Sometime, TV programs feature “Interesting Oversea Advertising” or some sort to show award winning advertising from Cannes. Some films make me say “Aha!”, but more often, they leave me behind, “What? Why?”
Unless I switch my brain to “Understanding Oversea Culture”-mode, many of them are just too hard to understand or appreciate.
A few years ago when I went to the Cannes award event, my “Understanding Oversea Culture” brain had melted and vaporized, spending 3 full days in theaters to watch, just watch thousands of advertising.
So, here is a piece of advertising that “Fu”-san asked me for perspectives: Evian.
Do you get it?
I just don’t get it.
Visuals are great, very well crafted, that make me watch through, but at last, I am left out with “???”. Well, you could argue, if it held me till the end to (vaguely) understand it is for Evian, then it does the job as a commercial film, though.
I heard that Evian has some effects to activate cell renewal, revitalize them, reduce health problems associated with aging, make skin beautiful, or help your brain to work. However, at the end of the day, it is a bottle of mineral water, not medicine, that they may not be able to actively sell these as efficacy.
It could be then the case that they transformed them into an idea of “Evian = Fountain/Spring of Youth”, and dramatized it through “Full of life/youth = You become a baby”. Am I correct? Don’t know. “Drink Evian and stay young”?
(It may be completely wrong thing that I have “logically analyzed” it, though.)
OK. If I work hard, at least I can understand what is going on and intent behind it. But if I keep my brain as “Normal (Japanese)”-mode, I have no clue what is going on for what-so-ever…
I wonder what is wrong with me. I suspect the analogy of Youth – Baby itself puts the big wall that I cannot go over anyhow, right before me. Even with copy/superimpose like “Let’s observe the effect of Evian on your body” and “Evian, live young”, they don’t help. Often people say “Japanese people are just too literal”, and am I one of them?
While I usually agree with Creative saying “Let’s believe our viewers, they are matured enough to appreciate this.”, in this case, I would not buy it.
Am I the only one?
I would, by the way, agree that, with this great and fun visual drama, it would become talk of the town.
Airing it as it is should be much better than AXE, who somehow produces boring, cheap, and sloppy “Japan original CM’s”. AXE has so many great films around the world, and they are not as “sophisticated” as Evian, so that they can/should choose to air them as they are. If there is “most boring AXE advertising award”, Japan gets Grand Prix every year.
“O.”
The prestige of spacious men should always be slow by way of the means they contain utilized to buy it.
