Visuals and Non-Verbal Communication in commercials

1. Visuals and Non-Verbal Communication in commercials

2. Visuals imply… • As we have been talking about earlier in this unit, commercials are trying to persuade you to buy their product. • Every piece of information, every element of the commercial is there for a reason. • The pictures, the video, are there to show you something, make you feel something, to emotionally impact you in some way. • Let’s look at the visuals…

3. Visuals imply… • …they don’t say the message, they show the viewer the message. What does this photo say about this woman? If we are the intended audience: We know that the people in the commercial are actors, but we forget it too. Our emotions become involved. We are not always logical. Subconsciously we identify with the people in the commercial.

4. Visuals imply… Is she a doctor? Or an actor? • Visuals imply… they force us to co-create with the makers of the commercial. • We infer meaning when they imply • We often jump to conclusions about what they mean.

5. Visuals imply and are edited… • If you were going to make a commercial, promoting Rolla High School as a great school, how would you construct it? • Would you show it as you see it every day? (Both good and bad, happy and sad) • Or would you purposefully choose pictures and video that shows happy students and happy teachers having fun? Working hard (with smiling faces)?

6. Visuals are edited… (click to play) Source: Rolla HS

7. Visuals are edited… • What did you see? • Were the pictures true(were they actors or RHS students and teachers)? • What did they leave out? • A decision was made on what to include and what to exclude.

8. Visuals are edited… • Pictures don’t lie, right? • With a digital editing system, anyone can change a picture. • And any photographer or videographer can change what is in the shot and what is not. Time Magazine did a little manipulating of this mug shot of O.J. Simpson for their cover. Heis made to look darker and more menacing. Source: National Press Photographers Association

9. Visuals are edited, non-verbal’s create emotion Camera close-ups convey intimacy. “We are face to face, sharing a close moment.” Editing: Quick cuts and short edits convey energy, action, power.

10. Non-verbal’s create emotion Music: Sounds: (click to listen) (click to listen) Music can create emotion. What emotion is this music clip trying to convey? Sounds can also be used to create an emotion. Do you feel like applauding? (click to listen) (click to listen) Listen to this one. What does it make you feel? Do laugh tracks on comedy shows make us laugh more or the show seem funnier?

11. Non-verbal’s create emotion • What’s going on in the background of a commercial is another way to communicate a message. • Is it set in woods? (Nature) • How about in a city? (Urban) • Is there exciting activity going on?

12. Non-verbal’s create emotion • Remember that Six Flags commercial? • Nice neighborhood, right? • We understood something about the people who go to Six Flags

13. Your assignment- Discussion Board #2 • Choose a commercial from one of these links: KIA commercial Nike commercial • You will become an advertising executive, explaining the concepts (use of visuals and non-verbal communication) of your chosen commercial to the product’s board. • You will include: • Who the intended audience is • The message you are sending to the intended audience • What elements (visuals and non-verbal communication) you are using to reach the intended audience and send the intended message • You will also be “on the board” for two classmates and their presentations to the products board. You will need to respond to their presentation with supporting comments and/or adding relevant details to the discussion. See the assignment sheet for week 2 for more detailed instructions.