We all know there is less and less reading happening these days. Books have been replaced by T.V.'s, magazines and newspapers replaced by the internet. Why spend days reading a novel when you can spend an hour watching a story? Why wait till next month, next week, or even tomorrow to get the news when you can watch it as it happens?
I started thinking about the loss of written words when I was given a box of magazines from the 60's-70's.
40 years ago, advertisements looked like this:
Text takes up as much space as the picture. The car isn't driving through the desert, up a mountain, by a stream, around downtown. The picture is real. This is what we do with our cars. This is real.
The dog sitting in front of the car reflects the headline, and if you read on, the ad seems to not only compare the car to a family pet, but personifies it in a way.
It gives you details on the vehicle, and tries to sell it to you by telling you about it.
And here is today.
We have come to rely so heavily on images words are disappearing.
I'm happy becomes :)
Play has become an arrow.
Starbucks logo is just a girls green face.
Pepsi is a patriotic ying-yang.
The flashy visuals of TV and internet marketing have changed the way we perceive a product. We don't buy things we have been informed about, we buy things based off of images, and what ours (image) will be if we have that thing.
This phenomenon is a chicken and the egg...
Is the new style of advertising creating the culture shift, or are advertisers just keeping pace with where we are at?
Is this a natural evolution?
Is symbol speak (LOL, JK, SMH) the new it's (it is)?
I'm not smart enough to know,
but I'm curious enough to wonder.
I see you John! I'm not sure if I should get upset or not either. Where's the information about the product? Doesn't the consumer need information to purchase anything anymore? Or is a print-ad or billboard just a gateway to the web?
ReplyDeleteIm personally a fan of the modernization of advertisement. Its intriguing how people try to get to point in the least amount of words/information as possible (so you can spend the least time getting to the point), whilst still being creative, clever, and engaging. I think its just a cultural shift and will shift again over time. Life is busier today, in my opinion; people are always looking for something new to do or have somewhere to be, and having time to sit down and read an ad is a luxury, not a readily available option for the consumer market (usually). Look at that new Vine app blowing up. 7 Seconds?! 7 second videos to get your point across, impress or intrigue an audience, or sell yourself or a product? Its great because people nowadays stop being interesting in something after 7 seconds of watching, and I think it speaks volumes about our generation and culture at the moment. People want information and they want it fast, or they will lose interest. They dont want to work for information, unfortunately, so its just the art of getting the point across before the audience loses attention, or give them an immediate reason to not lose interest. I love it.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Matt. People WANT less information...then how do they actually purchase something??
DeleteMaybe the question should have been, Where did all our time go?
ReplyDeleteWe have microwaves, powered lawnmowers, automatic this and thats. Everything plugs in, everything is on a timer. We have cell phones, e-mail, fucking Vine for fucks sake.
EVERYTHING is faster. Instantaneous. Programed.
But we don't have time to read, knit, have a hobby.
Is the ADD inspired world making us not have time to investigate, read and learn, or have we just evolved into beings which have to patience, free time, or curiosity?
The compression of space time in the world we're living just doesn't seem to jive with lengthy text and explanations, for better or worse. It's that damned post modern condition, ads being in a particularly influential spot.
ReplyDeleteOne big difference is that a radically changing industry (like cars) requires some explanation in the beginning, to create discourse about the nature of it. At this point, cars that are manufactured for the consumer market have ceased being interesting and new. I can't imagine being around when the first station wagon was put on the market, I would definitely read a 1 page ad for that. New features nowadays are usually kind of pointless, usually they have something to do with syncing your device to your stereo.
There really aren't many consumer level products being manufactured that really FEEL new anymore. Same story, different product.