Lunalight

Lunalight are an Australian company that produce light animated advertisements in the form of signage, street furniture, billboards and wide format, point of sales, bus shelter posters, headed cards and bottle labels to name a few.

A typical advertisement produced by Lunalite consists of a sequence of lights which are triggered in a preset order over a set period of time, this giving the advertisement an animated appearance. The technology isn't ground breaking or particularly new but it is more attractive than a standard 2D, static, flat image.

www.lunalite.com.au

Motion Graphics

It's been a while since I updated my blog so I thought I would share some of my research finding of the last few weeks. As part of my project I have been researching motion graphic and their use within advertising. I have focussed particularly on 2D and 3D animations in the 15-30 second range. Here are a few well produced examples created by Nando Costa.

Nando Costa

Costa is a Brazil born graphic designer turned broadcast designer. Nando has headed many companies over the years and he has become internationally renowned for his unique style. Use the link below to find out more about the artist and to see an archive of his work.

www.archive.nandocosta.com


Network ID for Fuel TV

"Assembly" for FuelTV from Nando Costa on Vimeo.

'Sopranos' Promotional Animation

"Sopranos" 30" for Warner Channel from Nando Costa on Vimeo.

"Defective" For Getty Images

"Defective" for Getty Images from Nando Costa on Vimeo.

Advertising Research

I have been very busy investigating my chosen field of research which is primarily advertising. I have been focusing my concentration mainly in online and TV advertising but my research has lead me to some interesting forms of advertising which are a good example of advertising agencies thinking outside the box.

Below are some clever forms of Guerrilla advertising that I have found along the way.

"The concept of guerrilla marketing was invented as an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral" Wikipedia.

Spiderman 2

While they risk being dismissed as mere publicity stunts, guerrilla tactics are often less expensive than TV time or print space, and generate invaluable street buzz—delivering a return on investment that's hard to argue with. And with consumers' growing use of camera phones and online sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube, companies using guerrilla ad strategies are poised to benefit from ongoing free, digital distribution of spectacular campaigns.


Cool Car - Volkswagen Polo Twist

In 2004, a ghostly car was parked on London's Belvedere Road — a full-sized Volkswagen Polo Twist, rendered in ice. Sculptors had spent 350 hours chiselling a nine-ton block of frozen water to create the VW. Conceived by the DDB London ad agency, the ice car melted away in just 12 hours. But it generated four weeks' worth of press in Britain, and invaluable buzz among Londoners.


The Day After Tomorrow

To promote the 2004 global-warming disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow to Indian audiences more likely to buy tickets for the latest Bollywood extravaganza, Indian ad agency Contract created a dramatic outdoor campaign for the Mumbai theatre Fame Adlabs. They planted a billboard in the sea not far from Mumbai, so that it appeared submerged under water. In addition, the firm placed what looked like the tip of the Empire State Building further out to sea. The idea was to mimic the effect of Manhattan being overwhelmed by a giant wave in the movie—albeit off the Indian coast.


CSI

To get Asian audiences to pay attention to American TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Sony Entertainment Television's action-themed AXN network enlisted Saatchi & Saatchi to develop a show-stopping campaign. The agency staged what looked like gruesome murder scenes (like this one) around Singapore. The yellow police tape was printed with CSI viewing schedules.

Research Question?

It has been a difficult few weeks trying to come up with a solid concept for my personal project. The difficultly I have is linking a research question with a suitable project, and one that I am truly happy with. I want the research to be the driver of my project and not the other way about. In order to achieve this the research needs to be interesting. So I asked myself the question "what subject matter do I find intriguing yet know very little about?”. The answer, the psychological methods employed by advertisers and how these processes affect our behaviours as consumers.

For decades advertising companies have been faced with the uphill struggle of trying to compete for the attention of a consumer within a saturated market. On a daily basis society is faced with thousands of advertising appeals which have numbed our sensitivity and have made us more immune to the constant barrage of information. As a result advertising companies have turned to psychology and other unconventional techniques to cut through and reach their target market.

I find this subject area fascinating and would love to use the research as the driver for my project......the question now is "what is the project?"

The seeds are planted.....

Honours Project Diary

I have created this blog to document my progress throughout my Honours Project at Abertay University, Dundee. I plan to keep a record of my research, concept development and creative approach in the development of my ideas. I hope this will give an insight into my interests as well as what inspires and motivates me as an artist.