The Research Stage

So basically the assignment was to find an advertisement  that FAILED.

I remember seeing two very prominent ads in the past that I couldn't forget.

The first would be the Nivea's re-civilize ad:

Things that have gone wrong?

That //white// male is holding the head of a //black// male and it about to toss it sky high! What does that say about racism? The tag lines "Re-civilize yourself" and "Look like you give a damn" doesn't help either.

The second would be the Playstation portable (PSP) White console ad:

This would be another racist ad. By the composition and idea portrayed by this ad I get the indication that they're trying to say white is superior than black. This could also date back to history when the black people were slaves to the white's. To me it is highly OFFENSIVE although I personally love Play Station, just not this particular ad.

In the end I decided to go with the Nivea ad.

Here was the rationale I wrote for it:

" I remember seeing this advertisement a long time ago when visiting a site. It’s a Nivea advertisement  showing a white male throwing the head of a black male with an afro with a tagline that said “Re-civilize yourself”. Just by a glance I noticed the racism implied in this advertisement.  The message the Nivea crew were trying to get out was “your face would be cleanly shaven and you wouldn’t have that dirty rugged look anymore”. Culture-wise this is very offensive to other races, especially with that tagline “Re-civilize yourself”, were they trying to imply non-white people are not as civilized as them? That was the impression I got when I saw this advertisement.  If I were to fix this ad, I’d show a man with half shaved face and the other half all rugged with a dirty beard. In that case the impact wouldn’t be nearly as offensive and the message would be clear. "

More information about nivea:

It is a company that manufactures skin and beauty products. Their main concern is to make products that can enhance the state of one's skin and hair. Now about that particular advert, it was advertising for haircare. The product was supposed to enhance the hair condition, peel off your old dirty hair in metamorphosis to clean smooth hair. This line of products also includes substance for facial hair as well.

They were going to advertise:

"Early starts, busy days and long nights can leave skin noticeably tired, dull and stressed out - but help is at hand. The NIVEA FOR MEN Skin Energy range with improved formula and skin’s own coenzyme Q10 for all your skincare needs. "

( http://www.niveaformenusa.com/products.html#/range/q10/revitalising_cream_q10 )

List of the products:

REVITALIZING LOTION Q10 SPF 15

Specially formulated for men,  Revitalizing Lotion Q10 revitalizes, moisturizes, and protects tired, stressed skin.

• Enriched with skin’s own Coenzyme Q10 to helps maintain skin’s vitality and elasticity
• SPF  15 helps protect against damage caused by UV rays
• Skin is left looking  healthy, fresh and fit
• Dermatologist tested.

Energy Face Care Gel Moisturizer is a unique gel moisturizer that wakes up the skin with an instant shot of Q10 revitalizing energy. It's light, non-greasy formula works to refresh and nourish tired skin.

Q10 REVITALIZING DOUBLE ACTION BALM

The innovative light, fast absorbing formula with Coenzyme Q10 & soothing Chamomile:

• Soothes the skin after shaving
• Supplies whole face with 24h moisture and energizes skin

• Close and comfortable shave
• Energizes skin while shaving

Energy After Shave Splash revitalizes and nourishes the skin after shaving. This unique formula pairs NIVEA skincare technology with a light, masculine scent.

ENERGY EYE ROLLER GEL

Energy eye roller gel works hard to revitalize tired skin around the eye area, so skin looks healthy and feels smooth and refreshed. So even after a night out on the town or a long day at the office, skin looks and feels refreshed. The gel formula absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue

In my opinion they should have EMPHASIZED on these particular characteristics

Reference:

www.nivea.com.my

-Komal Puri

Assignment 2: The Power of Advertising - Cultural and Design Aspects

Introduction

For this assignment, we are supposed to re-advertise a brand or product based on one of the ads/commercials that have failed to convey their message/purpose to the public based on its culture and society. Each group member is required to search for and ad/commercial respectively, choose one out of the listed ads/commercials, and finally conduct research as well as developing ideas (sketches, mind maps, etc.) into a blog.

Eclipse's Mints Ad - "Live Life in the Eclipse"

(Reference Citing: Layla Kia, 2009. Eclipse's Mints Ad - Live Life in the Eclipse [video online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU-q4hsk0WA [29th October 2012].)

The advertisement starts with a beautiful lady walking and popping one of Eclipse’s mints into her mouth while looking seductively to a cute guy that's pushing his bike across the street. At the same time, an eclipse occurs. While everyone was busy observing the rare phenomenon, both individuals had held onto each other’s gazes. As they stopped with their faces a few inches apart from each other, the girl opens her mouth, letting out wisps of her breath, and almost immediately; brought their lips together for a passionate kiss.

According to Wrigley's (the company which under the brand ECLIPSE Mints') the purpose of it is to reconnect it's product with consumers through television in 2009, inviting them to ‘Live Life in the ECLIPSE’. Shot and produced in Sydney’s Martin Place, the heart of the campaign focussed on the core benefit of ‘Powerful Fresh Breath’. 2009 also saw the introduction of Black Chill, bringing the total ECLIPSE range to 5 fantastic flavours. ( Reference Citing: Wrigley's, 2009. ECLIPSE® Mints [online] Available at: <http://www.wrigley.com/aunz/brands/eclipsemints.aspx> [Accessed 20th October 2012])

The reason why I felt that the advertisement was a failure was because the message did not really reach out towards the audience. Although the wisps of the lady’s breath seemed to indicate that it was cool and fresh, it does not really relate to why and how the eclipse had to occur in the first place. 

Even though there are some who tend to be more open minded than others, the commercial itself can also be considered  inappropriate to most countries in the world, especially with the kissing scene (a way of showing sensuality?). On the other hand, I find that the commercial had also exaggerated too much with “girls with minty fresh breaths = kissing some cute and random stranger across the street”. In real life, it’s just simply awkward to kiss a person that you don’t even know,even in most circumstances.

-FY-

The good and the bad

For our 2nd assignment of Design Studies, our given task is to

What makes a good ad, and what makes the ad bad?
Before we go on into that, what is the main purpose of advertising?
According to Smallbusiness website (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/explains-purpose-advertising-36432.html) 
the purpose of advertising can be broken down into 5 subtopics.

The first one is Solicitation. This basically means that advertising encourages consumers to purchase the goods as well as promotes the goods and services.

Second would be Marketing and Promoting.Promotion does not always urge the consumers to immediately purchase the goods but to interest them or to make them more interested in purchasing the goods.

Third is to raise an awareness. Advertising does not always have to be about promoting items, it can also be a medium to inform or educate consumers. This is to make them be aware of a certain issue.

Fourth, educating and information. As mentioned above, advertising can be a means of informing the society as well as educating them about certain topics. It can be to inform them of a new product, and to educate them about the uses of the product. Other than that, it can also be about issues that does not involve any items.

The fifth and the last is Negative Advertising. This kind of advertising can be used to criticize or put down other competitions. It is also an effective way to promote something through negative publicity.

In conclusion, the main aim of advertising is to convey information to the consumer. But advertising does not limit itself to just product or goods to be sold, it can be for politics or to raise social consciousness to impart a message.

So what makes a good ad and a bad ad?

According to EpicMarketing (http://marketingepic.com/blog/what-makes-good-ad) what makes a good ad is an ad that is written and designed in such a way that it is able to connect emotionally with the consumers or its target audience. The audience will feel a sense of urge to purchase the item or understand the purpose of the item or the advertisement.

.  A good ad is an ad that is memorable, effectively transfers the brand’s purpose as well as educating the consumer on the benefits of the product.  A bad advertisement does otherwise. 


-Amirah