ADVERTISING AS ART

The Old Spice advert broadcast years ago for the product sell of aftershave was different because of its sound track etc., and one interpretation in Media studies could be of men's rite of passage to manhood...alot of men bought that aftershave for many years ~ there's the saying "variety is the spice of life".

Like an art dealer waiting for the appreciable value of his collection to go upwards so he can sell at a profit, but if the artwork has a crack or chip on it then it doesn't have any appreciation and becomes an appurtenance to the connoisseur afterall, so it ends up in the flea markets. I suppose people view it as ones an antique, the other second-hand goods.

And the advertisement of Guinness campaign, with the surfers and the thunder of horses coming out of the sea, captured in black and white mixed with grey photographic colours.

So the cinematographers, set designers, models, make-up artists, etc., are being artistic in their various professions to make one four seconds film with a story to tell.

Other examples of art in advertising with a hidden social message can be the Gillette which had the slogan "the best a man can get" and the Heinkein campaign which had the slogan "refreshes the parts other beer's can not reach".

In advertising the Heinkein advertisement can be interpreted as "refreshes the parts other's can't reach". Which can mean the expansion of the mind, to refresh and renew itself....to grow.

These advertisements are an example that focused on a clear communication - if you ignore the product sell itself and review the cultural messages. Also art is somewhat diverse so why place barriers on what is appreciated by the consumer ~ including successful advert campaigns that a person might be interested in buying your products because of it.

Uniqueness in advertising depends on who's looking at the art form.  Secondly, why does art need elevating...which elevator is it catching, the Empire State Building?

Art tends to evolve in movements. What does advertising do then if not move? Advertising does move with the times.

For example, take away the headline and byline of an advertisement in a magazine, you are left with a simple photograph, isn't photography an art form? Doesn't a picture speak a thousand words (there is a kinship there in that art form), like the silent black and white movies did before they progressed to sound and technicolour...it moves people with passion including actors who impart the story of their characters. Its one of the ways I prefer to view art.

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