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Aug. 16th, 2006
Poor choices in advertising, 101
Aug. 16th, 2006 11:50 amOkay, all you people who have a foot in the game world need to look at this and revile it for what it is: very poor advertising. This is an excellent example of the work of people who seem to have similar goals to me, but who somehow manage to besmirch the cause by aligning themselves with it (there was some kind of makinglight discussion on this concept recently but I'm unable to find it). It's an imitation of the low-budget seamless-and-diffuse-lighting 'mac vs PC' ads (which themselves are sort of chintzy, but this is not my point), only with consoles (PS3 and Wii) substituted in.
Now, conceptually, personifying something like an OS or console is sort of doomed to be pretty subjective and prone to straw-manning. It's like live-action political cartooning. The choices made by the creators of this ad are not even consistent in their message, although their mindset is very accurately depicted. Let's look at this sucker.
Okay, first shot. We have here a chunky dark-haired girl in black and blue representing the PS3. Presumably what they're trying to evoke is a needlessly bloated system, and not just playing the fat chick card (benefit of the doubt at this point). She's wearing glasses, which could either mean she's smart, or could mean she's a nerd. Smart isn't bad, and since the PS3 is being demonised here, I've got to assume they want her to look not-cool. First data point on the creators: they don't like nerd girls.
Next to her we have a blond chick in hot pants and some kind of bikini top. Also some weird striped high heel boots. She is pretty obviously The Hot Chick that is trotted out in ads pretty much constantly. The forthrightness of this could either be subversive or really brain-dead. Let's guess which! No, we don't know yet, we haven't watched the video. She's supposed to represent the Wii, so I guess our ad creators are for the Wii, since they've just heaped the 'positive attributes' onto this character. So, the Wii is, uh, naked? It's stripped-down and runs fast or something? Not too clear yet. Second data point on the creators: they enjoy blond chicks in bikinis better than nerd girls.
Okay, let's hear some dialogue. Uh, oh. I see. The 'Wii' is a dumb whore. The PS3 is understandably put off by her. Hmm, PS3 seems to have interests that most stereotypical gamers enjoy (WW2 games?). Are the ad creators not stereotypical gamers? Are they gamers at all (I'm unwilling to assume that they are sick of the same old shit, because there's no mention of it, and also because I already hate them)? Wii says she's 'as cute as a button' in response, which is an amusingly pointless thing to say. The console is cute? Does it DO anything?
It's a little clearer halfway through; the PS3 is supposed to be a sexless intelligent stereotype, presumably, even though the concept of the male viewer wanting a vibrate function (apparently for SEXY REASONS) is pretty stupid. The Wii is all sex and nothing else. Is this meaningful? Perhaps in the way that people refer to new gadgets as 'sexy', that being the most shallow way a person can talk about an object. Yes, your goddamned palm pilot is sexy. It has buttons and is new. Awesome, champ. Data point 3: ad creators like new and shiny. They own new high-capacity ipods.
There's some attention paid to ease of use, at least. Okay, valid point number one. Cost, valid point number two (although hearing Blondie the Blond Blond say 'I'm cheap' is kind of making me want to jam a q-tip into my brain).
At the END, the VERY END, they're managing to get to their point, which is almost cohesive. The PS3 has all these features you may or may not have asked for (bloating), wants to be a 'media center', and is very taken with its awesome cutting-edge whatnot. The Wii merely is what it is, I guess. Boy, I can think of probably dozens of better ways to show that.
So, okay, I sat through it again. All the way through. Apart from the points I mentioned and possibly the mapping of 'ease of use' onto 'stupid slut' (which I honestly can't be sure was intentional), this was utterly meaningless and vapid.
What's the main purpose of the Wii, in the real world? To be accessible, and easy to understand and use. This is maybe represented in the character of the Wii chick, BUT by translating this trait in this particular way, you have made the 'Wii' (the in-ad version) INACCESSIBLE by essentially the entire audience that Nintendo wants. Smooth move, ex-lax, let's alienate the entire fucking world except for your goddamned 18-45 nuts-and-gum heterosexual male fucknauts. An accessible ad for an accessible system? Fuck that! I want to look at some dumb hole giggling and slapping her own ass! Fuck the smart one I can talk to, let's paste her onto the thing we hate!
Nice one, guys, I hope you end up with the relationships you deserve in life. Even if you do like the Wii.
Now, conceptually, personifying something like an OS or console is sort of doomed to be pretty subjective and prone to straw-manning. It's like live-action political cartooning. The choices made by the creators of this ad are not even consistent in their message, although their mindset is very accurately depicted. Let's look at this sucker.
Okay, first shot. We have here a chunky dark-haired girl in black and blue representing the PS3. Presumably what they're trying to evoke is a needlessly bloated system, and not just playing the fat chick card (benefit of the doubt at this point). She's wearing glasses, which could either mean she's smart, or could mean she's a nerd. Smart isn't bad, and since the PS3 is being demonised here, I've got to assume they want her to look not-cool. First data point on the creators: they don't like nerd girls.
Next to her we have a blond chick in hot pants and some kind of bikini top. Also some weird striped high heel boots. She is pretty obviously The Hot Chick that is trotted out in ads pretty much constantly. The forthrightness of this could either be subversive or really brain-dead. Let's guess which! No, we don't know yet, we haven't watched the video. She's supposed to represent the Wii, so I guess our ad creators are for the Wii, since they've just heaped the 'positive attributes' onto this character. So, the Wii is, uh, naked? It's stripped-down and runs fast or something? Not too clear yet. Second data point on the creators: they enjoy blond chicks in bikinis better than nerd girls.
Okay, let's hear some dialogue. Uh, oh. I see. The 'Wii' is a dumb whore. The PS3 is understandably put off by her. Hmm, PS3 seems to have interests that most stereotypical gamers enjoy (WW2 games?). Are the ad creators not stereotypical gamers? Are they gamers at all (I'm unwilling to assume that they are sick of the same old shit, because there's no mention of it, and also because I already hate them)? Wii says she's 'as cute as a button' in response, which is an amusingly pointless thing to say. The console is cute? Does it DO anything?
It's a little clearer halfway through; the PS3 is supposed to be a sexless intelligent stereotype, presumably, even though the concept of the male viewer wanting a vibrate function (apparently for SEXY REASONS) is pretty stupid. The Wii is all sex and nothing else. Is this meaningful? Perhaps in the way that people refer to new gadgets as 'sexy', that being the most shallow way a person can talk about an object. Yes, your goddamned palm pilot is sexy. It has buttons and is new. Awesome, champ. Data point 3: ad creators like new and shiny. They own new high-capacity ipods.
There's some attention paid to ease of use, at least. Okay, valid point number one. Cost, valid point number two (although hearing Blondie the Blond Blond say 'I'm cheap' is kind of making me want to jam a q-tip into my brain).
At the END, the VERY END, they're managing to get to their point, which is almost cohesive. The PS3 has all these features you may or may not have asked for (bloating), wants to be a 'media center', and is very taken with its awesome cutting-edge whatnot. The Wii merely is what it is, I guess. Boy, I can think of probably dozens of better ways to show that.
So, okay, I sat through it again. All the way through. Apart from the points I mentioned and possibly the mapping of 'ease of use' onto 'stupid slut' (which I honestly can't be sure was intentional), this was utterly meaningless and vapid.
What's the main purpose of the Wii, in the real world? To be accessible, and easy to understand and use. This is maybe represented in the character of the Wii chick, BUT by translating this trait in this particular way, you have made the 'Wii' (the in-ad version) INACCESSIBLE by essentially the entire audience that Nintendo wants. Smooth move, ex-lax, let's alienate the entire fucking world except for your goddamned 18-45 nuts-and-gum heterosexual male fucknauts. An accessible ad for an accessible system? Fuck that! I want to look at some dumb hole giggling and slapping her own ass! Fuck the smart one I can talk to, let's paste her onto the thing we hate!
Nice one, guys, I hope you end up with the relationships you deserve in life. Even if you do like the Wii.
(no subject)
Aug. 16th, 2006 04:46 pmHa ha, I totally want a shirt that says What Would Nature Do? It'd give me an excuse to espouse completely random behavior, and maybe to eat people sometimes.