The ad agency Peterson Milla Hooks based in Minneapolis, USA has launched an ad campaign for GAP and it’s taking the world by storm!
What makes it great?
Who is better than
Cindy Sherman to illustrate this dichotomy? “For me, a great portrait is
something that combines the familiar with the unfamiliar — something seductive
but also repulsive,” Sherman told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. “I want to
go, ‘Ew,’ but then can’t stop looking. So there’s a push-pull thing to it. I
also see the humorous aspect, not just the horrible. It’s exciting in its
gruesomeness.”
This ad is genius in
two ways, in one it celebrates union and joy. We can make love and money another way is make war and money, do not confuse them. GAP is making love and money and I love them for that. What you are about to read it’s just a deep
analysis to understand the creative process in an ad agency where all of these
variants are known and understood before launching a campaign. Ad agencies take
huge risks by launching campaigns like this and it’s always with the only
intention of art, not hatred. It’s the duty of an ad agency to inspect what pokes
society. How far can we push the limit for the times we live in? More and more
advertising agencies like Peterson Milla Hooks know these social issues this well. They are amazing. They made us a work of art and increased GAP’s brand recognition in doing so.
We are all the same and we are all unique at the same time. See below graph 1, Picture taken from Peterson Milla Hooks' website and comments by Alejandro Sánchez. .
What do you think is fueling
this campaign so much? Here are some of the dichotomies presented in one image.
First, it's confusion. What religion and what nationality? Is it Islam or Sikhism, Is that American? Wait
there’s also fashion challenging traditional clothing. And on top of that, a
bearded man? Where is our traditional Gillette Caucasian fella with a perfect
shave? Is this planet earth? Where am I?
This ad campaign
reminds me of French Connection’s campaign portraying white Caucasian males
with long beards. They couldn't get that spark going though, it was back in 2010. See below
graph 2, picture via.
Traditionally ad
campaigns show couples that are not much of a match. As an audience we have
developed a tolerance or acceptance of these racial differences. Nevertheless, we'd be less surprised to see a couple composed of a black man and a white
woman. For example,the campaign that United Colours of Benetton launched in 2009 Directed
by the photographer: Oliviero Toscani. See below graph 3 via.
The ad also raises the
eternal battle to make war or to make love? This issue in question is taking people entire
millenniums just to take a stand. The ad agency Peterson Milla Hooks knows
this and makes us ask ourselves again. Do we love it or hate it? The image raises polemic opinions about western
stereotypes and eastern stereotypes. Is this a new canon of beauty? Is the
orient, the new western? Or is it both? These concepts generate a tremendous
debate in our daily lives. The media goes bananas about these controversies because
it powers traffic in their websites. People love learning more about these
issues, we all learn from this and of course we thank GAP for that. GAP did a
fantastic job by positioning their brand-name in a short amount of time while simultaneously increasing their brand value by billions of dollars.
GAP stands in a new
and confident reputation of being a progressive organization. Hey, who wouldn't
wanna wear clothes that are that cool? I would, I want to go to their store now.
It’s genius and it’s fierce. The image of a man wearing tradition and modernity
meanwhile a white woman is holding onto him, the image juxtaposes future and present
simultaneously. It unifies religion and freedom. This same image incorporates a
piece of profitable art work. Luckily for GAP or not, vandalism covers this
piece of art with a third layer, just to make it more perfect and contrasting. It’s
called visual terrorism, ladies and gentlemen; it’s terrific, simply powerful
and fresh. See below graph 4 via.
Inevitably I wonder:
Is it really true that one isolated act of vandalism was the cause of this particular ad going viral? We need to wonder, is this a setup? Did they pay Arsalan Iftikhar, aka @TheMuslimGuy, to
tweet a HD image of an ad? I doubt it. I think this is a beautiful coincidence. And even if they did, I applaud the action because it's beautiful. In any
case, one thing is for sure. The person who made the graffiti won’t see a penny
of what GAP earned in saving millions of dollars in advertising. Is it an act
of God or marketing? The image and each of its layers are and aren't beautiful, at the same time. The whole media attention is on this issue, we are talking about it. I only
hope one thing, I want people to see beauty, and I’d like to believe that we,
all of us, can see two beautiful human beings posing their beauty for us, for
our enjoyment. We need to stop hatred. It’s NOT about difference it’s about
what we ARE, we are humans. If only more than one person could see that, this
world would be a better place. This is an ad for what it is, one beautiful man
and a beautiful woman wearing beautiful clothes. Just humans, like the rest of
us.
The aesthetics
When a really good advertising goes viral is due to many factors. Two of them are: the aesthetics and
photography work. Let’s talk about a little bit of what happens during a photo
shoot for a photo shoot like this one.
Normally photographers
will place their sitters in a good light. In this case this man and woman. For example
are facing a camera and many, many lights. According to Photigy.com this is an
example of what the lighting looks like in a professional photo-shoot. See
below graph 5.
The lay out for
lighting is the light source. Ideally it should be not too harsh and has to allow shadows to define
features. To accomplish this is not easy task and requires a whole different
team to do it for the agency. Most likely the photographer in a situation like
this would shoot in three formats, for editorial purposes. These are close-ups,
medium shots and wide shots. Also notice
how the two characters look very relaxed and the girl is using her hands. A
couple reasons for this, at least in photography, lays on the fact that photographers
sometimes want to project relaxation or sometimes the models don’t know how to
strike the pose that the photographer is looking for, so using the hands of the
model as a prop takes pressure away from the facial expression and her face looks
more natural and relaxed. So, in other words either the female model was a
neophyte or she was splendidly directed by the photographer? I actually would
like to know that. If anyone from Peterson Milla Hooks could tell me, I’d be so grateful. Tweet me the answer! @AlejandroSanzCh
Many times the sitters
playing these characters are shown the pictures so that they can change their
postures and get better shots while performing. That is a really hard thing to
do and it’s a lot of fun too. Notice that the eyes are very sharp and clear, their
eyes are pointing to the lens of the camera, however the rest of the objects point
different directions.
Minimalist Elements
worn by the:
Man
- Black Turban
- Long black Beard
- Blue Shirt with white buttons
- Blue Jacket with metallic buttons
Woman
- Blue turtleneck sweater
- Light blue folded shirt
Here is the list of a few of the dichotomies mentioned above and what I think we should say about the differences. Let's be positive and love each other.
- Non-traditional couples vs. Traditional couples in advertising = Humans making love
- Turban vs. hats = Ornaments
- Race vs. Beauty = Humans, we are all the same and we are all unique at the same time
- Beard vs. Shaving = Ornaments
- War vs. Love = Love always fights and wins
- Stereotypes vs. Open minds = Open-Minded
- Western cannon of beauty vs. South Asian cannon of beauty = Humans
- Traditional male models vs. Non-traditional male models = Humans
- Media debate vs. Free advertising = We keep
- Controversy vs. Reputation = We need Both
- One act of vandalism vs. Massive anti-racist support = Let's make LOVE instead
- Controversial vs. Business = Let's make LOVE instead
- Tradition vs. Modernity = We need Both
- Conservatism vs. modernism = We need Both
- Traditional White vs. non-traditional black = Humans
- Sikh vs. Muslim = Humans
- Stray of hair over her eyes vs. Make up = Ornaments
- He is sexualized and wears and unbuttoned shirt vs. She wears a turtleneck = Finally!
- He wears facial hair vs. She has hair on her face = Coincidence? Geometry it is, so pretty.
- He is not touching her vs. She is holding to him = She is in love! Geometry again!
- Masculinity vs. Femininity = Bittersweet is my favorite flavor, we need Both.
- Union vs. Separation = Union forever
- Love it vs. Hate it = Love it or ignore it, don't hate it
- High art vs. Low art = It's ART, always.
@AlejandroSanzCh
