Monday, March 19, 2012

Interesting Ads, Websites, Videos/Clips, etc

Dear All,

Technology - though sometimes pretty annoying or even scary - can be a wonderful tool for creativity. Some ads, websites, and videos in particular use texts, images, music, sounds, movement and technical tricks to create really interesting effects.

Please post some links to ads, websites, youtube clips, and/or other (free) videos or even (free) games etc that you like here in this section and tell the rest of us:

1) what you particularly like about whatever you have chosen,
2) what the main message of the piece is, and
3) how the creator of the ad, website or video/clip managed to get his/her/their message across
    (i.e. what do you think are his/her/their main strategies).

I really like the following clips and would like to share it with you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep9MFiWXR8M&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-HnrMrQ6Tw&feature=player_embedded

The two projects from Dan Cole's portfolio below are also very interesting, I think:

http://dancole.carbonmade.com/projects/88948
http://dancole.carbonmade.com/projects/4224697

More playful and less serious, the following two ads: the first one uses a metaphor - and take sit literally - the second one a well-known story:

http://www.kuraoka.com/fncu%20stepcd%20ad.pdf
http://www.kuraoka.com/HE-mailer-pigs.pdf


I am looking forward to your pieces,

gudrun


16 comments:

  1. 1.) The Dove Real Beauty Campaign
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

    -I liked this commercial because it shows in detail just how much an image is altered before in gets published. I also liked it because it held my attention and was very interesting to watch without being complicated.
    -I think the main message of this piece is to raise awareness of beauty in the media. Dove is trying to shine like on the fact that is unrealistic to love up to today’s idealistic beauty, and that we should be confident in our own skin.
    -I think this is an effective add because it captivates the audience. By going step by step through the hair, makeup, and Photoshop processes it allows the reader to be a part of the transformation. Because the clip shows beginning to end, the transformation is dramatic and leaves the viewer feeling shocked, thus leaving a lasting impression.

    2.) The Old Spice Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

    -I enjoy watching the Old Spice Commercials because they are very entertaining and have become a bit of a phenomenon
    -The message is very clear-buy Old Spice!
    - This commercial’s main strategy is using humor. It appeals to both men and women by using this strategy. Another strategy is using an attractive actor and directly appealing to women’s ideals such as a white horse and a cruise boat, and stating, “your man could smell like me”.

    3.) Pantene
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um9KsrH377A

    - This is one of my favorite commercials I found, I enjoyed watching it because of the emotions it evoked and the story it told. I thought it was very cleaver to use this story to advertise a shampoo.
    - The message of this advertisement is to never give up and follow your dreams.
    - This commercial was effective because it created a lasting impression. By telling a story, the viewer gains an emotional connection with the character in the clip. The music creates a very inspiring feel, and the viewer leaves feeling happy because the character they are rooting for succeeds.

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  2. AT&T Blackberry Commercial—‘Huh’ guy commercial

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh2IXbi2ZCE&feature=youtu.be

    - The ‘huh’ guy absolutely makes the commercial. I honestly believed he was Matt. The delivery of the line simply blew me away. Before Matt’s line the commercial was a simple, corny ad, one filled with bad acting, an obvious goal of product placement. However with the appearance of Matt the whole commercial changed. The confused glance before the delivery of the line accented the disorientation and puzzlement of the character. Matt is awesome.

    - The main message is unfortunately not to promote the amazing actor behind Matt but to raise awareness of the multi-functional new BlackBerry Torch.

    - Personally I think the induction of the actor behind Matt is more than enough reason to adhere to the message. However knowing AT&T I do not think they realized the ingenuity behind the character and the actor. Instead the ad allowed a clear view of the product so as to show the aesthetics of the product and allowed the actors to portray the multiple functions of the product through acting.

    Rick Perry “Strong” ad---“I am not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0PAJNntoRgA

    - Almost everything about this ad is likeable. Rick Perry’s deliverance of his inner self is truly remarkable. His bravery is shown through his admittance that he is a –Christian-; I mean, when you’re in politics admitting that you hold such a belief to a country with 76% Christian majority is an extremely dangerous move. His declaration of war against the “War of Religion” that Obama obviously knew about is very courageous. So brave.

    - Ricky Perry is a Christian. Also, he wants to fight an imaginary war for an imaginary friend and go against the First Amendment of the United States.

    - 3 strategies used by Rick Perry:
    1) Use sincere background music to induce emotion.
    2) Wear “Joe the Plumber” clothes to create a connection between him and average Americans.
    3) Wear clothes, and, uhh…let’s see…the third one…I can’t, sorry. Forgot. Oops.

    Ojai Valley Taxidermy Commercial—Chuck Testa commercial

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJP1DphOWPs

    - Chuck Testa’s enthusiasm is hilariously expressed in this commercial. While there are a mixture of good and bad actors amongst others in the commercial, Testa’s maintained his personality and enthusiasm. In addition, his original use of taxidermed animals as bait is hilarious.

    - The main message is to go to Chuck Testa when you need something to be stuffed.

    - Testa tries to trick the audience into thinking the animals are still alive to show off his taxidermy skills. It is quite impressive, I legitimately though that was a bear sleeping with that woman and had mix feelings regarding that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pepto Bismol
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCdUed-TFgY
    1) This commercial is one of my favourite commercials. I still remember this commercial even after five years because it is funny every time I watch it and it also has the same memorable theme song for all their commercials.
    2) The main message of this commercial is a medicine that helps treat “nausea, heartburn, indigestion! Upset stomach, diarrhea!”(Pepto Bismol’s theme song).
    3) The creator of the Peptol Bismol’s commercial created a simple, easy and catchy song, so many people would be able to remember and even sing it on their own. Also, the commercial had different people in it, from different ages to different cultures, it made consumers like us relate and may want to buy it.

    Inception Movie Trailer
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM
    1) To me, Inception is one of the best movies in 2010. At the end of movie, I still remember that I thought everything was a dream because for the entire movie, every scene was unpredicted, but at the end everything came together like a puzzle piece.
    2) To reveal small parts of the movie to build up excitement and curiosity, so many people would go out and watch the movie or buy the DVD.
    3) Music and visual played a great role in this movie. Music made scenes feel more dramatic and epic. Visual created illusion and magic in one’s mind. Therefore, an awesome movie was made.

    Subway
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9-poe_IaM8&feature=related

    1) I liked how the commercial is simple yet it gets to the point. Also, every time I see a subway, a monkey and their slogan will pop into my head.
    2) To promote the low cost in buying fresh sandwiches at Subway.
    3) Firstly, Subway created an easy slogan for everyone to remember, “Subway. Think Fresh. Eat Fresh.” Secondly, used a friendly monkey as its logo. Lastly, it displayed many varieties of choices for sandwiches.

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  4. 1) Nivea Skin Commercial 2011
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHgQV1oDPOQ
    -I like this commercial because of the simplicity with which it advertises Nivea skin cream. I also like the background music, which adds to the effect of a soft, gentle skin cream, and I found it neat how the only color used in the whole video other than white was royal blue, which is the color of the jar of the Nivea cream.
    -The main message of this video ad is obvious: buy Nivea skin cream.
    -Nivea manages to get their message across by having a background voice which states: “Nivea has been trusted to care for skin for 100 years,” which adds to emphasizing how great of a product it is, and by the video which strategically shows the use of the cream on people of all ages and genders, from babies, to grandma’s, to men and women alike. This goes to show the popularity of the product, and its many uses.
    2) True Colors – Dove Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUsKIApTewQ
    -This commercial shows the sad reality that girls of all ages around the world feel the need to change, because they are not happy with their appearance. I liked this commercial, because its uplifting in the sense that it starts with girls who don’t like certain things about themselves such as their freckles, hair color or body weight, but it ends with the girls realizing that they are each beautiful in their own way. I also liked the background music “True Color’s,” which helped emphasize the main message.
    -I feel as if the main message of this video is that: “everyone is beautiful in their own way, they just have to realize it.” Dove highlights this by showing different girls, some with dark hair some with light hair, others with freckles or glasses, who feel the need to change in order to be beautiful. However, it’s the uniqueness that each girl has, whether it’s the freckles or the different hair color that actually adds to her beauty.
    -Dove manages to deliver their message of accepting and being happy with one’s appearance, even if it’s different, by strategically using an uplifting song which has lyrics with a similar message, and by using young girls of various backgrounds as the models, to show how different beauty can be, and how there should be no set guidelines defining beauty. It also evokes emotion at the beginning, by using captions to show young girls who are unhappy with their body image.
    3) I feel Pretty – Nike Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bO_pHOSEIk
    -I like this commercial, because it shows how even workout clothes can be beautiful. I also like how much confidence is shown in the woman, (Maria Sharapova), and how her ladylike attire and poise unveil a strong, athletic competitor. This goes to show that athleticism doesn’t mean a loss in beauty or femininity.
    -The main message of this video is obvious: buy women’s Nike sportswear.
    -Nike manages to get their message across by first of all strategically using a professional athlete, Maria Sharapova, which automatically helps increase the popularity of the product, and next, by stating over and over again: “I feel pretty,” which leads one to believe that the feeling of beauty can be achieved wearing Nike sports wear just like the model.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1) Telus Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KDj2Uo0IwU
    This has always been my favorite commercial. Although simple, it left a lasting impression. The commercial made perfect use of a catchy tune where a young boy is singing, “ I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.” The song is without is one of those songs you cannot get out of your head after hearing it a few times. This commercial uses this to their advantage obviously because this song really is irrelevant with their new promotion of receiving an Ipod in addition to high speed internet connection. This commercial simply displays a hippopotamus in hopes of getting the song and the image of the hippopotamus correlated with Telus!

    2) Axe Body Spray Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6IWAIf580
    This commercial contains sex appeal, lies and humour, which seem to be the makings of a successful commercial. The axe body commercials are based around the idea that men who wear axe body spray can make all women go crazy for them, especially the good looking ones. Since this particular scent probably has a little kick to it, the commercial was made accordingly. The grocery store setting helps add to the humour of the situation. After smelling the scent of this ordinary guy, a female immediately starts singing, “Bow chicka waa waa” while dancing outrageously. The commercial can put a smile to anyone’s face, if not making them laugh first. The phrase the girl is using is also advantageous because it to is one that could easily get stuck in one’s head. The message of the commercial is for ordinary men to buy axe body spray, so they to can experience its obvious affects on women.

    3) Loreal Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g47ODUi8LoE
    The entire commercial, regardless of the product, is based around singer Beyonce Knowles. This commercial is made to sell hair color, and Beyonce seems to be the perfect woman to portray this message. The ad is made into a sexy hair-flipping commercial, so women can watch it and hopefully be inspired to go out and try the new hair color. Many companies use celebrities to sell their products and most of the time it seems to work. In the back, Beyonce Knowles song is also playing to add to the upbeat theme of the commercial. I like this commercial because it is fun to watch to even. Choosing between different hair colors never looked so cool!

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  6. Sony Bravia TV Commercial
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GURvHJNmGrc

    I actually watched this advertisement quite a while ago. I didn't see it on TV, but on YouTube. I particularly like this advertisement because instead of pushing the product into your face, the advertisement producer awes the audience with amazing feats of "paint fireworks". In fact, the viewer might not even know what the advertisement is trying to sell until the very end. The main message of this unique advertisement is to proclaim that the Sony Bravia televisions have exceptional colour. The producer of the advertisement decided to create a very captivating approach. It is so interesting that it viewers who aren't even interested in televisions share the video. By creating this spectacle, Sony gets lots of publicity from YouTube and social media networks. I personally think this is a very effective advertisement.



    Berger Natural Paints
    http://i.imgur.com/v0ZeU.jpg

    I like this advertisement because it "thinks outside the box" (well, more like inside!). The majority of advertisements today are quite boring and are trapped by repetitive squares and rectangle spaces. The particular advertisement doesn't extend beyond the regular billboard size, but creatively utilizes the available space. The main message of the advertisement can almost be seen as a metaphor. The company claims to have natural coloured paints by tricking the viewer into thinking a man is painting the sky with a paint roller. The creator of the advertisement doesn't grab the viewer's attention with flashy colors, but instead draw attention to itself with its unusual nature.



    Hot Wheels
    http://i.imgur.com/SUDQG.jpg

    I have always loved Hot Wheels cars. For those who don't know what they are, they're tiny eraser sized cars that children play with. As a child I had fun making crazy tracks and loops to fling my cars around in. This particular advertisement is a hard one to miss. Anyone driving down the highway would most definitely notice this gigantic loop. The main message of the advertisement is to just show the world the Hot Wheels name. Any parent who has bought toys for their child most likely knows of the brand Hot Wheels. An advertisement like this has the tendency to be spread around the internet, which equals free publicity of Hot Wheels.


    Chris Tong

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  7. 3) http://rowandtwc301.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/palm_centro2_crop1.jpg

    This ad is very powerful. It almost doesn’t need any explanation. It’s very well presented and it also attacks a very vulnerable part of most humans. Organization skills, is a very common weakness in a lot of humans, and they are betting that a lot of people have written things on their arm to remember something. Whether they realized that what they had was actually chaos, like what the ad suggests, or if they thought it was order. Either way, the ad definitely does a great job in comparing the Palm Centro to what a lot of people do or used to do. Which ever way you look at it, the ad unquestionably puts the Palm Centro in a good light.

    Also, another great feature about this ad is that it is very simple. Two images, two word. SIMPLE. Once again, the ad let’s the audience make enough comparisons by themselves. It lets them think, “Hmmmm how would my life improve if I no longer wrote on my hand, but instead had a smart phone to hold all my important reminders and events.”

    Overall, the advertisement is thought provoker. It is not witty, but instead straight to the point. It tells you what you have; and that what you have it “Chaos”. Next it compares it to what you SHOULD have, and that it is the opposite; “Order.”

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  8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybwbZ2D-c-M&feature=related
    This commercial came out a while back, but it's still stuck inside my head. I like the ad because it is funny and eye catching. The main message is it is trying to make is for the viewer to buy KIA cars .One tactic used by the ad is the catchy, iconic song in the background. People from older generations can easily recognize it while younger generations would generally find the song energetic and engaging. Another crucial part of the design is obviously the wild car salesman dancing fittingly to the song. The dancing is visually outstanding and completely unexpected, which makes it more likely to leave an impression on the viewer's mind.


    http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/475261382_7e10200fc6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/01/category-cool-ads.html&h=352&w=500&sz=72&tbnid=SuDvQGWSU76SjM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=128&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcool%2Bads%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=cool+ads&docid=OTkH3PEthZpLUM&sa=X&ei=QmVyT4DkBcbOiAKV5pG9AQ&ved=0CEoQ9QEwAQ&dur=4799
    The purpose of this ad is to try to get people to donate to unicef in order to provide clean water in places where people suffer from drinking polluted water. I particularly like this ad because it it visually intriguing. The graphics are clean and shiny, which I find appealing to look at. The ad itself is a pictorial juxtaposition, showing a mushroom cloud , usually associated with fire, made out of water. There is also powerful symbolism in the mushroom cloud that is recognized by everyone worldwide as death and destruction. This is cleverly applied to the shortage of clean water since it is also creating lots of death in places around the world. Also, the ad uses a stunning statistic to imprint the urgency of the situation in the reader’s mind. Overall, this is a very interesting ad with deeper meaning imprinted into the picture.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0
    This is an advertisement I saw on Discovery. It advertises for the programs on the channel but at the same time it also makes the message that earth is a beautiful place. I like this ad for the overall feeling of community and harmony with nature portrayed in its design. The ad showcases the diverse animals, people and places that can be found on earth which gives a sense of awe and wonder to the viewer. Many of these locations are visually distinct giving the viewer a sense of distance, but the song that the people all sing together also makes its seem like they are also very close. This delivers the message that although the earth is a large and varied place, we all share its beauties and wonders. The song itself is also simple and catchy, and can be easily remembered and sung along to which makes the advertisement easier to remember. In particular I find this a great ad because it advertises the product. the discovery channel, while making a wonderful statement at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57zo8O5pDXc (Heineken)

    -The main thing about this is the catchy music. That’s the main reason I like it. It’s an old Indian song that was used in the commercial, and I’ve never heard it before. It gave me another good song to listen to.
    -I think the main message is to enjoy your days. Though it is a beer commercial, it doesn’t feel like one. The beer just makes a quick appearance near the end. I think the creators were trying to associate the beer with a good time.
    -It’s multicultural with people from many backgrounds so many can relate to it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSggaxXUS8k (Nike)

    -I love soccer, and this was an ad with a vast array of footballers. Of course I’d appreciate it.
    -The main message of the piece is to buy Nike because, well, Nike supports soccer fully.
    - The creator of the ad used soccer players from all across the globe. It was smart they didn’t use one only as that would have mainly appealed to only that players’ supporters, but this addressed basically everyone.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-XRcmB4Ubc (VISA)
    -It was a moving slideshow of pictures showing human courage. It was inspiring.
    -The main message of the ad was that we are all one, we’re all humans. Of course, it was an advert by VISA, so that was another message near the end; that we should use VISA.
    -The creator of the ad used black and white pictures to sort of give them more importance and renown. He used athletes mainly from USA to appeal to that large demographic.

    ReplyDelete
  10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

    The link I had posted is a video of a Volkswagen car commercial. I'm fairly sure the people who will be reading this blog are familiar with the "Vader Kid" Volkswagen car commercial, and so that is the advertisement I have decided to analyze.
    What I really like about this advertisement is how they were able to use a popular science fiction character to advertise their product. First of all, the science fiction character that was used in the commercial is named Darth Vader, who is probably the most popular science fiction character since the late 1970’s, and he comes from the science fiction franchise Star Wars, which overall is very popular in the Science fiction community. Although they use the character Darth Vader for this commercial, they use him as a popular science fiction character. What I also really like about the commercial is the fact that a little kid, who’s the one impersonating Darth Vader, attempts several of times to use “the force” on several different random objects when in fact, the kid dressed up as Darth Vader fails miserably.
    The main message of the advertisement was to show how cool the new Volkswagen vehicle is by using a commercial that involves Star Wars and some cute humor as well. In general, it doesn’t really send the message of how good the car actually is, but instead it uses comedy to attract people so they will pay attention to the advertisement. This is a good example of deception in an advertisement. In fact, this is exactly the reason how the creator/director of the advertisement got the message across to any viewer. It’s a good method in advertising, but we must be aware of what really lies behind the point of the advertisement and if we can use this advertisement to represent the actual product being advertised.
    This advertisement in general is a funny and humorous way of advertising a product where you’re not actually advertising the good things about the product, but instead how they can use the product in a comedic way.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 1) what you particularly like about whatever you have chosen,
    2) what the main message of the piece is, and
    3) how the creator of the ad, website or video/clip managed to get his/her/their message across

    http://www.addictinggames.com/strategy-games/pandemic2.jsp

    I particularly enjoyed this game because although it seems simple in its concept, it is actually quite deep. The game in itself targets an audience that has been exposed to the media blown up H1N1, swine flu, SARS. One facet of Pandemic 2 that I enjoyed was the depth that the game included. The game intertwines aspects of biology, social psychology. The game itself does not have a very complicated display however it allows the players to visualize all that is going on. Governments closing off ports, airports and borders to other countries. Curfews being setup and travelling boats being turned away. Images such as these bring images of 1984, the book to my mind and that intrigues me.

    I think that the main message of this game is that, as we approach an era of increasing globalization we need to be cautious of the woes that globalization may bring such as disease. I believe the maker of this game's main idea however was to bring joy to the players of the game.

    The game was able to get its message across by allowing the players to visualize the devastation that the world experiences when a catastrophe such as a pandemic occurs, how a government would handle their citizens and the fact that populations, the sick and the dead are just numbers, statistics. When I think about that, I remember the quote by Joseph Stalin, "One death is tragic; a million is a statistic. "

    ReplyDelete
  12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNF5CfjvfSM

    I chose this ad because I really liked Disney as a kid and still continue to love many of the Disney products. This commercial for Disney appeals to children who watch this clip and want to go on an adventure during the holiday season. The clip also shows many other kids on this ship traveling around the world, adventuring to bring more and more kids along with them to Disneyland. The girl in the beginning of the clip even ends up going to see Mickey Mouse and the other children are happy as they run into Disneyland while the snow is lightly falling. This message was carried across quite well and it really appeals to young children. As children see this little girl meet Micky Mouse in the end, it makes the audience want to go on this adventure with them. The way that this is attractive to the consumer is that it shows a world where everything is calm, peaceful, fun, and happy. This allows kids to imagine what they could do in the holiday season and also convince their paying parents to bring them there. As a result, this ad not only uses the various strategies to attract their target audience to watch and want their product, it also allows the audience (kids) to bring more people (adults, parents) to the product.

    ReplyDelete
  13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWywHqHCrSA

    I particularly like this commercial created by the Panda Cheese Company because it is the only commercial that is able to make me laugh. After watching this ad, I had a sense of wanting to try this product because of its impact on me. Even after weeks have past, I still look back to this ad and re-watch it just for laughs.

    The main message of the piece is if you don’t try, buying or if you reject Panda Cheese you will get owned by a Panda. I don’t think there is an underlying message because from my perspective. I think the companies target market strategies in ad is to impact a persons mind and have it stuck and repeated in their head over and over. Which I think they have done a great job in because it is still stuck in my mind over years now.

    In the beginning of the commercial the setting of the shoot is in an average office building. Everything is normal until a person asks, “Hey want some panda cheese”, and after the office person rejects the cheese. A huge panda from the Panda Cheese logo pops out and smashes all the office work off the table of the employer. For a majority of the companies commercial, a humorous approach is used. Now and days, people pass around funny commercials to share not for the noticing of the product but of how the style of the ad is.

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  14. Joel McHale Goes Viral for Nintendo

    1) what you particularly like about whatever you have chosen,
    I thought this ad was absolutely hilarious. Nintendo doesn't usually have any over the top ads, and they are never are any popular. With this ad they were able to get Joel McHale (a TV star from one of my favourite shows "Community") and use him to promote the selling of their Nintendo 3DS. It was very original, and it appealed to rigorous internet users, like me. I'm not a big fan of the Nintendo 3DS but this ad did make me respect the efforts of Nintendo advertising it's product a lot more.
    2) what the main message of the piece is, and
    The main message of ad was to subtly tell the viewers about all the special features of the Nintendo 3DS. It also tells the viewers of the ad that Nintendo understands them so they're not going to try and shove the product in their face, but still that they should buy it to experience its great qualities. In an effort to promote lacking sales of the 3DS, they try a different approach to sell it's product.
    3) how the creator of the ad, website or video/clip managed to get his/her/their message across
    Nintendo manages to advertise their Nintendo 3DS by bringing in a big name celebrity, Joel McHale. But in a different approach to advertise their product, they chose to make fun of advertising their product. The entire advertisement is of Joel McHale trying to come up with ideas to make a viral advertisement for the Nintendo 3DS, while at the same time, subtly mentioning all the Nintendo 3DS features. Eventually by the end of the ad, Joel isn't even trying to be subtle, making fun of the fact that some advertisers try to use the same subtle techniques to advertise in commercials. All the while to make the ad seem like it's authentic, Joel's advertising partner is confused as to why Joel is making references to Nintendo and the 3DS. The advertisement was very meta, which appeals to many internet users. At the end of the ad, Joel has 4 models with Nintendo 3DS' in their hands, Mario , and Luigi beside him as they all say "Buy a Nintendo 3DS now" in a very loud and bland voice. The funny approach of the advertisement was a very effective way for marketing the Nintendo 3DS towards their target audience, young internet users.

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  15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
    1) what you particularly like about whatever you have chosen
    -I chose this commercial because it really made an impression on me when I first came across it last year. It was very popular and I saw many people posting this commercial on facebook. Although I am not an automobile consumer, I found this commercial successful in catching people's attention. Why? It's funny, the famous Darth Vader reference and it's almost like a mini skit.

    2) what the main message of the piece is
    -Quiet honestly, the director made this commercial in to a mini skit without bragging about the product the company is trying to sell. The only time the company's product appears is at the very end when the child is attempting to spark energy in to the car. The dad, watching his son from inside the kitchen, presses to his car keys which makes the car spark. The child obviously is unaware of this, and is stunned by what had happened. The audience knows that the 'power' did not come from the child, but the child thinks it was him while he is still slightly unsure of his powers.

    3) how the creator of the ad, website or video/clip managed to get his/her/their message across
    -I believe the main message of this commercial was not to sell a specific product, but rather their brand name as Volkswagen. Because they made a famous reference to Star Wars, one of the most well known movie series in our generation, everyone can easily recognize the humor. As well, the way they did not reveal their product till the end leaves suspense to the audience because it is very vague what the commercial is trying to sell until the very end. Because this commercial is so different and unique from others, it stands out a lot thus making people easily recognize 'the Volkswagen commercial' or 'that commercial with Darth Vader kid'. In addition, instead of trying to shove a product down the audience's throat, this commercial makes the audience enjoy the humor that the director conveys.

    ReplyDelete