Communication Design Theory

Benetton Group – Unhate Campaign

The campaign features a range of world leaders kissing, including the likes of Obama, Merkel and Sarkozy. According to the company behind the ad, the theme focuses on the kiss as it’s a universal symbol of love. The ad ran across many countries on large billboards during its 2011 launch which as you can imagine caused a lot of raised eyebrows. This wasn’t the first time the group had launched controversial ads before, in fact, their previous ads showed a priest and nun kissing. Controversy for this ad campaign arose in many different ways. The first was the use of the world leaders without their consent. In fact, one of the ads features Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian imam which was quickly removed after being condemned by the Vatican.

Lung Cancer Alliance USA 

recently unveiled a series of controversial service announcements proclaiming that just about everybody “deserves to die”, if they have lung cancer. Intended to challenge those who believe lung cancer victims deserve to suffer because they’ve brought their illness upon themselves, LCA and Laughlin Constable created a series of advertisements that tackle the bias and stigma attached to those battling this atrocious disease. Hit the thumbs for a look at these disputable ads used by Lung Cancer Alliance USA. And, peep this crazy video found below.

British ice cream manufacturer Antonio Federici

hit the news headlines again with a new print advertising campaign banned because of religious sensitivities. The 2010 campaign for Gelato Italiano shows a heavily pregnant woman dressed as a nun standing in a church holding a tub of ice cream, with the text, “Immaculately Conceived … ICE CREAM IS OUR RELIGION”.

In another ad from the campaign two male priests are poised for a kiss with ice cream, with the text, “We believe in salivation”.

UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, Antonio Federici said the idea of “conception” represented the development of their ice cream. They said their decision to use religious imagery stemmed from their strong feelings towards their product (they cited the text “ICE CREAM IS OUR RELIGION”) and also from their wish to comment on and question, using satire and gentle humour, the relevance and hypocrisy of religion and the attitudes of the church to social issues. They believed the small number of complaints the ASA had received represented a very small proportion of the readership of the publications. They did not believe offence had been so deeply felt as to affect their right, as marketers, to free expression and that offence caused to a small minority should not affect the ability of the wider public to see their ad. They believed that, as a form of art and self-expression, advertising should be challenging and often iconoclastic.

Race/Gender

A racial motivated ad by Sony for the release of their white PlayStation. The color white dominates over black. Its cleaner, sleeker, more fierce and stands out. A white alternatively dressed women  presses and grabs the chin of a black woman forcing her down on her knees. The one in white grabs attention and power. The image portrayed is of subordination, and to stand out (her outfit says it all) the one in black wears a black button shirts as if to imply conformity. I have also noticed , the image above isn’t a standard black and white image , each women is colored to most saturated extremes, pure black and white. If it weren’t for the lighting on the darker side of the side the woman would blend in seamlessly. White stands out! I do also note the fact it’s women, as if to imply white women are “better” and have a more alluring appeal.

Cultural Identity

This ad appeals to the  Millennials and those in Generation Y. The language used is eye catching especially for a magazine (a formal print), although this ad is appealing to a certain demographic. The ones behind the ad, know who their consumers are. The “texting” language and use of hyperbole is a direct take form how their consumers speak/text in their everyday lives, their a relatable, offbeat, and hipster brand.

Race

The cigarette company used Native American appeal to attract consumer by way of using the name “American Spirit”. The tobacco must be really good.”If they smoke it and  have a have a good time, I probably will too”. – random consumer. Although the “real” ingredients are  listed it subtle implies that the cigarettes are made with some magical Native essence, maybe even special ancient  native herbs. There is commonly held notion of peace, tranquility, traditional, health,ancient and spirituality when people think of natives. It appeals to the idea of a better cigarette. American spirit cigarettes are are implied to be healthier as well which is crazy but it’s just because of the branding , I found an article to prove it:

Nike is undoubtedly one of the biggest companies when it comes to sportswear and sports brands. Known for their sports footwear, clothes and accessories, The ad was plastered on billboards all over America with the tag line “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”. The line being a nod to Kaepernick’s previous actions of not standing for the national anthem in protest over the treatment of ethnic minorities.The Problem: After Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem, many viewers became angry at him and viewed him as anti-American. The fact that Nike was using him in their ads made many people believe Nike was also anti-American. This sparked a lot of controversies online with many social media users destroying their Nike products while posting the hashtag #JustBurnIt.

 

LUSH is a UK based handmade cosmetics manufacturer that has stores all across the UK and USA. In 2018 LUSH released their spy cops campaign across all their UK stores which raised many eyebrows.The Problem: The main issue with this campaign is that it came across as very anti-police to most of the general public. In fact, there were reports of people complaining and becoming very aggressive in the stores, resulting in LUSH having to call the police. Due to the negative reception of the ads.

 

Nivea is a German skincare brand that is known for manufacturing antiperspirants, face creams, and plenty of other cosmetics. To promote one of their new invisible antiperspirants, Nivea decided to use the tagline “white is purity” on their social media campaign. The ad featured a woman wearing a white top while looking out the window with the slogan in bold blue letters.The Problem: As you can probably see from the advert above, the choice of words for this campaign were very poorly chosen. To make things worse, they specifically aimed the campaign at people in the Middle East which caused many people to call the advert racist.

H&M landed in hot water at the start of the year, when it featured an ad with a black child wearing a hoodie bearing the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle.” The image went viral, and was slammed on social media, including by The Weekend, who announced on Twitter that he would no longer be affiliated with the brand. H&M later apologized.

 

 

Humanæ by Angelica Dass is a project and ad campaign that focuses on the idea of race as a social construct, rather than a biological one. I think this is a good representation of diversity because it represents every one of all ranges of complexions. She has already taken about 4,000 photos. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/4000-skin-colors-in-pantone-squares-1254683

Zuri is a makeup brand from the sixties catered to Black women. I think this is a positive ad because at the time makeup lines were very limited for Black women. There is also the upliftment of Black beauty in this ad. (Pinterest – ADs from the 60s)

Although the brand is dead American Apparel was known their controversial ads. I think this is a negative ad because of how tone-deaf they were especially with the usage of the real Mexican farmer being used as a prop. There are currents of exploitation in this ad. To a lot of people, it seemed odd given how much the company has done for the Latino community. https://gawker.com/5911787/american-apparels-hottest-new-accessory-farmers

I wanted to incorporate university brochures because I remember during my college application process I used to see a lot of this. There were many examples where they would only add one Black person into their application brochures to make the school seem “diverse or inclusive”. https://www.rug.nl/about-us/how-to-find-us/huisstijl/toepassingen/informatiedrukwerk/poster?lang=en

This brochure is from the University of Wisconsin. They photoshopped a Black person into their application brochure to make their school seem more diverse of students but failing terribly. The school received a lot of backlash for this back in 2003. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/photo-finish-2/

Why i pick is to show how the destruction of the classroom look like. Not only that but to show that without schools how are kids supposed to learn. This photo helps to show that people need to do something and help with the cause to repair the school.

The second photo examples the lost of the family. This is sad because it shows the kid and the mom lost someone in the family. Also, in the photo has the father to show that’s all they have to remember of him.

This artwork is a more political because it takes about the climate change. Reading the magazine it gives detail how certain part of the world has been flood or harsh climate. However, the vote is also talking about even though there is an election it can’t change the problem. This is a statement to show that people need to aware what goes on in the world.

Marshell Mc Cluhan doesn’t regret the idea of technology but he isn’t against it either. In fact, he comes up with his own definition of what Technology really has done to our world around us. He goes into the idea that “media” is the new way of getting a message across. He describes how we have all kinds of media to help us get a message across to others. He talks about how its an extension of ourselves Its anything that extends the 5 senses and body. for instance, the wheel is an extension of the foot, or how the book itself is an extension of the eye. He even goes as for as to state that weapons are even a means of media. This theory relates a lot to what we have in today’s society because it contributes to the idea of even smartphones how they are a form of media and how we are being pulled to pay and be on our phones all day but it’s just an extension of our hands and thoughts.

I want to say that I disagree with the idea of a book being something that is not needed anymore. Book to me will always remain something that I could go back to. Tv has actually not been something that I fall back on. If anything I don’t like to watch Tv. It’s like when someone asks you what was better the book or the movie? I always feel compelled to say that the movie has no match to a book and how books make you feel. I have always been someone to disapprove of technology. In my opinion, I feel as though technology has been making our generation, not at all smarter but dumber! we have such a short attention span and our bodies are all becoming unhealthy due to all these forms of media that are supposedly trying to make our lives easier. But are they really?

Media extends humanity by making information more widely available. In this day and age almost anyone can access new information via online. People can send a message, and within only a couple of seconds a great number of people are able to receive it.  The electric light, as explained by McLuhan, has no “content”. This means that the light itself is not worth paying attention to it is just something used to illuminate the actual message. Because of the electric light we are able to communicate through it. Whether it be entertainment or advertising etc. We use that medium as the message. 

Technological advancements bring about the sharing of too much information sometimes. Since electricity and access to the internet is widely available anyone can put something up and it can be ready millions upon billions of people. In McLuhan’s The Extension of Man he quotes Napoleon, “Three hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” Meaning that just the information on a newspaper can be more frightening than a weapon designed to kill. McLuhan says that Napoleon would listen to other media, such as the telegraph. Because of this he was able to gain an advantage of his enemies. 

 Artists and designers can take more notice of how they release their artworks or what mediums they use to bring about their message. Whether it be online, through newspapers, articles or tabloids etc., or whatever the audience uses to consume media, this could have an effect on the consumer. New techniques and ideas could bring about the change of certain media or medium.

When reading “The Medium of the Message” by Marshall McCulhan, I found the paragraphs about General Sarnoff confusing. General Sarnoff States ““We are too prone to maket technologicalinstruments the scapegoats for the sins of those who wield them. The productsof modern science are not in themselves good or bad; it is the way they areused that determines their value.” This is statement is something, I believe, most people can agree with. A Lot of the blame for our modern misfortunes is placed upon the instruments we use instead of the ones using them. Though, Mr. McCulhan does not completely agree with this statement. He argues that General Sarnoff’s statement ” ignores the nature of the medium, of any and all media”.

What is the nature of the medium? Is the nature of the medium entirely separate from our control? Is it something we entirely ignore when considering a decision made? These kinds of questions came to my mind, because he does not elaborate on the conversation. Personally, this small excerpt felt out of place, not unnecessary, but not cohesive to the topic at hand. He ended the paragraph by saying. “It has never occurred to General Sarnoff that any technology could do anything but add itself on to what we already are.” In which I interpreted that they’re on the same page. As technology continues to grow and evolve our true nature does not change. Which is why we should be responsible for how we impose our will on technological advancements.