50s and 60s DDB

Read Chapters 4 of The Real Mad Men, write a summary of the aesthetic and social context of the 50s and 60s that surrounded DDB ads.

Obviously the most prominent piece of context surrounding the 50s and 60s was the aftermath of WWII although this had crippled England, and its economy by comparison America was relatively untouched, I believe that this factor was the reason for the creative revolution. As the Real Mad Men states there was a surge of foreigners arriving in the US, many of which had escaped prosecution from neighbouring countries such those in Italy and Poland. The Italians in particular, who under the ruling of Mussolini had sided with the Nazis throughout the war were a frowned upon segment of Europeans. However, many of the population who initially fled to America, aimed to avoid the conflict of WWII initially and were completely uninvolved with the negative repercussions of their stigma from WWII. However, racism does not often take account for rationality. However with the arrival of, especially the Italian immigrants the advertising market began to change substantially for the better with DDB being the focal point of the change. Bernbach remarked 'You always have to work in the idiom of the times in which you live.' The 'Creative Revolution' that took place throughout the 50s and 60s was undoubtedly a positive reaction to the hard times that the Wars and previously the recession brought about as a result of financial stability. The context of the time however is all about beginning a new in creative sectors. The Guggenheim museum is a perfect example of this; the new and almost space age structure of this building was one of the many advances of the the time period that coupled technology and design perfectly with one another in the same way as the advertising business did with fresh ideas and designs brought about by current ideas, conventions and new perceptions of the business, instigated by the arrival of the foreigners to the business. With this revelation in the context of the country so too came revolutionary ideas in advertising that made the adverts unique. Within DDB Bernbach revolutionised advertising in order to promote it as a creative discipline, by creating the art directer and copywriter dual collaboration. This insured that creative people were given a particularly large role in advertising whereas before his influence advertising was solely managed my accountants and seen as a monitory focused business. Bernbach also eliminated the phoney and false general style of adverts and began using real people and cunning innovation to create his adverts rather than simplistic data graphs and polished stereotypes.

Explain why the ‘think small’ campaign epitomises the creative revolution’

The 'think small' campaign epitomised the creative revolution for one reason. It was bold. This did not come from showing a powerful agreesive 'home- built gas guzzler' at a beutiful camera angle with various motifs and linguistic techniques that inspired adrenal reactions like others of its time. It was 'small, basic, ugly' and most important in context to when it was released, it was foreign, which after the Second World War and its patronage from Adolf Hitler was a particularly despised trait of the company in general. The campaign took negative traits like the unappealing looks and the unchanging design of the car to make it appealing as an icon rather than a product, people wanted to be part of the revolution rather than own the product but they had to own one to be a part of it. The car was not made appealing but the simplicity behind it was. The creative revolution was quite simply a change of perspective from what something was to what it could be. In this instance 'ugly and never changing' became constant and iconic. This is just what the working man (the demographic) desired from a world that appeared to be changing to fast for them to handle with glimpses into the future like the New York World Fair 1939.

The idea of using Helmut Krone as the art directer (German American) was a risky choice made by Bernbach. However I believe that because of this bare knuckle advertising technique, whereby the car was not glorified or embellished in anyway coming from Krone made the nation rekindle its trust (to a degree) in Germany and its engineering. This advert was the acceptance and beginning of change in all creative mediums.

Finally here is the most famous of my three adverts the 1998 Guinness Surfer;

Disruptive WWF

                Usually the most disruptive or shocking adverts are on television as they are far more complex that print media, however I found this series WWF adverts to be very corruptive of the usual, especially in comparison to previous adverts made for the company. In stead of sad posters of endangered or injured animals or habitats only the end-line divulges the true seriousness of the problem that the advert addresses. The images are almost comical and therefore convey the attitude that the majority of the world's lack of enthusiasm to 'save the planet' is juvenile. The advert mocks the audience with guilt messages that imply that like the people who are in trouble in these images no one has come to the aid of our Earth, which is in just as much trouble. The advert is hopeful that prospect of the loss of human life may put this in perspective for people in order to help them to see the bigger picture.

Johnnie Walker- Not just for the Brittish Gentleman

A modern advert that corrupts the usual in order to disrupt or shock the viewer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhKRJJxLK0o

             Produced by Bartle Bogle Heggarty, in 2011 for the Keep Walking Campaign this is the first country specific advert ever made for Johnnie Walker Whisky. It is a two company collaboration between NEOGAMA and BBH in order to highlight Brazil's economic growth of the past few years and sell the product to one of its largest target markets.
             In a similar fashion to Magritte's surrealist techniques this advert shocks the observer by taking a familiar environment to its target audience and reinventing it in a manner that the audience could never predict. This gives a powerful disruption to the advert, conveying a message derived from the slogan (Keep Walking) that the land itself wants to be part of "Johnnie Walker Movement" and attitude. If the earth itself lifted and "kept walking" in the name of Johnnie walker shouldn't you at least try it? This is very similar to the message of the 'Glass and a Half' productions by Cadburys. Not only this sense of disruption is present in the advert but also one of fun like the Cadbury adverts, the land starts a fresh existence therefore the advert takes boring rock and gives it a sense of freedom and individuality along with its purity and tranquility (despite its disruptive effect nothing is damaged and no one is injured) these are elegant and admirable qualities that Johnnie Walker aims to inspire in its target market with this advert.

Bellow is a list of the production team of the advert;

Agency:

NEOGAMA/BBH

Client:

Johnnie Walker

Creative:

Alexandre Gama

Production House:

Zohar Cinema

Production House:

Gorgeous

Director:

Peter Thwaites

Producer:

Isabelle Tanugi

Producer:

Anna Hashmi

Photography:

Joost Van Gelder

Editing:

Bill Smedley

Marks in Time pt2

Name The classy setting for the Autumn 2007 advert, explain why it was selected and what meanings it expresses?

3)The classy setting for the M&S Autumn 2007 advert is aboard the Orient Express Train. I believe that the choice of this location to film the advert was to demonstrate the exotic and lavish materials and services that the far east of Asia has to offer. Many of the fabrics from these countries are the necessary to produce a majority of M&S clothing. Also a high percentage of of food stuffs and labour for M&S companies is situated in the Orient. The beautiful women aboard this legendary locomotive empowers M&S due to its respect for the environment and preservation of the original birthplace of all of its commodities, whether they be workers or produce.

 Describe the target audience of 'Your M&S' and what the view is based on?

4)The target audience for ‘Your M&S’ advert is women, most probably in the age group of late middle thirties to middle sixties most of whom are either ‘housewives’ or do the shopping for themselves or a family. I have based this prediction on the ages of the models who are involved in the shoot. The youngest is Myleene Klass; 33 and the oldest is Twiggy ; 62, these are women from a greatly varied age group. However this particular advert unlike many of the ‘Your M&S’ before glorifies women of this particular age group as chique and beautiful by showing them indulging decadently in the environment of the Orient Express along with alcoholic beverages and M&S clothing and lingerie. This is a very appearance conscious demographic in Western society, the advertisement creator has taken this into account and chosen to use the brand to empower this demographic that often feel under appreciated or taken for granted as housewives and recreates them decadent figures of beauty as they wish to be seen.

Marks in Time pt1

What are the five M&S core principals?

1)The five core principals of M&S are; Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and Trust- Marks & Spencer.

Describe how the 125years of M&S advert represents the core ideas through text and image.

2)The new M&S advert that celebrates 125 years since the store began. The advert uses juxtaposition between the previous revelations that made the store such an expanding success story and the determination to tackle current issues that sway the spending of the contemporary audience. this is achieved by using five major principals; Value, Innovation, Service, Trust and Quality, that are imbedded in the type and image throughout this advert.

Value is highlighted as a major selling point for M&S as a brand, this is clearly indicated in the company slogan ‘ Quality worth every penny.’ This fact is reinforced by the creation of M&S as it evolved from a ‘Penny Bazar’ todays equivalent of a pound store. In many ways, Value the most relevant principal particularly in the modern economic climate. It is very fitting that this slogan or end- line is the last text that the audience sees, therefore preserving what is arguably the most appealing and enticing core principal of M&S to a modern audience. 

In this advert Service is not identified in an blatant manner that recognizes shop assistants of M&S whom everyone would associate with the core principal of service. The advert instead diverts the audiences’ attention to the farmers and agricultural specialists that provide the food that is sold by M&S, by using the term ‘fairest possible price’ and showing pleased third world farmers, the advert immediately divulges that the M&S company has a proud and devoted set of morals where fair trade is involved. Ignorance of this issue has been a pressing problem throughout third wold economies for many years and by highlighting the fact that the food is paid for with the ‘fairest possible price’ demonstrates that although value is important to us in the first world, by purchasing M&S goods the audience are not promoting poverty for their own personal gain. 

Innovation is the theme that runs constantly through this advert, M&S are supposedly always looking for the next “Big Thing” in order to please their customers. This is demonstrated by the revolutions that made the demographics’ lives easier. These are demonstrated by the images of tumble dry suits and drip dry fabrics.  The advert is predominantly focused on the innovations throughout the history of M&S that have helped the consumer overcome everyday chores with ease and inspired elegant new fashions and exotic dishes that have assisted or ‘liberated’ housewives in particular.

Trust is inspired in the chosen demographic (predominantly middle aged house wives) through the choice of spokes person for the advert. Twiggy, is not only a glamorous figure from when these women were growing up, but also has become a ‘house wife’ therefore she is the perfect candidate to inspire trust in the brand. Twiggy glorifies M&S as a place where the more glamorous and tasteful housewives would shop as she is both a domestic and fashion icon.

Quality is probably the least prominent theme throughout this advert, besides the lavish and decadent images of ‘perishable’ foods. However, the celebratory style in which the ‘125 years’ text is displayed would lead the audience to believe that, not only has the quality of M&S produce increased but also that the anniversary of the stores creation will spur the motivation to keep increasing quality as demands for new technologies and produce from around the world is constantly rising.