... or so says an interesting article in the guardian media, which tells of how Heavy restrictions on advertising can be surprisingly good for creativity.
it talks about how due to restrictions, advertisers must be a lot more inventive in the way they present their products, which has lead them away from the generic "this product is great, come and buy it" style of advertising.
telling agencies what they weren't allowed to do did seem to bring out a competitive edge in their work
inspiring advertisiers to come up with more interesting adverts is probably very useful for the sales of the product - a piece of work that is eye-catching and original is of course going to grab the interest of the public more than any of the generic adverts surrounding it. restrictions may not be the bane of advertisiers, it might just be the thing that keeps pushing advertising forward.
creative advertising is compared to art in the renaissance, where artist produced amazing work despite being very strictly limitted.
i think i shall email someone in the business to find out if this is true =]
nuff love
x sylvia
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Thursday, 28 August 2008
sex as a marketing strategy
so what responsibilities does the world of advertising have to the general population?
in a society where adverts are part of everyday life, we may not realize the impact that advertising actually has on us. sometimes it is obvious; you see an advert, you want the product.
sometimes it is not so.
for example, many pop stars and celebrities are blamed for giving young children [girls in particular] the 'wrong idea'. Britney Spears, who for much of her career towed the very thin line between attractive and provocative, has often been criticized by the press for influencing young girls to dress and behave in a more sexual and provocative manner. in using her sex appeal to sell her records and gain status and fame, her record company has also exposed her younger and more easily influenced fans to the idea of 'sexy'.
a single example off the top of my head [because i grew up listening to britney hahaha] she is not the first and most certainly not the last mainstream star to be marketed in such a way.
sex appeal has become a very popular [and often effective] form of advertising. certain products, such as perfumes, are particularly partial to using imagery with sexual connotations in their campaigns, as explained in this article.
in a society where adverts are part of everyday life, we may not realize the impact that advertising actually has on us. sometimes it is obvious; you see an advert, you want the product.
sometimes it is not so.
for example, many pop stars and celebrities are blamed for giving young children [girls in particular] the 'wrong idea'. Britney Spears, who for much of her career towed the very thin line between attractive and provocative, has often been criticized by the press for influencing young girls to dress and behave in a more sexual and provocative manner. in using her sex appeal to sell her records and gain status and fame, her record company has also exposed her younger and more easily influenced fans to the idea of 'sexy'.
a single example off the top of my head [because i grew up listening to britney hahaha] she is not the first and most certainly not the last mainstream star to be marketed in such a way.
sex appeal has become a very popular [and often effective] form of advertising. certain products, such as perfumes, are particularly partial to using imagery with sexual connotations in their campaigns, as explained in this article.
ethical advertising
i just thought id post an interesting quote about ethics and advertising, which i found quite thought-provoking.
"What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising;? Unethical advertising ues falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public."
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, anthropologist, (1879–1962)
sums it up pretty well actually.
x sylvia
"What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising;? Unethical advertising ues falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public."
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, anthropologist, (1879–1962)
sums it up pretty well actually.
x sylvia
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Viral Advertising
advertising has had to evolve over the years as people become immune to its effects. on average, a person will see anything between 30 and 3,000 adverts in a day, and most of those have very little effect on them. 'shockvertising' is one new form of advertising that has emerged to combat its ineffectiveness. another newer form of promotion is something known as 'Viral Advertising'.
in Wikipedia, it is defined as; Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. The basic form of viral marketing is not infinitely sustainable.
basically, viral advertising works via word-of-mouth, promoted by the fans themselves, because they get something out of it, often inciting the curiosity of the fans and allowing them to interact with the campaign.
one particularly successful example of viral advertising is the current promotional campaign for the new Batman film. this link leads to an explanation of part of the viral advertising campaign where fans had to promote the website and get as many of their friends and acquaintances as possible in on it in order to uncover a hidden picture.
so much cooler thn normal advertising methinks =]
x sylvia
in Wikipedia, it is defined as; Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. The basic form of viral marketing is not infinitely sustainable.
basically, viral advertising works via word-of-mouth, promoted by the fans themselves, because they get something out of it, often inciting the curiosity of the fans and allowing them to interact with the campaign.
one particularly successful example of viral advertising is the current promotional campaign for the new Batman film. this link leads to an explanation of part of the viral advertising campaign where fans had to promote the website and get as many of their friends and acquaintances as possible in on it in order to uncover a hidden picture.
so much cooler thn normal advertising methinks =]
x sylvia
Thursday, 3 July 2008
More Shockvertising [warning: disturbing imagery]
shockvertising has proved in the past to be extremely effective. it operates on the assumption that the old saying all publicity is good publicity is true. the images are shocking, contraversial and often disturbing. iv included a link to a count-down of the top 50 shockvertisements.
they include a french anti-AIDS campaign
and an anti-whaling campaign
pretty, isnt it.
x sylvia
they include a french anti-AIDS campaign
and an anti-whaling campaign
pretty, isnt it.
x sylvia
examiners report && brainstorming
right, just for my own personal benefit im posting a link to a copy of the examiners report on advertising in this post.
the following extract from it i feel is extremely important;
many drift into a general discussion of a variety of media forms (especially magazines and TV) and few stop to consider the aims and purpose of advertising itself.
now im glad i read this, because as i mentioned in my last post, we can all sum up the purpose of advertising; to make you spend your money. which may lead you to ask (and why is it that all my answers lead to more questions?!?) is advertising the driving force behind consumerism? and more importantly why? what is it that makes people want to go out and buy a product because they saw it on tv/in a magazine/on a billboard?
i think some questionnaires and things are in order...
x sylvia
the following extract from it i feel is extremely important;
many drift into a general discussion of a variety of media forms (especially magazines and TV) and few stop to consider the aims and purpose of advertising itself.
now im glad i read this, because as i mentioned in my last post, we can all sum up the purpose of advertising; to make you spend your money. which may lead you to ask (and why is it that all my answers lead to more questions?!?) is advertising the driving force behind consumerism? and more importantly why? what is it that makes people want to go out and buy a product because they saw it on tv/in a magazine/on a billboard?
i think some questionnaires and things are in order...
x sylvia
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Adbusters
when looking at advertising and in particular its links with consumerism, you cant help but look at the parodies found on adbusters.org, a non-profit, anti-consumerist organisation, who have described themselves as "a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age."
full of interesting articles on anti-consumerism, stopping global warming, making the world a better place and other such happy things. it contains many 'spoof ads' also known as 'subvertisements' which are a direct parody of real adverts.
although they are not adverts in a conventional sense, they can be seen as commenting on the ideologies that these adverts support or portray.
The following is an advert for Absolut Vodka, and one its adbusters counterparts
pretty cool =]
clicky for more subvertisements.
the subvertisement suggests many things; firstly it is saying VODKA MAKES YOU IMPOTENT. i think we all managed to see that. what it is also pointing out is that advertising does not tell you the whole story. in fact, advertising may not necassarily tell you any of the story. advertising tells you 'BUY THIS PRODUCT' and it does so to earn money. advertising does not care if you turn impotent because of something it told you to do. it brings to light the question
is advertising moral?
to which an obvious answer in this case, and in many cases that im sure you can think of, the answer will be no.
this brings to light another question;
CAN advertising be moral?
hmmm....
x sylvia
full of interesting articles on anti-consumerism, stopping global warming, making the world a better place and other such happy things. it contains many 'spoof ads' also known as 'subvertisements' which are a direct parody of real adverts.
although they are not adverts in a conventional sense, they can be seen as commenting on the ideologies that these adverts support or portray.
The following is an advert for Absolut Vodka, and one its adbusters counterparts
pretty cool =]
clicky for more subvertisements.
the subvertisement suggests many things; firstly it is saying VODKA MAKES YOU IMPOTENT. i think we all managed to see that. what it is also pointing out is that advertising does not tell you the whole story. in fact, advertising may not necassarily tell you any of the story. advertising tells you 'BUY THIS PRODUCT' and it does so to earn money. advertising does not care if you turn impotent because of something it told you to do. it brings to light the question
is advertising moral?
to which an obvious answer in this case, and in many cases that im sure you can think of, the answer will be no.
this brings to light another question;
CAN advertising be moral?
hmmm....
x sylvia
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
shockvertising
public health warnings and charity adverts are becoming increasingly graphic, using shock tactics and attention-grabbing images or taglines to get their message across.
THIS is the link to an article about new anti binge-drinking campaigns launched by the home office, which are to be shown in the evenings to capture their target audience.
x sylvia
THIS is the link to an article about new anti binge-drinking campaigns launched by the home office, which are to be shown in the evenings to capture their target audience.
THIS ARTICLE, although slightly older, talks about 'shockvertising', focusing on graphic, hard-hitting ads such as the barnados add showing a baby heroin addict.
x sylvia
Critical Research
ok, its been AAAAAGES since i last posted lol
for my critical research i have chosen advertising as my topic. originally i planned to focus on how advertising in the media, focusing on the fashion industry, affects women's body image, but now, after reading an interesting article which sparked my imagination, im thinking of focusing on the censoring of advertising -
> why certain things are censored where others arent,
> how far advertisers can go in order to promote whatever they are promoting without crossing the line,
> how advertisers use shock tactics to appeal to their audience,
> whether censoring and restrictions on content hinder the creativity of people who create adverts or encourage it
> how as an audience the public has developed over the years - things acceptable in advertising now would have caused outrage 30 years ago
this is only an initial idea and is subject to change over the next week or so, depending on what my initial research tells me.
x Sylvia
for my critical research i have chosen advertising as my topic. originally i planned to focus on how advertising in the media, focusing on the fashion industry, affects women's body image, but now, after reading an interesting article which sparked my imagination, im thinking of focusing on the censoring of advertising -
> why certain things are censored where others arent,
> how far advertisers can go in order to promote whatever they are promoting without crossing the line,
> how advertisers use shock tactics to appeal to their audience,
> whether censoring and restrictions on content hinder the creativity of people who create adverts or encourage it
> how as an audience the public has developed over the years - things acceptable in advertising now would have caused outrage 30 years ago
this is only an initial idea and is subject to change over the next week or so, depending on what my initial research tells me.
x Sylvia
Monday, 28 April 2008
social networking gets creepy
paving the way for internet stalkers is new functions on social networking websites allowing a users position to be tracked by satellite.
[full story]
thats just too far in my opinion.
- sylvia
[full story]
thats just too far in my opinion.
- sylvia
facebook search for criminals
law enforcement; another example of social networking, an important part of web 2.0 being put to use beyond its original intentional use [click for full article]
yeah, web 2.0 is taking over...
- sylvia
yeah, web 2.0 is taking over...
- sylvia
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
libaries join web 2.0
an article on the guardian website regarding web 2.0 technology talks about how the ideas behind social networking are spreading to other areas in order to make information more accessible to people.
By embracing the interactive, user-generated world of web 2.0, libraries can ensure they keep pace with bold new ways of learning
click for full article
x sylviaaa
By embracing the interactive, user-generated world of web 2.0, libraries can ensure they keep pace with bold new ways of learning
click for full article
x sylviaaa
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Web 2.0
as defined in wikipedia;
Web 2.0 is a trend in World Wide Web technology, and web design, a second generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users.
basically, web 2.0 is how the internet is developing, to accommodate more user-generated content. social networking sites, where a user can edit their profile to represent themselves, whilst interacting with others, such as myspace, is a prime example of web 2.0 technology.
although web 2.0, a term coined by O'Reilly media, is not so much a technology as an idea behind the technology, it is a rapidly expanding aspect of the internet.
more to come =]
x sylvia
Web 2.0 is a trend in World Wide Web technology, and web design, a second generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users.
basically, web 2.0 is how the internet is developing, to accommodate more user-generated content. social networking sites, where a user can edit their profile to represent themselves, whilst interacting with others, such as myspace, is a prime example of web 2.0 technology.
although web 2.0, a term coined by O'Reilly media, is not so much a technology as an idea behind the technology, it is a rapidly expanding aspect of the internet.
more to come =]
x sylvia
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Sunday, 3 February 2008
flux magazine
an interesting article on one of the magazines we are focusing our research on, which is likely to be our main competetor in the market.
clicky link!
x sylvia
clicky link!
x sylvia
Friday, 25 January 2008
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Future of the WWW
The World Wide Web was one of the most successful technological inventions of our time… why? The answer is simple… and it’s in the name. World-wide-web. It is a huge network, accessible by anyone and everyone. Web pages can be created by pretty much anyone, and make it accessible to the masses. Entrepreneurs soon saw the business possibilities of this new invention and now we have hundreds of auction sites, online stores and other commercial websites, such as Ebay or Amazon, where anybody who has a credit card or debit card of some sort, can buy anything online, choosing from a variety not necessarily available to them where they may live.
Unfortunately this presents a problem – privacy laws which did not previously exist have had to come into place to prevent people’s information on the Internet to be misused.
The World Wide Web is ever-growing, and as it grows, so does the variety of ways it can be accessed. Technology items such as mobile phones now also provide access to the internet, increasing its accessibility even more, a trend that is set to continue as it becomes possible to access the internet on even more non-PC devices. In the future, the web will become a huge part of our lives, the walls of rooms turned into huge displays and internet access available from a variety of different items of technology.
i think that the huge popularity of the WWW means that it is going to be more prominent in our lives, to be used in everything from business to education. its accessibility and how easy it is to use means that people of all ages can utlise it, but for the same reasons it can be quite dangerous, particularly for young children or for those who put personal details onlines. it can also be hard to trace interent criminals, meaning that fraud can often go unnoticed or unpunished.
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