Advertising Week 1

29.08.2016 (Week 1)

David Ho Ming Aun (0328394)

Advertising Principles and Practice

Introduction, Bernbach's 10 Principles, Project Introduction

Lecture: Bernbach's Ten Principles of Advertising

The lecturer introduced us to the concept of Advertising as it is defined by several sources. and subsequently introduced us to William Bernbach and highlighted the genius behind the Volkswagen advertising campaign by DDB. We then went through the ten principles of advertising as laid out by Bernbach. The lecturer shared his views more prominently on point number 6, that the concept of truth is relative and in advertising the truth can be economical to some extent. 

Outcomes from the lecture:

• A clearer understanding of the term "Advertising"
• A clearer understanding of the term "Principles"
• The ability of advertising to create awareness or bring across ideologies (such as in a political campaign)

Lecture: Sketching: Creative Idea Generation

We are introduced to the Idea Sketching exercise that will be ongoing throughout the weeks. Examples were shown by the lecturer on the dos and don'ts of sketching down our ideas. Focus on the clarity and more importantly the idea must be shown. We also familiarised ourselves with the terms Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and Single-minded Proposition (SMP). We were briefly shown examples of mind maps and given tips to generate ideas. 

Outcomes from the lecture:

• The expectations of how our sketches would look like
• Twisted headlines and twisted images
• The addition of visual texture allows the mind to vicariously feel it, allowing some pseudo-tactile memory to make things more memorable
• "If it makes you laugh, it works"
• Our minds are lawyers that always try to distort objective thinking

Instructions

Exercises: Individual Work (15%)

The Brief

Idea Sketches

Duration of Assignment

8 Weeks (Briefing on Week 1)

Deadline

Week 9 (24 Oct 2016)

Description

This project spans 8 weeks. The student is given a Brand and a USP/SMP (Unique Selling Point/Single-Minded Proposition) is identified. The student is to develop a minimum of 10 idea sketches every week—the more the merrier. The focus of the task is on the development of ideas—the Idea is king! Evaluate your ideas and select only the best. The sketches must be clean, clear and concise. While ideating you are only required to come up with the line and the visual—remember the twisted headline straight visual or vice-versa formula.

Rules for the Ideation process (or brainstorming)

• Weird, wild, wacky and off the wall ideas are welcome.
• Negativity is not welcome
• Build on ideas. Don't shoot them down.
• All ideas are welcome and respected.
• Do not censor yourself. Just say it.
• No interruptions from outside allowed (That includes cell phones).
• Take a short break every hour.

Requirements

To develop a minimum of 10 idea sketches every week, the student must first state the USP/SMP, develop a Mind-Map and then develop idea sketches. This process is repeated for all 8 weeks. The work is compiled chronologically in an A4 clear sheet folder and documented on the students’ e-portfolio (online journal).

Submission

• A4 Sketch papers, in an A4 Clear Sheet folder, documents chronologically. The works must be labelled and dated.
• E-portfolio posts for every week

Objectives

To develop students ability to ideate effectively.

Research:

Figure 1: Playsafe Condom Easy Pack Air Ultra Thin

The brand: Playsafe Condoms

The product: Air Ultra Thin

SMP/USP: Extremely thin condom for extra sensitivity

Target Audience: Gen Y

I first visited the official Playsafe website (http://takaso.com/Playsafe/) to get a better understanding of the brand and product, as I have never heard of the brand before. I found that the website is very outdated and poorly designed. Nevertheless, I had a better understanding of the product, including some technical details.

To kick start the thinking process, I first made a mind map with the keywords of the SMP/USP: Condoms, Thin and Sensitive.

Figure 2: Mindmap

Having done this, I tried to make visual connections between the words in the mind map, and through that process, I managed to get a good number of ideas onto paper.

Idea Sketches:

Figure 3: Week 1 Sketches (1/3)

Figure 4: Week 1 Sketches (2/3) 

Figure 5: Week 1 Sketches (3/3)

Forum:
Questions
1. In your view – based on what you have heard and discussed – is advertising relevant today?
2. From the 10 principles mentioned, list 3 principles that you felt strongly about? Explain why you felt strongly about these 3 principles?

My Answers

1. In my view, advertising is relevant to today’s society as consumerism is at an all-time high, and everyone wants to squeeze the most money out of each other. In an environment peppered with thousands of advertisements, overstimulation can lead to the public’s desensitisation towards adverts. This is where good advertising needs to intervene, to create the interest and staying power in the public’s minds. With the relatively new platform of the internet and exponentially advancing technology, advertising has only just scraped the surface of the potential of these platforms. Advertising has been exciting, and will continue to do so today and in the future.

2. “Where possible, make your product an actor in the scene; not just a prop. This makes for a tremendously effective method of getting your product remembered. Because the provocative element in your advertising is also the element that sells your product. This is so simply stated, so difficult to execute.”

This principle makes me reevaluate the role of products within advertisements, seeing them as something more organic and expressive, rather than it being there just for the sake of being there. I find the need to anthropomorphize interesting, as it taps into our innate biological recognition to recognise and remember human-like forms better. At the same time, it is intriguing how sometimes a very static product can convey so much context and story to an advertisement.

"Tell the truth. First, it’s a great gimmick. Second, you go to heaven. Third, it moves merchandise because people will trust you."

This is one of the principles that I felt most strongly about. It is almost contradictory to have the word “truth” and “advertising” be related to one another, but here it is. The advertising industry can be said to be known for spinning half-truths and white lies, carefully concealing flaws through clever copywriting and camera angles. The question then emerges: what is the truth? The search for an “absolute truth” has plagued human minds for centuries, but with no answers. Perhaps absolute truth has no absolute answer, or maybe even nothing is absolute? But moving away from philosophical ponderings, I believe we as designers or advertisers should strive at our best to provide the public with our own responsible versions of the truth, while maintaining relevance to the society.

"Safe ideas can kill you. If it’s been done before, your competition will be ready for it. Your only chance of beating the competition is with advertising they’ve never seen before.  Which means you’ve never seen it before either! Be brave."

To me, this principle is one that is extremely difficult to attain, as originality is difficult to define. With the constant bombardment of visual cues and other forms of advertising throughout all our years, there is no saying that if the “fresh” idea you’ve come up with today isn’t just a copy of something someone somewhere has already done. However, rather than bogging ourselves down with the task of outsmarting the entirety of advertising history, I think through confining the sample space by looking at the competition that is relevant to us today and utilising the technology we have at hand, we can still create original works that can serve their purpose responsibly and efficiently.

Feedback:

Specific feedback

(in response to my forum post)

"Well articulated David. And yes you are right with regards to the last point, it is difficult to attain. Overall your replies were coherent and were infused with insightful comments."

(in response to my weekly sketches)

"Include Bernbach's 10 principles in the topic area above (eportfolio). Lecture in bold, separated from the topic. You can use Uppercase, lowercase and underline for the different hierarchy of information. Good effort on the mind-map, it will help you sort out your thoughts. The sketches are good, however the message needs to be refined, focused on the extremely thin USP."

General feedback

The lecturer advised us all to focus more on the USP/SMP — extremely thin and not on the byproduct of it. He also encouraged us to be more outspoken and objective when providing constructive criticism.

Reflection:

Experience

With this class being my first advertising class, it was quite interesting to get familiar with the terms and concepts. I found the atmosphere a bit quiet and awkward, perhaps the class would warm up to the new teaching style with time. I personally found the lecturer's insight into the history of DDB's Volkswagen commercial very entertaining. It felt slightly overwhelming to think of the long-term weekly exercise of maintaining an e-Portfolio, reading a book and sketching a minimum of ten idea sketches, but it just needs a running start to meet the pace.

Observation

I observe I manage to come up with the more sketch ideas at the beginning of the week, but the ideas begin to emerge slower as the time goes on. I've noticed I did not jot down much notes in the class.

Findings

I found the introduction to the course interesting, and the workload relatively sensible. The exercise is challenging in a good way, forcing us to think a lot more in general. I found that I manage to come up with ideas better when I write them down on paper. I should take down notes in class because I have poor memory for details. 

Book of the Week:

Figure 6: Book of the week

The Great American Blowup: Puffery in Advertising and Selling by Ivan L. Preston

In this book, Preston thoroughly explains the notion of "puffery" in the advertising world and provides fantastic historical and legal analysis of its place in the American marketplace through the years. Preston provides clarity to the terms falsity, misrepresentation, warranty, opinion, and of course, puffery.

Puffery refers to the exaggerated or false praise that brands tend to use, ranging from claims like "the best a man can get" to "taste the future". Preston argues that this is unethical as they all represent some form of falsity or misrepresentation, "tricking" consumers into purchasing their products or services. Preston claims that the premise for today's puffery finds its roots in sellerism, stemming from "caveat emptor", where translated from Latin means "let the buyer beware", an ancient doctrine where the seller holds no accountability if the goods sold is faulty or misinterpreted.

Perhaps not the friendliest first read for the first-time advertising student, as the pages involve a lot of legal technicalities and can get tedious at times. However, I found the case studies were very clearly laid out, and it was fascinating to see how the laws governing the matter of fraud change from time to time.

I found the short section on mock-ups particularly interesting, as the author points out how certain things are a "technically required falsity", such as using mashed potatoes in substitution of real ice cream in photoshoots as ice cream would melt almost immediately under hot studio lights during a mock-up photoshoot. 

This book made me think back on Bernbach's principles, particularly the 6th: "Tell the truth." To what extent does the truth get told within the advertising industry? This book answers a good deal of that question and has given me a good insight on the way brands advertise themselves.

Picture Credits
Figure 1 — Playsafe Condom Easy Pack Air Ultra Thin
Takaso Marketing (S) Pte Ltd. Playsafe Condom Easy Pack Air Ultra Thin. 2016. Web. 4 Sept. 2016.

Figure 2 ~ Figure 6

Personal documentation