The Ka's Evil Twin and TV Grammar

Watch "Evil Twin" Commercial

(disclaimer: do not watch if you are a cat-lover)

Since we are talking about film and writing advertisements for TV this week, I thought I would analyze a TV commercial using terms from our reading online, The "Grammar" of television and film." I found two very humorous ads on youtube for the Ford Sportka called "the Ka's evil twin." Both commercials contain a narrative about the car vs. nature, and have the Ford Sportka coming out as the evil victor in the end.  The tone is spontaneous, quiet, and gives you the feeling that this sort of thing is typical, or at least happens more than you would know.  Two things that help give the commercial that tone is the Objective Treatment of the shoot and the Direct sound usage.  Objective treatment is when the scene is shot while keeping the camera still, giving the viewer an advantageous position to watch what is going on.  Because of this, when you watch the commercial it feel almost as if you are spying on someone or thing (the car).  Direct sound is when the scene uses the natural sounds of the shoot.  This commercial has no music track or voice-overs, only birds chirping and the sounds of the car.  This gives the feeling of spontaneity, as if it were happening in real time.  The clip contains no cuts (Long take) which ads to the real-time, everyday tone.  Two other things I observed about this commercial was that they used a long shot for the camera distance, which means you can see the entire car in the frame. This results in an increase of attention to the car.  Also, the superimposed text at the very end of the commercial was the only time in which the ad mentioned the name of the product in which it was advertising.  I found this to be a very economic way to use their time.  

Enforcing Bud Light's Brand Personality

Bud Light’s “Lost Parody” commercial that aired during the Superbowl 2010, is a great example of enforcing brand personality.  When you think of Bud Light, you think of a good time.  The commercial is funny not only because it is a parody off of the hit TV series “Lost,” but because the victims of the plane crash are more concerned with the Bud Light in the beverage cart than getting off the island. The ridiculousness of the situation is not only entertaining but hits on the personality of Bud Light being “a good time.”  The commercial leaves you with the feeling that Bud Light can turn even the worst of situations into a party.

Watch Commercial

Raise your hands for Mercedes-Benz

While watching some football the other night, I saw a commercial for the Mecedes-Benz SLS AMG. It really moved me for some reason and I don't even pay attention to cars that much.  The commercial shows a ton of clips from history of people raising their hands in the air. They show sporting events, a music conductor, a rock concert, even Martin Luther King Jr, made it into a clip. the last scene is the car opening its doors. The movement mimics the same universal gesture of raising your hands in the air. There are two parallels being made here. One is that by showing all major historical events or just emotion-packed events and then showing the mercedes at the end, the makers of this commercial are prompting us to subconsciously feel that this car is part of some kind of monumental event.  The second parallel that makes this ad effective is the human to car switch from all the beginning clips to the last one. When the car "raises its hands" at the end it is all of a sudden not just a car. It is another victorious human being lifting its hands up to accomplishment.  

Watch This Ad

Cheverolet Print Ad

In honor of all the print ads we created for class, I am going to discuss a print ad that I thought was especially effective. I apologize right off the bat for not having the image shown. I found the ad in a magazine I was flipping through while waiting to be seen for a doctors appt. I would have just ripped the ad out of the magazine right  then and there but it was a full spread ad and the woman at the front desk was already giving me the stink eye.  Needless to say I couldn't find the image online either.  Anyways, the ad was for Cheverolet. I almost skimmed right past it because it looked like any old car ad one would see in a magazine, a new shiny car displayed on the left side cruising through some type of picturesque mountain scenery.  Except for the fact that they had a beautiful display of san serif typography splashed across the whole image.  I made the decision to read it and it said "forgetting which side your gas cap is on is the only bad thing about it." (or something to this effect) The headline made me think. I always forget which side my gas cap is on and this is mainly due to the fact that I rarely have to get gas. What Cheverolet is saying, while still letting the audience do the work and come to this conclusion, is that this car has great gas mileage. Two things I can conclude with from this ad; 1) If it weren't for the aesthetically pleasing layout of the ad, I would have never read it in the first place. and 2) If it weren't for the well-written headline I would have never remembered it.  

KIA Sorento Ad. The Good and the Bad.

Below is an interesting ad I found for the new KIA Sorento. I find the image to be extremely effective but feel that the copy really blows.  Its a good thing they used poster layout, because the image is the strongest part of the ad by far.  Immediately, the viewers eyes are drawn to the exact center of the image where the magic happens. The suspended bracelet around the driver's wrist literally gives you the sense of being weightless.  By tweaking one simple thing in the image, the designer has taken this ad from just another visual to an experience.  I can actually feel myself soaring over jumps and hills while off-loading in the New Sorento.  The copy on the other hand is a little disappointing.  It reads, "The 4x4 SUV helps you escape from gravity." Well gee thanks but we already got that part the second we laid eyes on the bracelet.  I feel they could have come up with something a little more complimentary to the image, and not merely stating in words what the viewer just felt.

Starbucks; Ads and Layouts

One of our assigned readings for class (Felton 2006) talked about the importance of the overall look and feel of an ad; essentially, the ad's format. Felton gives 7 suggested layouts to use as a type of "checklist" when developing an ad.  I have taken the time to find all seven, using various types of Starbucks coffee advertisements as examples.   

1. Standard Layout: 

Starbucks has a lot of ads that are in the standard layout form; Illustration, Headline, copy, logo. I chose this one because 1) I thought it was semi-humorous, and 2) It reminded me of the statistic mentioned in the reading and in class that 4 out of 5 people do NOT read beyond the headline of ads. Starbucks uniquely defies the rules of advertising in this ad by stressing the point that they don't even have to think of something good to say in order to get people to buy their coffee.

2.  Editorial Layout:

In my opinion, the editorial layout is the most boring of them all, however I found this one to be very aesthetically pleasing.  The ad uses effective treatment of the typography. I also find that the way the symbols pull the viewer through the copy of the ad is very successful as well. This may not, however, be the best example of an editorial ad because it is a little image-heavy.

3. Poster Layout:

As opposed to the editorial, the poster layout is my personal favorite. This ad includes a captivating image with complimentary text positioned neatly in the bottom right next to the logo. Beautiful!

4. Cartoon Layout: 

I had some trouble finding an example for this one.  This Starbucks "Go with the Flow" ad seemed to fit in the sense that they are trying to express more of an abstract idea with this never-ending-using-only-one-line "cartoon" of a coffee cup.

5. Comic Strip Layout:

This ad is actually screen shots of a Starbucks television ad aired in Britain. When viewed in screen shot form it serves its purpose for one of my examples as a comic strip layout.  A cute holiday narrative about "passing the cheer (aka: steamy hot cup of Starbucks)" to an awkward-looking Christmas reindeer on a ski lift.  Really gives you the warm fuzzes by the last window.

6.  Picture-Caption Layout: 

I found this ad off the Starbucks website, advertising two of their featured drinks.  Maybe not the best ad but it gets the job done. It directly shows the picture of the drink and clearly states the name in a caption above.

7.  Picture-Cluster Layout: 

Pretty self-explanatory, but this ad is a "vintage" Starbucks ad with a montage of different images and pictures, of Starbucks coffee in its various forms.  It shows many different facets of the product, the coffee being enjoyed, the coffee in action being poured, and the coffee in its packaging.

McDonald's Billboards on 294

This summer my sister and I would frequently drive 294 to get into Chicago for the various activities and festivals of the season. Some of our favorite billboards along the way were advertisements for McDonald's.  When viewing them with a carefree summer spirit, I just took them to be funny ads. However, as I begin to analyze them from a writer's mindset I begin to see the geniuses of the writing.  One of the ads says, "If breakfast had an all-star team." and then shows a picture of a McDonald's breakfast. Another shows a cup of McDonald's coffee and says "If coffee is Joe, consider this Joseph." At base level the ads are simply saying that their food is better and classier than other restaurants food. But that's where the irony comes in -  it's McDonald's, and everyone knows McDonald's food is cheap and not very good for you.  Their food is not the best or most sophisticated choice, and that is exactly what I find cleverly funny about those ads.

Advertising Emotion

Advertising guru David Ogilvy once said "Ninety nine percent of advertising doesn't sell much of anything" My version of Ogilvy's quote is "Ninety nine percent of advertising doesn't sell much of the product."  What ads often sell are the emotions attached to the product (or brand). Most ads that I see today and really like, are not necessarily selling something I really like or even know about for that matter.  What I usually like about the ad is the emotion that it brings out in me. Here are two such examples: 

Diesel: Be Stupid Advertising Campaign

This Diesel ad, as well as most of the other ads in Diesel's "Be Stupid" campaign, plays with the emotion of fear. The whole idea behind the campaign is to encourage creative, brilliant, but also risky behavior or ideas.  Most people have, to some degree, a fear of being rejected or called stupid for being "different." This ad reminds us of that fear and eliminates it by saying, "With our brand you CAN be creative, different and yes, even stupid - and we won't judge you!"  I find myself liking  diesel jeans without ever owning a pair.

Goldstrike: Don't Mess with the Legend Campaign

Each ad in Goldstrike's "Don't Mess with the Legend" Campaign, evokes the emotion of awe and excitement. With clever imagery, these ads give glimpses of the adventures and wild stories that have happened to people who drink Goldstrike. It promises that you too could be part of those legends, but gives somewhat of an ambiguously exciting warning.  I know all of this without ever tasting a drop of Goldstrike in my life. 

Andy Warhol, Art and Advertising

The title of my blog is a quote from one of the most well-known pop artist, Andy Warhol.  He says, "The world fascinates me." And I couldn't agree with him more! In class this week we were asked the question "Is advertising a good thing?" My initial response was a resounding YES! However, when I tried to reason why I thought it was a good thing I was conflicted. Materialism is not something I agree with, and accumulating more and more stuff that you really don't need is not something I want to promote either. So why do I have such a positive taste in my mouth for something so related to both vices.  I dug a little deeper and found that my dear Mr. Warhol was able to help me out with an answer. Andy Warhol often times used advertisements and everyday things as the subject of his artwork.  Advertising, among many other things, is art. Art is a portrayal and reaction to the world around us; and as I stated before, "the world fascinates me." Advertising is good because, like art, it captures our attention. It is fascinating.