Environmental Advertisement Media Matrix Analysis

This is a critical analysis of the advertising techniques that this company uses to promote its product in this video commercial. I bought one of these jackets at the start of last winter and my friends immediately recognized it as the jacket that "those crazy people in bathing suits wear in all those new advertisements." I hadn't seen them so they told me to check them out...

Video of the crazies playing in the snow:

THESIS: a new jacket technology from Columbia that keeps you warm no matter how cold it gets

TRIUNE BRAIN:

Neocortex- the spoken advertisement isn’t in English so the audience has to read (use their higher thinking) to comprehend the meaning

Limbic- the advertisement is a video of a series of cuts and images that appeals to our emotional brain

Reptilian- the advertisement is aiming to catch the attention of the audience by opposing the flighting reaction of the lizard brain that would normally direct us to avoid plowing through large snow banks whilst naked

EIGHT SHIFTS:

Epistemological shift- (shift from word to IMAGE) the focus of this advertisement is on the crazy action that is being presented visually rather than the spoken words which is demonstrative of the shift that is occurring in our 21^st century media culture

Aesthetic shift- (from discrete to CONVERGENCE) this advertisement isn’t participatory but it gives the feel of a youtube.com video like it was submitted by an everyday user not a corporation

Economic shift- (HYPER commercialism and CORPORATE consolidation) again, this doesn’t totally apply in the meaning of an economic shift in our media culture, but it is similar. This advertisement features someone in Sweden wearing this jacket that they are trying to market in America. There is this international corporate consolidation where jackets being sold in the United States are also being worn in Europe and all over the world.

FIVE "FACTS"/CLAIMS:
1. The lining of this jacket is 20% warmer than “ordinary” jacket linings
2. You will feel instantly warm when you put on this jacket
3. The jacket breathes
4. No matter how cold it gets, you can still be warm without wearing any pants as long as you're wearing Omni-Heat
5. You will have a posse of Swedish women to help you dress if you buy this jacket

There's nothing new about these coats except their lining. The inner fabric is a tight pattern of reflective silver dots that use the age old technology of those emergency space blankets that you always take camping just in case you get mauled by a bear and get stuck in the woods for longer than expected. They reflect your body heat to keep you warm. ( photo credit)

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF MEDIA EDUCATION:

Emotional transfer- The woman on the snowmobile is smiling throughout the entire advertisement.

Pacing- This advertisement is 30 seconds in length with 13 separate shots. This is relatively few, which gives it a more relaxed feel like the women speaking are speaking directly to the audience.

Production techniques- The shots of the different camera angles are not shot on a steady base. The wobbling effect, lack of inclusion of background music, and the loud whipping of the wind makes the advertisement seem like it was shot by an everyday person that wants to share something great with the audience instead of a wealthy corporation that is trying to market a product.

PERSUASIVE TOOLS:

Humor-This advertisement is showing a Swedish woman in a bikini doing a ridiculous feat of skiing by being propelled by a snowmobile on a frozen lake into a large mound of snow with a target on it for the entertainment of the audience.

Beautiful people- The main promoter of the product is a stereotypically beautiful European woman who has the body of a model which is clad in scanty apparel.

Scientific evidence- The lining of this jacket is 20% warmer than “ordinary” jacket linings.

Denial- The advertisement denies the reality that if a person spends a prolonged period of time with bare skin exposed to the elements they will not be in pain or suffer from frostbite.

Simple Solutions- In response to that pattern of denial, once the woman puts the OMNI HEAT jacket on, she will no longer be cold or at risk for frostbite even though her legs are completely exposed.

Bandwagon- The woman has a posse of two other women wearing the same jacket in the same color supporting her endeavors.

Hyperbole- “No matter how cold it gets outside, it’s always warm inside Omni-Heat.” This is an exaggerated claim that it could get to be -50 degrees Fahrenheit and the jacket would still keep a person warm. It also implies that once you are wearing the jacket, you are no longer outside and susceptible to the elements of snow and wind.

Repetition- The woman says Omni-Heat twice and the screen shows the words another two times to really emphasize that it is Omni-Heat that is so wonderful. This commercial is also one in a series of several advertisements of people doing weird things in the snow without much clothing to demonstrate the wonders of this new jacket reflective-lining technology.