The Advertiser and The Graphic Designer

It seems graphic designers share more similarities than differences with advertisers. While the ultimate goal of the designer is a little different from that of the advertiser, the processes and rules of their respective crafts are so intertwined that one may be indistinguishable from the other.

In the world of the advertiser they typically work for a client that has a product to sell and their goal is to create an effective, creative piece of art that functions to sell that product. On the other hand a designer may create a piece of art for any number of different reasons. It could be for a cause, for fun, or just like the advertiser, for a client. Those are about the greatest differences between the two occupations. Basically, the big picture for the advertiser is making money whereas the graphic designer can have an array of different reasons or functions for their art. Other than that they are creating artwork and do their best to make it compelling and more creative than the next.

Just like graphic designers, advertisers have different methods to creating new artwork that sells their products the best. The Rosser Reeves and David Ogilvy relationship/rivalry is an interesting example of this as Rosser Reeves perfected the "hard-sell" approach to advertising. This approach picks out a product's best selling point and drives that point home over and over. Then, equally successful, David Ogilvy mastered  the "soft-sell" approach, which focuses on creating a good brand image. Though each method was different, they both shared much success and a mutual respect for one another.

Graphic designers also have many different methods of creating their art from one designer to the next. Just like advertisers they have a goal to create something original and they inspire each other to keep creating original and more creative works. What is most interesting though, is the different reasons they create different art works. I really like Milton Glaser's perspective on the graphic design community in that many of the designers create images for social causes and their talents are used to spread good ideas through their visual aids.

Graphic designers and advertisers may differ on their motivations but they all share the same tools to create original works meant stimulate the minds of their audiences.

Political Signifiers

Ryans Gun Campaign Michelle Bachmann makes good use of visual as well as some audio signifiers to deliver an effective political message. Here's the ad and then I talk about three different signifiers I found in it!

• The very beginning of the video utilizes a photograph of the American flag waving in the sky. The American flag can signify any number of different things that have anything to with the United States, but in this case the flag is most certainly a signifier for freedom. This ad emphasizes the the importance of our American freedoms and with those freedoms comes our right as American citizens to obtain firearms. What better symbol to use than the American flag?
• The soundtrack in this ad is also a substantial signifier. It is an orchestral piece with an epic and uplifting tune and it signifies righteousness. The candidate, Michelle Bachmann is an advocate for the second amendment and the music helps communicate that the second amendment is indeed the correct idea.
• The image of Michelle Bachmann waving her hand behind a podium is another strong signifier. This signifies the classic idea of the politician. They give speeches, they shake hands, and they kiss babies. Michelle Bachmann is waving behind a podium on a very official looking stage, so she must be a serious presidential candidate.

Political Campaign Advertisement Katie also does a great job of utilizing symbols to create an effective political ad campaign. Watch the ad and then read on to see which signifiers I picked out!

• The first signifier that I picked up on was the accompanying music. The sad or ominous music definitely signified the negative effect of gun violence. The music choice was perfect for the intended mood of the ad and helped squeeze out every bit of emotion that could be associated with the well used jarring imagery.
• The first image used in this ad is one of looking down the barrel of a revolver. This is a strong signifier for danger. You never want a firearm pointed at you and to have a good look down the barrel of one speaks volumes of the inherent dangers associated with them. This is a perfect symbol to advocate gun control.
• There is also a photograph of a mean looking kid pointing a pistol directly at us and by the look on his face, there is some ill-intent. This signifies the inherent dangers of firearms to the youth. This is another jarring image that demonstrates very well more dangers of firearm access.

Cameron Afshar Gun Policy Political Advertisement also uses some strong signifiers to make a case for the second amendment. Check out the video and then the three signifiers I liked!

• This ad also uses the imagery of having a gun pointed at your face, but it makes a much different argument. This is a signifier of danger and rather than make the argument that all firearms are dangerous, this ad makes the point that they are only dangerous when in the wrong hands. If gun control becomes a reality, firearms will only be toted by criminals and the rest of us will be helpless against them.
• The soundtrack in this ad is another well utilized signifier. The ad has an ominous mood about it and the music paired with the imagery can be interpreted to signify helplessness. This ad leans on the perspective that law abiding Americans could be denied the right to own firearms, but criminals will gladly find anything but a legal means to get their hands on them. Thus, us good guys are helpless against the well armed bad guys.
• The end of the ad uses the sound effect of police sirens. This signifies crime. Nine times out of ten, a police siren usually means a police cruiser is headed to the scene of a crime. This ad uses the theme of crime throughout and the police siren sound effect is used quite well to instill a feeling of urgency and a need to protect yourself from the gun toting criminals who would love nothing more than gun control laws. 

Rosser Reeves vs. Song Airlines

Rosser Reeves employed some pretty crafty tactics for the Dwight Eisenhower presidential ad campaign. In these ads, Eisenhower was painted as a strong leader with loads of experience in all the right places. However, he was also your average American, just like you and me with humble roots in Abilene. All these characteristics combined create one patriotic, intelligent, and trustworthy President of the United States. The Rosser Reeves ads definitely trended an ethos delivery method. One ad in particular initially mentions Eisenhower's hometown in the heartland of America and then goes on to list his accomplishments as a General during WWII. Even the silly cartoon with the exceptionally catchy, catchphrase, "I like Ike" built up the character of the presidential contender as all the cartoon people sing his praises. Rosser Reeves created some pretty brilliant ads that really built on the credibility of the former General and the future President.


Artwork Credit: Cliff1066

Song Airlines chose to employ a pathos delivery method for their ad as seen from The Persuaders video in class. This one features a handful of visibly happy people running around in a beautiful meadow. Rather than trying to explicitly show why anyone should choose to fly on Song Airlines, this ad focuses on an emotional appeal that says "See all these happy people? Fly with us... We'll make you happy too!" I get what this ad was trying to do, but I think it was a little too goofy and abstract to be as effective as the advertisers had hoped.


Photo Credit: Bill Abbott / wbaiv

Both ad campaigns were quite different from one another. Song Airlines chose to design a television commercial that leaned on a pathos delivery method, while Rosser Reeves chose to run an ad campaign with an ethos approach. I definitely think for the times, Rosser Reeves created a much more successful ad campaign for President Dwight Eisenhower than Song Airlines' fanciful flop.

Class Discussion on "CRACKED.com"

I thought Cracked.com's article, 5 Bad Ideas for Dealing With Bullies You Learned in Movies was actually pretty entertaining. I don't think the material in this article was really outside of the type of content normally featured on the website. 


Cracked.com is a humor website with blogs and articles that are mostly satirical in nature. This article is really no different than most of the other content on the website because the author is merely pointing out the ironies and inconsistencies in films that depict scenarios of bullying with that of his own life experiences with bullies. I think this was managed just fine and the responsibility of a website editorial team is to write for their audience. This particular website holds an appeal for people who are looking for a chuckle and this article was perfect for just that.  

Alternative Youth

Creating the Sneeks ad campaign has been a more challenging task than initially thought. Sneeks is the name of a sneaker company and it was my team's job to create a three ad campaign and an image or brand for the sneakers. Overall, the ads are intended to target both boys and girls in their teenage years. One ad is specific for young women, one ad intended for young men, and an ad that appeals to both genders.

The brand my team has created for Sneeks is one of an alternative culture. Among American teenagers, rebellion is almost universal and at the very least met with empathy. The theme that our three ads share most visibly is an embrace of an alternative culture, where norms can be broken and self expression is encouraged. Those who listen to alternative music or participate in alternative sports will find this ad campaign most appealing. The slogan, “Put Your Best Foot Forward” is used in each ad to convey that this sneaker could be the catalyst for those who aspire to be the best in all their endeavors and it will complement their individuality. The ads also share the use of bright colors to celebrate the rebellion that inevitably comes with youth as well as a similar format.

The first ad we created was specific for young men. The bright blue carpet in the photograph of the kick-drum serves two immediate purposes. The first is the association of the color blue with boys. It takes up a good deal of space on the page and that bright blue really emphasizes which gender the ad is trying to reach. It also serves to be attention grabbing and follows with the bright color theme shared with the rest of the ad campaign. A Sneeks sneaker is strategically placed on the pedal of the kick drum to make the statement to young men who wish to express themselves that Sneeks shares those same values. It is Rock n’ Roll inspired and embraces the rebellion associated with that genre of music. The slogan is written in bright orange to keep the bright color theme as well as make it standout against the glaring blue carpet.

Photo Credit: BigDrumThump.com 

The next ad my team created targets young women. Right off the bat, the bright pink color scheme can almost be seen from miles away. In the middle of this girly color explosion is a young woman demonstrating an impressive martial arts high kick while wearing her Sneeks. The sport of mixed martial arts has become exponentially more popular in the past few years and this picture, now more than ever could reach a growing niche in the market. The idea of this ad is again rebellion and breaking norms. It is meant to show that Sneeks supports alternative sports and empowerment of women. The bright pink color scheme also emphasizes that this ad is indeed intended for young women. The slogan is once again written in the complementary color of the overall ad, which in this case is green.

Photo Credit: David Long (davidlongnow@gmail.com) 

The third ad we created can appeal to both genders. The overall impression of this particular ad should center on fun and youth. There is a young woman and a young man serving equally important roles in the ad riding a tandem bicycle together in their Sneeks. Tandem bikes are usually associated with being silly and something you don’t see everyday. Sneeks embraces this fun silliness and those who like to express themselves can appreciate this individualism. The color yellow is prevalent in this ad because it is more ambiguous and can appeal to both male and female. The similar format and the bright colors are again used in this ad to emphasize the same themes and feeling that are used in the other ads in the campaign.

Photo Credit: Hugger Industries

This should serve as a very successful ad campaign for Sneeks. All three ads share a  bright, rebellious, and individualistic concept. This attitude can be appreciated by many teenagers who wish to express themselves and perform at the very best of their abilities. These ads illustrate that Sneeks as a brand embraces youth, fun, and self expression. No matter the task, your Sneeks will perform just as hard as you’re willing to push them and yourself.

There Is Still Hope For Music Videos

Communications scholar, Sut Jhally has some pretty solid theories regarding women and the sexually objectified roles they typically play in music videos. While Jhally's Dreamworlds is a little dated, many of the theories he presents still hold water in contemporary music videos. But on the other hand as formats are changing from the constraints of television timeslots to the seemingly endless limits of the internet, music videos no longer have to conform to the three minute advertisement formula that were so prevalent in their early days.

For the most part, I don't really care for music videos because so many of them seem so egotistical and do in fact follow some aspect of the production formula Sut Jhally explains in his commentary film about the music video industry. So, this assignment began excruciatingly slow as I trolled the web for music videos of my favorite rock and metal bands, who met the requirement of being male dominated but would typically lack the example of a non-band member female being featured in said music video. Then, I remembered a video I saw earlier this year that was completely brilliant and tossed aside all normal conventions that are associated with music videos. This video did not attempt to tell some convoluted story with highly stylized imagery inter-cut with the featured band lip-syncing their newest single. It was more of a short film with a hysterically funny plot that features more than one track off this artist's new album. It still retains the spirit of a conventional music video but the creativeness of this video is unparalleled. I would like to personally thank the Beastie Boys for still being awesome after all these years and for breaking ground to embrace the format of the internet to make the greatest music video of all time with Fight For Your Right (Revisited).


Photo Credit: Joe Wolf / JoeInSouthernCa  http://www.flickr.com/photos/joebehr/5723002790/

The music videos Sut Jhally dissects in Dreamworlds were all still relatively new in format because MTV had only been around for a few years and the directors of these videos would typically have backgrounds in making television commercials. So, there is this idea among them that says the best way to sell this artist's album during the short time constraints of the featured single to the consumers is to entice them with sex. Unfortunately, the target audience seemed to almost always be adolescent males and the use of women in these videos were almost exclusively as sexual objects. Their roles are normally boiled down to faceless strippers, prostitutes, body parts, or just silhouettes with fit bodies whose sole purpose is to serve as eye candy with no thoughts, hopes or dreams.

In the Beastie Boys video, they have abandoned the three minute song, time format and made something that is completely fresh. Though they have borrowed some of the practices of the ancient music video, like the scene with the strippers/hookers in the limo. On the flipside of that, the women are not faceless or even voiceless, but are seemingly more empowered than the men playing the Beastie Boys band members. You’ll just have to watch it to see what I mean. This video is close to a half an hour in length, but this embraces the format of the internet where there is no need to censor any ideas or be held to television’s time constraints. I hope more musicians see the potential of this sort of format and abandon the traditional three minute ad.

I think Sut Jhally’s theories are mostly correct in mainstream television music videos, but as the internet becomes the new go-to format, I think videos like Fight For Your Right (Revisited) will become the new standard. As long as you don’t mind potty-mouth humor and pee jokes, check it out below! And see if you can count all the celebrity cameos.

Dissecting Adventure

Unsure as to how I should start this assignment, I decided to make my way to the nearest gas station to find a magazine (any magazine) that offered at least something mildly interesting to me.  Luckily, I am a Jeep owner and enthusiast and I was able to dig 4Wheel Drive Magazine out of the very limited selection of periodicals. Four-wheeling and the Jeep culture is such a blast, I knew I wouldn't have any trouble finding an ad I could relate to and write about without it seeming so much like homework.

I brought the magazine home and began thumbing through it. Sure enough, I actually found a fantastic ad that really left an impression on me. In all its simplistic glory, this ad is completely black and white and completely breathtaking. Divided into thirds, the top and bottom sections of the ad have all black backgrounds with white text. The headline in the top section reads in big bold letters, "GLOBAL ADVENTURE" and then in smaller text underneath, "Delivered To Your Doorstep". Near the bottom of the page in the lower third, I find out who's advertising and it's Overland Journal. Their website and contact information is also found here. Saving the best for last, is the main attraction of this ad. Contained in the middle section is an awesome black and white photograph of a four door Jeep Wrangler. This thing is decked out with a snorkel, big knobby tires, lights, a roof-rack and it is just tearing through the desert. It is an outstanding action shot and it is just way cool. Check out the ad below!

I definitely think Overland Journal was trying to portray a sense of adventure in this ad. The big bold headline and the gritty, action photograph really sent that point across to me. After a bit of research on their website, I found the magazine they publish focuses on different kinds of vehicles and excursions all around the globe. So, I'm pretty sure I got the right idea about Overland Journal from this ad. They have a really cool website too, so for those of you who are interested in web design, check it out: http://www.overlandjournal.com/

Easily, Overland Journal knew the readers of a four-wheeling magazine would find much interest in their own similar publications of world-wide vehicle adventures. They know who their niche audience is and advertising in the magazine I was able to find at the gas station just seems like smart business.

Kudos to Overland Journal for this brilliantly simple, yet adrenaline inducing advertisement.