Creativity as a Social Good

Similar to the 'Diesel Island' example i was given, the Levi's campaign below is another implication of creativity, in advertising, being used as a social good. 

Wieden and Kennedy came up with a socially inspiring campaign that both strengthened their brand's identity and recognised the importance of the middle class.



As you can see, the advertisements portray obvious middle class families or people in their relevant environment. These images are along side the copy, "We are all Workers" or "Everybody's Work is Equally Important", as seen below:



These adverts, in the same vain as those done by Richard Buchanan, raise awareness (or recognition), for specific types of people. By showing these images with this copy Levi's have managed to solidify themselves as a true American representative. Making one more likely to wear the jeans of such a proud and cultured brand. They took their high reputation and used it to reward the hard, unnoticed workers of the American public. A creative campaign that definitely contributed to social decency.

Cybernetic Advertising

There is a varied selection of definitions under the term 'cybernetics', each contextualising the industry or perspective from which they originate from. The most appropriate definition for my area of inquiry is this one:

"The art of interaction in dynamic networks."
 - Roy Ascott

Below are a couple of examples from the creative world of advertising that implement this interactive approach:


This large, printed 'Frontline' advert creates an environment in which the public are (to their knowledge or not) part of the advert. Depending on your viewpoint, the shoppers that pass over the installation become the flees.



The ambient and extremely innovative advert above is another example of interactive advertising. Despite the low probability of anyone actually attempting to smash the glass, it still conveys the same message. (The glass is so strong, there is no risk taken by putting all that money within it).

The Gaze in advertising

Intra-diegetic
The intra-diegetic gaze is used to create a communication within the advert, showing each character in a 'gaze' with one another. For example, if a romantic scene was required they would not have the models looking into the camera. A combination of their body language, and the fact that they are not gazing at us through the camera, results in the desired 'mood'.




Extra-diegetic
The extra-diegetic gaze is one of the most predominantly used techniques in advertising. With the characters eyes looking directly into the camera (and therefore into your eyes) they can convey a much more personal message. It is used, mainly, in the aftershave and perfume industry as well as in charity promotions.

The Panopticon

1. What is the major effect of the Panopticon?

"To induce… a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power."

The major effect of the panopticon is to create a sense of constant and conscious visibility upon the inmate. This will, in turn, solidify the automatic functioning of power. The arrangement within a panopticon creates a persistent surveillance system, which then deems the actual exercise of power unnecessary.

2. How does the architecture [institution] create and sustain a power relation independent of the person who exercises it?

"The ‘prisoner’ knows himself to be observed…"

Bentham believed that power should be visible and unverifiable. The inmate will have a constant reminder of his position thanks to the tall outline of the tower before his eyes, the tower from which he is spied upon. Doors are nothing but zig-zag openings so to remove any incoming light or sound. This means the presence of an unseen guardian is never removed from the inmates thoughts.

3. In what way is the Panoptican efficient?

“he who is subjected to a field of visibility … assumes responsibility for the constraints of power … he becomes the principle of his own subjection”.

The panopticon system is efficient thanks to the fictitious relation causing a real subjection. It removes the need to use force when taming an inmate. All the inefficiencies that come with such a requirement, such as bars and chains, are replaced with the strategic placement of separations and openings. The fortress-like architecture of older lawful 'houses of security' is now a simple, economic geometry of a 'house of certainty'. 

4. How does the Panopticism do the work of a naturalist (scientist)?

“It makes possible to observe performances … to map aptitudes, to assess characters, to draw up rigorous classifications …compare the time he takes to perform a task … to calculate their wages”.

The panopticon allows naturalists to observe multiple participants or patients without contaminating results with the possibility of imitation, contagion and many more unwanted variables. It means workers can be monitored individually in order to check productivity or calculate wages. It is also, the perfect environment to assess characters and gives the opportunity to draw up rigorous classifications.

5. In what ways was the Panopticon a laboratory?

“It could be used as a machine to carry out experiments, to … train or correct individuals… to try out pedagogical experiments”.

Not only is the panopticon an ideal observatory, but also a laboratory. It could be used to alter behaviour, train people and even correct individuals. Manipulation and increased validity makes it the perfect arena to try out new medicines, to test different punishments and find the most effective ones.

6. List the conditions in which Panopticism strengthens power?

“It can be exercised continuously in the very foundations of society, in the subtlest possible way”. 

The panopticon will only succeed in its goal of strengthening power if it can assure these two things. It must be able to be exercised, subtly and continuously within the core of society. It must also have the ability to function outside these discontinuous forms that are bound up with the exercise of sovereignty, despite their immediateness and violence. 

7. According to Julius (1831) how is the panoptic principle particularly useful in a society made of private individuals and the state?

“The ever growing influence of the state, to its ever more profound intervention”.

Julius believed that the panopticon was not merely a piece of architectural innovation, but a revelation in the history of the human mind. He states that it is the emergence of a whole new society, one in which allows a multitude of men to spectate and inspect a small number of objects. This becomes useful in a society that is split between the individual and the state. This is thanks to the regulation of relations in a form that is the reverse of the spectacle. The panopticon effect allowed the state to observe a great multitude of men at the same time. 

8. Also according to Julius, rather than suppress the individual, what effect does the panoptic principle have? 

‘The individual is carefully fabricated’.

Despite the ever growing influence of the state, Julius states that the panoptic principle integrates the individual into our social order. He believes that the individual is, in fact, carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of forces and bodies. 

The Simile of the Cave

The allegory of the cave is one of Plato's most renowned pieces of work. It was meant to bring to light the knowledge that all humans are averse to change and that we, as human beings, are comfortable living a known, shallow life. He was trying to symbolise a man's tendency to walk the known path of life rather than lead a more challenging life in which he would be more likely to find the "real truth".

The hypothetical cave is set up in a way so that it's inhabitants are constantly looking at the shadows, cast from the fire, that is situated behind them. They have no freedom to move or alter what they see, leading them to believe that these shadows, this environment is "the real truth". However, somewhere down the line, one prisoner begins to doubt this mundane existence. In response to his inquisitiveness he breaks the chains that bind him and escapes the cave to venture into the unknown (to him) world. 

To begin with, he struggles to adapt to the newfound sunlight, which his eyes are untrained to deal with. But once he got used to the foreign elements that halted his progress, he began his search for the truth. For a new reality. During his journey, his thoughts are cast back to the prisoners whom he shared the dark cave with. He decided to return to the cave and share his discovery with all his former companions. 

However, he was not met with a great deal of astonishment, neither did he intrigue his old friends. Instead, when he told them that the cave was in fact an 'imaginary' reality, he was met with both disbelief and disregard. The now philosopher was deemed a pariah, one who should be cast from the cave in order to preserve its belief system. The "cavelings" had become used to and dependant on the morals and views of their predecessors.

This short, thought-provoking anecdote emphasises the blind following of false truths. People are content to live by the rules and ideas of the people around and 'above' them. Happy to remain in their comfortable bubble of make-believe, rather than lead a more challenging life. One that would eventually lead to greater truths. 

On a more positive note, Plato's story is predominantly centred around the man who questioned the reality in which he had been placed. Plato used this character to explain how once in a while somebody, a philosopher, will question the boundaries of their existence. He will wonder why things are as they are and determine for himself how things should be. 

The Simulacrum

French sociologist Jean Baudrillard believed, and concluded, that the definite boundary between art and reality has completely diminished. The reason for this; both have collapsed into the universal simulacrum.
The simulacrum comes into existence when the distinction between a representation and the real thing breaks down. Moving from a reflection of the basic reality, through to an image that bears no relation to any reality whatsoever.
An artist named Henri Jacobs did a piece, called "Surface Research", which, emphasises on the effect and practice of the Simulacrum.

For you visual types, here is just one of his representations.

Self portrait iconoclasm by stabbing

To see other examples of this project just clink on the link below.
http://surfaceresearch-hj.blogspot.co.uk/2011_03_01_archive.html

The Divine Irreference of Images

To make it easier i have split Baudrillard's conclusions of the simulacrum and simulation into four different examples.

Illness - There are to sides to simulation; to dissimulate is to pretend not to have what one truly has. To simulate is, as expected, to do the exact opposite. To pretend to have what one does not actually have. Simulation, however, is not as simple as just pretending.

"Whoever fakes an illness can simply stay in bed and make everyone believe he is ill. Whoever simulates illness produces in himself some of the symptoms" (Littre).

To pretend is to hold on to a sense of reality, but simulation threatens the difference between the real and the imaginary. (The placebo effect is a good example of this in everyday life). Baudrillard believes that this simulation of symptoms means medicine loses its meaning because it only treats "real" illnesses  and illness can no longer be taken as a fact of nature.

Psychoanalysis - Psychiatrists say they can not be deceived by simulation, for there is a particular order in the succession of symptoms of which the simulator is ignorant. But the debate remains, what can medicine do with the duplication of illness in a discourse that is no longer either true or false?

Military - Traditionally, the military punishes any simulators, according to a standard principle of identification. They make no distinction, and no attempt to distinguish, between a good simulator and a "real" homosexual or "madman". With a naive attitude of, "if he is this good at acting crazy, it's because he is". By submerging the principle of truth they regard, in this sense, all crazy people to be simulating or visa-versa.

Religion - All of this finally returns to religion and the simulacrum of divinity.

"I forbade that there be any simulacra in the temples because divinity that animates nature can never be represented".

In essence, it can be represented, but with every multiplication of an icon in simulacra, does it not lose its meaning? Iconoclasts feared this exact outcome. The power and divinity of "God" being portrayed in the visible, machinery of icons. They could live with the idea of distorted truth. But their despair came from the idea that the image did not conceal anything at all. Is God not just his own Simulacrum?
Western faith believed a sign could refer to a depth of meaning, that it can be exchanged for meaning - the best example being God himself. If god can be reduced to a series of signs that constitute faith then the whole system become weightless. A gigantic simulacrum!


Living in the wake of the withering signified

"The public does not want to know what Napoleon III said to William of Prussia. It wants to know whether he wore beige trousers and whether he smoked a cigar."
         -  Pope John Paul I

For a month in early spring the Photographer's Gallery near Leicester Square was host to The Bill Brandt room. The press handout described it as a 'walk in magazine': a three dimensional version of The Face. 

10 David Ogilvy Quotes

1. “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.”

2. “The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”

3. “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.”

4. “I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.”

5. “I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

6. “Good copy can’t be written with tongue in cheek, written just for a living. You’ve got to believe in the product.”

7. “If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don’t let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.”

8. “First, make yourself a reputation for being a creative genius. Second, surround yourself with partners who are better than you are. Third, leave them to go get on with it.”

9. “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”

10. “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. “

Illustration in Advertising I

Tim Marrs

"With an illustration career spanning over 10 years, Marrs is a BA graduate of Humberside University and Master of Arts ( MA) post grad of Central Saint Martins, London. His work has continued to evolve, develop and inspire. Producing a frenzied Mix of drawings, photography, screen printing and photoshop techniques, his work sports a hand made and dynamic look, but yet considered and has a mix of influences from American pop culture, pulp fiction novels, pop art to polish film posters. 

Marrs's broad and flexible style has also attracted a wide variety of commissions in advertising, publishing and Graphic design with worldwide clients including, Nike, Brand Jordan, Asics NYC marathon, Reebok, kswiss, Ogilvy and Mather, Saatchi and Saatchi, Geffen records, Publicis & Hal Riney and orion publishing to name but few. His technique is one of the most influential styles in modern illustration and is now starting to get the recognition it deserves."

- His own blog profile.

Tim's work has a very unique and personal quality to it. As you can see to the left, he managed to get his illustrations on a variety of Pepsi products. 
Personally, i am not a fan of his work, but i can appreciate the talent and i am very interested in the stages he went through to becoming a more commercial based illustrator.
I have emailed him a small questionnaire and hope to get a response for my blog ASAP.

Sweeties interview: Debbie

Short interview with Debbie, mother of 3.

Sweeties Interview: Max

A short interview with Max, aged 8.

Artist Case Study

Gabriel Moreno

Illustrator, engraver and painter based in Madrid, graduated of Fine Arts in the University of Sevilla in 98. Since then he worked in different design studios and ad agencies in Andalusia. In 2004 he moves to Madrid. In June 2007 he begins to show his portfolio and after being selected amongst the 20 new talents of illustration, by the London based magazine Computer Arts, he begins his successful career as an illustrator.

At present he has worked with virtually every major national agency, and is starting with his first commissions and international expansion. He has worked with numerous national and international publications, last August by the cover of the North American publishing Los Angeles Times Magazine.

I am going to evaluate this image above in order to show how I look at his work:

This illustration is a great demonstration of every aspect I mentioned about his work in the previous paragraph. The drawing itself is so precise and realistic whereas the content is a lot more complex. The composition once again incorporates more than one image. They are also brought together to form one stunning drawing by the elaborate flows of hair like substance. In this context, this structure goes from representing feathers up to flesh as it moves up the page. The way it links all of the subjects is so effective and the detail of the “hair” itself is so intricate.

This drawing, like most of Gabriel’s, has an intriguing composition that makes every inch as interesting as the next. This particular piece has had no commercial concentration and is simply an illustration from a 2009 exhibition in which he wanted to display his work in order to go further than just commercial drawings. This means I can look at it as a drawing rather than a message or attempt to persuade me or appeal to my better nature. Being an avid sketcher myself, I can empathise with the effort and skill that has gone into producing such an interesting illustration. The high levels of contrast give it such an impact and the sharpness of each edge, shade and detail makes it so easy to look at. This is one of my favourite pieces of his work due to its monumental depth of tone.  

 

 

Gabriel Moreno is a proven success in the illustration industry as you can see from his illustrious selection of clients and by the sheer quality of his work. The fact his illustrations are used by so many commercial enterprises is what makes him so relevant to this task. However, the reason I chose him in particular is because he combines fantasy and surrealism with a high level of realism. His illustrations are beautifully drawn and have a photographic quality to them. He still maintains a sense of magic and mystery with the way he designs them. He manages to create a montage effect as he has more than one view and image in each of his drawings. His compositions have to be one of his best assets, as every illustration becomes one powerful piece of art.

Lynx 2012 Campaign

Lynx launches The Final Edition with year-long £5.6 million marketing campaign

Lynx is launching the advertising campaign for new fragrance 2012: The Final Edition on Friday, with the new range supported by a year-long £5.6 million marketing campaign across TV, digital, OOH and PR.

The range, which comprises a bodyspray and shower gel, has been given a dark, gothic black and gold pack design inspired by the Mayan calendar, which is set to end its final cycle on the 21st December 2012 - when Mayans believe the world will end.

The advert sees a young male building a wooden boat in preparation for the end of the world, but it is a crowd of beautiful women who join him aboard, not two of every animal. It was created by Ponce Buenos Aires and adapted for Europe by BBH. PR for the campaign will be handled by Mischief.

Kieran Danaher, Lynx brand manager at Unilever UK, said: “Following the phenomenal success of Lynx Excite this year, we believe that Lynx 2012 – The Final Edition can really take things to the next level.

“As a brand we continually strive to innovate and push boundaries with creative marketing campaigns, and the launch of Lynx 2012 – The Final Edition is set to do just that and more. We’ve got some very exciting activity lined up for this project, so watch this space.”

Abnormal ads III

Barclays Money Monster

Abnormal ads II

Skittle Advert

Abnormal ads

Vo5 Headless Hair gel advert