The effectiveness of visual marketing in conveying messages in advertising
In the present era, visual marketing is by far the most prevalent and successful method of showcasing a commodity or idea. If it is handled successfully and is effective in sending a message that has an impact, user feedback can result in acquisition or further marketing. In the above visual, Volkswagen creates an engaging advertisement by conveying a message with impressive visuals while using very few words. When it comes to introducing the correct park guidance, the designers perform excellent work. Because when the commercial is evaluated, several elements that might affect the emotions of spectators are tweaked to provide a terrific response (Romanova). Once the ordinary consumers recognize a vehicle business emblem on an advert, consumers anticipate learning about how excellent a vehicle’s efficiency is or how fantastic one brand is than any other. But the major objective is to not compete with other vehicle companies but instead create comical imagery that could make the spectator chuckle. The viewers are given a piece that is quite abstract yet makes an impression that may lead the viewer to recommend the ad or the product to others.
Using Logos, in this ad Volkswagen promotes a new technology that allows drivers to position their cars in confined spaces while avoiding colliding with the vehicles around it. The arrangement of the goldfish in the water sacks and the porcupine is reminiscent of perpendicular parking and the struggle to squeeze in and park that most drivers frequently have to accomplish. The quills on the porcupine are millimetres away, from poking and bursting the pouches containing the fish. This diagonal pattern prevents the specific length of space between the goldfish and the hedgehog from getting noticed, but the message in the image is quite discernible.
The commercial utilizes pathos and sends a clear message by the usage of fish and porcupine, animals, rather than humans often resonates with a broad audience. The play on human emotions is quite evident as Humans do apparently become kinder and more tolerant of the animal and the fish. The thought of the porcupine, who represents the audience, killing those fish, creates an unsettling feeling of danger in the viewer’s eyes because if it wasn’t for the park assistance offered by the vehicle then the fish would have died. The designer of the advert connects to the empathetic side of the audience by making use of the porcupine with the prickly quills flanked at the sides by the goldfish in these pouches (Doan). Its visual is unusual yet scary and using an adorable porcupine for this task is playing with the human’s idea of an unharmful situation turning into a hazardous one. Dread is one of the main sentiments that is elicited, due to the fish being so close to dying because of the porcupine, and a feeling of apprehension. The tension we feel while parking at a tight spot is the same concern that the designer of the ad is trying to convey and does so successfully. Volkswagen effectively demonstrates how their technological innovation may assist people into alleviating the dread.
The situation in the advertising also lends humour and cynicism. It is surprising that a porcupine would be near the packages as it is shown in the visual, impressively demonstrating the accuracy of Volkswagen’s Park assist system. A spectator may readily relate to the challenges of parallel parking in comparison to the porcupine being the audience and the goldfish representing surrounding vehicles. The designer’s artistic illustration depicts our social aversion to parallel carparks. Volkswagen expresses nonverbal signals that their vehicles may benefit society and overcome the phobia of carparks (White). The ad makes use of Ethos by establishing that Volkswagen is not just bringing the new car into a competitive market but inventing, and developing new ways to better the company. It is an ad to build trust in the company and alleviate dread and not just feature a new model. it is a well-known company which has managed to manufacture many reliable and convenient vehicles in all these years. Its reputation of being a company selling cars that are excellent in the matters of its design and luxury lends a credible outlook for this ad to be successful.
The design of the advert is also quite smart, using the gestalt theory in terms of continuity and making use of a diagonal alignment, it lends to creating an eye flow from the porcupine to the website link on the top right corner of the advertisement (Poulaki). By using the rule of thirds, the porcupine is placed at the midsection of the Horizontal and the vertical lines. The porcupine which becomes a focal point is also in proportion to the sizes of the bags that the fish are in which makes it a very pleasant visual to look at (Mohanty). Overall the advertisement was successful in sending its message across by pleasing the viewer both visually and in promoting their technology.
References
Doan, Vu. “Rhetoric in advertising.” VNU Journal of Science: Policy and Management Studies 33.2 (2017).
Poulaki, Maria. “The “good form” of film: The aesthetics of continuity from Gestalt psychology to cognitive film theory.” Gestalt Theory 40.1 (2018): 29-43.
Mohanty, Praggyan Pam. “UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF VISUAL ANCHORING WITH PRODUCT IMAGE IN AD EFFECTIVENESS OF REPLACEMENT VISUAL RHETORICS.” Diversity for a New Decade 48.3: 23.
White, Alex W. Advertising design and typography. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
DDB. “Volkswagen Print Advert By DDB: Hedgehog and Fish | Ads of the World™”. Adsoftheworld.com, 2012. Online. Internet. 21 Apr. 2022. . Available: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/volkswagen_hedgehog_and_fish.
Romanova, Irina D., and Irina V. Smirnova. “Persuasive techniques in advertising.” Training, Language and Culture 3.2 (2019): 55-79.