This print ad has both a positive and negative connotation. The good thing about these headphones is that they block outside noises very well. As shown in the ad, a man is enjoying a boat ride and is using Bose headphones. The product is so good at blocking other sounds that he doesn't hear the waterfall behind him. The words at the top right corner says "Bose Noise Reduction Kills" (it's really tiny though). This can have different meanings. A person can interpret the word "kills" as a slang word that means the product is awesome, or literally, that it can kill you. Most consumers don't think that literal nowadays so these headphones can probably sell well. "Kills" is an example of ambiguity used in this ad. It can have different meanings.
This ad was not the best because I feel like the man in the boat wasn't focused enough. There is way too much background of the sky and waterfall. Bose could've just crop some of those parts out and put a bit more focus on the guy. A technique that's used is diversion. The view of the sky and waterfall is nice and all, but it distracts the consumer from the actual purpose of this ad, the noise reducing headphones. People forget about the product but they know it's a Bose product. Also, this scenario is highly unlikely. There may be somewhat similar ones, but in general, it would be rare to die from falling over a waterfall because you didn't hear it approaching. Who would go on a boat ride without knowing the route?? To the man in the ad, get educated on locations...it'll save your life.
Overall, this ad wasn't effective. Although it was humorous, not much was said about the product. It shows that the product can block even the loudest of noises, but it has a negative connotation as well. The small print in the corner also has positive and negative meanings to it, depending on how it's interpreted.
Nice blog! That is funny how they wrote that this product kills. The picture goes with both interpretations, too, because it could kill you by preventing you from being aware of your surroundings or it kills because it's just the coolest thing, like you said. I think that the satisfaction the product brings to the need for escape is also present there, because by using this product the guy is totally out of it. He is escaping what's going on in reality... his doom! It's a funny ad, and you did a good job! :)
ReplyDeleteOMG right! I forgot to mention the need to escape...haha it slipped my mind because I was so distracted with the waterfall. Thanks Carmen! :)
DeleteGreat work Olivia! I was also distracted and diverted by the waterfall! I thought this picture was just another pretty picture but I thought otherwise because obviously it's on your media blog. I liked how you analyzed the ambiguity of "kill." I thought it was clever and witty how the ad was able to use such opposite meanings of the same word at the same time. Though the ad didn't exactly say much about the headphones themselves, and what it did say was, like you said, extremely tiny, it was for sure an attention-stopper. Cool definitely seems to come at a cost!
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