Drake Manalo - Spoof Ad Final

Logo:

 

Print Ad: 

Magazine that ad would be in:

Video Advertisement (ad in other context):

https://vimeo.com/65201117

---
This is a spoof advertisement campaign for the game World of Warcraft. The new game is called World of Wastecraft, with advertisements utilizing the same name. For these spoof ads, I recorded footage, edited it in After Effects, as well as editing of images in Photoshop and Illustrator. The advertisements were completed on April 30, 2013.

World of Warcraft is a game that has millions of players worldwide. It has been a very successful game throughout the past 5+ years. In high school, I was definitely an avid player of this game, and while playing I recognized how much it can take over your life. I allowed it to take precedence over my school work and even my social life; I became a recluse. For this spoof advertisement I wanted to allow the viewer to see how acceptable (even necessary) it becomes to let the game gain control over a person. Many people have seriously become addicted to World of Warcraft, and I wanted to shed some insight into the lifestyle that [some] of these people may live.

The current advertisements for World of Warcraft take place in a commercial form. Throughout all of my research, I did not find a single print advertisement for World of Warcraft (although they do have their own magazine). The main focus for my spoof advertisement is the video advertisement, in which we see the speaker going about the everyday actions of his life - meaning never leaving his apartment, neglecting to go out with friends, using the computer on the toilet, and so on. When I was first coming up with concepts for this advertisement, I spoke with another friend who also played World of Warcraft a lot. I decided to ask him for his help in shooting this advertisement because he recognized the validity of the addiction! 

Most of the work I did for the spoof ad was created in a combination of After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator. There were three typefaces that I utilized in the creation of the print (magazine) and video advertisements. Before doing anything, I developed the name and logo in Illustrator, along with the tagline. While finalizing the name I wanted, I came across a generator that made a logo for you. This was definitely beneficial to me because it allowed me to go through different names to see how the finished logo would look. The final logo was to become "World of Wastecraft." I then went into Photoshop to create a new package for World of Wastecraft as well as removing/altering text in various areas to make it look more believable.

The tedious parts of creating the spoof ad were shooting, editing, and finalizing the video advertisement in After Effects. I had to draw multiple storyboards, and continually asked for a friend's input while coming up with the finished product. When I first brought the shots into After Effects, I was not sure how I wanted to get my message across to the viewer. I wish I could have shot these against a completely white screen/in a white space but I used what was available to me. Also, I wish I could have represented a more negative aspect to the game. Otherwise, I think this project is successful with what I was trying to achieve of making the viewer aware of this phenomena of games taking over people's lives.

Upon looking at the commercial advertisement of World of Warcraft with Aubrey Plaza and going back to my project, I came up with a video spoof ad that effectively communicates the lack of real life situations a person succumbs to following an addiction of World of Wastecraft. The intent of these advertisements is to show that although this is a game, it should be used as such. People develop addictions to all types of things, and World of Wacraft is one of them. I want the audience to see how crazy it is that people are completely okay with letting go of reality to be an "important" part of an online game. 

Spoof Ad Final Mikula

My spoof ad is of The North Face. The two ads I did are called Endurance Is and Live on the Edge. The materials I used were photographs, and type. The medium of these works are print or web ads. I chose the to have the dimensions as 8 by 12 to fit the photograph (4 by 6) size but they could easily be cropped and rearranged to fit different ad space sizes. The subject of the ad is to sort of mock the original North Face ads. North Face ads are always super outdoorsy settings with people doing extreme sports like rock climbing, mountain biking, or camping on top of mountains. Point being, The North Face advertises its products as if only athletic outdoorsy people wear their clothing items, when in reality the majority of people who wear North Face are wearing it in everyday mundane life. I am not doubting the quality of the jacket because people choose to wear them in cold Chicago weather are kept warm. But a am poking fun at the fact that the jackets are also worn as a trend statement, just like Uggs, or Hunter boots. Yes these boots do their job and serve to protect your feet, but they blew up and are super popular because they're expensive and people want to have something expensive and whats "in". I think what makes these ads successful and what makes them stand out is the main focus on the person and the funny little story the gives context to the photo. After experiencing again and again the phenomenon of the "I gotta have it" in name brands, I feel North Face is simply another one. The name on a product is sometimes the only reason a person will buy a product regardless of what it is. For some people its all about going with the flow and fitting in and they will do anything to fit that mold. I feel like among my other classmates mine is successful and plays well off the North Face ads I based them off. The ads I based mine off had a photo and a story about the person in that photo, which I believe makes a strong advertisement. The designer of the North Face ads knew the story with the ad would ad a connection or even shock factor when people read the ad, therefore giving them something to remember. My intent with these ads is to point out to people that buying a product simply for wearing the name is silly. I used to only want to wear Aeropostle in grade school because I thought it made me look cool. Now, I wear whatever appeals to me, name brand or not. I want people to just stop and think, do I want this coat because its honestly worth the 200 dollars or do I want it because people will see the name I'm wearing and think better of me. I hope this ad has the effect on viewers that they may think the ads are funny and ridiculous, but realize they are kind of like these spoof ads, not the mountain climbers in the original North Face Ads. I think the strengths are the name change, tagline, and story. The name being changes to "The Somewhat North Face" meaning for Chicagoans, yes were more North than say Florida but were not ice climbers in Alaska, or something to the effect. The tagline pokes fun at the everyday people who wear North Face. Majority of people aren't super outdoorsy, camping and hiking every week. They work 9 to 5 jobs or have school every week and on their down time just sit around at home, hang out with friends, or go to the movies, no ice climbing. The story is where humor is really brought into the ad. The only weakness is that I didn't have professional models so the photos could have been stronger. The endurance is photo is my best friend Hannah and the Live on the Edge ad is of my sister Bridget. Bridget's making a semi weird face and its a little distracting but oh well! Over all I'm very happy with how the ads turned out!
(word count: 694)

HERZOG - Spoof Ad Final - LEFOE "Everywhere" Campaign

Alec Herzog

LEGO Spoof Ads – LEFOE “Everywhere” Print and Online Media

04.30.2013

I completed my ads in Adobe Illustrator with type and my illustrations. The intended media for the ads, however, would be both print (magazine full page spread; 8.5x10.75 inches) and online (Rectangle ROS; 300x250 pixels). The primary subject references the unfortunate truth that individual LEGOs undoubtedly up in inconvenient---and dangerous---places. By spoofing the LEGO “Imagine” Campaign, I kept the clean and minimal layout and copy to let the visuals carry the majority of the message: in the original campaign, the visuals speak to the imaginative possibilities of LEGOs, whereas my campaign shows the potentially hazardous possibilities. With regards to formal qualities, the ads would probably fit better into the “deconstructed” category, as I did not implement a grid to create them.

I fondly remember playing with LEGOs as a child and now, as an advertising major, I appreciate and admired their ads; in fact, I chose to spoof the “Imagine” campaign because I think it is strong and visually appealing, which I anticipated would make for a more interesting spoof campaign. I was not able to find any spoofs on LEGO (LEGO frequently “spoofs” movies and television shows, but more as a way to advertise their products), so I feel that my campaign contributes something new to the “LEGO conversation.” Compared to the work of other students in class, I believe my campaign is probably much simpler, visually speaking, so I hope that it does not get lost; when I presented the concept, I felt like everyone related to the annoyance of finding spare LEGOs around the house and stepping on them or fearing that children would swallow them or put them up their noses. I almost entirely based my campaign on the “Imagine” campaign with little additional inspiration. My approach and mood, however, was influenced by the rise of the overly-attentive and concerned mothers, much like one finds on “Mommy Blogs.” In fact, I considered mothers my main target for this campaign, as it highlights the dangers of LEGOs.

Initially, I planned to depict the annoyance of finding LEGOs everywhere (coat pockets, purses, on the floor, etc.), but the resulting campaign looked less like a spoof, and more like a humorous approach by LEGO themselves. I realized that, to truly spoof an iconic and beloved brand like LEGO, I had to amplify the drama, so I illustrated LEGOs inside of a nostril and a baby’s belly, both of which are much more frightening to a mother than in a purse or coat pocket. These are actual dangers that are associated with LEGOs, but are often forgotten because it is such familiar and cherished brand. In considering the placement of my campaign (and for my context pictures) I chose to show them in Parents Magazine and on Babble, a parenting blog by Disney. My campaign is perhaps too subtle and still may not read as a spoof, but I do think I was successful in choosing markets where the message would resonate with the proper target; I also believe the campaign succinctly comments on how LEGOs truly are “everywhere,” even places you hope to never find them.

http://deborahdap.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/parents.jpg

http://madebyjoel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Made-by-Joel-Parents-Magazine-2.jpg

http://www.babble.com/mom/the-top-50-mom-bloggers-of-2010-2/

Chapters 13,14,15 - DeVecchis

Chapter 13

I feel like chapter 13 discussed a lot of really interesting tips and tools for designing for websites that will be helpful in the future. It discussed the balance and fusion of form and content, and enjoyed the quotation from Paul Rand that says, “When form predominates,

meaning is blunted. When content predominates, interest lags. The genius comes in when both of these things fuse.” The chapter discusses the importance of establishing a visual hierarchy, maintaining the look and feel of the brands identity throughout the website, and captivating the viewers attention from each page to the next.

Chapter 14

This chapter talked about principles for designing for mobile advertising, which is entirely different than designing for other platforms. As the chapter states, almost everyone has a cellphone that they have on them at all times, and thus successfully advertising on mobile devices could greatly help a product or company’s success. A few suggestions given for this type of advertising included making the ad relevant to the audience, making it useful, making it entertaining, and having legs (or being able to work across different platforms in order to strengthen the company/product.

Chapter 15

Lastly, chapter 15 discussed designing for social media and unconventional marketing. Some suggestions for creating a good social media campaign coincide with other suggestions. For instance, they should be enticing, relevant, authentic, and valuable. Most importantly, in my opinion, is creating an interesting enough advertisement or campaign in which audience and viewers would want to share it with others and show it around so that it becomes “viral.” The book then went on to talk about various unconventional ways of advertising. This is the type of advertising that people are not expecting. It can thus appear in random public places or in odd positions on products. For instance, the cute sayings on the back of snapple caps. Another example would be anything on mailboxes, benches, parking spots, the sidewalk, etc. Below are two that I think are great.

Reading Reflection Ch 13, 14, 15 - Meade

13: Designing For Web Sites

The chapter begins with establishing how vital using the Internet is and how a company having a good website that encourages people to come back again and again is something to strive for. Online campaigns though, are usually only to drive people in a certain direction. We also have to keep in mind the ever-evolving page models and aesthetics of the Internet, and work with these changes, but that design basics like a visual hierarchy, balance, proportion, rhythm and unity will still be prevalent even after things evolve. “Visual design is not just about visual impact or aesthetics – it should be a marriage of form and function that ensures an effortless and worthwhile user experience” (p. 227).  The end of the chapter outlines what to consider when designing a website and how to begin to develop one. The Packland website, I thought is great. The design is engaging, and even if the background has a lot of going on, it still feels organized and clean – easy to navigate.

 A website that is going to touch on all the good aspects on website design is Apple.com. Brand identity via the colors, lack of superfluous graphic elements and great visual hierarchy. It's interactive, big and beautiful pictures, and engages the viewers to click to get further information or pictures. Everything is pretty easy to find and read (especially for the age demographic that they target). 

14: Designing For Mobile Advertising

I find it funny that the first thing the chapter reminds you of is that people have phones, yes, but also that they are attached to us and that it is a source of entertainment, as if we didn’t know this. Under the “Consideration for Mobil Advertising”, it lists a few things to keep in mind when designing an app or an ad for it. Relevant, useful, ‘legs’ and entertaining are the key aspects of a good app. I thought the UrbanDaddy app showcased in the chapter is well designed, though the name is a bit.. off putting. The idea is good and I like the options that the app has like ‘It’s Saturday’ or ‘I want dinner’. It’s personal, yet sleek looking.

The new Yahoo! weather app is a well designed app, I think. I just got it and was tinkering around and it's visually stunning as well as useful. It's got all the possibly information you might want in a well balanced, clear hierarchy, sleek designed packaging. Flickr is subtly advertised as are their other products in their menu that you navigate to to get to settings and adding cities. The design is what easily got me to download the product and replace an app that I was already happy with. They're advertising themselves by getting me to use their product over all of the others - above Weather.com's own app!

15: Designing For Social Media and Unconventional Marketing

Remember RAVES, and that social media is at its best when it's Relevant, Authentic, Valuable, Enticing and Shareable. It must understand its target audience, it must live up to its brand essence and claims, it offers something of value to its viewers, as well as some level of uniqueness, and then the ability to share what they can. Unconventional advertising is when an advert 'ambushes' the audience, like somewhere public where you aren't necessarily expecting an advert to be (like the advertising campaign on page 245). The chapter then gives some things to consider when designing these sort of adverts, like keeping with the brand, remember what you learned in your ethics class, don't let it be creepy, and remember to keep in mind that the advert should be able to expand to other media mediums.

I thought this website is perfect for this chapter. THIS is an article talking about, THIS is website. If you enjoy mens butts, this website is perfect for you. If you enjoy clever advertising, this website is for you, if you're curious and want to know what the hell I'm talking about, then I hope you're ready to see men's butts (sadly, not in the nude).

Spoof Ad Final - Meade

Spoof Ad on Starbucks Coffee

Ads by themselves

Starbucks actually has ads in bon appétit

And here are the ads in other contexts

Essay Analysis of Spoof Ad

My name is Cynthia Meade, my design is titled Pretentious Cup of Coffee and it is a spoof ad for Starbucks Coffee. The materials used were digital illustrations, photo textures and type. The work was completed on April 25, 13.

            The design is predominantly designed for print; the first piece is meant for a magazine, or printed as a large poster for a bus stop, while the second design is meant for a billboard, train or bus ad, but can double as a banner ad on a website because of its horizontal composition. The subject of the ad is not to attack Starbucks for solely its pricey coffee, but poke at the fact that they charge as much as they do for sub-par coffee; they are trying to sell you an image of being the better brand because only better people purchase their coffee instead of stooping low to buy others’. I took their preexisting ads and changed the text, logo and illustrations to still resemble the original but still be critical, so the texture, typeface choices, color palette and the arrangement of the items in the compositions are similar, keeping both looking different but unified.

            Despite buying the rare Starbucks Coffee, there is a personal disdain for the brand and their coffee because I can get better coffee at a cheaper price and not have them benefit for being a pretentious company, so I bring that sort of mean, yet witty demeanor to the spoof. Other spoofs I’ve seen of Starbucks are weak in that they attack the price, while that is just part of the issue, and don’t end up doing anything other than spoof the name and maybe logo. Compared to my classmates, I feel like my design is among the better designs because it’s clean and gets the message across, along with being able to also be creatively funny. I’m not entirely basing my design off any other designers other than the designers who created the original ads. My approach was to mimics their questionable design as accurately as possible to appear like its one of theirs. So I’m taking their idea of being the better coffee, but twisting it, since buying Starbucks has become such a huge phenomenon in the past few years. Starbucks Coffee has become a growing event, in a sense.

            My intent with the design is to get people to simply think twice. When reading the ad, think about why you buy Starbucks and question if the quality is even worth the price, or are you just buying the coffee because there’s one on every corner, it’s quick, and hey, it’s Starbucks, you’re contributing to the trendy aura you’ve been working on conveying all the while getting caffeine into your system. It’s not necessarily meant to diminish their number of consumers, but perhaps make them think twice about what they choose. The target audience for this would mostly be college students and adults on the younger side, that go to work and because the mismanage time in their mornings, need coffee but want the convenience of being able to get Starbucks while on their way to work, so hopefully said audience views the ad and does think twice, does think about it for a moment.

            Overall I think the design is successful enough for the intended purpose, in that it mimics the original ads well, is visually pleasing enough to draw attention, and witty enough to make you remember.