When the professor showed us videos on YouTube about how the TV and the commercials can play around with our mind. I remember how the cigarette Marlboro Company continued to sponsors formula one car’s during the races even though it is against the law for cigarette companies to sponsor car races. Since the first race of the formula 1 championship, Marlboro has been one of the main sponsors of the Ferrari team. From that moment on, on the spoiler of the cars there is always a huge sign saying Marlboro. In the picture to the left you can see an example of what I am trying to describe. But in 2005, the FIA (The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) came up with a rule that tobacco companies cannot display tobacco company names in their cars. For Ferrari, it was a huge disappointment because Marlboro has sponsor Ferrari since along time and also because of money. To sponsor a Ferrari team today, the sponsoring company has to pay millions. Fortunately Marlboro was willing to pay the amount but unfortunately, the formula 1 rules were not letting them. Since Marlboro was not able to advertise themselves in the Ferrari cars, what they did is a physiological advertisement. They continue to pay Ferrari sponsorship but instead of advertising Marlboro, on the car they advertize a barcode, which makes the people think it say Marlboro but it is just a bar code and has not even one word. Here is an example of the barcode used in last year’s championship.
In 2007, Marlboro did a survey asking people if they knew about the bar code on the Ferrari formula 1 cars and 83% of the people asked said: there is no barcode on the Ferraris.
When the professor showed us videos on YouTube about how the TV and the commercials can play around with our mind. I remember how the cigarette Marlboro Company continued to sponsors formula one car’s during the races even though it is against the law for cigarette companies to sponsor car races. Since the first race of the formula 1 championship, Marlboro has been one of the main sponsors of the Ferrari team. From that moment on, on the spoiler of the cars there is always a huge sign saying Marlboro. In the picture to the left you can see an example of what I am trying to describe. But in 2005, the FIA (The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) came up with a rule that tobacco companies cannot display tobacco company names in their cars. For Ferrari, it was a huge disappointment because Marlboro has sponsor Ferrari since along time and also because of money. To sponsor a Ferrari team today, the sponsoring company has to pay millions. Fortunately Marlboro was willing to pay the amount but unfortunately, the formula 1 rules were not letting them. Since Marlboro was not able to advertise themselves in the Ferrari cars, what they did is a physiological advertisement. They continue to pay Ferrari sponsorship but instead of advertising Marlboro, on the car they advertize a barcode, which makes the people think it say Marlboro but it is just a bar code and has not even one word. Here is an example of the barcode used in last year’s championship.
This makes me think that media has always dominated our lives that when a specific message is taken away, we act as if it is still there because it is so instilled in our minds. The formula race cars can even be viewed as acting as our fast paced lives in which we barely have time to stop and read messages but we know they are there.
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me think of subliminal advertising. Although we may not consciously perceive the ad, our subconscious does, and thus it is instilled in our mind. Similar to the barcode, the people overlooked the change in the ad due to the fact that it was so similar to the old one. The images are different, but our conscious mind tells us otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGreat example of how advertisers try to escape criticism by going subliminal... Cameron and Troy did a great job of extending the analysis for you. I would like to see more personalized analysis on your side. Excellent topic.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the last paragraph is SO important. It begs for further analysis. Why would Malboro frame their question like that? Why don't they ask "did you notice the Malboro sign on Fararri?"
c.d.