As a communications major pursuing a career in advertising, I will admit that I pay more attention to commercials than the average Joe or Jan. A self proclaimed ad junkie, I mentally note which advertising techniques appeal to my eye, spark my interest, and keep me wanting more. Instantaneously, my mind begins to fire off questions and criticize material. Who is the target audience? Does the music match the mood? Are the actors believable? And most importantly, does this ad sell the product? A good advertisement can give me chills and leave me inspired, but when I saw the newest Medaille College ad campaign, I felt embarrassed.
If you haven’t seen the commercial, let me paint you a picture. A voice reminiscent of the iPhone commercials encourages prospective students to attend Medaille’s open house. While the ear-pleasing voice advises “to get your future started,” the screen is invaded by two shadow puppet dogs. These “dogs” “bark” at each other throughout the whole commercial. I have to use quotes around “dog” because I want to emphasize that these are shadow puppets -- hands posing as dogs -- the kind you made against a bare wall in the first grade. I must also use quotes around “bark” because when I youtubed the commercial I discovered that the barking was accompanied by a mixture of barnyard and zoo sound effects, i.e. gorillas and chickens. So, what we have here are a couple of identity confused shadow puppets promoting our college. The ad ends with an incredibly irrelevant slogan, “shake your tail.” At this, I found myself shaking my head.
I thought back to my senior year of high school when I was making the serious decision as to where I wanted to spend the next four years of my life. I wanted sophisticated yet open minded, small but thriving, cultured and independent, a place I could stand out. I found those things here, but if I had seen this commercial before visiting, my first impression of Medaille would have been a whole lot different. This commercial does not showcase any qualities I associate with Medaille. Instead, I am left confused and wondering if the whole thing was a joke.
Medaille prides itself in having a strong communications program and I have seen firsthand the kind of creativity the students of this major, and others, can produce. The Perspective, MCTV, and WMCB are just a few prime examples. Why not carry this creativity through to the advertising of our own school? Give us a chance to catch attention and produce interest. Who knows, maybe we can come up with something a little more enticing than shadow puppets.
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