The Use of Abstract Images In Advertising Design - Requirements & Impact - Essay Example

The Use of Images In Advertising Design" Requirements & Impact Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 2. Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3 2.1. Requirement………………………………………………………………………………………………3 3. Problem & Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………………….4 4. Methods………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 4.1. Impact………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 5. Result & Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………….8 6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………….10 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 1. Introduction The use and depiction of images in advertising has undergone a sea change since the dawn of the internet era. Abstract images are now increasingly being used by advertisers world wide to catch the attention of the target customers and increase their and promote the brand visibility and popularity of their products / services. In this increasingly fast paced and competent market place capturing the attention of the customers is a tough task and hence advertisements that are deficient in terms of reliability and sincerity are more often ignored or disregarded by the consumers. Hence, the advertisers are taking keen interest in improving the credibility of their advertisements to attract customer attention and influence their purchase decisions by changing their attitudes and perception of the products through effective advertising. The use of abstract images is significant owing to its manifold benefits. It is used by companies as a part of their cognitive message strategy, affective message strategy, conative message strategy, or brand message strategy. The cognitive message strategy strives to rationalize arguments and promote a unique selling point of the products and dismiss competition by attacking the competitor’s product by influencing direct advertising. Affective message strategy is more inclined towards emotionally targeting the customers and establish a link to its products by facilitating the target audiences to recall their personal experiences which influence them in making the ultimate purchase decision. Conative strategies offer huge discounts and free gifts as a means of attracting their target customers while brand building strategies largely focus on enhancing and elevating the brand image of their products (Masterman, Wood, 2006, Pp.143). 2. Background Visualization is the key to capturing the early attention of the consumers since it has immense potential of enchanting and mesmerizing the consumer’s psyche which lead to the ultimate purchase decision. This tactic is now been increasingly used by advertisers in both digital as well as print media. In terms of advertising – visualization refers to the interpretation of realistic or abstract images which depict a specific set of data. 2.1. Requirement: The abstract advertisers have often embraced the use of highly abstract visual metaphors and symbols in various advertising campaigns to put across their point clearly and diligently. According to Goldman and Montagne, (1986), the advertisers today mostly focus on structuring their advertising campaigns which are built around the use of abstract visual aesthetics and are devised to engender cognitive connections between their products and the abstract visual images. In terms of using abstract advertising in promotion of medical products the obstacles faced by such an advertisement could lead to several social repercussions, and cause impediment to scientific discourse and knowledge. 3. Problem & Objectives The actual interpretation of the photography and the abstract images used to depict an idea or promote a product is mostly associated with the general impediments which occur in the use of photography that hamper the appropriate interpretation of the underlying message. The depiction of images and photography in a particular manner plays a significant role in promoting and popularizing the product and communicating the desired ideas to the target customers. The general quality of the image depends entirely on the manner in which it is designed and depicted as well as the degree of comprehensibility and sense of aesthetics. The legitimacy of the figurative representation of an image could be judged by the manner in which the advertisers promote a product and put across the idea intended to be conveyed convincingly to the target audience. The nature of the images being used should not be complicated that renders it incomprehensible and incapable of being interpreted in the right sense, since it would defeat the very purpose of the advertisement. The use of abstract images in advertising, although an attractive option, to capture the attention of its customers should be chosen and implemented wisely because of the various inherent repercussions of a wrong choice of action. The choice of manner of depiction of the product should be able to justify the objective and purpose of the company and should help them in establishing and strengthening their brand image and at the same time lend credibility to their products / services. 4. Methods The various methods used by the advertisers to depict the functionality of their products by use of abstract images and concepts is fascinating since it has successfully managed to capture the attention of audiences time and again. The advertisements discussed below justify the arguments put forward in the course of this essay that seeks to challenge the use and significance of abstract advertising in digital and print media in the recent years. 4.1 Impact: Advertisement of the Audi RS6 model by BH Advertising, UK (youtube.com, 2008). This enchanting black and white advertisement by the U.K. based BH Advertising Company, for the Audi RS 6 Avant – a car model, features gymnasts and acrobats who depict various functions and qualities of the automobile without using the product. This 56 second television advertisement with a tagline Performance from every part depicts the various exceptional qualities of the product through the use of gymnasts and acrobats who effortlessly move around signifying the ease and maneuverability of the product. Another such similar advertisement was launched by the Microsoft Corporation on the event of the launch of its Windows 95 suite to promote the product’s capability of performing multiple tasks at the same time. The advertisement was launched in both the mediums digital as well as print. The TV commercial showed the Windows logo (see Appendix 1) as its central image and actively utilized all the four squares to depict the multifunctional characteristic of its product. This commercial is a glaring example of how human mind interprets and associates visual imagery with the product functionality through abstract images in the absence of any concrete content. The key to such promotion of one’s product’s functionality is to utilize the analogical thinking ability of the humans that allows them to perceive a structural similarity the depicted objects / products even though the actual content shown on the television or in the print is a totally abstract entity (Messaris, 1997, Pp.54). The Happydent commercial (see Appendix 2) is also similar to the Audi RS 6 commercial which depicts the product functionality through the use of abstract ideas and imagery that captures the attention of the audience and successfully manages to enhance the product’s features at the same time. 5. Result & Discussion The ability to associate abstract features or elements with that of the concerned product’s features and characteristics provides a wide platform for the advertisers to explore this genre of advertising and exploit its potential fully. The association of such abstract imagery with the real world has noteworthy iconic implications. According to Seabeok (1979), the concept of iconicity suggests a striking similarity between the content of an image and the interpretation as perceived by the target audience. However, contradictory to such observation, the various examples mentioned in this paper to suggest and establish a link between the use of abstract images for product promotion and as a favorite tool of advertisers the similarity is rarely striking. According to Smythe (1998) “Advertisers have known for some time now that images facilitate unquestioning acceptance of communication – after all seeing is believing”. Thus the abstract modernist images that the advertisers portray and which are published in the print media including magazines, newspapers and periodicals are intended to enthrall the target audiences and generate a genuine curiosity as to the intentions of the advertisements leaving the readers wanting to know more about the featured product / service. The viewing of images and the resultant perceptions varies largely from person to person although it is up to the advertisers to use their abstract forms of imagery diligently to unanimously convey the same meaning and achieve their desired goals – that of promoting their product’s manifold functionalities and features and establishing a firm and competitive standing for the said product / service in the highly competitive marketplace. In conclusion, advertising today, has gained unprecedented significance and is considered to be an inevitable part of marketing and it the use of abstract images in advertising is increasingly becoming popular (Turley, Brown, Pp.212). But with the increasing ability of consumers to rationalize the abstract images and the growing importance of use of advertising imagery has helped shape the conceptions of identity and smoothened ways for the advertisers to capture their target markets more successfully. Bibliography: Masterman, G., Wood, E. H., (2006). Innovative Marketing Communications: Strategies for the Events Industry, Butterworth – Heinemann, Pp. 143. Goldman, R., Montagne, M., (1986). Marketing Mind Mechanics: Decoding Antidepressant Drug Advertisements, Journal of Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 22, No.10, Pp. 1047 – 1058. Youtube.com, (2008). Audi RS 6 commercial, U.K, viewed: November 15, 2008, from: Messaris, P. (1997). Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, SAGE, Pp.54. Youtube.com, (2008). Happydent Palace commercial, India, viewed: November 15, 2008, from: < http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=260-QCOKC0Y> Smythe, W. E., (1998). Toward a Psychology of Persons, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Pp. 168) Turley, D., Brown, S., (1997). Consumer Research: Postcards from the Edge, Routledge, Pp.212 Appendix: 1. Windows Logo 2. Happydent Advertisement, India. 3. Abstract Images: Print Media Read More