Despite only spending a mere 3 months at Prevué, I have learnt a lot from the company. Initially thinking I would only do work pertaining to market research and publicity, I ended up helming the creative and art direction of the projects. I once thought that I had limited abilities in art, and organizing an ad together, visually, would be a daunting task. However, after a few tries at doing it, I realized that if one were to make the first step to learn something from scratch, one is already a step closer to mastering a new skill.

I also realized that in the aspect of creative work, Adobe’s Photoshop is a critical and advantageous program to use. Sadly, I am inapt and ignorant of the functioning of this program to the extent of doing everything possible to avoid using Photoshop. Downloading fonts is now officially one of my hobbies. Typology is really a beautiful thing.

OK… I have to thank a couple of people for aiding me during the course of completing my projects for COM443. First in line are my parents, for being my photography assistants and chauffeur when I run on tight deadlines. Thank you for driving me around Singapore to get my assignments done.

Second in line is Stephanie Stella, for giving me constructive criticism for my print ads. I really appreciate how you helped me with Photoshop. Yes… I think I’ve to get started on learning Photoshop. Without your advice, I may not have achieve the improvements in my print ads. Thanks a lot. It’s a pleasure working with you at Psych Soc too…

Thirdly I’ve got to thank Lynn Yap, Sean Loke and Ng Ee Teng. Yeah… Thanks Sean and Lynn for being my models. Ee Teng, thanks for spending the time to teach me some Photoshop basics. I’m a bit adverse towards the program though.

Fourthly, thank you Aaron for hearing my grouses and helping me take photos of myself. I don’t fancy having photos of myself taken, but with you I think it’s alright.

With this I conclude my journey with COM443. Will this be the end of my affinity with advertising? Time will tell…

Anyway my intention for this entry is not to slam the ad. It’s a propaganda and I think whoever’s behind this ad has tried his/her best to make it as relevant as possible to Singaporeans.

One thing the ad focuses on is the images of Singapore. While some may feel teary how Singapore has progress to its current state as a metropolitan city. I feel sad in regards to the government’s effort to conserve Architecture. The government and even the people are constantly looking for that iconic building that best represents Singapore. I think in the process of finding it, Singapore has lost a lot of distinctive architecture. Of course, it seems easy to justify it by saying this is the consequence of development. Who will remember how the first flats built by HDB looks like? That Orchard Road used to have a market? That there was a tunnel connecting Alexandra Hospital to Sentosa (when the hospital gets demolished)?  Only the people who are interested in History and Architecture? To quote the German proverb: ” The old forget, the young don’t know”. Such is the reality Singaporeans face, and yet are unfazed with this tragic reality.

Is there anything to feel proud of when in process of development you lose so much?

After much scouting I found out the guy who sang the song to this ad is Clement Chow. Yeah, not Jeremy Monteiro. He is quite the prolific songwriter who wrote the iconic “Count on Me Singapore”, “We are Singapore”, “One People, One Nation, One Singapore“. Oh my… I was crazy for those songs when I was in kindergarten. But who was I to blame, my Dad was heavily involved in PAP, so I kind of grew up in that sort of environment. It’s just amazing how different I feel about PAP now than when I was a kid.

Professor Armstrong mentioned that it sounded out of place to have a kid sing the starting lines of the song in the ad. After repeated exposure to the ad, I realized that as the ad progresses, the voice of the singer(s) ages. So I suppose the voice was depicting that of someone that grew up with Singapore and the reason why the voice sounded like a kid’s at the start and like an old man’s at the end of the ad.

I didn’t particularly like the arrangement of the song, though I must say the chorus is catchy. It just took a long while to get into the melody. However, it is to be noted that this song has an infectious sleeper effect as I noted people singing or humming the song in school and on the public transport. Oh well… Looks like the National Environmental Agency (NEA)  scored another winning propaganda.

But how effective is it going to be to convince people to recycle and keep Singapore clean? Time will tell…

Via Photobucket.com

I think the reason why The September Issue left me a deep impact was because of the certain subtle similiarities with my experiences in COM443 and the scenes in The September Issue. Though this is COM443, an advertising module, nothing to do at all with Journalism or  Studio Photography… Some of my experiences shared commonalities with that of Grace Coddington and Mario Testino.

Grace Coddington is the Creative Director at American Vogue and she is the *hero* in The September Issue. Simply because she was so dedicated and convicted with her work. Sadly as seen in the documentary, many of her ideas were “downsized” or tossed off as it didn’t fit the direction her editor, Anna Wintour was looking for. Her ideas were great, but reality was (and still is)  just too cruel. Even though her ideas were the best and Vogue truly deserved her content, unadulterated.

Grace Coddington via Gawker.com

When my group members attempted to modify my ideas, it just really felt deja vu to me. It seemed I was experiencing the Grace Coddington moment. I had no choice but to mutilate my print ad ideas to my group’s liking even though my intuition told me to do otherwise. This experience was perpetual, especially when consolidating the presentation slides. I was often told at last minute to change the design of the slides, which resulted in an incredible overhaul that I was left alone to settle.

As such incidences increased and less than pleasant words were exchanged, I began to question my personal worth. With that I must say that Coddington is indeed a stronger person than me. In all the years she’s stuck on with Vogue and being questioned and having her work altered from her original intent (and content), she managed to stick her job. It was plain simple, she loved her job, and it was this love that fostered her on. I dared not say that about myself. For if Prevué was a real company, a real job for me, I would have long tendered my resignation. With that, I give my kudos to you, Coddington!

I don’t think anyone knew about this, apart from a few close friends, but I had endured hell during the Wagashi (Japanese candy shoot) and the Mike + Michelle shoot. Firstly in the case of the Wagashi shoot, I have to admit that food photography is my Achilles’ heel. But I must say I did my very best to shoot that “perfect” shot for my group to the extent of shooting the same objects in different positions over 700 times and enduring the most callous, nasty comments from a particular self-declared “perfectionist”.

There came the moment when I was on the brink of giving up. Strangely, I persisted on, I have no idea why though… Another Grace Coddington moment I suppose… The strength to foster on settled within me after some timeout. I was glad I persisted, because I finally got my shoot after a trip down to IMM to get the “perfect plate”.

Sometimes I wonder how Mario Testino felt when the people at Vogue gave him a call to ask him if he had other materials on hand that were suitable for the cover page. It was the ultimate hint that whatever he sent them weren’t suitable for the cover. If I were him, I guess it would’ve been a REALLY BAD day! Seriously, while doing a shoot for Mike + Michelle at Japanese Garden, I got caught in the rain. The worse thing was that I had to cross an incredibly steep bridge and had to run quite a distance to the shelter. My camera was also not weather-proof.  Thankfully nothing happened to my camera, but I got a chill as a result. The tragic thing is after all my effort, my group commented that nothing I shot was suitable for my ad. I snapped and the rest is history… But anyway I produced the ad in the end, which I think looked fine. But again was deemed not to the liking of my group.

Mario Testino by Alexey Rodin (via Pbase.com)

It was interesting that though it’s not covered in the documentary, Mario Testino actually did a reshoot for Vogue. Frankly his second attempt to shoot Sienna Miller was great. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t get it the first time…

Julie and Julia is essentially a movie centering on the women’s common love for French cuisine and the clever play of integrating two movies into one. Is this creativity or sign of the times? Well, on the surface, Julie and Julia’s creative direction should be lauded. But sadly I am not compelled to love the person character, Julie Powell. It’s not that I didn’t like her for the mean things she said to her husband when she was overwhelmed with her cooking adventure… It’s just that the character Julia Child was too lovable that everyone falls under her shadow, especially the nasty French people in the movie.

Credited from Fanpop.com

Would it be better if the movie concentrated solely on Julia Child? My answer is yes. It’s impossible to have both Julie Powell and Julia Child as equal-standing leads in the movie. As proved in the movie, Julie’s personal story is pretty shallow. While Julia’s lack proper closure. The audience doesn’t get to visually experience what made Julie the depressing woman she was, at the start of the movie. Instead, the audience gets thrown in into her world where she continues to befriend superficial friends (despite hating them to bits) and wallows in self-pity. When a character starts on such a note, it is hard to gain sympathy over the character. While acknowledging that the movie is based on two real individuals, it still doesn’t suffice that I should like the “real” Julie Powell the movie so claims to portray. I wonder why the Hollywood effect wasn’t applied to this character (i.e. Julie being a nice, but unlucky young woman with a passion for cooking), yet seemingly applied to Julia Child.

Columbia Pictures (Jonathan Wenk) via Pop Culture Nerd

Maybe it’s because Meryl Streep who portrayed Julia Child is a much more experienced actor, and because of that is able to bring out the best of her character. Maybe there are other reasons too… Maybe…

I must say that before watching this movie I have absolutely NO LOVE for the French. NO LOVE for France, Paris, French cuisine and the French people. My personal experience traveling in Paris, France was that of a nightmare. It hurts that people who speak English are discriminated by the French people, and it hurts that they are such xenophobic, self-important snobs.

My Mum, who joined me  for the movie, too disliked the French. But somehow by the end of the movie she told me she pretty much would love to try some French food. Oh well… But the movie does have some amazing persuasive powers. Among my friends who’ve watched this movie, they either fall into the category of feeling inspired to pick up cooking or to try French food.

As for me… I’m beginning to wonder if I should try to get over the fear of a lighted stove. I think that is the biggest hurdle for me when it comes to cooking.

I have no idea Australians are that crazy about this thing called Vegemite. I have never once heard my relatives in Australia talk about Vegemite, nor was I served Vegemite toast (thank goodness!) for breakfast. I’ve heard of Marmite before and there was this overwhelming urge to grab a bottle at the supermarket. However, that happened when I was a kid, and I do have weird food preferences. Cod liver oil with milk, anyone? Nonetheless, I must say spreading salty yeast goo on bread is just unpalatable. Eek!

Kraft Foods/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (via The New York Times)

So over at Kraft Foods Australia, the executives decided to organize a naming competition for it’s latest variant of Vegemite, which happens to be salty yeast goo mixed with cream cheese. Cream cheese is NICE, but when mixed with Vegemite? I have no idea…

The competition when ahead and soon Kraft Foods Australia had found a winner. They decided that the new flavor would be called… **Drum-roll** iSnack 2.0!!!

What? So the best they could get from the competition was iSnack 2.0? I wonder if Steve Jobs was the one that submitted the name. Ha!

I though Australians may be upset, disappointed about this lame name, but never would I expect them to express public outroar over Vegemite. Now I wonder what sort of power does Vegemite have over Australians. Seriously how can a bottle of cream cheese infused yeast spread cause so much unhappiness, so much national outcry?

The New York Times may have called this Vegemite episode a “marketing failure” and an “publicity coup” (the latter more apt), I think Kraft Foods Australia should be lauded for creating a cultural symbol out of a dismal product. The fact that Australians could get so upset over a silly name for a silly food product shows how strong the brand Vegemite is in the heart of Australians. What Kraft Foods Australia has is a brand that transcends a mere brand. It has produced a product of nationalistic influence, and who knows might extend to political power over Australians. Try pulling Vegemite off the shelfs in Australia for a month… I think it’ll be Armageddon down-under, you don’t need to wait for 2012!

However I can’t help but feel that Vegemite is just plain overrated. The fact that Vegemite, as a product and as a brand has so much power over Australians is simply because Australians are not exposed to a wide variety of food and sauces. You can’t blame them since the English don’t have a cuisine of their own. Chicken Tikka Masala and Fish and Chips don’t count. Don’t get me started on the greasy spoon.

“Australian food was really bad until the 1970s: boiled meat and vegetables without any butter or salt. Vegemite was one of the things that actually had any flavor, and that’s why it became so incredibly popular… It’s one of the only foods that is unique to Australia, and people see it as being quintessentially Australian.”

–Bill Granger (Famous Australian chef)

You couldn’t have sum it up better, Mr Granger…

So as of now, this new Vegemite flavor has been renamed as Cheesybite (anymore lame?) and hopefully the dust has settled for this controversy. Seriously what were the other contenders of the second round of name voting?

1. Cheesybite
2. Creamymate
3. Smooth
4. Snackmate
5. Vegemate
6. Vegemild
7. None of the above

With such amazing creativity selected by Kraft Foods Australia, I would have just picked “none of the above”. For real!

Over at Advertising Age, there is this article about beers and personality. Woohoo… Now isn’t this like those personality/horoscope quizzes on Facebook? Ok… The article attempts to point out that beer manufacturers have been carefully marketing their beers to a particular target audience. For example, I like Heineken (who doesn’t eh?) and according to the article, I am a poser; a show-off. Oops… Oh well, I agree with the article’s description that I am an early adopter of new technology (save, social media) and do hope to own a sports car in the near future (I suffice on diecast ferrari and lamborghini models for now). However, sadly, the content of article is largely a stretch.

Heineken Beer Factory by ~I-Land

Deep down the reason why I prefer Heineken from other beers is that of taste. I personally prefer Heineken over Corona because I feel that Corona is just too light. As for why I don’t like Budweiser… It just gives me a bad headache. I’d rather go for Qingdao beer than to touch a Budweiser. As I reiterate again, it’s really a matter of personal taste.

I must admit, the article’s description of a “typical” Budweiser drinker is a nasty stereotype. 42% more likely to drive a truck? Wait till a Nobel prize winner comes out about loving Budweiser.

The most important question is, where in the world did they conduct this “research”? Is this so-called market research legit at all? I highly doubt so. What upsets me more is how such an article could be published on Advertising Age.

References:

Vegemite Contest Draws Protests, NYTimes.com, 2 November 2009

What Your Taste in Beer Says About You, Advertising Age, 2 November 2009

Just last year, I was attracted to this particular Nikon camera ad. I chanced upon on a lifestyle magazine and it gave me a few laughs (in a good way).

Credited from Advertising/Design Goodness

Haha… Talk about great “facial detection”! But I do like the fact that the camera has a widescreen. It’s very easy for the average person to visualize his shot from that uncluttered screen. I do hope the touch-screen functions are sleek and easy to maneuver. Interestingly, this series of Nikon ads was done by Euro RSCG, Singapore. All is not lost for the Singapore ad scene… At least Singaporeans do have a decent sense of humor.

Oh well… That was last year. In a year after I bought my first DSLR, my taste for cameras has changed drastically.

Now I prefer to look at camera ads that lists the product name and price of the cameras and lenses. It mattered not if it’s just a colored price list of camera products, with absolutely no aesthetic value. Can this peculiar phenomenon be explained?

I think the reasons for this phenomenon are simple. I do not need a camera ad that touches my emotion. I’m already very involved in photography. Regardless of whatever trick the camera company pulls out the bag, I’ve my own perception on my needs and wants. I don’t need to be convinced I need a camera or lens because it supposedly satiates my emotional needs (i.e. love, fear, safety, sorrow, pleasure, etc.). Well… Maybe “envy” might be a convincing emotion that could be employed on photographers. Some photographers suffer from this contagious diseases call the BBB (buy-buy-buy) virus. Invoking envy in camera ads may persuade photographers to indulge in a “gear acquisition exercise”, even if they’re already knee deep in photography debt. However, the catch is that usually photographers which such tendencies would be snapping up the cameras and lenses by merely just looking at the product itself, without the jazz.

I don’t need a camera ad that has a memorable message. I clearly do not need the face-recognition function or the “make-up” function (can’t believe Casio added that to their cameras) or Nikon’s guide mode (for photography newbies). Therefore, coming up with a snazzy storyline to tie-in with whatever spiffy new function isn’t going to influence me to believe that I need that camera.

Scanned from Digital Photographer (magazine)

What I do look out for are the technical specifications, price and believable evidences. Which is why this particular Sigma lens ad worked for me. The thing about Sigma is that they insist that a photo taken from a Sigma lens be the focus of the ad. Never mind that the layout and fonts seemed dated and unappealing. It will somehow get the attention of a photographer on the look out for a budget ultra wide-angle lens. You can be certain at least how the photos taken from a Sigma lens looks like However, this ad will definitely not appeal to someone new to DSLR or to be precise, the average consumer.

This made me realize that in fact the reason why some advertisements seem to put in so much elaboration and effort to market a product is simply because there is the need to convince consumers to buy a particular product that they have no whatsoever product knowledge on. Sometimes, even to the point of persuading them that they need this particular product despite the fact that they don’t even know what they are buying. For example, selling a camera with face recognition to a photography newbie that doesn’t know how to focus on a camera.

The first ad that got my attention is this ad titled “Growing up girl”. I doubt this is the official name of the ad but it does depict a girl’s tribulations in her childhood and how she grew out of it.

Mediacorp TV’s Channel 8 has come up with a winner with its recent branding campaign, “Singapore 加油!” (Translated: Press on, Singapore!). One of its recent TV commercials for the campaign has stuck on my mind.

Go to the bottom right of the video screen and click on “CC” for the English subtitles

The ad came in small segments (portions revealed weekly) that piece together eventually to form a mini-movie of sorts. The story narrates a girl who was ostracized by her schoolmates for talking to objects. No one, her parents, the psychiatrist or the school could explain why she was behaving in that way. One day in school, two bullies decided to surround her and poke fun at her “strange behavior”. Fortunately for her, a boy who seems to have a crush on her rescued her. Eventually they became friends and the dialogues alluded they became more than friends (romantic couple?) with the final scene ending with the girl, now grown up and acing an acting audition. The ad closes with the girl hugging the now-grownup boy with the screen blacking out showing this slogan that loosely translates as ‘Believe in your strength, Unleash your talents’.

This is a feel-good ad. Period. Ok… I have more to say than just this. Generally, for the average viewer who has followed through each “episode” of this ad, you come to love it. But initially, you feel bewildered about it. Since the ad started off with showing a girl talking to objects, from basketball post to soft-toy. What is this ad about? This was the clincher the ad used.

I like this ad because this is the best material Channel 8 is able to come up with since its mega flop-buster drama serials (i.e. The Ultimatum). The plot is fresh. A girl that speaks to objects whose real deal is that she was just into acting and make-believe. Her friend believes in her acting potential, encouraged her and told her she was special, not weird. The ad ends with her succeeding in her acting audition (happy ending ☺).

The ad has been paced up pretty well such as that at the end of each “episode” it leaves you anticipating and thinking what is going to happen next in the following episode. Despite its feel-good theme, the ad does not cross the boundary into cheesiness, nor does it feel overtly like propaganda. It caught me by surprise that this ad was for a branding campaign for Channel 8, and not some mental health PSA from the Health Promotion Board ( probably preferring clay animals to cinematics).

The intention of the ad is to portray Channel 8 as a television channel that cares for its viewers. Channel 8 wants viewers to love it, and perceive it from a new perspective. This ad has certainly got me thinking differently about Channel 8, and liking the direction they took to promote themselves. The ad looks like a genuine effort, though I personally think it is more practical that Channel 8 works on improving its in-house productions if Channel 8 wants viewers to love it.

The music provides the dynamics for the movie. It prepares and pulls the viewers into the emotions of the ad and become involved in it. It certainly has a psychological (specifically emotional) impact on the viewers. If the ad ran only with dialogue and no background music, the impact will be so much different. Most liking, the ad will lose its impact and effectiveness in drawing the viewers to connect with Channel 8.

I have a wishful thinking… I wished this ad was a genuine trailer for an upcoming drama serial. Alas, this is just fat hope.

Now for the second ad… Tiger beer: The Last Tiger.

This Tiger beer ad features 2 guys at a pub sharing bottles of Tiger beer, when they came down to the final bottle. It was a start of a showdown between the guys. They start morphing themselves to motley of characters among which includes a Luchador (masked wrestler), gorilla, cyborg, Tarzan, and final an “attractive” woman. The humor lied in which the guy who morphed into Tarzan morphed into a woman. The saving grace of the ad was the superbly flawless CGI, which is by far one of the best I have seen on television commercials. This ad has all the makings of a hit, but the reason why it failed to work for me is that the ad is too selective in its target audience: men.

Wrestling, gorillas, cyborgs, Tarzan and especially a hot babe are imagery that appeal specifically to men. Tiger is bent on hitting the male demographics. However they fail to realize that men are not the only ones that drink beer. This male-centric ad has alienated the female demographic, leaving me, a female consumer skeptical if Tiger is interested in doing business with me.

Also noted was that the ad seemed to be designed for the eyes of North American consumers. Luchador reminds me of the American movie, Nacho Libre, though it is really just a Mexican costumed wrestler. A gorilla that looks like a stereotypical mini King-Kong, again so not Singaporean. So was the cyborg, as well as Tarzan. Do not get me talking about the blond babe… Tiger has again alienated their home market, Singapore. What happened to Tiger beer? Is this not the beer Singaporeans are so proud of? Clearly the love is not reciprocal. Singapore may love Tiger, but Tiger does not love us back. Tiger prefers the international market, Tiger prefers the US.

Tiger may be a domestic brand, but unlike brands like Heineken or Carlsberg, getting Caucasian actors to woo viewers in the ad is not going to make Tiger a Western brand. Why Tiger markets itself as if it were a brand from the Western world makes me question if Tiger is ashamed of its Singaporean heritage.

While Tiger could have made use of its Asian heritage, its Singapore roots in its advertisements, instead of just sponsoring Singapore-related events overseas, it decided to dilute itself by pretentiously shaking off all its connections with Singapore and becoming a generic “Western beer”, something it never was and will never be.

I may remember the ad for the cool graphics, but it will not make me pick up a Tiger beer.