While we set out to make a video that stressed the power of
advertising, and the control it can have over our lives - we are active
consumers of advertising, and it is undeniably powerful in making us want or
buy products (if it didn't work, why would there be so much of it?!) - we have
ended up making a video that stresses how much control smartphones seem to have
over our lives, and how much we rely on them.
This is an
interesting development because when we decided to make our piece a
subtle advertisement we chose to try advertise smartphones because we
thought it was something we could subtly slip in to video and it was specific
to a single brand.
I quite like the
outcome however, because I didn't realise quite how much a part of our lives
our phones are. In the interviews people were being critical about the phones
being advertised as cameras, and judging and discussing all their
other features, but not the fact that they are, in essence, a communication
device and this is probably how we use them the most.
I think the video
gives a unique insight to how important smartphones are to some people, and
actually how irrelevant the advertising for them is: people are going
to buy them either way. Apple don't sell the iPhone on its features, they sell
it on unique things that make it different to the older versions of the phone
because "everyone knows how good iPhones are already". (Direct quote
from one of our interviewees). Other companies, such as Samsung, market their
phones against the iPhone, and suggest it is better. It's not about what the
phone itself can do, it's about the competition and how it will sell.
So doing this
project has definitely taught me something about advertising I had not noticed
before. I also feel like the progression that we have gone through, in the past
few weeks has been immense. Our ideas have really evolved and taken paths of
their own but to an outcome we are happy with. So overall, I think that it has
been a really worthwhile experience.
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