiming to be a personal computer is some type of joke, I'm afraid I missed it completely. If I had to guess, I'd say the ad agency is trying to make the ads memorable, which they have, but completely forgot that you have to actually sell the product at some point during a commercial. Does anyone have any insight into the purpose of these ads ? StuRat (talk) 18:43, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

It's one of those meta-ads where knowledge of context is presumed. It's playing with the stereotypes presented in MS-rival's Get a Mac campaign. The first character you see looks like John Hodgman, the nerdy guy who personfies the PC in Mac's ad campaign. See also microsoft-watch ---Sluzzelin talk 18:54, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

It is normal advertising. It is just saying "you can look cool and buy a PC". By "PC", they do not mean Personal Computer. They mean "Personal Computer with Windows". It is no different than a recent cereal commercial that implied that your parents will raise your allowance to millions of dollars a week if you eat their cereal or a recent Comcast commercial that implies your daughter will become President of the U.S. if you switch to Comcast's phone service. It is all about brand recognition, not product sales. -- kainaw™ 18:58, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

(e/c) Exactly. The point is to 'reclaim' the "I'm a PC!" catchphrase from the Mac campaign and counter the nerdy stereotype in the mind of those that are already familiar with the Mac campaign. They do this by showing the diverse type of people all around the world using a PC for all sorts of exciting purposes.

In an ongoing, two product marketing war such PC vs Mac, the campaigns have developed to the stage where the companies don't actually have to sell their products in the ad. Its all about establishing a brand identity (with a bit of oneupmanship over the other). Both are keen to establish themselves as the cool product used by cool people, so the next time you go to buy a personal computer you will buy theirs because you too want to be a cool kid.

Another example of this form of meta-advertising is the GEICO cavemen ads. This campaign has evolved to the point where the they are entirely baffling unless you are aware of the context (I am aware of the context, but I'm still somewhat puzzled by their Billie Jean King ad). Their ads are no longer selling insurance, per se, instead they rely on people being amused by the concept of the ad. Their hope is that the next think about buying insurance, they will come to mind. Rockpocket 19:12, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

I had a similar thought on the Geico ads: Why would anybody buy their insurance as a result of viewing those ads ? Why would simply mentioning the name sell the product ? One series of ads like that which seems better is the Energizer bunny campaign. Each ad contains the line "It keeps going and going and going...", which is at least a claim about the product. StuRat (talk) 20:20, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

But you remember them, don't you, Stu. That's the point. Even if you despise an ad, at least you'll remember it and the name of the company. Marketers, like small children, know innately that it's far preferable to be able to create a negative impression in order to gain attention than no impression at all. Indifference is death to marketers. Any other option is preferable. People don't always buy things on a logical basis, because what appeals to one person won't appeal to another. The logical approach ("The name of my company is X and I am selling Y") will work with only a certain segment of the market. They use gestalt approaches to crack other parts of the market. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:36, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Marketing is just like elections. All you need to do is spend more money to get your name better known. Then when someone is out shopping (or voting), they'll go, "Hey, I heard of that." and you profit. -- kainaw™ 23:09, 17 November 2008 (UTC)