So let mercy come

[What I’ve Done – Linkin Park]

Today, Annie and Jen did their presentation for Understanding Australian Media, and since their topic was advertising, their group activity was to get everyone to design a billboard ad for a made up brand of chocolate called Ganache, and two groups had to make it super sexual and stereotypical, while the other two had to be innovative and family friendly.

I was in the super sexual group – yerp – and I was with Mai, Brian and Lisa, all of whom I’ve known for longer than this semester, at the least. We weren’t sure of what to do, so ultimately we drew something along the lines of cream being slathered onto these two little pieces of chocolate that looked like the heaving bosoms of a young maiden.

It was quite awkward to draw, especially when I was drawing the cream being poured, and Brian was sitting next to me hissing “yeah draw it, draw it good” to weird me out.

Anyway, unnoticed to us, we’d actually managed to draw something else even more crude. Let’s just say that the picture was structured to have two spherical shapes down the bottom, and in between these spherical shapes stood a longer looking shape.

I don’t think our chocolate would sell.

Ganache – let it come all over you: Mai and I co-wrote this slogan.

Alex.

You And Me, And A Bottle Of Wine

[Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry]

Actually wrote another uni post. Wow. Been a bit droughty lately.

I haven’t written in ages which isn’t a good thing but I wasn’t sure what to write for last week. Neither, for this week, but I suppose I can just see what flows?

First of all, I have to say that despite not quite getting the whole semiotic deal (might have to go back to – ahem start – the reading for this week), I really like analysing the ads. I mean, we see hundred of ads everyday, from posters to tiny small ones (like just the brand name). But we do ever really think about why that caught our eye, or made us want to get it?

In the tute today, my group was analysing the random Berkowitz sofa ad I found. I mean, on the surface it’s this woman sitting on this nice recliner with a remote control looking off side, but as we went deeper into it, we realized that just the simple fact that’s it’s a middle aged woman with a wedding ring appeals immediately to a certain middle aged married female demography.

So I thought about all the other ads that we see. The ones that means nothing to me weren’t designed to appeal to me. They featured older looking people, of a different gender maybe, doing things that I don’t have an interest in doing like sailing or playing with their kids. I don’t look at twice at those, but perhaps someone wanting to have a happy family, or interested in sailing (or looking like they’re the kind to go sailing) would look at the ad.

What attracts me would be a new game, or a new phone, items of entertainment (not a fan of fashion) which promises not only entertainment but that image of me being awesome with that new game/phone. So the ads are usually of people looking awesome with that phone, or screenshots of the game that teases out my wishes for immersion in a fictionl world. That wouldn’t really appeal older people unless they want to look young and hip, or they always liked games. For example, my mom and dad don’t care about what kind of phone they use as long as they are useable (or, in mom’s case, it takes only a few buttons to call me). Games mean nothing to them other than sounds, noises, and are associated with children stuff.

The next time you find yourself looking twice at an ad, I say wonder: “wait, why did I look at this twice?” I know it sounds nerdy but it never ceases to astound me how the simple matter of a good choice in font can make a difference between a kickass ad and a forgotten picture.

Alex.

Alex.