And I'm not talking about a circus fire. I feel that there are two very prominent aspects of the ad that are the main focuses, one being the music, and another being the camera editing. The music builds in a classical crescendo, considering it is Vivaldi's Four Seasons, but it drops off when the text first appears on screen. I believe the advertisement does this to appeal to the need to satisfy curiosity. You want to look to the screen to find out why the music suddenly cut off, and when your attention is drawn to the screen, the camera cuts from shot to shot quickly in order to keep it. The Gestalt principle is an important part of the camera editing. Along with the intense music, the ad features unusual camera movements and lens exaggerations, which encourages the viewers to look closely at the ad.
Features of the phone are displayed in the ad, like the ability to sense when the user is close (or whatever the technical name for that is) and the feature of the camera that lets you take pictures what is happening on both sides of the camera. I believe the ad uses this as a visual form of "facts and figures." The visuals are still used to prove the superiority of the product. Semi-facts and figures are used in the text between camera shots, as they advertise aspects such as clarity of the screen and a slimmer design.
The ad also appeals to the need to aesthetic sensations. The video is shot in such a way that the phone looks very shiny and beautiful. There are a lot of shots that spans the phone, focuses on shiny parts that make it look classy as can be. There are also the camera shots that don't include the phone, like water dripping and bubbles forming, which also appeal to the same need.
Overall, the ad was too intense for my liking. I felt like it was a little silly to have choral chanting in the background of a phone commercial, and I'm sure that's not what Vivaldi intended his work to be used for. I also don't understand what makes the phone a "life companion," something the ad claims at the very end without making any explanation. However, the visuals were very pleasing and some of the features were intriguing so I didn't think it was a terrible commercial.
Let me just say that I wasn't looking at my computer screen when this commercial started and I admit that I almost fell off my chair upon hearing the music. I liked how the music went from loud to soft because I agree that it helped to get my attention. I also liked how throughout the commercial it would show all the different parts of the phone as the light flowed over it. However, I personally believe that this commercial is a little odd and not in a good way. I was captivated the whole time by the music, the colors, and the shine/brightness over the phone, yet the overall effect on me was not a positive one. I had the same overall reaction as you and agree that it was a little too intense.
ReplyDelete^ Haha at Jessica's falling out of her chair.
ReplyDeleteI also recognized the Vivaldi music! Former symphony member perk I guess. Anyways, I totally agree with your point that the whole dramatic music aspect was kind of silly. It's a phone. However I think the ad did a good job of selling the product. As an iphone owner, the Galaxy looks like it has a much higher quality camera, and really good graphics on the screen. The lighting contrasts in the ad did make the phone look very classy! I also agree with you point about the "life companion" claim. People are becoming so attached to technology!
I've actually seen this commercial a lot lately, and every time I hear this music I know what is coming. I definitely think the "need to satisfy curiosity" is used because of how the music suddenly cuts off, which makes me want to pay attention, maybe even rewind, just to see what happened. The way the screen on the phone is represented also had a major affect on me. I'm not sure what the colors on the actual phone are like, but I feel as if they are shown a bit exaggerated in the commercial. I also agree with you and Katie about the way the ad makes it seem like your phone can be your "life companion," just because you may use it often. I'm not tempted to buy this phone just from seeing the commercial, but I definitely think it puts the point across about how high tech it is.
ReplyDeleteI found this commercial interesting because it is different than many others of this type. What is different is that the it relies heavily on facts and figures to sell the product. Whereas most other recent technology commercials also incorporate a strong emotional connection. This add does have the suspense of the music, but I don't think that entices any specific emotional response from the viewer. At least certainly not as much as other advertisements do such as googles search bar series. I think they may have been trying to make the phone seem like a personal companion, but like you I did not really feel that message that strongly from the advertisement. I am not sure if this is an advantageous trade off or not, but either way it is certainly different from the norm.
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