I am so proud of you, returning as you have done, to asauge your curiosity as to whether I have posted a little something for you.
Indeed... I have, and it is a little something called...
Yea Vs. Nay! *[Surprise here]*
I hear little voices in my head asking me: What exactly is Yea Vs. Nay? Well, as the titles suggests, I will put up 2 opposing ads, One good and One bad (good and bad are subjective) and then attempt to contrast and comment upon both of them. However, since good and bad are subjective, you may comment (YES! comments allowed) on my blog post. Please feel free to agree or disagree, because you are entitled to your views. :)
Now... On to the things of substance!
First: The YEA Commercial...
Why is it a YEA?
No, not because it is colourful and cute, although it does look nice. A few things came to my mind when I saw this advertisement:
1) I enjoyed the premise of "What would you do if you missed the bus, but had the power to make anything appear?" It gives me a sense of fantasy. Such fantasy is REQUIRED in this advertisement because the product's Unique Selling Point is precisely that. It is not simply a bullet point at the back of the box. Fantasy IS the selling point here. More specifically, power to manipulate a world to your liking is the selling point here.
2) The techniques of superimposing the real world with cartoony videogame graphics actually help to enhance the overall look of the advertisement and makes it even more attractive to the viewers watching.
3) I understood, on first viewing, that this advertisement is trying to tout the creativity that is present in the videogame. The main idea is that you could make anything you write to appear on screen to solve problems. Psychologically, the message seems to be telling me to reach out for endless possibilities with this game.
4) Finally, This advertisement dosen't seem to feel old-fashioned or boring. It uses a tried and tested Think-Feel-Do style of bringing the consumer to a purchasing decision and even uses a young boy in the advertisement. However, because it cleverly leveraged itself on the strength of the product and spoke to the consumer clearly with a strong, creative Product Differentiator, it felt fresh and exciting.
That's a YEA for Advertising!
Second: The NAY Commercial:
Why is it a NAY?
Interesting? Yes. At least for the first 5 seconds. After that, it got boring, then it became really sexist. Which is offensive for me. Unless you are 5 years old, and chuckle at the word "breasts", you should be offended too.
1) The thing that got me in the first place was the mystery. In all honesty. this really DID start out good for me. The myriad guys staring at a screen and nodding their heads in unison and music gave a sense of mystery to it. I did want to find out what they were looking at. Well, at least until the breasts came on.
2) They waited too long didn't they? Head bobbing for the first 30 seconds is definitely not the right way to go. Especially if your big reveal is simply a pair of exaggerated breasts.
3) Finally: my main gripe with it is that they tried to sell us BREASTS. It's demeaning to women, and insulting to the target population of male gamers. This ad is perpetuating the objectification of women, and trying to fulfill a negative "Male Gamer" stereotype that is as offensive as it is untrue.
Therefore: I say to this advert... "NAY!"
AND.... That wraps up this episode of Yea Vs. Nay. I'm currently scouring the papers and Internet for more interesting advertisements. Hopefully, I can connect it with the chapters that I have been reading about.
Until then... Do what the T-Shirt says!
