Artvertising

After reading Erika's blog, I really connected with what she had to say. I am actually a marketing major with a minor in DMS, so when I see an advertisement I enjoy dissecting everything about it in order to see what was done well and what could be improved. I then use this information when I am creating advertisements or marketing plans for school or work. I currently have an internship with a telecommunications company and my job is to help them come up with a marketing plan to advertise a new high speed internet product they have come out with. So now I look at advertisements done by Qwest or Comcast and evaluate what they have done with their telecommunications business. I would say then that I enjoy some advertisements because it helps me with the pursuit of my passions.

I like this idea that McLuhan has about the artistic value of marketing and the corporate image. But what is art anyway? One has to define this term before I can say if ads are artistic or not. so to me art is something that sparks new thought. Be it by totally creating new idea or taking something that we have seen a thousand times but never looked at it in a particular way before. That is what makes art appealing to me, making me think about something I have never thought of before. So some advertisements have this effect on me, the creativity behind some of these pieces is just memorizing to me. It could be an ad about a screaming little brat of a kid that tells you to use condoms, or it as simple as the arrow in the negative space in between the FedEx logo. I love the fact that advertisers must be constantly thinking outside the box for their ads to get noticed in the oversaturated marketplace. I love this challenge because it feels really good when you turn an idea into an actual piece of art that is enjoyed by your target market. There isn't an advertisement out there, just like there isn't a piece of art, that is appealing to everyone. So while it is obnoxious to be bombarded with all these advertisements that are not even targeted at us, it is nice to sometimes come across an ad that is aesthetically appealing, I can relate to, and makes me think in a new way. And when I come across an ad like this, I sit back and appreciate the work of art and after that is done I might even think about buying the product.