Silence Kills...

For one of my blog entries I wanted to write about something other than commercials. No better time than the present!

For this entry, I wanted to focus on printed advertisements. I didn’t want to do too many, so I chose 2 that I will focus on. The 2 that I chose are caught my attention because of their illusions and because of their messages. 

VERBAL ABUSE

First, there is an ad about verbal abuse. The photograph shows a man with his mouth wide open like he is screaming. A fist protrudes his mouth and grasps the hair of a fearful woman. The pain in her face is obvious. She silently pleads for help as he verbally abuses her.

The advertisement had no words, but there was no need for them. The message is clear; verbal abuse hurts as much as physical abuse. The ad is powerful because we know the message without having to read it.

The Media and Stereotypes

Something that was interesting to me was that there are many advertisements similar to this one; however, none of them showed the reverse role. Though many of them showed young boys being verbally abused by adults, they did not show adult men being abuse by women. 

When ads show stereotypical things it makes me realize just how stereotypes come about. The media is perhaps the fastest, most effective way that we communicate in the 21^st century. If they are showing us that it is not OK for men to verbally abuse women, but yes it is OK that women can abuse men, then I believe that we, as a society, have a lot of improvements to make!


More Verbal Abuse Ads (Women)
Verbal Abuse Ads (Children)

Choking ...SMOKING

Another ad that I found interesting came about in Latin America. Regarding demographics, I believe the ad is targeted towards young Latino men. We know this because young men are a more prone to playing sports.

Unlike in the United States, soccer is the most popular sport; therefore, this ad would speak words to many of Latin America’s people. Besides soccer being the most popular sport, we know that this is geared towards Latinos because in small letters “Com cigarro tuda vira cinza” is written, which is Spanish. If translated to English, this means “with cigarettes, your life goes to ashes.”

I looked up the phrase on Google and found this information:

“Brazil has the world’s strictest governmental laws against smoking, consisting of highly visible anti-smoking campaigns, severe control on advertising, and very high taxes on smoking products. Despite these obstacles, the number of smokers in Brazil continues to grow. 

In 2006, there were approximately 44 million smokers in the country, up from 38 million in 1997.

Factors driving this trend include the low price of cigarettes, which are among the lowest in the world; the easy access to tobacco products as well as the actions taken by the powerful tobacco companies to slow down the anti-smoking legislation in Brazil (Eyes on Brazil - Word Press).”

Considering this, I would think that the ad targets Brazilians a large bit.

Cigs crush dreams?

This ad speaks directly to the target group because young Latino athletes would look at this and see that if they smoke, their dreams would fall apart.  If this ad was to be place in the US, they may have football players on the front, because people see athletes as role models. It is a young football players dream to become a football star. The ad shows that smoking is not needed in order to fulfill the desire to become a soccer player and in fact, it will hurt your chances of doing so.

I believe the purpose of this ad is to reach out to the young Latinos before they try tobacco and are already addicted. So in a sense, it is to prevent them from smoking. When young people see that smoking isn’t the “cool” thing to do, they may look at smoking adults differently.

The Young-Old Spice

Sex sells! The half naked man in the bathroom sells as well. With over 31,244,240 views on YouTube, the Old Spice commercial has topped many of the commercials that I have seen in the past year.

Aside from being hilarious, Isaiah Mustafa gives the feeling of sexy sarcasm. Though Old Spice is typically meant for men, the commercial is focused more on the woman (or man) in the man’s life.

It seems to me that the purpose of this commercial and others like it is to reposition the product in consumers’ minds. Old Spice is typically for older men, but the commercial brings the young, sexy side into the mix, though this does not change the “old people smell” of the actual product.

The commercial is filled with random lines and scenes that do not have a specific connection, which adds to the mystery and humor of the advertisement. 

The exact words from the commercial are: “Hello, ladies, look at your man, and now back to me. Now back at your man, and now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now diamonds! Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I’m on a horse.”

Subliminal Messages???

I did not notice the intensity of the persuasion in the commercial until I read the article On Sumbliminal Manipulation and that Old Spice Commercial.

It points out the fact that the props used in the commercial have meanings within themselves, which I am sure are subliminal to the average consumer. For example, diamonds mean marriage and wealth, while a horse symbolizes grace, beauty, and freedom.

This, along with the half-naked man with a mesmerizing voice and humor has the ability to grab the attention of millions. I am not sure whether the video was popular because of the “sexy” Isaiah Mustafa or because it was not similar to the commercials we are used to. What I do know is that sex, and “sexy” DOES sell. 

Click here to view an interview with Isaiah Mustafa which gives details on how he creates his commercials and how he started doing them.

Late Night Snack

Why aren’t we supposed to watch television late at night? Maybe it’s because of commercials like THIS! Though it is not bad for Ruby Tuesday’s, it may be for the consumer, especially if they’re on a diet.

I saw this Ruby Tuesday’s commercial one night and instantly got an appetite. It’s a little funny because I do not even like seafood! 

This Ruby Tuesday’s commercial and those like it often place the thought of the food in the back of the viewers’ minds. I found myself thinking about the food on the commercial the next day at lunch. 

The commercial began showing the moving water, showing that the fish was fresh. It shows the fresh vegetables being sliced and tossed on top of the tilapia fish and pasta. As this occurs, they give an overview of what the meal entails which gives us the feeling that it will be the most delicious meal we have ever tasted.

They use key phrases that relate back to the seafood theme. They tell us to “dive” into the shell fish trio. Their goal is to get us to “set sail” through their seafood festival today.

On the night that I actually saw the commercial I was a little disappointed because I wanted food though I knew I was not supposed to eat. It was also frustrating because I had no way to get the food because it was so late and I had no transportation. 

If you have the same urge I do to snack at night, try this site!  How to Stop Late Night Food Cravings 

Sometimes I feel as though that is the purpose of the commercials. Obviously they want to put their product’s image in our minds, but I feel as though they are doing more. They put these images in our minds at the right time, when we are cannot get to the product. 

For me, this gives me time to think of all of my options. For example, on the commercial they featured seafood. Because I do not like seafood, I thought of other things that may be more satisfying to me.

Though I realize the intent of the commercials, sometimes they still catch my eye. 

I have only been to Ruby Tuesday’s once before. After seeing this commercial, I want to go again. I am hoping that I get enough so that I can save a bit for that late night craving.

After all, it doesn’t hurt to snack sometimes. =)   Ruby Tuesday's!!!