Ad for Ad Sake - Assignment Example

EVALUATING ADTOPIA (ADVERTISING AND UTOPIA) Actually, we are in the era where you would need a whole new phrase 'ad for ad sake'. If this looks toomorbid to ad film makers then it would be better to click on the television and have a look at the product ads of Pepsi, Red lobster or Hummer. As a part of the ad trends of the 90's these advertisements rarely show any interest in revealing the usefulness of the product. They are more concerned with the sub-alter experience of the product users. Today's ad film makers try to create a utopian flavor to the product where the product rules supreme and all the characters are quite happy to be under the regime. This is the utopia of the world of advertisement and in a way it is replacing Karl Marx's opium. Hummer: A High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) with supreme off road ability, and a major league attention getter. You can go from being an outcast to a winner with this non-environmental friendly vehicle. This ad attempts to describe a driver's utopia, an advertising promise. When in reality, the Hummer as many other vehicles, pollute the environment, destroy the landscape and may be responsible for injury or death. Could the Hummer in many ways be a secret war on humanity This ad gives the idea that the Hummer is the ultimate off road warrior. However, it drives poorly on the street, and there is no room for such a big vehicle with low power at such a high price. It needs are roads with dirt or mud, preferably with rain or snow. If you live on a farm, a ranch or in the desert, it is one unstoppable and indestructible vehicle but if you live in the city where most of us live, the Hummer is only useful for getting you around the city. The utopia in this ad does identify with the fantasy, idealization and an image of impossible perfection. However, it is evidence that the Hummer is another utopia that has gone sour. Budweiser: Because Budweiser, the nation's most widely consumer alcohol beverage has lost ground recently to liquor and wine, the brewing company seeks a more stylish image for its beer. These ads display new and unusual packing, and are placed in bars and restaurant to create a sense of utopia which Sam Adam as managed to successfully convey. As you mentioned, everyone in the ad is having a great time in such happy togetherness. Negatives of alcoholism, fighting, hangovers and discrimination are absent. The ads do exclude the unattractive, elderly and obese and only contain those who are attractive. But hoping to make its existing products seem more distinctive and without changing the content of the ads, Budweiser new ads are chic and the colorful aluminum bottles give the product a funky post-modern look. The ads give the product a hip, retro-chic appearance. How impressive Though alcohol is harmful to health, through advertising, the brewer has achieved utopia with its more sophisticated, upscale image. Red Lobster: Great service, good seafood where a family can share a plate of crab legs and discuss the topic of the day. Girlfriends can meet to gossip while dipping lobster tails in butter and keeping track of who is doing what. Without the use of people in their commercials, Red Lobster's ads make this connection possible. You are absolutely correct in your observation: endless quantity, no consequences for eating, no people in the commercial, and the relationship with food is significant. But these ads show an extraordinary sense of utopia. In my experience at Red Lobster, the food was delicious and this ad was excellent in delivering my experience. The commercial revealed clues as to where quality and quantity reside. It was a remembered utopian experience. Walt Disney: Welcome to happiest place on earth: Walt Disney World. The television commercials all advertise the utopia that Walt Disney has managed to build. Such ads boast the perfect week, fun for the whole family, not just the kids. These ads typically show a family of four-mother, father, and children-laughing, smiling, and enjoying their time at Walt Disney World. With this ad, the culture of Walt Disney World is clearly understood, represented and advertised. Walt Disney World is known as a place where children's dreams come true and a wonderland of fun and happiness where everything is perfect. Remembering an experience to Orlando, Florida, when I spent the weekend in this otherworldly wonderland, I found that this magical place is nothing near utopia. First of all, if Disney World wants to make the claim that it is "the happiest place on earth," it has to stop charging $50 for one day's admission and the ridiculously high prices for everything else. But this is not the most disturbing experience of visiting the mega theme park. For me, it was disturbing to see a place that is supposed to be centered around family fun, focused on commercialism and misplaced values. Everyone who works there appeared to be insanely, unnaturally happy. Being there is like you have been transplanted to another world where no one is in touch with reality. No one is happy all the time. Maybe it was just me. I think there is only so much phoniness and commercialism that one can take in a day or even a weekend. Though the total meaning of Disney is complex, the emphasis in this advertisement does convey a fun and exciting experience of utopia. Isn't it a strange world after all Kentucky Fried Chicken: An all American fast food restaurant. Though fast food restaurant such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken are advertised as acceptable and necessary, this television commercial is misleading customers into thinking its Kentucky Fried Chicken mini chicken filet sandwiches are bigger than they actually are. From my experience the bun shown in the advertisement was actually thicker than the burger I purchased at the fast food chain. There was more lettuce, tomatoes than anything else. Does the woman in the ad have smaller hands The mini chicken filet sandwich I purchased at Kentucky Fried Chicken was much smaller than the sandwich in the advertisement. Furthermore, what about the calories, fat other nutritional information The sandwich in the ad looks appealing but the one I purchased had no such appeal. It was a bit greasy too. This ad depicts that advertising does not always create utopia. To sum it up- it would be very relevant to state that in our all utilitarian materialistic market economy driven needs of urban life the advertisements play a vital role. In this whole world of 'earn to burn' philosophy it is all but evident that we should be living in a virtual make believe world of utopia more like Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'. Down the ages of history all the human clans ever came to existence created utopia in accordance to their own culture and taste. This is our culture and our taste is creating today's utopia- better call it "Adtopia". REFERENCES Chandler, Daniel. "Analysis in Advertisements". May 1996. The Media and Communications Studies Site. 26 March 2006 , . Read More