Analysis of The Persuaders
Bob Ross
BA 223, CRN 10478
26 January 2014
Analysis of The Persuaders The following essay is a summation of the OPB documentary The Persuaders, a journalistic inquiry into the history and global effects of marketing and big advertising. The film explains the process of creating an emotional brand, and identifies the impacts it has on society. The narrator closes the film with a statement to the audience: No matter how well a product is marketed, it's not a part of you, it's just a product. The Persuaders begins by pessimistically giving the audience a brief history of marketing strategies. We learn that advertising and brand establishment was a pretty cut-and-dry science until the 1990's when an epiphany shook the paradigm; giving meaning to a product. The effects of this trend are shown in the film through Song Airlines, a new start-up struggling to market effectively. They decide on an advertising gimmick; appealing to women on an emotional level. Their commercials don't feature any airplanes, traveling, or men. I didn't enjoy the film's lack of journalistic integrity. Advertisers are viewed as guerrilla terrorists, and the entire documentary tries to condition us into having an opinion that marketing is cluttering the first world and deculturalizing society. OPB could have been a tad bit more neutral in their presentation. I don't personally consider the techniques described in this video to be an invasion of anyone's privacy. I think some consumers can be manipulated into emotionally identifying with a brand or product. It's up to the individual to understand that and infer if it's natural for them or not. I love BMW's, and I always think of The Hire when people talk about commercials. The Hire is a series of eight short films written for BMW, directed by an ensemble of popular filmmakers, and starring Clive Owen (Madonna makes a cameo as well). The Hire is colloquially defined as branded content, but to me the BMW is so seamlessly integrated
BA 223, CRN 10478
26 January 2014
Analysis of The Persuaders The following essay is a summation of the OPB documentary The Persuaders, a journalistic inquiry into the history and global effects of marketing and big advertising. The film explains the process of creating an emotional brand, and identifies the impacts it has on society. The narrator closes the film with a statement to the audience: No matter how well a product is marketed, it's not a part of you, it's just a product. The Persuaders begins by pessimistically giving the audience a brief history of marketing strategies. We learn that advertising and brand establishment was a pretty cut-and-dry science until the 1990's when an epiphany shook the paradigm; giving meaning to a product. The effects of this trend are shown in the film through Song Airlines, a new start-up struggling to market effectively. They decide on an advertising gimmick; appealing to women on an emotional level. Their commercials don't feature any airplanes, traveling, or men. I didn't enjoy the film's lack of journalistic integrity. Advertisers are viewed as guerrilla terrorists, and the entire documentary tries to condition us into having an opinion that marketing is cluttering the first world and deculturalizing society. OPB could have been a tad bit more neutral in their presentation. I don't personally consider the techniques described in this video to be an invasion of anyone's privacy. I think some consumers can be manipulated into emotionally identifying with a brand or product. It's up to the individual to understand that and infer if it's natural for them or not. I love BMW's, and I always think of The Hire when people talk about commercials. The Hire is a series of eight short films written for BMW, directed by an ensemble of popular filmmakers, and starring Clive Owen (Madonna makes a cameo as well). The Hire is colloquially defined as branded content, but to me the BMW is so seamlessly integrated