Australian Sony Handycam – kiss ad
Advertising is the public face of brand displays and can be the first, more memorable impression a brand can make on a consumer. Advertising often refashions old ideas to conform to the taste of the time. It helps to create brand identity in a very public and pervasive manner and apart from advertising there are other equally effective brand identity building promotional measures such as events, sponsorships and sales promotions (Arens and Arens, 2010). The advert in this case uses a combination of the strategies and imagery that helps to pass the message.
- The main idea in this ad- The main idea of this advertisement is to show how clear the photographs taken by the Sony Handycam camera are regardless the age of a person. Rather than highlighting the photographs that are very clear, as in many such advertisements, this advertisement shows a woman who ages at a kiss. At first, this advertisement appears to be unclear at it is meaning, but in the end, a message comes out clearly.
- Simplicity of ad- The use of a woman who ages at a kiss is a good imagery which is a simple. This image tugs at the familiar instincts of people. This makes the advert very simple and effective. The image of a man and woman kissing implies that the camera is targeted for all people who are at happy and joyous moment. In other words, what the ad is selling is a tool that will take photographs that will help them remember their past happy moment.
- The impact of ad- the video shown in youtube (2006) about a woman aging at a kiss is of three women (young, middle aged and old) and it depicts people in various situations enjoying themselves as photographs are being taken. This advert is also capable of reaching out to a wide range of age groups with humor that is generally universal in nature. The advertisements imply that women do age quickly than men and spend their time pursuing superficial and unimportant things like kisses at all ages. Women are also depicted as aging through love, suggesting that women are more inclined to love than men. The advertisements may imply that women are interested in things that have no constructive purpose or meaning in everyday life. Impartial males may view these ads as innocuous, but the fact is that the advertisements should be designed to show that women can make effective use of the Australian Sony Handycam later being used.
- Originality- The advertisement approaches the issue of photograph clearness from a unique perspective. Women in an advertisement hold attention of viewer than men and therefore the advertisement is unique and innovative. In that case, it reaches out to all kinds of people from all spheres of life. Consumers seeing Australian Sony Handycam – kiss ad will become aware that there is a product called Sony Handycam because the images used that are not used anywhere else.
- Relevant to the target consumer- Beyond factual information, the ad also conveys the feeling of nostalgia to consumers as a kiss is something they already know and trust subconsciously. All ads must politely and lovingly convey the core information (Arens and Arens, 2010). It must be remembered that the key goal of advertising is to enhance the sales of the product and to establish and reinforce brand identity. Once the brand has been established, advertisements alone cannot maintain it. The Australian Sony Handycam ad- kiss advertisement illustrates how gender is viewed in the society. People act based on what they see in society, and advertisements manipulate people’s ability to distinguish between fact and fiction. However, the use of a woman who ages at a kiss in advertising makes the ad look irrelevant but it is something that the consumer will remember even though he may not notice it. Watching it will be made on the subconscious level of the public’s collective mind.
- Ethic issue in this ad- Advertising helps people make informed decisions, but it often manipulates people’s perception of the real world. The ad is based on gender as it reflects socially construed reality in which people’s actions reflect what they believe and how they perceive each other. This advert is sexist as it is often directed at a predominantly patriarchal society. As people develop morally acceptable behaviors and behave within the stipulated ethics, there is an inherent belief that morality and ethics promote society’s welfare, justice, acceptance, and eliminate censure. This ad campaign for the Australian Sony Handycam is sexist and should be discouraged as immoral and unethical because it depicts women as a sex that ages at a kiss and fails to show the impact on a man. This is a bad depiction of women.
- Empathetic- Looking more closely at the advert, it can be observed that the images can increase customer acceptance. In effect, the ad is effective and efficient as information is received easily remembered by the viewer. It does not annoy the receiver with regards to the time on which it is received, the where it is received, or the usage of the receiver’s personal information. However, people will want to receive a sincere message of quality and popularity of the product as opposed to this. Most of the people do not trust the claims made in this advertisement. This is because this advertisement is not quite popular among the citizens; it does not pass clearly the message of usage of the product to the customers.
Conclusion
Although the advertisement is quite effective as it targets a large population. However, the advertisement has room for improvement. The main improvement can be brought in by also targeting the male camera users, as this would increase the target audience of the advertisement and effectively increase the radius of influence of the advertisement. The advertisement also appears to cater to a limited population, mostly those who belong to the upper income groups. The advertisement should be readjusted to also target the lower income groups, as a major portion of people is based on people from lower income groups. Overall, the advertisement was quite effective.
Reference List
Arens, W, & Arens, C 2010, Contemporary Advertising & Integrated Marketing Communication. McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.
Youtube 2006, Australian Sony Handycam ad – Kiss. Web.