October 22, 2008

Treating Malaria in Cambodia




It is a simple but very sucessful public communication campaign designed by the Cambodian Ministry of Health. The advertising is very appealing to the publics, particularly to rural people because the whole scene is exactly the same as a real situation in a remote area. It is also a practical snapshot of Cambodian rural community where many people struggled with malaria.

Since the advertising has been launched in 2002, the Ministry of Health has reported a dramatic drop in death toll involved with malaria. The rural Cambodian citizens misunderstood that the decease was caused by their misconducts toward ancestors and natural spirits.

Fortunately, this advertising makes them aware that the desease can be cured easily and effectively if they take medicines as recommended by the doctors. This is really a great discovery and change, which have saved many lives.

October 19, 2008

Levi’s Reminds You of Your First…Button-Fly

Remember when you were so carefree you’d say and do everything? Levi’s does. The Levi’s commercial appropriately entitled, First Time, takes viewers through a sexy mini film.

The commercial begins with the sound of the ocean in the background then a young girl who takes off her shirt and asks the teenage guy she’s with, “You’ve never done this before right?” He answers no and she tells him it’s her thirty-fourth time. The camera then pans to her pair of Levi’s as she’s unbuttoning the first button then she unbuttons his while he tells her that he doesn’t know if he’ll be any good at it. The “it” is what keeps viewers tuned into the commercial. What are they about to do in public scenery with their clothes off? The background music makes creates a romantic yet sleazy ambiance.

Let’s get back to the visuals. The girl continues unbuttoning her Levi’s while the guy tells her he’s scared. Halfway into the commercial they giggle as they stair into each others' eyes and she asks, “Don’t you trust me” in a very dramatic tone that’s full of breath. He then gives her a gentle nod and continues to unbutton his Levi’s. The commercial makes an obvious attempt to make viewers reminisce to a time when they owned their pair of button-fly Levi’s.

Towards the end of the commercial there is a shot of the couple’s behinds with the camera focused on the famous Levi’s pockets. This is a fantastic camera shot, being that nowadays the fashion industry is saturated with hundreds of jean brands and they’re all trying to beat the original jean, Levi’s. The next shot shows the couple holding hands near the ocean as they stand on a deck in their underwear. Meanwhile the music playing in the background plays, “You say yeah, but this is now and that was then. Put a dollar into the machine and you’ll remember when.” Then the two teenagers innocently jump into the water holding hands. The last camera shot is of the teenagers in the water as they hold hands. The over imposed slate reads LIVE UNBUTTONED 501 LEVI’S with the LEVI’S tag in red in the bottom right-hand corner and the Web site in small white letters in the left-hand corner.

Everything about this commercial is sexy yet innocently as it takes the viewer back to when life was, carefree, simple and spontaneous. The commercial does a fine job igniting feelings while immersing into a brief movie-life exchange through the actors. Though some may find it a bit risqué, it is a tastefully shot and every frame is delicately edited to deliver Levi’s message. It sure made me want to go get a pair of Levi’s button-fly jeans. You know you had a pair! Don’t worry we won’t tell True Religion, Citizen of Humanity, Rock & Republic, Diesel, nor the rest.

How to save a squirrel

Animals are lovable. Especially squirrels, which are around us everywhere, everyday. Sadly, they often fall victims to cars. As this commercial shows us, with good tires, they don't have to.

Bridgestone introduced its commercial on Super Bowl Sunday and people fell in love with it instantly. So did I. I take it as another example, that thanks to animals advertising can be funny and enjoyable to watch (not fake as the Cesar example from last week).



We have a classic case; squirrel driven by hunger ends on the road snacking on a yummy nut. Suddenly a fast car is approaching and squirrel starts screaming in panic. So does the raccoon, owl, rabbit, mouse, grasshopper, turtle, deer and other squirrels, each with its own voice, some louder, some less. Also the driver's (lets assume) wife is screaming in shock and fear of poor fury animal's life. But the driver is calm. He knows he has great tires and they will save them from tragedy. In this moment some viewers may have gotten confused that it was a car commercial, but a close-up look at tires reassures everyone that it's not the car that matters, it's the tires. Do you want to save the squirrel? Get Bridgestone.

Commercial has a happy ending. Calm as an Englishman, driver goes around the squirrel and continues its ride. It's Bridgestone or nothing, the slogan says. One squirrel life was saved, at least in the commercial. And for the rest of us, we just spent 30 seconds watching something actually funny.