OUGD406 Studio Brief 02 Research into Viral Campaigns

In preparation for the group Brief 02 we all agreed to go away and do some research into viral campaigns. I found a lot of videos because platforms like youtube make it very easy to find them. However, I found it hard to pin down many graphically orientated campaigns but tone of voice and how it is created is something I can analyse across both media.

This advert by the rainforest alliance has the bright colours and direct address of a quirky google add, which instantly sign posts it as something fresh and new. It doesn't disappoint on either counts. Taking the impression that many people have of 'save the rainforest' companies i.e. they ask a lot of people. It mixes the soft micky take of people who are possibly slightly pious about environmental issues and how much they contribute to the cause, with ridiculous narrative and funny moments. This challenges the serious tone so many of these types of adverts have, this one entertains the audience leaving them open to the important message at the end. The use of hyperbole for comic effect is something I am interested in using in our campaign because it engages and entertains an audience in a way that makes people want to share it. (hopefully leading to a viral campaign.)

Once again wild hyperbole is used for comic effect, enhanced by the slow pan and dramatic lens glare which makes repeat appearances. The reason these things create this impression is because they are filming styles so often used in things such as car adverts and action films. The juxtaposition of these filming styles with the unglamorous public transport that is being advertised surprises the audience and therefore stimulates laughter. Juxtaposition could also be a way foreword in our campaign, taking our subject matter and turning it on its head could work if done in the right way.

http://blackeiffel.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/become-someone-else.html

This is a more graphic design orientated campaign for a small independent book store which caught my eye. not only is it really well executed but it manages to convey a message which will really appeal to readers.The idea of loosing yourself completely in a book is why so many people read. I am uncertain about the typographic decisions on these posters though. The crude splurgy hand writing style seems incongruous with the shape wit suggested by the visual aspect of the designs. Also the negative space on a mock handwriting font just feels a bit unnatural to me, in very few situations do people write in white ink! I think this creates a slight sense of separation between the audience and the design which decreases its effectiveness. ttp://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/us-guardian-campaign-flip-reverses-it-5132594

There is a really effective use of colour in these designs to connote the idea that the Guardian tell 'both sides of the story'. These two sometimes three tone vector graphics have the simple aesthetic that we are most likely limited to by the colour limitations of the brief. Cleaver but simple is the tone of voice achieved by these  designs. This is done through the use of images that appear to be different things from different angles, the way they slowly appear to the onlooker stimulates an epiphany moment as you realise what you are looking at. It is this crystallisation of meaning which works so well with what is being communicated 'The Guardian reports both the big and small picture, whats obvious and what's hidden'. With the underlying message that they are not biased and one sided in there reporting.

consumerist.com/2011/02/03/a-look-back-at-sonys-miserable-psp-ad-campaigns/

The Sony PSP campaign is one that was much less successful than expected. I think that a number of things contributed to this. They started off by launching a faux blog in which 'Charlie' petitions to get his best friend a PSP for christmas. They just really didn't get the 'faux' part down.

here’s the deal::: i (charlie) have a psp. my friend jeremy does not. but he wants one this year for xmas. so we started clowning with sum not-so-subtle hints to j’s parents that a psp would be teh perfect gift. we created this site to spread the luv to those like j who want a psp! consider us your own personal psp hype machine, here to help you wage a holiday assault on ur parents, girl, granny, boss — whoever — so they know what you really want. we’ll let you know how it works for us. pls return the favour.

It was just too transparently manipulative to have any affect. They then went on to create a bill board for the new white PSP soon to be released (2004).

Which just seems appallingly insensitive! There is risk taking and digging your own grave and choosing to vindicate racism, however abstractly, definitely falls in the latter category! This is something to take into consideration during our project. Because we are focussing on Dyslexia we have to be careful not to patronise or mock people with dyslexia. Instead I think we need to achieve a light humorous tone of voice which aims to remove the stigma surrounding it.