h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

At a recent dinner party, the host made quite a bit of fuss about the wine he served, how coming upon it at a wine-tasting he'd travelled to the picturesque French vineyard. I'm no wine expert and rarely give the winee I drink a thought, but I had to agree with him, it was an excellent wine. It made me wonder later about the impact of his vivid story telling and expert-sounding talk upon my appreciation. He certainly made me pay more attention to my sense of taste and smell than I usually do.

Can not advertising do the same thing? Actually changing and enhancing the experience of its product or service. I remember reading about the first wild "Tango" campaign; how there were no changes to packaging, distribution, the ingredients or anything about the brand except for a very innovative advertising campaign evoking the soft-drink as humorously surreal escapes from the everyday. Its previously low sales rocketed.

Is it too much to claim the campaign actually generated a lot of fun, happy experiences for consumers, letting them buy into a creatively extreme idea for the price of a can. Didn't the ads add a bit of colour to the world?

Especially since living in the Uk, after leaving Australia 6 years back, I've been impressed by the creative thinking that goes into much advertising; the visual and verbal innovations, the snappy stories in tv commercials that often display more ingenuity than the tiresome programme breaks surrounging them. The gulf in creative pleasure has grown further with the increase of reality tv where there is little interesting thinking.

I was once critical of cigarette advertising, but now see some merit to the industry claims they are targetting smokers of other brands. I really don't think people decide to smoke because of advertising. It is quite a significant choice, especially as everyone is aware of the health consequences. No smoker I asked said they started because of ads, nor did they even select their brand from ads. Rather, like me, it was a combination of doing something naughty/wild for a rebellious teenager and sharing such behavious with peers. Maybe ads can heighten the otherwise unexceptional experience, but if, as I think, they don't cause more fags to smoked, I think that's no bad thing.

I know it's trendy to knock ads, but I think more people talk about the amazing ad they saw last night than modern art. Indeed since the Medicis, art was a form of promotion and artists saw themselves fulfilling briefs from clients, be they the church or some wealthy businessman. There seems to be some Romantic notion that creatives working for a client are inferior. I rather see that creators trying to impress a limited world of critics, peers and gallery managers rather than the public, are less producing interesting and useful work.

I say some of the most interesting art now goes on in the advertising industry.

Anax

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