Advertisements, Codes and Fairy Tales :: essays research papers

Advertisements, Codes and Fairy Tales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many advertisements use codes to convey a fairy tale to consumers, usually resulting in a happy ending. This occurs at the expense of the price and means being set aside. Most advertisements rely heavily on visual props and sometimes on text to convey their meaning. These codes are open to many interpretations. This ad is no exception. It uses the visual code on many different levels, and the text is there mainly for explanatory purposes. These codes all have references to the story-line of Magic: two sorcerers using spells to fight each other over imaginary regions of land. The advertisement tries unsuccessfully to convey a happy ending, like in a fairy tale, to the consumer, while sacrificing price and means.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The code of spatial order is used to show the reader advancements in periods of time. These advancements can be seen as one looks at the ad from the lower-left corner in a clockwise circle. The first object one would see is a skull from a Woolly Mammoth, which is symbolic of prehistoric times. The next object, a computer, stands out because it does not fit the pattern of chronological order. Wizards of the Coast and Microprose, the advertisers, use this purposely by drawing attention to the computer and consequently the computer game. The computer falls into another pattern. This pattern goes in the same order, clock-wise, but alternates between Magic (the game) and something pertaining to the background of the game. The next objects are tarot cards and a spell book, both of which follow the patterns. These objects, along with the mood of the entire ad being dark, may be interpreted by the consumer to mean death or the devil. This is based on cultural beliefs and rituals. Most people believe angels and good guys wear white, and therefore devils and bad guys dress in black. Also, people usually wear black clothing to funerals, which is essentially a ritual for death. The next item in the pattern is actual cards from the game of Magic. These cards follow chronological order because they are the result of the movable-type printing press being invented in the 18th or 19th century. The final components are a CD-ROM disk and a mouse. These show how science and technology have advance in the 20th century, and it also reminds the consumer of the computer, and consequently the computer game.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This printed sales pitch also uses dark and bright colors that contrast each other to give the consumer more information about the game. The ad itself is dark and mystic, somewhat evil; it also has blue, mystical back-lighting.