AAA Commercial: Emma spends a semester in Barcelona that she'd call "school"...

I have been wanting to post about a relatively recent (aired primarily January through March) AAA television commercial here in the U.S. that mentions study abroad and I'm now getting around to it as I wonder what IHEC Blog readers think.

In sum, the commercial is the voice of a father (Kirk) recounting his memories of his daughter Emma's life beginning at her wedding and working back through her life to her birth with the premise that AAA Insurance coverage was along with her every step of the way!  Along this journey, Kirk expresses that he didn't know Emma would "spend a semester in Barcelona that she'd call [pause] School".  The commercial is shot in freeze-frame and it shows Emma during her semester in Barcelona at School hiking in the mountains (presumably in the Pyrénées although the beauty of studying abroad is that she could be in the Alps).

My interpretation of both the audio and visual parts of this segment pertaining to Emma's academic time in Barcelona (5 seconds in length) suggest that study abroad (in Barcelona and beyond) by U.S. students is less than the rigorous academic experience we all know that it is...

In my view, this commercial perpetuates the view of study abroad as more of a vacation and less of an academic experience.  What is you view on the commercial and what, if any, impact do you think it has on viewers?




As usual, just looking to stir thoughts and dialogue in the field!

Also, I'm well aware of the impact studying abroad had on my undergraduate GPA (you?)!

'Game of Pawns: The Glenn Duffie Shriver Story' - Advice for U.S. College Students Abroad - A 28:08 FBI produced dramatization

A 28:08 dramatization entitled 'Game of Pawns: The Glenn Duffie Shriver Story' (produced by the FBI Counterintelligence Division) was released yesterday morning via the FBI News Blog and can be viewed below:



You can read more about the Glenn Duffie Shriver story at: http://1.usa.gov/1qYKPSm

You can also watch a 4:34 minute interview with Glenn Duffie Shriver from Federal Prison entitled 'Don't Be a Pawn: A Warning to Students Abroad' below:

International Higher Education Consulting Bookstore

In need of of some new international education literature for your nightstand?  

If so, the new and improved IHEC Bookstore might have something of interest for you!

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http://astore.amazon.com/interhighee0e-20