In order to learn more about the social context of the 1940s, I made a visit to Bletchley Park museum and grounds, to see the code-breaking Enigma machines, and the world's first computer "Colossus." The visit was an interesting experience, I learned a lot about the war, and the circumstances surrounding it. One of the most pivotal points that I picked up on during this visit, is that the work that the staff of Bletchley Park carried out - effectively shortened the war by about two years. Crazy.
References: Bletchley Park Museum and Estate, 3rd March 2012
Explain why Laundrette can be described as a piece of postmodern advertising and see if you can find a contemporary example. Substantiate your findings.
The 1985 Levis advert 'Laundrette' by BBH could very much be described as a postmodern ad! From the irregular time scale - filmed in the 80's, set in the 1950's (we can tell this from the fashions of the people inside the launderette, to the solider in his uniform and from the cars outside the laundrette) with a 60's song (Marvin Gaye's 'Heard it through the Grapevine'). To not mentioning the product until the snapshot at the very end. The ad uses sexuality in a new way, there hadn't been much reference to male sexuality in advertising before (usually left to the degraded women!) and under the 80's Thatcherism rule, life was fairly conservative, which meant that undressing in a Launderette would be very frowned upon. The advert promoted the American dream and capitalism to a fairly Anti-American Europe, with astounding results - the 501 jeans sales sales had soared by 800% within a year of their relaunch.
An example of contemporary postmodernism in advertising would be the 2012 'L'Odyssee de Cartier' advert created by Paris agency Marcel. It features a jewelled panther, that comes to life and races across various landscapes (desert, mountains, snow etc.) before returning to Paris - evidently on an epic mission. The message below on the youtube page reads "Discover the new Cartier film, a journey between dream and reality. For the very first time, Cartier has decided to create a cinema epic focusing on its history, its value and inspiration, its artistic and universal scope." The video is accompanied by an entire website dedicated to the advert, detailing the advert's inspirations, and how the epic advert was made. http://www.odyssee.cartier.co.uk/#/home
I would say that this advert is postmodernist because of the hyper-realism featured in the ad. Jewellery comes to life in an epic way (Giant rings rolling down a hill through snow, through to a forest made out of glittering jewellery) which is representative of the jewellery's inspiration, and of the Cartier customer's luxurious lifestyle.
I'm sure most of you will have seen The Guardians new advert, highlighting their 'open journalism' via the tale of "The Three Little Pigs" created by BBH, it portrays the well-loved fairytale as it would be if it were to happen in the 21st century. A tongue-in-cheek look at journalism and social networking, I feel it accurately (well, as accurately as it could be!) shows how the british public react in times of disorder and crisis. The advert comes at the time of the well-publicised Leveson Enquiry, and in the aftermath the London Riots of August 2011. I think the advert is brilliant, The Guardian not afraid to parody themselves and the British culture of "BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE BANKS AND THE GOVERNMENT."
Another take on 'The Three Little Pigs' comes from the truly spectacular GoCompare.com advertising team... erm, enjoy?
Art and Copy is a powerful film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray, it features interviews and insights from industry insiders, from Creative Directors all the way down to the guy who pastes the finalised artwork up onto colossal billboards. I found this film to be very insightful and honest, it doesn't make a big hooray about the glamour of the industry, instead it chooses to showcase a few select creatives discussing their work.
One thing that I took away from this film, is how important a working environment is. In a segment about Lee Clow - Global Director of TBWA Worldwide, he was working in LA office TBWA\Chiat\Day and I was immediately struck by the office space! It had never really dawned upon me how a positive working environment is crucial when it comes to thinking creatively and positively. When legendary adverts such as Apple's '1984' come from such a creative and fun environment, it's easy to see how much of a strong influence a working environment can be.
Look...even the bins are creative!
TBWA images taken from http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/08/a-peek-into-tbw.php Art and Copy poster taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Art_%26_Copy_Poster.jpg
