The first ad is a print ad for the company Nomad Skateboards. Now, let's talk semiotics.
The brief denotation:
- landscape orientation with photo on right and text, ornamentation and photo of product on left.
- filigree border on all edges, reminiscent of French Art Nouveau
- photo is in a sepia tone and includes: two men, both in clothing from the past. Man with bowler hat and suit is skateboarding over three pieces of luggage. Man in background looks surprised and is moving to the right with two more pieces of luggage. They appear to be in front of a train or old, wooden building. Border of photo looks old and worn.
- Product, skateboard, is shown with the underside facing out and placed vertically. "very old school" is printed on the underside of the skateboard in a filigree design.
- Very ornamental font reads, "Very old school", "They had the guts to fly a prototype zeppelin, but not to ride a board?".
- In a more plain font, "The board that should have arrived 100 years ago is here.
- website and company logo is underneath, right aligned.
- soft vignette on entire ad
- skateboard is cradled in filigree and is on top of everything else.
Connotation:
- The entire ad is based on a strong sense of nostalgia. The brown colors used give it the feeling of being old and valuable.
- The overall vintage feeling makes the viewer think the skateboard is special, unique, classic, handmade, or a collectors item.
- There is a lot of care put into the text design which makes sense with a vintage ad, because they used to only have text or a hand drawing.
- Because the board is basically on a drawn pedestal, it gives the feeling of being extremely important. It is something to be praised, looked up to, taken care of.
I really like this ad because there was a lot of care and precision put into. This print ad is an excellent example of "everything in advertising being there for a reason, nothing is an accident".
My second ad from Lola is a television ad for a car function that warns the driver when you weave out of your lane or various other driving mistakes.
Here's the video:
Denotation:
- Young, attractive father steers son to the right while son is riding a bike, swimming in the pool and racing in a sack race.
- Father weaves into right lane while driving, the car dings as a warning.
- father repeats, "to the right" and "that's my boy", many times throughout the commercial.
- son repeats his fathers words at the end of the ad.
- soft, warm lighting throughout
- father and son are only focus throughout
Connotation:
- This commercial plays on emotions mainly to achieve it's goal. The father and son share encouraging words which make the viewer feel those "warm fuzzies"
- The soft, warm lighting and lush backgrounds provide a nostalgic, happy feeling.
- There is no mother in the ad which adds to the emotional factor. "That's my boy" means more when there is no woman in the family.
- You might feel like you need this technology to be the best parent you can be. He's clearly an excellent father, if the viewer is a parent, they would want to be more like him. Because the father is young and attractive this provides even more reason to emulate him.
Although this ad doesn't stand out to me because I see so many car commercials all the time, it still works in that it effectively explains the product and shows it in a loving, positive light.
The final ad, also by Lola, is an outdoor ad for Magnum, a dessert company. Everyday people create new and exciting ways to introduce technology into everything we do and advertising is no exception. Here's a quick video showing what Lola did for Magnum's real life ad campaign.
Denotation:
- large rectangular box that lights up with really bright, neon colors
- screen in the center guides user through steps
- Asks user to take a photo and post it to Facebook
- users ask their Facebook friends to get 5 likes in 30 seconds to receive a free ice cream bar
Connotation:
- Bright colors create a happy, carefree interactive environment.
- By using Facebook and technology, they are targeting the younger and more tech savvy.
- using words like kissable, likes and sexy helps give the young, carefree feeling. Chocolate, ice cream and other desserts are often portrayed in a sexy way because they have a "naughty" connotation. Sex is naughty as well as chocolate.
This use of technology is extremely effective. It gets the product in people's hands, makes them feel rewarded for desiring and obtaining the product, and gets not only the photo taker's in front of the product, but their Facebook friends, too.
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