Quiz 2 - Personal Pick

Interactive Display Window from Marcus Wallander on Vimeo.

While the first video doesn't make me scream like Marty McFly, it's interesting to see how interactive ads are becoming a reality. And it ain't even 2015 yet! The ad for WeSC clothing company caught my eye because it's a part of a new generation of ads that directly interact with the "viewer" or "consumer". It's an interesting change in the mentality of advertisers. They are no longer content with us being able to see their product, they now rely on us to move it. How ironic is that? A clothing company that acknowledges it's own need for street cred so it needs the viewers of the advertisement to "move" the clothing. A ridiculously intelligent marketing scheme. This isn't the first kind of ad like this that I've seen, some moving wall advertisements in New York have similar effects, but none go to this length. What's interesting to me is that there are no visible brand images in this video. No Lacoste alligator or Abercrombie moose to be seen, simply the extended name of the company (rather than WeSC) and a credit given to its creator. At first glance, this seems completely harmless, but after reading Marcus Wallanders portfolio, we can still find evidence of the "brand mentality" at work.

Regardless of whether or not this advertisement is doing anything evil, its worth noting that traditional advertisements are changing. While the ad execs haven't quite gotten to the same level as "Jaws 19" yet, the way ads reach our senses and appeal to us is evolving. It should be important for us to discuss how these interactive ads are changing our perceived notions of what an advertisement does to our minds.