Dorian Sosa Chapters 1-4

 

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1 explains the different categories of advertising that exist and their purpose. The main purpose of advertising is to draw the consumer's attention to a product, person, or idea. This is done through different strategies, using a diversity of media to transmit the desired information. 

One of the categories that interested me more is Public Service advertising, which it is usually non-profit and/or sponsored by the government. These adds however, seem to be more likely to use chocking imagery or statements to get their message across. The sample offered in page 4 is related to reckless teen driving, and presents and add that reads: "Let's get ice cream after you paralyze us." 

I found that public interest advertising seems to favor shocking statements or images to promote awareness and deliver a quick, powerful message. Another example is this image of a campaign against smoking:

Just like the teen driving campaign, this image delivers a message likely to provoke an emotional reaction on the viewer. However, this tendency towards shock seems to derive from our modern culture's increasing conformity and familiarity with advertising. It is becoming more difficult to draw attention to a message with regular images, and shock seems to be the most useful tool to overcome this.  

Chapter 2

This chapter discusses the different phases that go into the creation and implementation of an advertising campaign. There are more steps involved in it than what we are accustomed to as design students. However when I read the personal anecdote by Bill Schwab about how they found a better design concept for the advertising of United Airlines in a book, looking for a different image, it made it look much closer to what the creative process looks like for a student, and it made me think about how the way we get ideas for our current design projects can be useful in the future. 

I enjoyed the lawyer's add in page 20, in which the text makes the persona of the lawyer look much more approachable and charismatic. However in some of them it was hard to tell from a first look what the advertisement was about. Like the headline 'If you think life is complicated, wait till you get to death.'Furthermore, the text that explains he is a lawyer seems too small and too long to catch the attention of a viewer in a hurry. However it is more elegant and smart than most of the lawyer advertisements out there, which tend towards cheese imagery or distasteful statements like the one shown to the left. While still trying to connect to the customer through comedy, this add is less successful due to its cliche imagery and language. 

Chapter 3 

This chapter introduces the creative process and how to stimulate creative thinking. There are different approaches to the development of ideas, brainstorming sessions, mapping, storyboards, are useful tools that aid the creative process and stimulate new ideas. Thinking metaphorically is one of the attributes that the chapter discusses as a quality of good thinkers. An example image in page 34 shows how this type of thinking can be put into practice. Here the product is an expensive bag, the advertisement shows the valuables inside a stolen bag being left behind by the criminals, suggesting they took the bag instead due to its appeal. 

This type of advertisement can be dangerous though, since it doesn't shows the product itself and bases all of the weight of the campaign in the brand name and its high price. By doing this it emphasizes the role of the bag as a status symbol rather than as a product, which could be taken as a critique to some customers. However it is more creative and entertaining than the cliche handbag advertisements, which usually just show a famous figure in a sexy pose with the product, like this one. 

Chapter 4

Here the role of the brand and the factors that contribute to its success are discussed. Different parameters are explained which are central in the development of a brand, like relevance, differentiation, usefulness. At the same time common approaches to constructing the brand are explained, these are usually tied to the the ideas that the brand wants to convey, and how it wants or needs to market itself to the audience. 

The advertisement for Daffy's in page 61 shows how rebellion and non-conformity can be an appealing strategy  to promote a brand. Here a shirt is giving an offensive gesture aimed at those who suggested its expensive retail price, emphasizing how Daffy's sells it for less. This type of strategy can be appealing to a wide audience  and it carries the message well, however some could see it as offensive. 

Another example of a daring, but effective advertisement id this one for a fitness group. Here the chest of a man is formed by the picture of a woman's buttocks, working as a double meaning.  While these adds might seem a little risky, they are also ingenius and humorous.