Short Films and Advertising

The wonderful world of short films! See, my true love of Communications has always been media and with my love of media I have created short films ranging from inspirational music videos to very corny comedies. I have always been a fan of short films and videos with a plot since they tend to have a story to tell. To me, it doesn't matter how pretty the actresses or singers are, or how good they dance, all that matters in this visual media is the plot, the theme, and how well it is portrayed.

For example, how many of you have watched Nickelback's "Someday" video? If you haven't, I highly recommend it since it is one of the best musical short films I have ever seen. Seriously, go check it out...do it now! I'll wait.... There's no random dance scene or questions such as "why is she on another planet?" or "why is he surrounded by flashing lights?" It follows the basic plot to any good short film (West Virginia University, P.I. Reed School of Journalism, 2008):

1) A protagonist- Who is the main character?
2) A goal- What do they want to achieve
3) Action- What do they do to achieve it?
4) Conflict/Obstacle- What stands in their way?
5) Climax- Where does the story build?
6) Resolution/Denouement- How does it end?

I could talk forever about the subject of great film, plots, cinematography, Aristotle drama, etc. However, I bet you are wondering what in the world does this have to do with new media and marketing? Audiences are starting to become bored with commercials. Consumers have become so desensitized with the commercial-heavy media that advertisers have to continually push the envelope to draw in more consumers and become memorable ('Bleeping' ads proving a winner with U.S.audiences, 2008).

When it comes to gathering the attention of the masses, advertisers have a limited number of ideas they can try. They could use "shock value" and push the envelope on sexuality, violence, crude language, etc. They can try to create something unique such as the Pepsi Cola campaign where they had Beyoncee, Pink, and Britney Spears sing a cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You" (Durrett, 2004). With the popularity of viral video, many companies have turned to utilizing the marketing potential of short films.

One very interesting point that was made during the discussion on short films was the aspect of ethics. Usually, most people would think, "It's a short film. It's fiction. What does ethics have to do with it?" Well, the difference between a short film for entertainment and a short film for advertisement is that advertisements are suppose to convince a consumer to purchase a product and/or service. Two videos that were brought up in the conversation was the "Evolution" film by Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and the "Citizen/Soldier" musical short film by the National Guard (song performed by Three Doors Down).

Dove's short film goes through a common process of editing to help transform a normal person into beautiful model for a billboard advertisement. The Campaign for Real Beauty is suppose to encourage women to see the beauty within themselves and to criticize the media's portrayal of unrealistic beauty. However, one ethical problem that Dove currently faces with this type of campaign involves its own unnatural portrayals of "normal" women. Pascal Dangin, a photo retoucher for photographer Annie Lebovitz, claimed that he did some retouches on these "natural" photographs to "keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive." Dove would not deliver a statment on the issue, but these contradiction actions does create a few questions about the morality of a company that will use the same tactics that their campaign is supposedly trying to criticize (Dove's 'real beauty' campaign isn't real, 2008).

If this does not seem like a big enough ethical debate for you, then lets take the film created to advertise for the National Guard. I must admit, I enjoy Three Doors Down and have been a fan of theirs since the song "Kryptonite". My views and politics about the war in Iraq should not matter in this discussion. What I want to focus on is the same thing that many within the discussion were pondering: Is it ethical to try and sell young people on the idea of going to war? As a couple of individuals mentioned, yes the Armed Forces do need troops and advertising can be a good way to recruit the masses. However, many criticize this film and the other tactics the National Guard uses to recruit troops claiming that these tactics “glamorize warfare, omit vital information and fail to point out the risks and responsibilities associated with a Forces career,” (Harding, 2008).

When I first read this discussion, an episode of the Simpsons popped into my head where Bart joins a boy band called the Party Posse. They sing a song called "Drop Da Bomb" and within the video are beautiful ladies dressed in veils and bikin's singing "yvan eht nioj" which is later discoverd in the episode to say "join the navy". I couldn't find a decent video clip, but the song is on youtube if you want to look for it. However, I think this fits well with the ethical discussion of the National Guard's short film. The short film does not go as far as the Party Posse video, but it does lead one to wonder where the Armed Forces should draw the line when it comes to this kind of advertising and recruitment

I can not wait to hear your comments on these ethical issues or on short films in general. I believe in the power of short films and advertising, but at the same time I find the topic of ethics to be interesting as well. Has anyone seen any interesting short films that they want to share? Feel free to comment if you have.

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'Bleeping ads proving a winner with U.S. audiences. UTalkMarketing. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://www.utalkmarketing.com/pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4968&Title=%25u2018Bleeping%25u2019_ads_proving_a_winner_with_U.S._audiences

Dove's 'real beauty' campaign isn't real! The Cut. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/05/doves_real_beauty_campaign_isn_1.html

Durrett, M. (2004, January 30). We will rock you--Pepsi gladiator commercial. About.com. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from http://humor.about.com/b/2004/01/30/we-will-rock-you-pepsi-gladiator-commercial.htm

Harding, T. (2008, January 8) Report claims Army ads 'glamorize war.’ The Telegraph. Retrieved on November 30, 2008 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1574764/Report-claims-Army-ads-%27glamorise-war%27.html.

West Virginia University, P.I. Reed School of Journalism (2008, August 18). Lesson 6: The reel deal: Short films & streaming media. Retrieved November 30, 2008, from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webct/urw/lc501964386071.tp501967006071/previewtoc.dowebct?updateBreadcrumb=false&resetBreadcrumb=false&TOCId=501967012071&TOCLinkId=501967398071#501967398071