Surrealism in Advertising; How Beer Became Beer!! Essay

The purpose of this essay is to analyze surrealism in advertisement and use the theoretical background of it and the psychoanalytic theory to a 2003/2004 run for Tooheys Extra Dry beer. made by BMF Advertising bureau. The essay will seek and insulate the surrealist entreaty and other factors behind this run and explicate why and how this run became one of the most talked-about advertizements and won the gold in Creative Planning Awards every bit good as Ag in Advertising Effectiveness Awards in 2004. Surrealism and Ad For the description on surrealism and its theories see appendix A. The Merchandise.

The merchandise is beer. However. Toohey’s Extra Dry ( TED ) is different from other beers in many ways. Its packaging is different from other beers in its clear and tall bottle ( non dark and broad as other beer bottles ) . It has a green label that is glued to the clear bottle diagonally alternatively of in a sound mode and large white dynamic letters saying the ‘Extra Dry’ trade name. It is a really immature trade name. first brewed in 1994 alternatively of 18xx as other beers. However. its most distinguishing characteristic is its gustatory sensation ; it is much lighter than other beers. TED is non acrimonious and it is more like other RTD drinks than beer.

The Campaign Tooheys Extra Dry ( TED ) was a turning trade name. even before this run was released ; nevertheless its growing was because of its sub premium monetary value ( Nicholas 2004 ) . The clear. tall bottle and an easy gustatory sensation of the beer could hold helped. but it was believed the trade name can make better. Previous advertisement of TED abided the prevalent beer promotional theoretical accounts throughout the universe. the nucleus market being pub traveling males. The prevalent message was “have a spell at it” . The advertizements were of weir accidents of work forces who did non imbibe this beer. and the endline was “don’t die wondering” .

The research done after the run proved that the thought was non really successful. nevertheless the nucleus job was the scheme. TEDs positioning was between mainstream beers ( Fosters ) and premium ( Heineken ) . Its entreaty was subsequently described by a immature participant in a research group: “I like Tooheys Extra Dry. When you walk into a party transporting a six battalion you don’t look like a strikebreaker [ by imbibing mainstream beer ] and you didn’t look like a tosser [ by imbibing premiums ] ” Anon. cited in Nicholas ( 2004 ) P1 It became evident that their mark audience were immature grownups who like taking hazards.

Puting that into the history. the ensuing run. aimed at people in their early mid-twentiess. tried a different attack. It involved an luring merchandise property that was alone. cool and youthful. The new runs aims were: -Establish a connexion with 18-24 old ages old audience -Extend the trade name throughout the Australia. chiefly Sydney. Perth. Melbourne. South East Queensland and other countries. -Maintain the monetary value premium while accomplishing growing and increase the net income As antecedently mentioned. the gustatory sensation of this beer is the biggest separating featureits the alone merchandising point.

By non underscoring that on its old run. they have non established a true differentiation and hence failed. The new run scheme was to happen out the usual dissatisfaction immature ( 18-24 ) people have with beer. RTD drinks ( ready-to-drink: drinks that are already assorted with spirist. for case Smirnoff Ice. WKD. VK etc ) have been going more and more popular and have taken some of the market off from beer. As a consequence. cardinal dissatisfactions with beer were isolated in a research survey. The consequences were: -Beer is associated with “old” maleness I.

e. Dad in a saloon with his couples -Beer slows you down – it makes you fat and slow -Beer has a acrimonious gustatory sensation – it makes it difficult to imbibe in today’s environment that is more focussed on sweeter drinks and nutrients. On the other manus. TED was perceived as a modern drink. drunken by work forces and adult females. It is besides less filling and hence does non hold the same consequence as other beers. Its deficiency of resentment is its chief characteristic and is easier to imbibe. This penetration is what led the new run. The mark audience was set to 18-24 olds as opposed to old 24-29 twelvemonth old grownups.

The end was to alter what the mark audience idea of beer and set up the trade name non merely as the best beer. but the best alcoholic drink wholly. The campaigns proposition was that because of its alone brewing procedure as small of negative effects from beer can be present ( largely beer breath ) . This is how the run motto came to be as – clean. sharp gustatory sensation. This besides resolved the cardinal dissatisfaction the mark market had with beer. Because of the important distinguishing characteristics this run had to stand for. a particular tone of voice was consisted out of three major constituents.

The first constituent was the young person merriment experience that had to be established – hence party imagination was selected. The gait of the advert had to b merely right – a mixture between clubby and pub-like ( liquors vs. beer ) . The following of import thing was for the sellers to set up a ‘cool’ feel. youthfulness etc ) . This is why they used the shortly to be celebrated music path. The commercial The commercial is of a lingua that leaves his proprietor and goes to seek for a tasty beer while its proprietor slumbers. It goes past several dangers until it eventually finds the beer at a party full of immature people.

It takes the beer and brings it back to his proprietor. Two postings and a wireless commercial were portion of this run every bit good. The postings and a elaborate description of the commercial can be found in the appendix B. This merchandise has merely one memorable useful benefit and that is its light gustatory sensation. That is why the gustatory sensation was the focal point of this ad – symbolically represented by the lingua. which is the cardinal figure in this attention deficit disorder. With the lingua stand foring gustatory sensation. this run did non province the facts clearly. as in: “TED has a light gustatory sensation you will enjoy” but instead used imagination to reflect the merchandise attributes.

This all is typical for many phantasmagoric commercials. every bit good as the ‘hazardous odyssey’ facet of it. The lingua was running off from the cat. got about run over by the auto and stomped on the dance floor. It’s intermixing the existent and unreal ; the existent being the party and the people’s behavior – and the unreal is evidently the renegade lingua in hunt of a beer. As antecedently mentioned. the chief mark audience was to appeal to immature audience ; therefore the surrealist entreaty was chosen sagely. because of its rebelliousness against conformity ( Homer & A ; Kahle. 1989 ) . Clubby imagination. music and passionate caressing at the party reinforced this purpose.

It is by and large believed that non-conformism has been the most cardinal facet of any thing considered as ‘cool’ to the immature audiences. Some psychoanalytic theory patterns can be detected every bit good. Harmonizing to the psychoanalytic theory ( Hackley. 2005 ) and Motivational Research. existent purchasing urges derive from impulses and thrusts and feelings. The perfect party environment and several sultry images insinuate sexual motivations that could conceal behind party experiences and intoxicant ingestion and accordingly be the motivation for purchase. Another typically surrealist characteristic is the hyperbole of the human signifier.

The lingua itself is precisely that in this advert. since it can travel on its ain. is capable of idea and emotion while still staying merely a lingua. The most evident emotion the lingua portrays is desire. The metabolism of the lingua can be explained by the Trickster theory described by Cooper and Petterson in 2000. The lingua would be the prankster ; neither good. nor bad but guided by its emotions and desires. This is cardinal to this advert. as it is the desire for the good refreshing ‘clean and crisp’ gustatory sensation that forces this lingua to take all those hazards merely to acquire the Tooheys Extra Dry.

The desire is the motive for the odisseyadic journey. Conclusion The commercial is uneven and free from normal association. We do non anticipate linguas to leap out of out oral cavities and hunt for beer. This is the merchandise of the freshness theory guaranting the audience will remember the ad easier. These phantasmagoric techniques combined with psychoanalytic theory make the ‘TED desiring tongue’ a hero ( survives danger ) . a partier and a Rebel at the same clip. The metamorphism and the surrealist technique reinforces the useful claim of the merchandise public presentation and its claim of ‘clean and crisp’ gustatory sensation.

Appendix A Surrealism is a motion that stared in the early twentieth century most acknowledged in France. It is most recognizable by the pictures and other ocular representations of it by painters and authors such as Salvador Dali and Bret? n. Surrealists explain the human head in a mode non earlier conjured. Andre Bret? N ( 1920 ) definition of surrealism: “Psychic automatism in its pure province. by which 1 proposes to show – verbally. or by agencies of written word. or in any other mode – the existent operation of idea.

Dictated by the idea. in the absence of any control exercised by ground. relieve from any aesthetic or moral concern. ” Homer and Kahle ( 1989 ) describe surrealism as fee of the stereotypic mental wonts belonging to creative persons and witness every bit good. The objects are free from normal association. Isolation. alteration. hybridisation. incongruousness. aggravation of inadvertent brushs. paradox and conceptual bipolarity are the ways through which surrealism achieves the maximal impact. In surrealism. pleasance and free will hold entire control over everything. including world.

Alcuaz’s ( 1984 ) premiss is that surrealism as a construct is a province of head. and attitude and a desire. Magritte. a surrealist painter believed that surrealism is an onslaught on societies preconceived thoughts and predetermined good sence. In surrealism. desire chooses whatever it wants and pleases it ; it is non bound by realistic and logical boundaries of perceptual experience. Surrealists act defiant to conformity every bit good. Harmonizing to Homer and Kahle ( 1989 ) . advertizers seek surrealist techniques because of their demand to derive consumers attending. fuel their phantasies and bring on new ways of believing about old constructs.

One of the grounds advertisement of surrealism works it the alleged freshness theory. Novelty theory is based on the alleged Von Restorff Effect. This fundamentally describes a phenomena that occurs when people are presented with freshness or unexpected points. Their callback of these points was greater and enhanced in the hereafter. Appendix B In the beginning of the ad. we see a immature adult male. kiping with a adult female in a bed. His face is turned towards us. Suddenly. his lingua jumps out of his oral cavity and embarks on a pursuit to slake its thirst.

It moves in a manner that is similar to a worm or a caterpillar. It jumps of the bed and goes down the stepss while being chased by a cat. It narrowly escapes the cat when it jumps through a rail fencing and onto a route. While traversing the route it gets about run over by a auto. The lingua so enters a party full of immature people. A few shootings of the party are shown and we see people dancing and socializing in a crowded house. The lingua is traveling through the party avoiding being stomped by pess of the terpsichoreans. Then it gets stuck on a vinyl participant but manages to acquire off.

The lingua successfully manoeuvres past a twosome French-kissing and discovers a immense bath full of ice incorporating several different alcoholic drinks. It manages to acquire on the border of the bath and reconnoiter the available drinks when it notices a Tooheys Extra Dry on the far side of the bath. After a speedy shooting of the kissing twosome. the lingua dives into the tub full of ice. The submerged environment is clear and sharp. We see the lingua swimming at the underside of the bath. past many bottles towards Tooheys Extra Dry that is encompassed into ice but still demoing its label and the recognizable green coloring material.

The lingua so rapidly catch the bottle much like a python would its quarry and jumps out of the bath with it. It so drags it out of the party back to the sleeping room and onto the bed mounting back into its owner’s oral cavity with is chief organic structure still wrapped around the beer. This wakes the immature adult male up and he bewilderingly looks at the Tooheys Extra Dry in his oral cavity. takes it out and examines the label. The motto. ‘clean chip taste’ so appears at the underside of the screen and the ad is over. Visuals: Beginning: Beginning: Nicholas J. ( 2004 ) Beginning: Nicholas J. ( 2004 ) .

These illustrations used as still photos on hoardings and such usage phantasmagoric use of the merchandise ; implementing the impression of its useful benefit: ‘The Clean Crisp Taste’ . Mentions: -Homer. M. & A ; Kahle L. R. ( 1989 ) A Social version account of the effects of surrealism on advertisement. Journal of Advertising 15 ( 2 ) pp. 50-60 -Alcuaz. M. “Contemporary Idioms of Surrealism. Dreamworks 4 ( 1 ) pp. 59-69 -Cooper P. & A ; Patterson ( 2000 ) The Prankster: Creativity in modern Advertising and Branding. Market Research Society Conference.

Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. warc. com/ArticleCenter/Default. asp? CType=A & A ; AID=WORDSEARCH49151 & A ; Tab=A -Nicholas. J. ( 2004 ) Toohey’s Extra Dry – Creaming the Beer Category. Account Planning Group Australia.

Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. warc. com/ArticleCenter/Default. asp? CType=A & A ; AID=WORDSEARCH80888 & A ; Tab=A -Nicholas. J. ( 2004 ) Toohey’s Extra Dry ‘Quest’ – Beer advertisement that broke the mold. Gross saless That broke records. Advertising Federation of Australia. Report. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. warc. com/ArticleCenter/Default. asp? CType=A & A ; AID=WORDSEARCH85608 & A ; Tab=A -Hackley. C. ( 2005 ) Ad and Promotion: Communicating Brands. Sage Publications: London.