BAGnewsNotes

Papering Over The Differences

As a small bit of synchrony, a reader called out this ad the same day I read Digby's The Lovers And The Fighters.  Digby writes:

I have often thought that the two parties could be described as two fundamental archetypes: The Lovers vs The Fighters. I don't mean that pejoratively in either sense, but rather that temperamentally, we seem to be motivated by different impulses, both of which are part of all human beings, but which I can loosely characterize with these two terms. This has even been borne out by psychological studies....

As I watch the primary unfold, and see what looks increasingly like a deep desire among the Democratic rank and file to assert Obama's positive, uplifting vision of politics, it looks like Americans may have the starkest choice between a Lover and a Fighter in my lifetime. The man the Republicans appear to be about to nominate is so combative that even his own party fears he's going to knock their heads together as much as the other guy's....

Getting The Hell Out

(click for larger size)

Have you seen Absolut Vodka's new campaign illustrating what "a better world" might look like in various American cities?

In New York, art work would replace commercial signage in Times Square and 2nd Avenue would get a subway.  In Northern California a bike lane  (via cgi.ebay.com) would  traverse the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge, and in Los Angeles (via militantangeleno), the city would reclaim the forsaken L.A. River and incorporate it into the urban infrastructure.

And then, there's New Orleans.

In the obvious read, the inbound freeway would be jammed with trucks bringing in heavy machinery for building and reconstruction.  With the flood of resources pouring in (pardon the pun), the outbound lanes would be empty as that nobody would want to leave.

I'm thinking the image might have something of a double-edge, however.  As such, I offer two alternative (if slightly less idealistic) reads.

1.  High Mileage

IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD, most residents would have the means to afford the cars and gas to actually come and go.

2.  Developer Dreams

IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD ... all that building equipment flowing in would be repair/build fair-market housing.

3.  Too Little Too Late

IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD ... the freeway heading away from the city would be wide open, so that next time everyone could get the hell out.

More kvetching here.

(image: TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York)

Modern Evolution

Because appearance and identity are major themes at The BAG, particularly as women and media are involved, I thought we should take a look at this ad.

First some background, though.

At the end of the summer, a story that dominated the news here in Spain was the backlash against underweight fashion models.  Prior to Madrid's fashion week, the Spanish Association of Fashion Designers, in concert with the local government, instituted a minimum weight standard based on a U.N. recommended body mass index.

Although there was applauding, fist pounding and back pedaling within the industry, the bigger shows that followed -- London, Paris and New York -- chose not to follow Spain's lead.

In light of the concern, I became interested in this ad, produced for the Dove company, as part of its Campaign for Real Beauty.  (BAG note: I became aware of the ad in late summer, but didn't get a chance to blog it till now.)  Given the sophistication of marketing and advertising (and perhaps, too, a growing evolution in social responsibility), it becomes ever more complicated to discern between self-interest and social-mindedness (if you accept the idea) in commercial campaigns.

I know you'll raise other questions, but here's mine:  As a hybrid commercial/public service announcement, how much is this ad "doing the right thing," and how much is it leveraging the "attraction" of social responsibility in the name of selling beauty and beauty products?  And then, in a practical world, is this what you call a "win-win?"

Given our close daily inspection of visuals here at The BAG, there is another extremely illuminating aspect of the ad to take note of.  The subject of photoshopping and digital alteration often comes up here in discussion, but I can't remember when/if we've had the opportunity to really see it process.  In that light, I found the post production sequence rather startling, if not somewhat illicit and even grotesque.

Finally, regarding the opening shot (above), isn't that look especially riveting -- as if, in that intense gaze and plain appearance, this women somehow convinces us she would not be a party to what follows?

I'd love to hear your reactions.

Video: Dove Evolution: From Model To Billboard In Under 60 Seconds - Link

Dove Corporation Campaign for Real Beauty - link

(Full disclosure: I increased the size, and added contrast to the still.)

(hat tip: BoingBoing. video: Reginald Pike. Yael Staav.Tim Piper/Ogilvy, Toronto via boardsmag.com)

Getting Played?

This billboard, touting the new white Sony PSP (Playstation Player), was recently launched in Amsterdam.

Other sites that have profiled this ad (example 1, 2) ask the question: Is it racist?

Perhaps the real question, though, is:  Are we being set up?

Isn't "buzz marketing" supposed to be provocative enough to shake things up, but not past the point where the ad/message/image loses all ambiguity?  To the extent the ad attracts the attention of sites like this -- whatever our determination about the image -- isn't that "a win" for the corporation, and the campaign?

More shots from the series here, here and here.

(hat tip: acm. images via joystiq.com)

Dead Batteries

One of the BAG's co-analysts, Eric, alerted me to this. 

It's a scrolling banner ad running in a loop with a series of other ads on Al Jazerra.  The four screen shots above allow you to imagine it as it pans down the window -- from top to bottom.  These are Eric's comments:

The ad is for Sony Walkman and it shows a young man lying face down in the dirt (signifying, one supposes, a dead battery).  A beautiful dog sits next to the prone "walker."  The image could easily be mistaken for a news photo of a dead insurgent.  Except for the dog.  Even more bizarre that it appears in Al Jazeera, an outlet presumably with some sensitivity to such representations.

Interesting too about dogs.  My wife, who is Peruvian, and I were recently discussing how Iraq, in all the footage and photography we get in the media, looks very much like the desert of Peru, particularly its desert cities--lots of dust, bad streets, diesel-smoked air, and boxy adobe brick houses.  But the difference is dogs--they're all over Latin America, while in Muslim countries there are no dogs there don't seem to be as many.  Does that make this picture a coded read for Arab consumers???

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(EDIT 7/17/05 7:54am PST -- Thank you for comments and email regarding the presence of dogs in Muslim countries.  Given the obvious presence of dogs in Muslim countries, however, I'm assuming the comments could likely be true in terms of comparative numbers, as well as the fact that dogs play a very different role in Muslim versus Latin cultures.  Of course, the point also relates to the lack of dogs depicted in Western media coverage.)

(image: Sony ad on Al Jazeera - linked page here)

Your Turn Again: De Scent of Politics

So, Arianna Huffington got bent out of shape because David Gergen, rather than criticizing Bush's Fort Bragg speech for exploiting 9/11, instead praised Bush's political savvy for dusting off the tactic.

If Arianna wants to take it on, the issue goes way beyond Gergen.  Because, sad as it might be, American politics has almost ceased to be about policy.  Instead, it's now a parlor game about tactics and strategy.  Or, it's about personality and style.  (And really, how could Arianna make a beef about "style over substance" without mentioning that the person covering the speech and interviewing Gergen was Paula Zahn -- a walking "case study" for Huffington's argument -- a so-called commentator whose personality is one half-part The News Hour combined with two-parts Entertainment Tonight.)

Taking this terrible trend to it's illogical conclusion, the NYT ran a feature (The Sweet Smell of Celebrity - link) on the front page of the Style section yesterday concerning the potential of celebrity branding to provide a boost to the perfume industry.  Except, to illustrate the article (which primarily dealt with fragrances named for entertainment personalities), the accompanying illustrations somehow featured stars of the Bush administration. 

If political governance is now hardly distinguishable from a campaign, and the front page continues to lose distinction from the Style section (or Entertainment -- or Sports, for that matter), these illustrations couldn't be more appropriate.  Because, in the Bush-Zahn universe, who needs Britney when you've got Condi?  And what good is Brad when you can get Rummy?

Because the analytical skills of the BAG community keeps rising, I've decided to try the seminar format once again.  (This time, I'll join you in the conversation.)  In this case, I was fascinated by illustrator Matt Collins' conception of the Condi fragrance.  I was intrigued by the box; the colors; that exclamation point; the particular emphasis on the olfactory sense.

So, here are a few questions I offer you (unless you prefer your own) :  What is the Condi scent?  What's with that bottle?  (And how much is she one container versus the other, or both?)

(Whether for reference, comparison or just a broader sweep of the product line, I also offer you access to a whiff of Greenspan and the vapor of Rumsfeld.)

Of course, I don't mind if a few noses get out of joint.

(Revised: 7/1/05 7:47am PST)

(illustration(s): Matt Collins in The New York Times.  June 30, 2005.)

Smoke Up The Behind

One thing I've become more aware of lately is the diminishing difference between political and brand advertising.  This is just one example of a noxious player blowing smoke. 

Before we get to the visual, however, check out the primary directive:

"We're all for reducing emissions."

Love the underline!  Thanks for telling me what I'm for!

(Of course, going lowercase is also a thoughtful reminder that it's a soft sell after all!) 

And the image?  (I guess I should first warn you, I haven't had the smoothest relationship with chemistry.) 

Take a look at the thickness of the fumes on the right half of the ad as compared to the left.  Does it make sense that the vapor would be more dense and voluminous on the right or "intake" side?  Also, are they trying to suggest that they are capturing 100% of whatever escapes?  And, how does the visual analogy equate to the actual science -- if it even does.  If they are supposedly capturing 100% of what they are emitting, why would they need to show it escaping in the first place?  Is it even clear what process they are referring to?  ExxonMobil is primarily involved in the production of gasoline, which is primarily responsible for air pollution and ozone depletion caused by auto emissions.  The ad, however, refers to the capture of steam.  If you read the ad copy, aren't they doing a bait-and-switch in which steam capture is (intentionally) confused with emission reduction?  Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems the company is using one process to cloud the other.  

Beyond the science, the "closed loop" is interesting from a political standpoint.  Could it represent an insistence on managing environmental problems without outside interference?  

And, why a kettle?  Is it a symbol of domesticity that tested well for the feeling of reassurance?  Can't you just hear those ad guys pitching the association with home, soothing and warmth?  (Worried about global warming?  Here, sit down and have a cup of tea!)  Perhaps there is also a subtext that, like industrial emissions, a kettle can be dangerous too -- if not for simple, routine care.  (No problem.  These things are easy to handle!) 

Oh, and what about the color scheme?  Could it be that the issue is that black-and-white?  The design of the kettle is also telling.  The steel, and the overall design, connotes that Exxon is not just smart but cutting edge.  At the same time, because the look involves the contemporary restyling of a classic look (note the quaint "knob" top and the rounded wood handle), the impression is also that they've been doing it forever.

For my taste, though, I like that dark half-circle shaped reflection centered at the base of the pot.  In contrast with the rest of the appliance, it looks like the entrance to a tunnel -- one with no light at the end.

(Ad copy: Exxon-Mobil refineries capture steam that would otherwise be wasted and use it in the refining process.  Recent energy-saving initiatives like this have had a dramatic effect on emissions: the equivalent of taking well over a million cars off the road, every year.)

(image; ExxonMobil ad -- New Yorker Magazine, May 2, 2005)

Snap Shots: The First iPod

Monday's White House Letter in the NYT features "W" adjusting his iPod before jumping on his bike.  I can't look at this image without cringing, but I'm not exactly sure why. 

With Apple going mainstream, do these two icons deserve each other?  Or, is Bush trying too hard to be cool?  Is this a graphic reminder of how determined boomers are to hold on to their lost youth?  Or, does this say the line between corporation and state has become so blurred Madison Avenue can even turn the President into a billboard?  What's your read on this?

(Click image for larger version)

(image: Paul Morse/The White House, via AP - April 11, 2005 in The New York Times)

Let the Marketing Begin

In an early effort to cash in on the South Asia disaster, the Discovery Channel ran this double page spread in Sunday's LATimes.  The network is offering a program called The Next Wave: Science of Tsunamis, which will be shown five times between January 5th and 9th.

Discovery Communications, Inc. is owned by four shareholders, including cable giants Cox Communications and Liberty Media.