Advertising and commercials play a huge part in our everyday lives. Their purpose is to deliver their message across in its most effective manner, and hoping that the viewer would have a lasting impression of it. So, I would like to share a review with you on one of my favourite commercials on our local TV. Here's the link-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chbjc-XDKLw
It's basically a commercial to warn the public on the problems caused by gambling, and to excercise caution. The logo of the Nation Council on problem gambling is shown at the end, to inform the viewers that there's a government organisation available to seek help from if such problems still occur. This commercial has effectively delivered it's message across to the audience with the re-enactment of the father and daughter, leaving vivid impressions on people.
Being a commercial, it's a linear model of communication, whereby viewers are passive target of the message, and regarded as a source centred process of message transmission. Thus its very important for advertising companies to get the message across, as there's no opportunity for audience to provide feedback.
The commercial appeals to the emotion of audience. At the start, the camera focus on a middle aged Chinese man who appears to be talking to the camera. The background displays a portion of his house, which depicts it, as simple and basic. Potraying that he isn't very affluent. And the fact that he isnt well dressed, and looks very haggard, catches most of our attention. This a concept of figure and group as a brain attempts to organise the information being displayed. The figure is the man, and the ground is the house. And the figure exerts a large influence on our perception of the whole commercial. As base on our selection process, this is a novel stimuli percieved by our brain. This approach is rarely seen on TV commercials. Our personal prototype of commercials are bright colours, catchy songs, good looking people and extravagance, which is clearly not seen in any case here. I think we should applaud the acting of the Chinese man, I say he does potray his character really well. Through the tone of his voice, we can infer that he's very desperate and down.There isnt much body language throughout only till he emphasises the fact that he be given one more chance to try, and sticks out his finger one. We can see how verbal and nonverbal work together, as he repeats his emphasis of one more try, before stretching his hands to get the piggy bank. There's a lot of pauses and fillers within his speech, as we can see that he's trying to get his message slowly across to his daughter, hoping that she will buy it. Furthermore, his pitch and volume is subtle, with a tone of begging. The intensity of his words used draws audience to select this commercial consciously.Nearing the end, we see a little girl carrying a piggybank with disappointed looks on her face. The physical object potrayed which is the piggybank, links the information in the viewers brains, and finally answers the question of what the Chinese man is asking for. And with the nice gentle tone, and strong eye contact, we can infer that the girl is probably his daughter. A further emphasis by the advertising company is done, whereby, it says " Often the people who suffer from gambling arent the gamblers" This is to illiterate the point that loved ones are affected in the process. Thereby, potraying scene of how a father loses control of himself, and turns to taking money from his own daughter's savings appeal to our emotions, and leaves us to ponder over this issue. Beside, the ingeniuity of this commercial is the fact that, when it was first played, many people didnt wanted to leave their screen when it was showing. The idea of having an emotional chinese man that just started talking of stuff that seemed irrevalant made people want to know more about what's going on, and eventually sit through the advertisement. The uniqueness and contrast of this approach stands out from the rest. And during the period of time he's talking, viewers are constantly trying to figure what to link his conversation to, with whatever perceptual sets that they had before. Because of the commercial constantly being shown during prime time hours, it's high frequency has allowedthe image and message to sink deeper into their memory. I believe that this commercial has done it's job on educating the public on the dangers of gambling.
From my point of view of gambling, well firstly I believe that the greatest brains are behind casinos and gambling machines. This is because they work on the greed of human nature to make their living. Banking on the fact that one can win money effortlessly through some games, attract a large number of people to their 'playing ground'. And why the brains? Because gambling is a cocktail of calculations and probability. And the chances of one winning is very very slim, but it's human nature whereby one feels the thrill of attempting to win, and wish to savour the triumph of eventually winning. Some people do it for the ego as well, they want to win the banker, they want to succeed in winning the house. Doesn't the catch phrase " the house always win" explain a lot? If casinos were a charity ground, whereby the public could easily win cash, then Steve Wynn wouldn't be travelling around in limousines and private jets. I think those people who are weak in the mind are very susceptible to the dangers of gambling, and those who do not excercise much self control over themselves. Have I gambled? Yes, I have. Just for the fun and experience of it. I feel that people who wish to have some fun and entertainment may juz take out a small amount of cash from their pockets to try their luck. But I feel that it's a "past time" or activity that is mainly catered to the rich tycoons and socialites. How does one stop himself from wasting cash on gambling? Well, firstly I would place bets on games with high odds on winning. Upon winning, I would take 1/10 of my profits to bet again. And if i won, I would take double (1/10 + 1/10) the fraction of my profits to bet again. If I lost on the 2nd round, when i bet with 1/10, I would still have 9/10 left. I can always choose to con't betting or leave with 9/10 of profit. Nevertheless, I will always leave with either a fraction of profit or leave upon all the profit has been lost back but cost still covered. This equates to breaking even. Thus I wouldnt have lost nor gain any money from the casino. But at least I had some fun, and made some new friends around the table! maybe this advice should be subscribed into a commercial! haha..
Well, that's all about it. It's the weekend, time to let my hair now and relax. Got some movies i really wana watch, but not sure if i have the time... anyway, happy birthday to me! Oh well
=)
Well Kelvin, I thought that the commercial really appeal to my emotions especially when it uses the innocent little girl to further illustrate and emphasize the harm backlash of obsessive gambling.
ReplyDeleteWell, I did tried to bet on soccer matches before but the amount gambled was only a little. I fell that unless you engage a bookie, the odds available at Singapore Pools is not that tempting.In addition, with soccer results becoming less predictable and bribery staining the perfect game, I have decided to stray away from soccer betting. Most importantly, I will want to live the way that God wants me to and that believe that he will provide me with the financial stability. Of course this does not mean that I can just lay around idle.
Well Kelvin, we can watch a movie some time and do some catching up. I have not seen one for quite some time too.=)
regards,
Andy
handsome, happy birthday!=)Love you lots. muacks. anyway,good choice of advertisement here man. Well, I believe this is one of those that I really take with me. The message is effectively conveyed to the audience. However don't you think that it would have been better if they did a longer shot on the daughter? Potray her in a more dire state? I feel that the piggybank thing is rather clinche, but i guess it works it's magic on most of us.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
-GQ
Heyo Andy, haha..nice of you to drop by. Btw, congrats on your ORDing, and goodluck to ur driving test ahead. Well, it's indeed a rather emotional advert to a certain extent. Using a small inocent looking child, giving it the subtle and gloomy background. As you do realise that there's nothing happy or cheery about the commercial. No bright colours, nor funny music to back it up. Just dull colours, monotonous tone of voice. It did it's job of conveying the message I guess.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I understand your dilemmas of soccer betting. The odds given by Singapore Pools is really low, and not lucrative. Unless you seek the illegal help through a bookie. Well, I did venture into there once to have a feel on what's it like. I had winnings and loses.Usually bet 3 matches at a shot. And results are like win 2 match, lose 1 match, win 1 match lose 2 match. And ocassionally win all 3 matches! After several transactions, I stopped at a time where by I clocked a a small amount of profit. I have long understood the dangers of gambling so I know when to stop, and not lose my winnings. Spent my profit on myself, and bought lunch and clothes for a few loved ones. The fact of knowing when you win or lose, really gets to your emotions.
I guess gambling is fine, as long as you excercise a high level of control.Because a bit of it, sometimes provide you with a lot of entertainment. ya, let's watch a movie someday. usually busy on sats,maybe we can do suns instead.
hey hey,q....congrats on ORDing to you too! bet you are really happy to be away from duty and office politics. Nevertheless, its really good of you to drop by. Because they are others who wouldn't be bother even during their free time! u knw who i m talking about.haha. Well the piggybank even though is clinche, it's a non-verbal way of communication as it's very generalised thus easy to understand to all walks of life, from the lowly educated to the upperclass. It basically depicts personal savings through thrift. Or do you expect the child to be holding a POSB account savings book instead? I m not sure if the information can be conveyed that well to the audience. Since the point of screening of the child was pretty short, it would be difficult for viewers to a good glimpse of what the child is holding in her hands, if it's a POSB account book. And this would result in ambiguity among viewers. Thereby a huge enormous well-fed piggy bank would do the trick as it's easily deciphered from far.
ReplyDeleteWell as your point of view that the child should have a longer air time. I believe it's due to the fact that it would be costly for the organisation to over-run their advertising air time and thus they got to cut wherever necessarily. Do note that they have had to flash the caption on how gambling affects others, and the National gambling council, which takes up a significant time to let the viewers read the image, as they are looking at more of visual communication in this case. We must understand that if the commercial was to potray a struggle for the piggybank between father and child, and then potray the child crying in a corner, wouldn't depict much to the audience. As this is the script that we all in mind. Script means a cognitive framework for an action or event that is sequential or chronological in order. By showing us the start from the father to child, and stopping there, would have given us a guideline to what the script we expect in our head on what goes on after that. And the concept of closure comes in, whereby we fill in the missing pieces in our head. So I guess it wouldnt be practical for them to focus so much on the child from then onwards. Unless she want's a longer air time, and hopefully have a go and stardom by displaying oscar-winning scenes of crying and tantrum throwing? hmmm....u decide...
Eh..kel..thanks!!nothing beats better than leaving the force, as I am now awaiting for application if they are successful..And you are right! I see your point that a piggy bank would give the best potray. Extending the timeframe for the girl wouldn't do much use to, as we can all predict what happens next. I guess from too much local drama serials. Think u did quite a good job with this commercial. Anyway, when can i see ya again? tmrw? call yea...
ReplyDeleteIf you had noticed, this advert is nominated for one of the best adverts for 2008. why was it so effective and powerful in bringing out its messages?
ReplyDeleteJust to add on some comments on this advert, since you are using communication language here,
1: For communication, codes play an important role in advertisement as the deliberate violation of codes is a powerful tool in delivering a message to an intended audience.
Adverts contain and deliver messages for viewers through verbal and non-verbal communications, and the use of taboos is sometimes used to deliver the message effectively. (in this case, the gambling advert)
2: As stated by Dobkin Pace (2006), 'every society has its dominant culture which governs acceptable behaviors common beliefs, shared values, and social hierarchy to its member', this advert shows a typical chinese family, consists of the belief that the father should be a role model and especially in the Chinese co-culture, the father is the head of the family which provides for and decides on the important issue of the family, but is seen here begging, and this act of it and behaviour is a taboo in our culture.
3: There's this violation of code, and it serves as a powerful method in delivering the intended message. The message of this advert is that problem gambling is hurtful for the family as it demolishes trust and breaks all our notion of what should be the norm. This advert is effective because it serves its communication objective well which is to create awareness of problem gambling and its helpline. The challenge of a television advertisement is that viewers might not be engaged on a personal level.
But
4: The media may have sent the wrong signals, if you noticed, the advert is aired on prime time slots. Hence younger children are exposed to the influences of the violations of what our society thinks is right. A mixed signal from the society could lead a child to question their very own parents as they too would be able to identify with the little child portrayed in the advertisement. This familiar setting and the mass media effect means that it does not allow for room for viewers to receive the message in a non-invasive manner.
In conclusion, the infusion of taboos and what is familiar with us creates a last impression upon the viewers. Thus, these code serve as a guiding principle for many and deliberate violation of codes creates opportunities to send power messages across to viewers.
I find that these points allow this advert to effectively communicate with the rest of the audience & got itself nominated, dont you agree?
And to end off, have a happy belated birthday greeting :)
hey kelvin,
ReplyDeleteWhat is interesting is that this commercial puts us in the shoes of the gambler’s acquaintances... as the guy first seems to address us and we are asked to give money over to the gambler, as seen in the part when his face was the only thing on the screen. This kind of makes me feel how it is like to relinquish money that I know is not going to be spent wisely and most probably going to be lost; and what the friends and family of the gambler has to go through many times... it makes us sympathise as we are the gambler’s victims and as victims we, like the ending words of the ad are the ones who really suffer. We suffer as we see our hard earned money being lost before our very eyes, and the gambler seemingly so thick-skinned, asking and begging us for more. And monetarily there would come a point where if we were to keep entertaining such people, we would not be able to survive at all. So I feel that this message is a strong one as it takes us into the world of the gambler and the people who suffer because of his gambling.
This ad is good as it knows this fact- that people don’t really care about new stuff or others’ situations as we are so immersed with our lives, until it is happening to us. For example I believe most people do not know much about kidney failure until they or someone they know gets it. I feel this is rather lamentable but nonetheless, true.
So, by putting us in the shoes of the victim, we are forced to face their problems and pain first hand. We feel the injustice and plight of these poor people, especially if the victims are young and impressionable.
The ad makes us aware that the gamblers are pitiable, but their friends and family are collaterally damaged. Perhaps it is because we see the gambler himself as being the only victim. This ad tells us otherwise and therefore increases the gravity of the problem as there are more people suffering. Perhaps it is because of this fact that makes gambling so bad and thus is the important message the public must be aware of.
Also the fact that the producers used the little girl as the victim that makes it memorable. We pity the girl as she is young and should not have to take these sort of things at that age. Perhaps they are trying to say that victims come in all shapes and sizes. But I feel that the poor helpless little girl who will , if she existed, have to suffer so much at such an age, makes the ad good as it draws our sympathy and pity at the injustices of one person’s mistake. It is these feelings that have been roused in us that leaves us a deep impression.
Hi there. really like you indepth analysis of the advert, as what i did...ya, and of course..there's a reason for it to be in the viewer's choice..simply because, it has been voted by many members of the publice too! and it does communicate its message effectively. I agree with your pt 2. that it's indeed quite disagreeful in a traditional chinese cultural family, for a father to be begging.As they are often seen as the figure heads in the household. Therefore, imposing this taboo in the advert would leave an impression on us.
ReplyDeleteWell, as for what you mentioned in point 4, I believe that if the advert is non-shown during prime time, it would not be able to reach out to that many audience, and get into the viewer's choice category. I believe that this is not a fairly easy advert to comprehend. So children may not be able to understand it's meaning and brush it aside. And do kids pay attention to commercials? when i was young, i would run around the house during commercials, and get back to the tv when the programme starts. This is because of the short attention span we have. And even if children do watch through it, i think the last caption that says gambling doesnt affect you, but the people around you would explain the crux of the it to them. So i guess we might portary and brainwash the little kids that gambling harms lives, i think its better to let them take on the negative approach first, and they can alter their perception through experiences as they grow older.
Thanks for the belated greeting..! =)..i m only 12. people always say i look young..and i m happy abt that.
Hi there, Yes... I do agree with the fact that the commercial potrays it like we are related to the man and he's pleading to us live from the TV. For one instant, we might feel we are in the context of the commercial The organisation wants us to fill the shoes of someone who is related to a hardcore gambler, and feel the miserable problems that these people face. Its a direct effort to show the damage gambling does to the people around the victim.
ReplyDeletei guess that using children and old people in commercial always drawing sympathy from the audience. Therefore, it's no doubt a helpless girl is used instead. I think this is one of the rare commercials that allows the audience sorta get involved in it? like they are the family member of the victim at the start...I guess it's only by putting ourselves in other shoes then we can truly understand their sufferings and needs. Pity a few people don't do that such of thing...