Brand Fatigue
I’m only 20 years old, and I feel like I’ve already seen and absorbed far too many ads. I’m sick of ads, brands, and marketing campaigns. Everything is branded. And everyone just accepts it. Bench ads at bus stops, ads on Youtube videos, and even ads at the beginning of amazon videos—this financially-driven effort to constantly interrupt whatever we’re doing by inserting pop-up ads, ad banners, etc., has taken on a ridiculously broad role, and people are so bombarded with it that they are becoming numb to it. Ad Bombardment
Christine Harold, in her article “Anti-Logos: Sabotaging the Brand Through Parody,” notes that the economy has undergone a significant change: it has shifted from marketing goods and products to marketing a brand and a meaning. (pp. 33-34) This means we are exposed to even more ads, some for products and some which are simply trying to carve out a unique brand niche in the crowded field of competitors.
So how can you escape the unending flow of ads? Some people who are tired of the incessant advertising and marketing noise have created ad parodies. One iconic brand whose logo I actually like is the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) lion, whose loud roar has opened lots of fantastic films. In 1961, an episode of Tom and Jerry cartoons, “Switchin' Kitten” had a visual effect in the cartoon where Jerry mouse, in his mouse hole, was framed like the MGM lion, and roared like the MGM lion. However, as parodies go, it was pretty benign. If anything, it added to the strength and recognition of the MGM lion. By 1965, the intro to Tom and Jerry cartoons had a spoof of a spoof—this time, Tom’s face appeared as the MGM lion. Again, the MGM lion was pretty much universally known and recognized, and this type of brand parody was more of a gentle spoof. But it was also very effective.
A recent ad parody that is equally effective is one created by James Corden, parodying the designer underwear ads that take themselves much too seriously. James Corden and David Beckham star in the ad for “D and J” men’s briefs, which hilariously makes fun of David Beckham’s designer underwear ad for H & M, and all of the other designer underwear ads. Ad The spoof has many of the elements of the original ad: “serious” black and white tones, iconic music, “important” words spoken by narrator, theatrical acting, etc. But the physical contrast between the two men and the antics of James Corden make this unforgettable. I think the reason that parodies like this one resonate so much with viewers is that they innately reject the self-importance of many ads. In the end, I’ve come to believe that ad parodies are in many ways more effective than the original ads: memorable, understandable, attainable, and approachable. They’re also a lot funnier. For me, ad parodies are a welcome relief from our over-branded world.
Works Cited:
Player, A. (n.d.). From IKEA to Airbnb: The five best brand ad parodies. Retrieved from https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/ikea-airbnb-five-best-brand-ad-parodies/1365488
Production Logo Parodies. (2018, July 17). Retrieved from https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/production-logo-parodies
H&M Ad
Tom and Jerry