Like Water

Art & Copy is a brilliant documentary about advertising. It explains the mass impact advertising has in the world, today. The visually pleasing documentary aims to inform, entertain, and encourage much like an ad would aim to do.

Art and copy presented mind blowing statistics about advertising and media. In addition to many other figures, the documentary stated that:

·         People see 5,000 advertisements/day

·         People watch over 8hrs TV/Day on average

·         75% of homes have 3 TV’s or more

·         The average child sees 20,000 commercials/year

·         It costs $750,000/30 second commercial on American Idol

·         And that it costs 2.7 million for a 30 second commercial at the Super Bow

When it comes to the vast impact that advertising has on the world, the statistics speak for themselves. If advertising was not important companies would not pay millions of dollars to advertise and if their advertisements were not impacting consumers, than companies would not have millions to spend.  Although seemingly almost unbelievable, the statistics present a much clearer idea of the cost and benefit of TV commercials. After reading these figures, no one could factually claim that commercials are ineffective.

The documentary stated that, “advertising entertains society using client’s products”.  This video entertains too. It entertains society through the use of client commercials, and short stories. The sneak-peaks are both insightful, and fun to watch. Art & Copy said that, “You can manufacture any feeling you want to manufacture”. Throughout the documentary advertising was put in a positive light as though the documentary was advertising for advertising. The fun commercial clips made advertising look fun, and the side story about the man who put-up billboards made advertising look like a wholesome family event. The ad-ons enhanced the video creating a fun, and inviting atmosphere into a world that is generally perceived as cold, and ‘all about the money’.

Art & Copy also appealed to pathos. The documentary uplifted, and encouraged its viewers. “Fear is a powerful depressant”. In order for viewers to walk away from this documentary feeling empowered by advertising and not manipulated, and scared the documentary gave viewers a sense of control, and encouraging words. Toward the end of the documentary the creative and risky aspect of advertising was mentioned. Rather than making creativity and chance taking look bad, the documentary inadvertently, or perhaps intentionally and not obviously said, ‘jump aboard and do advertising with us.’ They quoted Michael Jordan when he said, “I failed over and over and over again and that is why I succeed”, and they said, “The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do.” The documentary used profound statements to build-up its viewers.  Advertising is “not a truth about a product” it is the emotions people think they are buying.  Even if advertising is all a manipulative lie, we want the emotional empowerment this documentary makes us feel.  “When people “People don’t mind being sold to if they understand what is being done”

Art & Copy said that “Everything is an ad like water”. It informs, entertains, and encourages us just like the documentary.

Century of Self

The Century of The Self quotes Sigmund Freud describing "primitive sexual and aggressive forces hidden deep inside the minds of all human beings [as] forces [that] if not controlled, [would] lead societies into chaos and destruction. The focus of the documentary expands on Freud's theory in the direction of "How those in power have tried to control the dangerous crowed in an age of mass democracy"

One of the most interesting aspects of The Century of The Self is that it reveals the progression of advertising.

A starting point for advertising as it is presently known would have been during WWII. Propaganda took Freud's theory and used it to manipulate people for political purposes. Propaganda was one of the first active illustrations of using people's inner desires for a purpose. For example people wanted an honest, relatable, yet strong leader in Germany, and videos such as Triumph of the Wills were created to portray Hitler in such light.

After the war Bernays said,"If you could use propaganda for war you could certainly use propaganda for peace." Bernays instantly became a Pioneer in persuasive advertising. First, he changed the word propaganda to 'public relations' because it had such a poor connotation. Today, public relations includes all mass media, but from the documentary it sounded as though the original thought of public relations was about "making money by manipulating the unconscious", otherwise known as advertising.

6923384430_9c9d35b60c

 Bernays set out to get women to start smoking. He created this idea of "Lighting up torches of Freedom." The idea was to press in on the desire of liberty and equality. If everyone has freedom in America, then everyone is equal. Since women wanted equality and the cigarettes were selling an idea of freedom, then they would sell. Bernays said "It made him realize that it was possible to persuade people to act irrationally if you linked products to their emotional desires, and feelings. The idea that smoking actually made women freer was completely irrational, but it made them feel more independent; it meant that irrelevant objects could become powerful emotional symbols of how you wanted to be seen by others."

There is a clear progression from Freud's theory, to the use of his theory for  propaganda,  for public relations, then for advertising as it is known today. The same thought existed all along it simply expanded from a political force to a consumer force.