WEEK 2: PLAYSAFE CONDOMS

Lecture

Mr. Vinod provided me with prompt feedback in regards to my previous eportfolio post via email. I found this very useful as it was textual, hence I had his verbatim feedback to later refer back to. In line with his feedback, I re-studied the Bernbach Principles, and it did help in forming the parameters of my brainstorming. 
 I believe the most challenging aspect of this task is that is to be a black and white advertisement. I will need to find a way to make the advert impactful either without relying on color, or by using black and white to make a statement.

Instructions: Project 1

Your first task upon understanding Bernbach’s principles in advertising, is to conceive of a single quarter page press advertisement in black and white. Your execution will reflect the knowledge gained from your understanding.

The marketing objective is to promote Playsafe condom, through a mass medium (press advertisement). The challenge is, to create an ad that would not contravene strict publishing laws and moral codes of the countries multicultural and multi-religious populations. How you skirt these obstacles to produce an ad that is targeted (young adults) and effective whilst using the knowledge gained from the Bernback Principles to achieve the marketing objective will test your creativity to work within the narrow confines of the brief.

Newspaper: TheSun
Size: 128 (w) x 178 (h)

Client: Playsafe Condoms.

Marking Criteria

Communication (5%)
The message needs to be creative, clear and concise. The message has to be truthful and not gimmicky. The message must be unique in order to stand out from the rest of the competitors. The message must have a sense of personality that relates to, or reflects the target audience.

Visual Impact (5%)
Visual impact here refers to the overall effect of the layout and or the artwork (visual or copy) in the layout. The visual/copy must integrate well with the message for there to be impact. The visual/copy must enhance the message to create a smile in the mind. The visual/copy must relate or connect with the reader and should illicit an emotional reaction. The visual/copy must be memorable. The visual/copy must have a sense of personality that relates to, or reflects the target audience.

Process (5%)
There must be exploration in the form of sketches, mind maps, thoughts and epiphanies. The journey from start to finish must be methodically documented and dated. oral or written Feedback must be documented. The written reflections must be clear, concise, revealing and insightful.

Learning goal:

1. The student will understand and apply Bernbach’s principles in advertising in order to assist in a marketing objective.

Major Learning Outcomes:

1) Writing & Presenting Competencies – Demonstrate knowledge and apply understanding of design principles, technical processes, tools and software

2) Critical Thinking Competencies — Use critical thinking to explore, analyze and test a diversity of conceptual ideas.

3) Creating & Documenting Competencies — Plan and execute unique creative works

4) Appraising & Valuing Competencies — Constructively assess work by yourself and others.

Deadline: Week 3

Research

Ideas & Strategies

I'm looking to target young women in the hopes of raising awareness of sexual protection. In the battle against patriarchy, its important for women to know that the taboo of sex and buying contraception is merely a social construct, one that only hurts them. 

1) 
Visual: A cropped image of a girl, showing her back and top portion of her jeans, and her pulling out a condom from her back pocket
Copy: 

• In a game for two, why depend on the other?
• It's so slim, there's no excuse
• Why risk it?

2) 
Visual: A party handbag and its spilt contents, with a condom in the forefront.
Copy: 

• You never know when you'd need something
• Apparently, girls prepare for everything
• We don't expect someone else to bring our lip gloss, do we?

Feedback

Specific:

I have viewed your progress for week 2 on your eportfolio blog. Your strategy and the subsequent ideas (1 & 2) are sound – Well done! It would seem you are quite adept at this, your visual message and the line (headline) in your plan are well integrated. The line does support and enhance the visual message, and this is inline with the Bernbach Principles as described in the 1st lecture presentation slides.

Reflections

Experience

It truly hit me this week the difference of being in a foreign country. Although I was aware of the load shedding and electrical faults in Zimbabwe, this was the first time I actually experienced it. There was no power for two whole days, and as the cyber cafes were charging twice as much due to generator usage, I was stranded without internet and digital devices. 

In completing this weeks task, my OCD levels skyrocketed while sketching, as I don't quite have the skills necessary to properly put on paper what was visualizing in my head. It was quite hard to get to the point where it only somewhat came close to my imagination.

Observations

I am lucky that almost all of the people around me are extremely open about the subject matter. My main sounding board was my soon-to-be brother in law, who really is more like an actual brother, as we had a lot of fun goofing around with silly ideas. He is also the one who helped me find Playsafe condoms here in Zimbabwe.

Findings

It seems that there really aren't that many condom advertisements that target the female audience. This is quite infuriating, seeing as to how that is half the world populations and it's them most often burdened with complications of not using proper sexual protection.

WEEK 1: THE FIRST TASTE

Week 1 (20/01/2016)

TARRA SHALINY A/P PALANI (SCM009430) ADVERTISING DESIGN


Although I'm majoring in psychology and communication, I found myself getting interested in the marketing field last  year. Therefore, I'm actually glad that this course has been changed from Graphic Design to Advertising Design. I'm very interested in seeing how this course aids in my current path in consumer psychology.  Also, being presently overseas completing my internship in psychology, I was able to convince my faculty to let me take this course remotely. I hope I am able to cope and even thrive with this method of learning.

I was provided with the lecture slides for Week 1 via email. In going through it, I learnt that advertising is basically to call the public's attention to something. It was also new to me that the American Marketing Association defines it something that is paid by a sponsor. The slides then go through William Bernbach’s 10 principles in advertising and the project brief. I was also provided with the yourbrief.wordpress site, that briefed me on the general overview of the course and provided some videos to further my understanding on the subject. 

Below are the learning outcomes for the course:

Learning Outcomes for the module. Upon successful completion of this module, students are expected to demonstrate:
⦁ an understanding of basic advertising principles and the manner advertising aids the marketing (selling) process
⦁ an understanding of the functions and responsibilities of an advertising art director
⦁ the ability to develop creative and effective advertising messages that sell products and services guided by insight into specific target market (consumer) needs
⦁ the competent use of a range of visualizing media and techniques to communicate advertising ideas
⦁ an understanding of the manner advertising is influenced by cultural, economic and political factors.

Assessment Plan*
60% Formative

• 15% Project 01
• 20% Project 02
• 15% Project 03 (Quiz)*
• 10% Journal (e-Portfolio)

40% Summative

• Project 04*
• 20% Strategy: (Research Strategy & Direction and Communication Strategy)
• 20% Campaign (Communication & Art Direction)

The above will be revealed in class on the day*

Projects
15% Project 01: Bernbach principles in advertising
Your first task upon understanding Bernbach’s principles in advertising, is to conceive of a single quarter page press advertisement in black and white. Your execution will reflect the knowledge gained from your understanding.

The marketing objective is to promote Playsafe condom, through a mass medium (press advertisement). The challenge is, to create an ad that would not contravene strict publishing laws and moral codes of the countries multicultural and multi-religious populations. How you skirt these obstacles to produce an ad that is targeted (young adults) and effective whilst using the knowledge gained from the Bernback Principles to achieve the marketing objective will test your creativity to work within the narrow confines of the brief.

Newspaper: TheSun
Size: 128 (w) x 178 (h)
Mode: Black & White
Client: Playsafe Condoms.

Marking Criteria
Communication (5%)
The message needs to be creative, clear and concise. The message has to be truthful and not gimmicky. The message must be unique in order to stand out from the rest of the competitors. The message must have a sense of personality that relates to, or reflects the target audience.

Visual Impact (5%)
Visual impact here refers to the overall effect of the layout and or the artwork (visual or copy) in the layout. The visual/copy must integrate well with the message for there to be impact. The visual/copy must enhance the message to create a smile in the mind. The visual/copy must relate or connect with the reader and should illicit an emotional reaction. The visual/copy must be memorable. The visual/copy must have a sense of personality that relates to, or reflects the target audience.

Process (5%)
There must be exploration in the form of sketches, mind maps, thoughts and epiphanies. The journey from start to finish must be methodically documented and dated. oral or written Feedback must be documented. The written reflections must be clear, concise, revealing and insightful.

Learning goal:
1. The student will understand and apply Bernbach’s principles in advertising in order to assist in a marketing objective.
Learning Outcome:
1. an understanding of basic advertising principles and the manner advertising aids the marketing (selling) process
5. an understanding of the manner advertising is influenced by cultural, economic and political factors.

Deadline:
Week 3

Research
To get a better grasp of the project, I first performed a Google look-up on the product. The manufacturing company's website was very insightful and I was able to see the product marketed on a plethora of online websites, almost all offering free or very cheap delivery. I was also exposed to the list of other locally available companies that serve as PlaySafe's competition. Although PlaySafe does appear to look the most vibrant, bold and fun. I did a brief mind map of the information I garned.

The mind map also led to some ideas in regards to the project. I'm interested in targeted it towards young sexually active women, with the objective of shattering the idea that it is the male's duty to buy and carry condoms. However, this is not to transfer the responsibility to women, but merely to make aware that since they are at risk as well, there is no obligation to rely on the guys for something so important.

I then decided to experiment and document purchasing the condom, to get a sense of the taboo surrounding the product. Although it wasn’t my first time buying condoms, I seemed to be hyperaware of my surroundings this time around as I purchased it alone at the Selayang Jaya 7 Eleven. I chose not to buy any other items along with the condoms, for fear of diluting the possible reactions. Anyhow, although there was no observable reaction from the cashier, the elderly lady next to me seemed quite scandalized. She kept looking at me weirdly and her body language was tellingly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, being me, after paying for my condoms, I could not resist giving her a cheeky wink while saying “it’s going to be a good weekend “.


Feedback

Specific:

Your primary research was insightful with regard to the awkwardness a customer would face when buying the product. It would also help to speak to the salesperson as to the kind of customer that buys the product. As for your secondary research, it would be good if you could do more visual research of previous advertisements around the world marketing the same product. Bare in mind that your audience will be Malaysians and therefore your message needs to resonate with the target audience once you have identified them (I believe you have chosen young women). You might also want to look at the health aspects of the product, meaning the circumstances one finds themselves in if one does not use it.

General: 

Mr Vinod reminded me to adhere to the eportfolio format as shown by the sample he provided.

REFLECTION

Experience
This is most definitely a novel class to me as I am taking it as a distance learning course. With no actual classes, and communication being done via email and Facebook messages, it challenges the traditional learning process and teacher-student relationship that I have been molded into from childhood. I am looking forward to seeing how this method of education works with me, especially as I am looking to start an online Masters program in September.
In watching the videos, it struck me how

Observation
My initial concern was on how to make an advertisement for a condom company while still veering clear of social sensitivities. Malaysia has steadily become more and more conservative over the years, especially in terms of religion. I found that this may contradict my predisposition towards women empowerment and social rebelliousness, although I would prefer to allow my passions to direct this first project. Hopefully, finding a midpoint in completing this task whilst staying within the moral parameters would not to be too much of a struggle.

Findings
It was fun going out to buy the product and noting the reactions garnered.  Whilst at the till, it struck me that it’s possible that by placing the condoms openly right by the cashier, people were forced to acknowledge them repeatedly, making it less taboo in a way. I found that this, whether intentional or not, to be rather ingenious.