I THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING

INTRO

If you peel an apple, an apple comes out. If you peel a banana, a banana comes out. Then, if you peel the thinking of department of advertising and public relations’ students, what comes out? This was a good exhibition which showed the analysis and plans composed by the department of advertising and public relations’ students. That is ‘The Advertisement Exhibition’. CAH reports their exhibition.

ABOUT ‘THE DEPARTMENT OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS’

Starting from 1974, it had the longest history among the different advertising and public relations departments in Korea. These days, the department of advertising and public relations of CAU is one thing CAU is known for. When this department was made, Advertising was being developed little by little in Korea. In addition, there were few advertising agencies at that time. In spite of this poor condition, CAU made the department of advertising and public relations to produce many excellent students studying advertising. From 1974 to 1980, this department turned out about 150 students, many of whom have gone to work in advertising.

WHAT IS ‘THE ADVERTISEMENT EXHIBITION’?

This exhibition is the first and the supreme advertisement exhibition by university students. Starting 30 years ago, this annual exhibition gives insights about advertisement and marketing. The title of this year’s exhibition is ‘I DON’T THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING.’ In old times, advertisement said only companies’ opinion or point-blank plea about themselves, for example, ‘Our product is good. Therefore, you had better buy our product’. However, there were no persuasions. More interesting advertisements, stories, music and images can only persuade consumers. Accordingly, advertisements which have these trends have increased. Sometimes, advertisement would be popular and lay parody such as LTE Warp song made by KT Olleh. The exhibition had insights into this trends and interpreted content as insights of university student. It was held at 6 p.m. at CAU art center and had stage as follows; Opening→scene1. Monologue of consumer→scene2. confession of advertisement→scene3. Meeting with consumer and advertisement→ Closing. In addition, it had a vote event about ‘good advertisement by university students’ and awards ceremony.

I DON’T THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING

The title of this exhibition was ‘I don’t think about advertising’. Why consumers don’t think about advertising? There were many reasons. The department of advertising and public relations analyze reasons as the side of the individual and the environment. The first reason of the individual side is ‘psychological resist’. People have the ‘free will’ and want to act by their own free will. However, the point of an advertisement is to push people to do what they want. Therefore, people resist advertising and don’t think about that. The second reason of the individual side is ‘defense mechanism’. The defense mechanisms asserted by Sigmund Freud are psychological strategies brought into play by the unconscious mind to manipulate, deny, or distort reality (through processes including, but not limited to, Repression, Identification, or Rationalization), and to maintain a socially acceptable self-image or self-schema. In plain language, consumers are trying to protect against all of the advertising they see daily. It is not important only the individual side but also the environmental side. The first reason of the environmental side is ‘a sudden increase of advertisement’. Finding people who don’t have smart phones these days is very difficult. In other words, most people are constantly connected to everything. With the increase of individual medium, the quantity of advertisements increased suddenly as well. As a result, people much more difficult to tune out advertising. The second reason of the environmental side is ‘insensitiveness about advertisement’. While the amount of advertising increased, they would be pungent in order to outstand than other advertisement. Their amount is already too many, to make matter worse, many of them are pungent. Lastly, The last reason of the environmental side is ‘Complexity of society’. Accordingly, advertisements would be complex, too. These are because consumers disregard and don’t think about advertising.

I DON’T THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING, HOWEVER …I THINK ABOUT ADVERTISING?!

Let’s twist the title ‘I don’t think about advertising’. Although there are a lot of provocative advertisements, people often think about advertising. Do you hum ad jingles in spite of yourself even though you don’t think that advertisement? When people see word list such as ‘bbareum-bbareum-bbareum’ (It means ‘fast-fast-fast’ in Korean), they are huming the jingle of Olleh KT. Sometimes, gag program do parody some TV CF. Though people don’t try to get the advertisement, they can understand the gag and laugh. In other words, it seems people don’t think about advertising, however, people think about advertising! The students of the department of advertising and public relations said these days’ people watch TVCF and only ‘sympathize, smack their knee and find interesting’. However, just focusing on retina of the eyes can’t attract people’s emotion. Feeling emotion is possible when people recognize and think. If so, don’t the people who sympathize, smack their knee and find interesting as watching the advertisement thinking? This condition where people accept advertisement unwittingly isn’t relevant at the direct advertising. The example is ‘indirect advertising’(PPL). PPL(Product Placement) is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. Traditionally the product placement is not disclosed at the time that the goods or service is featured. PPL appear almost all of popular programs such as dramas and variety programs. People watch and accept PPL naturally in spite of themselves. Of course, sometimes PPL show products too suddenly and plainly disturb the flow of the TV program. However, most of PPL doesn’t look like an advertisement. So people don’t think it is an advertisement, but recollect product. For example, ‘the bag of the main female character’ and ‘the gum chewed by characters’. Besides, PPL can have a bigger effect than the direct advertisement during shorter time. If PPL has positive image of the TV program, the product has a great opportunity which increases the image of product. However, PPL has the weakness, too. Because PPL appears during short time, people may not recognize the product. Also, because of the large investment, damage may be bigger than profit. However, advertisers invest in PPL. The reason why people become thinking advertisement although it seems they don’t think about advertising.

CLOSING

These are a lot of advertising. It sometimes seems stalker because it follows me. So, people don’t think about advertising. However, People follow, watch and laugh advertisement in spite of themselves. That is, people ‘think’ about advertising! While ‘I don’t think about advertising’ is right, ‘I think about advertising’ is right, too.

As well as the contents in this article, all contents of this exhibition were sufficient to captivate spectator’s heart. All spectators of this exhibition sympathized, smacked their knee and found interesting. CAH visited this exhibition and spectator and was sure that Department of advertising and public relations’ students would take responsibility for Korean advertisement.