Adventures In Advertising: The Dark Side

Some people think of advertising as an annoyance, while others think of it as an art. Still, to others, advertisements are more sales tactics than anything approaching art. Me personally, I'm somewhere in camp one and two.

One one hand, advertisements really can be a nuisance at times. Does anyone really enjoy looking at sixty pages of advertisements just to get to the table of contents? I actually enjoy looking at the photos, but since they do not change from one magazine to the next, it gets old fast.

Then there's the whole "advertorial" bait and switch. You're reading what you think is an editorial, and it just sounds a wee bit...lofty. Magazines are rarely that generous with their compliments, so something must be up. And indeed, there is something up. Advertorials are written by advertisers to look like they were written by the editors of the magazine. Beauty magazines and other decidedly female magazines are probably the worst offenders I've seen.

But then, advertisements really are an art form. Consider that you need to convince someone to buy something with nothing but a photo, or a thirty second video. If they are already a customer, you're set, but how does one convince a non customer to buy your product with just a photo, or short video?

Then of course there is the production that goes into advertising. Setting aside the fact that the end result is to, hopefully, sell a product, advertisements are kind of beautiful. With some exceptions, most of the photos in advertisements are top-notch and they should be-- they pay out the ass for it. Commercials are like mini movies of their own, with presents a challenge all it's own.

Granted, by no means do I mean to imply that all advertising is equally artistic. There are plenty of ads that are nothing more than a sales pitch, and others yet are thinly veiled attempts at best. But the good ones, the advertisements that really matter and make a lasting impression as being something special, those are most definitely art.

This is one such example:



Consider a few things after watching this commercial. First, they've not only used the Darth Vader costume, but also the Imperial March. While it may not seem like that big of a deal, George Lucas isn't known for letting just anybody use Star Wars as a vehicle to sell a product. Or in this case, to use Star Wars as a vehicle to sell quite literally, a vehicle.

The ad features a child dressed as Darth Vader. This is adorable! I'm always happy to see children in roles that are a bit different. I'd be only too happy if I never had to see another ad of a throng of children rushing into the kitchen to eat an entire plate of Totinos, or some other pseudo-food. People don't give children enough credit, but they also don't let children simply be children. This is important, and what makes this commercial work.

The ad is very Volswagen. Their ads, while not terribly unique in automotive ads, are very simple and understated. This advertisement is no exception. In this case, the simplicity and understatement works flawlessly, because I think anything overly sophisticated would ruin the playfulness of the ad.

And that, my friends, is how you make an advertisement not just beautiful, but work.

My only qualm? I really, really wish there was a matching print advertisement to go along with this. For all I know, there may be, but I doubt it. Most print ads for cars just show the cars. I think this is one case where a slightly quirky, and thus different, print ad would go a long way to capturing peoples' attention, which in these times, capturing anyone's attention for more than a fleeting moment can be damned near impossible.

Below is my contribution. You can thank me (and pay me) later, Volkswagen.