Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Ad Council
Several of the ads that I saw written about in those articles I was able to recognize myself, which just goes to show how effective they were while they were in circulation and even after. I personally believe that the effectiveness of these ads comes from the ideology of “I’ll only believe what I see”, and these ads from the Ad Council do just that. I could be told “don’t play with matches”, or I could watch a house burn down and then have a talking bear tell me “don’t play with matches.” I think the more effective approach is obvious. I remember there being one ad from the Ad Council that almost made me cry. To make a long story short, a man drives under the influence, swerves, hits a curb and then drives through somebody’s fence. On the other side of the fence is a little kid playing soccer, and the car hits him. His father runs out, and is crying over his dead son’s body while the man driving the car just stands there and watches. Yeah, it’s really tough to watch. I’ve never seen an ad that was so effective in my whole life, which is pretty amazing considering we see so many commercials everyday. What I was very impressed with was the I Am America campaign. I remember those after the 9-11 attacks, and I am thoroughly amazed at how those ads were put together in a matter of ten days. It just goes to show how attached we are to the media and how attached we are to visual stimulation. Tell us not to drink and drive, and we forget in a few minutes, but SHOW us not to drink and drive, and we will never forget what the ad is trying to tell us.
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I like how you talked about how when ads show us something, we are more likely to remember it than if someone just told us. Writing about a commercial that really caught your attention and was meaningful to you really made your point come across. Are there any commercials that you just hate and that you think do not make any impact?
ReplyDeleteI think you have an interesting point about how the ads don't really catch our attentions that much just by a catchy slogan or touching picture. I just look at it and say "oh how nice" and get on with my day. Of course, an ad like the one youre explaining here is going to get almost everyone's attention when they watch it. I agree, it is more effective to show than just say "don't drink and drive".
ReplyDeleteI was also able to recognize certain ads that were mentioned in the articles. The Ad Council realizes that they need an ad that captures and appeals ones pathos. The ads, for instance drunk driving, are ones that capture our attention right off the bat. Pictures sometimes speak louder than words can, and that is exactly what the Ad Council has done.
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