First-Person POV Advertising: Wear a Life Jacket

The New Media Writer looks at several create advertisements that attempt to get the viewer's attention. Most of these ads try to make the viewer identify with the images in the ad, or place themselves with the scene of the ad as the main protagonist.

However, this public service announcement, Sortie En Mer, takes things a bit further. Directed by Guy Cotten, the ad provides a first-person point of view perspective for the viewer to give them a sense of what it would be like to fall overboard without wearing a life jacket. It's message is clear: always wear a life jacket when on the water. However, the first-person perspective, and the interactive controls in the video, give it a more personal feel.

View the advertisement here:

Drowning Simulator

Do you think it's effective? Why or why not?

Media Ecology, PETA, and Publican Quality Meats

Recently, the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), placed an advertisement right next to Publican Quality Meats (PQM) in Chicago, IL.

Given that PETA is trying to get people to stop killing animals for food, this placement makes sense, trying to get their message to their audience as they're going in to get meat.

However, sometimes this kind of placement can backfire, especially if your audience also feels that the target you're arguing against is one of the good guys.

Most consider that even though PQM still sells meat, their approach is more ethical than other meat sellers, in that they do business with farms that sell free range, naturally fed animals who have a better life than most animals raised for slaughter.

While PETA might have had the right idea about ad placement, putting their message near where their audience probably frequents, they might have chose meat sellers who aren't as conscious of where their animals come from.

Read more about this story at the following link. Also consider PQM's response to PETA. What tone do they take? What claim do they make, and how do they support this claim?

Publican Quality Meats Dishes Up Classy Response To PETA Billboard

A New Take on Calvin Klein Ads

You've probably seen Calvin Klein ads with chiseled, male models trying to sell their clothes, perfume, and other goods. As appeals go (covered in Ch. 2), these obviously fall under sex appeal.

The tumblr blog linked below depicts a mock CK ONE ad campaign by inserting the comedian Louis CK as the "model."

LOUIS CK ONE

While humorous, we can ask questions about how ethos changes when Louis CK is the model rather than what we would typically expect. How does the audience change? How does the brand perception change? As an activity, you might create you own mock ads with other celebrities or personas and see how an audience reacts when viewing them.