Its frightening to me how far some types of advertising can penetrate my mind, to the extant that I learn pretty much everything there is to know about a brand's message. This is not the beginning of a rant on the 'evils of advertising', but personally I worry how receptive I am towards the techniques.
Yesterday, I'm flicking through a Sunday newspaper, and despite looking for news about the escalating Middle East conflict, my eye settles on an advert for the TV channel Film 4. I'm scanning for news, not ads, so I try not to pay the ad any more than residual attention, however, I notice that there is a plane flying in the sky at the top right of the ad, with a banner towing behind it. The plane is a very small part of a busy advert, and for a second, I wonder why I noticed it. The banner is upside down; funny mistake to make, I think and move on to some comment about Putin and Bush trading blows at the G8.
Later that day, I'm watching a bit of telly before I go to bed, and up pops an advert for the same channel, Film Four. This time, its film star Lucy Lui dressed in WW2 Bomber gear, flying a plane with a banner floating behind it. Ground control radios to her that there is a problem… the banner is upside down. Before the ad finishes, I flick over to something else.
This morning, I wake up, and my mind is full of Film 4. Without having consciously studied the adverts, I can now tell you that Film 4, previously a subscription based TV channel that screens art house, classic and credible blockbuster films will be free to air next week. The film stars used to promote the event include the aforementioned Lucy, Ewan Mcgregor, Judi Dench, Ray Winstone and some others that I recognize but can't place. The Film 4 logo has changed to some boxed art deco type 4, white out of red. All this, and I didn't even pay attention to the ads, nor did I really want to know anything about the service (they only ever show Trainspotting and Shallow Grave anyway).
I have lost so many valuable real life memories to forgetfulness; my 18th birthday, the second date I had with my missus, the dinner I had last Tuesday… all gone. But I clearly remember a whole range of advertising campaigns that I've not watched throughout my life, from the Smash robots to the BA Delibes Sunflower Duets to Film Bloody 4. And here I am giving them free publicity on my blog. See how it works?
6 Comments:
i know exactly what you mean about losing real life memories (aren't they the only ones anyway?) and instead remembering really arcane and vague things. i think it's got something to do with the way we in advertising discipline ourselves to look at advertising and opportunities for advertising all around us. And not just in our waking hours.
i dread the day i get an idea in the middle of a dream. not just an idea dream but a totally non-advertising dream (my god!) in which i notice something worth making a note of for future use.
Dananjay
you're right, my mistake, I suppose there are only real life memories. What I meant to say was memories created from experiences from my own life.... you lnow what I mean.
So do you think the issue is less acute for people outside of advertising/ media? Or are they simply less aware of the techniques and are oblivious, but just as sold-to.
I know what you mean about dreams... many a blockbuster book/ song/ ad/ film have dissappeared as my Nokia wakes me up at 7am. But the you know what they say; if you think of a new tune, but can't remember the chorus after a couple of hours, it ain't worth writing at all. Wish someone had told that to James Blunt.
That's an awesome description of your experience.
One of the reasons I don't watch much tv is that not watching really used to cut down on my advertising exposure, though the Internet is changing that. I hadn't thought about the Internet in connection with my exposure to ads or my fairly recent focus on writing about marketing.
But before the Internet was a big part of my life, I stopped watching tv but did watch all kinds of movies. I remember feeling colonized by images from Terminator on both a mental and physical level for days after seeing it.
I've definitely gone from sceptic to involved observer with your project.
After leaving here I went to another site and this post seems totally relevant to what you're up to, though from a very different angle:
Granny's Black Media Immersion Month
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/001989.html
hello Neil, I like your blog and I want to exchange your blog link with my link,
my blog is Arts Collections .
pls feedback to me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good Google Link About Arts
hello Neil, I like your blog and I want to exchange your blog link with my link,
my blog is Arts Collections .
pls feedback to me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good Google Link About Arts
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home