Sunday, April 10, 2011

I'm just about ready to propose a toast to my group and our project. My day has been a blur of agitated, nervous WGHS grade 11s phoning and smssing me to clarify instructions, ask if what they're doing is correct, what there IS to do and confessing that the only instruction they really understood was the ad analysis lol... Vite vite, ladies! We have 16 hours left before the ball drops...scary stuff, I know, but we've all worked way too hard to have doubts now. So good luck to everyone! And many many thanks to my group. It was so amazing to have the opportunity to work with you and I learnt a lot from you all and about you all:) One of the most important things was that we procrastinate 100 times more when we're together haha, but those were some of the most fun times I've had doing school work EVER! On the other hand, I'm really glad it's over now.

So...goodbye until next time we get a project that requires blogging again:)

XxRayne

HIGH HEELS AND HIGHER EXPECTATIONS


I thank whoever it is that instilled such a healthy adoration for beautiful clothing in my mother; and whoever else made her cherish the classics among the abundant ordinary. Because of both these qualities I have access to one of the most exclusive and vast collection of vintage (and other) pieces. This came in handy when it came to filming our video advertisement.

Because our concept was only born on the day of filming no one really had exactly the right outfit packed in and it became apparent that we would need to source clothing on location. Fortunately my mother doesn’t mind if we delve into her clothing collection, as long as everything is returned in good order. So for our 2 promiscuous party animals we found a yellow leather waistcoat, silk vest and a black coat. Our sophisticated women added to their outfits a lace vest and red knit jersey.

Heels, as for most women were not a problem and for some reason were the things we all remembered to pack :)

Before we left to start filming next door, we had so much fun helping each other get ready: doing makeup and hair and looking at ourselves in the mirror but as is telltale of our group, we first had supper and a few us took a deserved nap :) This time it really wasn’t our fault as the neighbours where the bar was, were out for the evening. Eventually at 11pm we trekked next door, heels and all (empty) alcohol bottles in hand!

Filming was hilarious and to share some of the experience with you, here are a few photos of the evening’s escapades :)

Here’s to fun, happiness and responsible alcohol use...

Love Sierra

Grrr... photos have been uploading for half an hour. not fun. well at least there's one picture :)

SHOT, SHOT, SHOT, SHOT....

Our dearest Kristen VG + any form of pretend alcohol = some serious fun and laughs for the rest of us.

So starting filming was quite the process. I feel i did a spectacular job choosing outfits for our beautiful actresses :) even if I must say so myself. The point was to create a distinct contrast between the absolut responsible lifestyle and one which was unbefitting for the civilised individuals of our society; and the various outfits needed to reflect this. Kristen and Rayne were cast as our two hard partying, promiscuous ladies and Laylah and Hannah would show their unruly behaviour up by remaining elegant and sober the entire night by not over indulging in.

The key word: Over indulgence. What we were trying to promote with our campaign was not that alcohol is a terrible, intoxicating substance that you should never, ever go anywhere near it (even if we do feel that way- just a little bit); our main purpose was to portray alcohol as something to incorporate into your lifestyle in moderation. The only there will be an issue is if one consumes more alcohol than one’s system can reasonably cope with.

Filming was an awesomely different experience. It appears that I have the coolest neighbours ever. They’re very nice but for purposes of our project the coolest thing was that they had a bar. Yay :) now we could film our advertisement in an authentic setting. They also had a pool table- one that Kristen and Rayne would become very, very well acquainted with :)

So, not to keep you waiting any longer; and because Pioggia promised on my behalf, here’s our advertisement

Ciao

Sierra

VOICES MEANT FOR RADIO... NOTE: THAT WAS VOICES NOT FACES :)

We thought it would be a good idea to spread the necessary three advertisements over 3 types of media formats. Individually we would all do advertisements for a magazine and together one for television and one for radio.

It is rather more difficult than you are willing to believe to brainstorm ideas for a campaign that promotes a sound/unassailable set of values and lifestyle. Luckily for us we had Laylah who came to the rescue with paper and a trusty pen. She locked herself away while we worked on the analysis and after about a half hour of (very unusual) Laylah-silence :) we had a detailed plan for our radio ad!

Recording the ad was hilarious! At the end of it Raynie was an expert sound producer, Laylah had acquired a seductive foreign accent and Hannah discovered a beautiful singing voice. All in all it took 3 cellphones and an iPod nano an iPod touch and 23 takes to produce the perfect radio ad.

All of us + music + dodgy toilet like sounding sound effects + it being 4am in the morning equal lots of fun, laughter and general frivolousness :)

For a bit of a laugh, I here include one of the funnier takes :)i want to but unfortunately it won't upload...

*Hugs and jelly tots* Sierra

ABSOLUT(LY) FABULOUS

It really is quite a challenge to find alcohol advertisements that do not in some discriminate against or abuse a particular group. We were surprised to find that a vodka brand did make use of responsible advertising: Absolut Vodka is one of the world’s most renowned brands of premium vodka- now, that is. When Absolut Vodka was launched in 1879 it was at first unpopular for its, awkward shape and origin but because of the innovative advertising strategies, Absolut Vodka is now the leading brand in its category.

What is really interesting to note about the brand is that everything about it is characterised by its historical origins. The name customised to comply with trading policies and legal requirements in the United States, evolved from Absolut Rent Bränvin (Absolute pure vodka) to the world renowned Absolut Vodka. The bottle shape reflects the Traditional Swedish use of vodka (or more accurately, spirits) as a medicinal remedy; It is the standard shape a medicine bottle would be. Even the labelling on the bottle is unique; instead of having a printed paper label, the printing is done directly on the bottle so as not to lose the ‘clarity’ of the drink. Blue is the chosen colour for the label as it best stands out against the clear bottle.

Basically the point of all those, what we might consider, random and irrelevant facts was to highlight the precise attention to detail the absolut vodka brand employs to achieve the ultimate purpose of expanding their client base. In our analysis we attempted a similar strategy of looking for the tiniest details that might push us just that step ahead of the competition :)


Adios
Sierra

HI I’M JOHNNY... HI JOHHNY

Our first really productive work session came in the form of 5 girls collaborating to produce some really amazing work. As always it was quite a challenge to get started... the kitchen does seem to be like Johnny’s mistress; envious of all other things he gives attention to- especially work! So after spending a day ‘working’ with pioggia (Rayne) um, no we didn’t watch Gossip Girl, promise  The kitchen once again lured Johnny to supper which was lovingly prepared by Rayne; and desert prepared by me. Once Johnny was able to drag himself away from his mistress, the real work could get under way.

It isn’t difficult to believe that research is more fun in groups and Johnny had a blast. It’s incredible the types of alcohol advertisements that are allowed to be screened. Some are dreadfully inappropriate and some, if taken with a pinch of salt and good common sense can be humorous. Johnny spent some quality time with his work and...

Completed task 2 of the project :)

Till after a nap
Sierra

OH THE LURES OF HEDONISTIC INDULGENCES :)

I am rather bashful to admit that our Johnny is a slightly hedonistic being... After our first meeting we all very excited to get started and kick off our research assignment. After completing task one we moved on to having regular ‘brainstorming sessions’ oh they were quite successful ... in testing Laylah and Kristen’s worth in the kitchen that is! It seems unfortunate or unproductive that we didn’t complete any set tasks but in fact we accomplished something even more important: seamless teamwork. I don’t think anyone needs to be told that sometimes group work can be a nightmare but by taking a few hours out just to bond and maybe do some research, we were able to avoid the very often catastrophic run ins that occur when people do not understand one another. Not once, even since we got started on the serious work have any of us fought, been mean/nasty to one another or disregarded each others’ ideas as irrelevant or unimportant. So a big thank you to Kristen and Laylah for helping the process along with delicious food :)

Till next time
Sierra

BRANDING THE BRAND

Our first task was to compose a letter to a company requesting further information about the selected product. We discovered that in South Africa there are only two companies that deal with the distribution of alcohol: South African Breweries Limited and Bandhouse Limited. We then each chose a specific brand of alcohol to seek information on; for example mine was Peroni Nastro Azzuro. Composing the letter was a fairly challenging task because what we really wanted was more ammunition to slam alcohol advertising as potentially harmful to the greater good of society... but for the sake of diplomacy and because we actually wanted a reply; we couldn’t do that. So, we had to learn (or rather hone) our lying by omission skills. The point was to come across as nonthreatening, innocent school girls (insert strategic batting of eyelashes) so that we could get the extra material needed.


First task? Check :)


Ciao
Sierra

YES, MS RYKLIEF I AM ONE THOSE WHO THINK IT IS “AMUSING, SLIGHTLY FUNNY OR MAYBE A BIG LAUGH” :)

So, now that we have established that our group is without any hint of doubt totally and completely anti-alcohol indulgence instead of going for the very obvious and in line with our arguments thus far, point of view; I intend to play devil’s advocate just for a little bit :)

@ “Helping ugly people... WHAT!?” True, the advertisement could be regarded as crude and offensive but really once you have a look at what else is on the advertising alcohol market, this advertisement seems rather mild. Before we decide how altering this advertisement is to the average subconscious it would be a good idea to review a few others.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and in this this statement is proved true. No amount of offensive wording could demean the delicately balanced relationship between the genders like all the above advertisements do.
The tagline “Helping ugly people have sex since 1862” is a humorous line that relies on the understanding that beer clouds your judgement and maybe also your vision :) In acknowledging this, the advertisement rules itself out to be considered some evil form of indoctrination that will foster a lack of respect between men and women. Surely, even those who are not overly self confident can recognise this as a nifty piece of advertising that promotes beer but might also incite a word of caution: getting drunk may lead you to do something (or someone) that you would not normally consider appropriate.


The other, visually explicit advertisements can be seen as a form of subconscious indoctrination. The difference is in the means the advertisements utilise to achieve their identical aim of promoting alcohol. These make use of images that may make the less confident feel insecure and think they need alcohol to be socially acceptable.
So yes, I am in favour of the helping ugly people...advertisement and yes I am one of the desensitised who may find this amusing and entertaining but I do believe there are advertisements that do exactly what Laylah described- just not this one!


Ciao
Sierra

DECLINING SOCIETY AND SOBRIETY

Beer, wine, vodka, brandy, spirits.... it’s amazing how many different alcohol advertisements appear all around us, all the time. It is interesting to note that we don’t really differentiate between alcohol ads and ads for other products; but if we think about it, should alcohol really be allowed to be advertised? Cigarettes can no longer be advertised due to the damaging effects they have on one’s lungs so why, oh why do we think it is perfectly acceptable to promote an intoxicator that often leaves people, drunk, disorderly and what can most certainly be considered disoriented if they end up in some stranger’s bed.

So now that we were sitting up (or maybe more like slouching on the couch) and paying attention to all the alcohol advertisements we were being exposed to, we all had a better idea of the far reaching consequences of the promotion of such a product. Alcohol advertising has seeped into the very deep rifts in our society – there must be some explanation for the increasing number of youths who turn to alcohol to improve the quality of their lives. And maybe, just maybe part of the reason is that the advertising of alcohol has become such an inherent part of modernised western culture that it has become the lifestyle to aspire to.


If we look at the ads, honestly who doesn’t want to be young, gorgeous and carefree? Or the man- stereotypically masculine, serious and in control? We need to be aware of the images and stereotypes alcohol advertising purports and be careful that it does not come to completely represent the superficial mess society has become.


Adieu
Sierra

ADVERTISING: THE TALL AND THE SHORT (GLASS) OF IT

Alcohol is something that we are constantly inundated with in mainstream media. Billboards, magazines, prime time (and other times) television, radio and all forms of media are really overpopulated with advertisements to promote the consumption of alcohol. So we chose to analyse the history of alcohol advertising in comparison to the standardised advertising of today. Our first meeting was a very long time ago but as I’m sure you will all be able to relate to, something –no everything, got in the way. So here I am blogging about an afternoon that was weeks ago.

Productive? Definitely a word I would to describe our group :) on this lovely, bright and sunny Saturday (I remember the day at least if not the date) we started with the groundwork for our research project. We had a look at the main points and objectives in NO LOGO. We then tried to apply these analytical techniques to alcohol advertising. We ran into a little problem with our research attempts when no alcohol website would allow visitors to the site under the age of 18. Really, really now? What could possibly happen? It’s not as if we could drink the alcohol over the internet. So that was a serious thorn in our sides but, perseveringly we press on.

We jumped a few steps and found the perfect advert for our introduction to our presentation :) It was an advertisement that I had personally always enjoyed watching... ahhh, the effects of indoctrinating alcohol advertisements.

Till later :)

Sierra


PS: ahhhh Raynie I found the spaces :)

My advert :)


xx Hannah

Saturday, April 9, 2011

And again



=) Sorry darlings, they say 3 is a great number for expression and emphasis.


So, here is a male beautifully suited up. Then there is a female, with plaster-sized pieces of material over her sacred assets.


So, here is a male standing firmly in a formal position. Then there is a female, laying like some luxurious dog underneath the male.


So, would we ever find an ad with this the other way round? NO NO a thousand times NO, unless they were both in swimsuits.


I feel this advert is once again based upon the incredible power trip especially felt by males once they have consumed alcohol of which women often become the victim. Not cool at all.


Fullstop, I'm calm now. =)


KVG

Here we go again...Sigh


At first, this did not seem too intense and degrading to women until I analysed the angle of her body. Why is it that men can stand and pose appropriately but women have to spread some sort of body part wide open?


Yes, this advert is very attractive because there's skin, muscle and popping breasts but for whose enjoyment is this really?

Well ladies the 5 of us blogsters are not turned on by open-legged women so once again we are faced with an advert satisfying the opposite sex through the use of a woman as a desirable sex symbol. The famous saying of 'sex sells' is being taken too far!


Enough said.

xoxo

Kristen VG

Absolut Finish (did you hear that?- FINISH!!) (:

Ok, well not really... but we will be soon...


The radio advert is recorded. An advert has been analysed. We planned our Group Presentation. The television ad has been shot. And now I have to just organize my own part on the oral (Johnnie keeps walking: walking Johnnie!) and do my individual magazine ad. The long process of 'Taking advertising seriously' is complete.


After two sleepovers (more like: lets-stay-awake-the-entire-night over) and tough brain storming sessions (yes, that is what i call them :), we are content with our fabulous result. Along the way we learnt lots, critisized, analysed and made or own advertisements, trashed saarah's house more than once (sorry saarah) and not surprisingly, grew closer as friends. We also took lots of pics, some more embarassing than others.


The funny thing is that we are not actually finished with 'taking advertsing seriously'. Now every advertisement we see - be it about alcohol or not - won't go without us thinking of the underlying message of the advert, what the product is, what techniques is being used to get our attention and most importantly: is it effective? Now don't get me wrong. I'm not going to study each and every advert I see in magazines or on television, but I am going to think twice before being gulible enough in believing everything that the media tells me.


I would like to end my last post with something I said in my first one. Wait, let me quote it.

" I have a really brilliant team: R, S, K and H. I am reall eager to work with them, knowing our final presentation will be amazing"

Turns out I do have a brilliant team (lurve you guys :) and working with them was Absolut Fun. And guess what? Our final presentaion is amazing and awesome and creative and... lots of other cool adjectives. (see how tired I am? I can't even think of the right words).


For now it's peace out from me, Laylah (as this is officially my tenth blog!!!!) and I will be tying up the loose ends of my side of the project.


P.S: I can't say thank-you enough to the parents who drove us up and down, provided us with information over the phone (and from files), feed us when we were hungry and finally, provided the props and clothes we needed for the adverts. Your support and patience is really appreciated.


P.P.S: Let us not forget the wonderful family (who just so happens to be saarah's neighbours) that helped make our television ad possible. It was a pleasure filming in your lovely home. xxx


Bye bye, now

Bright & Clear my #@$%!!!

Upon discvery of this advertisment, I almost swore at the computer screen... It is so difficult to be tactful with my opinions when I come across such rubbish. The only attractive aspect about this ad is the shade of the red lipstick and I am placing huge emphasis on the SHADE and NOT the lipstick itself. Would you ever see a man applying labello maybe in this exact position saying "Smooth and Juicy?" Definitely not, and why? Because women are the objects built around the oh so important macho-nation. Just thought I'd share this with you guys. Urgh, I'm so annoyed with this advert. Kisses and Hugs KVG

"You've been shot by a smooth criminal"

Yipppeeee, we are officially 99,979% completed with "Taking advertising seriously." The dramatic changes in alcohol advertisments over the last 3 decades depicts the intense revolution of society and symbolizes the extreme means taken to reach and achieve a 'created' desirable want. This desirable want being created through the various clever advertising techniques. These adverts have gone from 'housewife- black and white' to 'explicit - sexy mamma.' And no ladies, this is not acceptible! Whether women agree to pose in the manner which they do or not, they would not do it if society did not create and build a fantasy world around it. Why I ask you is advertising the leading contributing factor to our impulsive actions? Research shows that majority of consumers do not actually desire the taste of the alcohol itself, but rather the idealistic lifestyle it offers through its adverts. So, we know this already right, then why do we see our already fragile society being the victim to this smooth criminal of advertising? So many answers, so many thoughts, so many questions... Absolut EXCUSES! Much love blogsters Kristen VG

"Its dry but you can drink it"




Currently researching the history of Savanna Cider advertising
They have some funny adverts, and they are good, because they also encourage responsible drinking. I like Savanna because I don't think its the kind of drink someone would drink to get drunk, people mostly drink it for its nice dry taste and its refreshing quality. Savanna does poster adverts as you can see above, but their most successful adverts are the television adverts, with the guys sitting in the bar. These adverts are famous for their dry sense of humour and are very catchy.

xx Hannah

"It all comes together"...

Dear fellow blogsters Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to Rayne and Saarah for their extreme hardwork at editing and perfecting our movie ad. I know it must have been very frustating working with technology that refuses to co-operate. See why I like people more? Secondly, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment to this project (a relationship you don't want to have is not exactly easy). This project has driven us to eat excessively, drink excessively (laugh and catch the pun) and almost give up but as a group we have all been each other's driving forces. Last but not leastly, just like the ads of Castle Lager express a life of unity if you consume the brand, I feel that we have achieved this without consumption. This project has brought us even closer as friends and the best and most important part, our project has come together and for this this I've made up our own slogan. =) "It all comes together with an US." Hope you all get lots of rest tonight. KVG

On our way to the red carpet :P

We have completed our TV advert, and had fun dressing up for it :D Saarah's mom has really cool clothes :) Thank you Saarah's mom! And thank you to Saarah's neighbours for letting us use their bar, the actual shooting of the ad didnt take too long, but us being typical ladies ended up staying a while to chat :) Editing the movie took the longest, but thank you to Saarah and Rayne that is now done! So we are now movie stars... encouraging adults to drink alcoholic drinks responsibly.

xx Hannah