Off the topic of Bards, but still of EQ Interest...
David Kennerly, 4 February 2002
Shadows of Lust: Subconsciously Selling Sex, Power, and Prestige in an
EverQuest® Expansion Advertisement
"The business man's hunt for sales boosters is leading him into a strange
wilderness: the subconscious mind."
(Wall Street Journal, pg. 1. qtd. Packard 22)
Mike turns twenty-three this year. He is a single male and recent college
graduate who earns about $20 per hour. He casually plays some computer
games, surfs the net, and chats online. In early 2002, Mike visits a
computer game retail store to consider how he will spend some of his free
time and money. He browses the pages of
PCGamer, "The World's Best-Selling Computer Game Magazine" (Imagine Media).
One third of the way through he pauses to look at a folded, three-page wide
advertisement insert.
Underneath the embossed small-capitalized, gold letters of "EverQuest®"
lies the title of the painting, "The Shadows of Luclin tm." A globe fills
the black sky background; in it swirl clouds, land, and water. In the
foreground stands a tiger-man with sword and a snarling wolf, both looking
off page. A fair elf-maiden in soft, scanty clothing suddenly glances into
the eyes of the viewer. Although her expression is neutral, her lips
slightly part. Mike unfolds the advertisement, buys the game, and starts his
subscription to the service required to play the game, because he has
subconsciously longed to become that tiger and meet that woman. Mike is a
hypothetical example of the target viewer of the advertisement: single
male, age 20-25 (Castronova 24), computer savvy, and familiar with the
fantasy-genre (Yee). What appears to be an advertisement for a game service
is much more; it is a subconscious advertisement for sex, power, and prestige.
The advertisement consciously sells technical power. The copy stresses the
technical power of this game: "high-resolution", "complete 3D overhaul",
with "over four times the number of polygons" (Sony). The advertisement
mentions this evidence to persuade the reader that he will become more
technically powerful by using this game. The advertisement includes a
sweepstakes that sells power to the customer. The sweepstakes is rich with
allusions to what the "Power Player" (Sony) may win: the "most incredible
PC gaming system available" (Sony). Superlatives topple over each other to
impress the viewer about its power and speed. For example, the manufacturer
cleverly compares the machine to a bird of prey and the speed of sound by
dubbing the computer both "Falcon" and "MACH V". This technical power
appeals to the target white-collar male. Mechanical, or in this case
computational, power reassures him of his masculinity (Packard 74).
Although a computer is not as masculine as a car, anything that is more
powerful is a symbolic increase of the owner's virility (Packard 75).
The advertisement's painting uses the tiger-man as a syntagm (an object
that symbolically represents a concept within a paradigm, Dyer 126) to sell
male sexual power. A tiger-man stands, ready to fight in the painting's
foreground. The tiger is a symbol of sexual power in Asia and is at least a
symbol of practical power in the West. Here he accentuates his virility. He
carries a sword, reveals his sharp fangs and muscular form. His fur color
is almost a fiery orange. He stands in a dominant position, about one-foot
higher than the delicate elf-maiden. These details communicate to the
viewer that this male model is dominant (Dyer 97-100). Although probably
unintentional by the artist, the viewer will at least subconsciously notice
that the tiger-man and elf-maiden come close to joining. The tiger-man
handles a snarling wolf, which in some ways is an extension of himself. It
shares similar fangs, fur, a white underside, and a potent demeanor.
Because the tiger-man has a humanoid body and tiger's head, the target
viewer identifies with him. The animal head is like a theatrical,
religious, or mythic mask. The tiger is the target viewer's self-image
(Packard 45). Any male can symbolically become the tiger. The viewer,
invoking the tiger, feels vigor, power, and virility. Thus a bond is made.
As Dyer wrote: "[O]nce this initial connection has been made we almost
automatically accept the object for the feeling." (116)
Besides power, the viewer has another reason to identify with the
tiger-man: to meet the woman of his dreams (Packard 74). The elf-maiden in
this painting is the ideal girlfriend of the target viewer. Except for her
pointed ears, she looks completely human. But she does not look like just
any human. To the target viewer, she is an ideal sex-image. She appears to
be a fair-skinned, slender woman about eighteen to twenty-two years old,
which is ideal for the target market. She adorns herself in scanty,
form-fitting clothing. She has long blonde hair, which may symbolically
represent healthy sexuality (Dyer 135). Her pose and scanty clothing reveal
most of her body to the viewer, which allows him to judge her beautiful
physique. The viewer has a lot to like. She wears soft, delicate, baby blue
colors, which helps make her seem innocent and virginal. Therefore, she has
some of the characteristics of an archetypal maiden, although this one is
not a helpless maiden. Her staff symbolizes that she is powerful. So far,
her body and clothes communicate her beauty, power, and innocence.
But the attraction extends beyond the flesh, because she shares one of the
interests of the viewer: interest in the fantasy genre. She wears fantastic
clothes, carries a magical staff, and adorns herself with exotic emerald
jewelry. That is rare. Male fantasy-genre fans vastly outnumber female fans
on Earth. Most women have little interest in the fantasy genre and have
little interest in a Dungeons & DragonsR-style game, but she has great
interest in it. She participates in an exciting battle against fantastic
foes. To the target viewer, this increases her appeal and partly bridges
lust to romance.
Yet romance requires mutual interest, and some exists here. She at least
recognizes the viewer. Out of the ten humanoids in the painting, she is the
only one that is gazing into the eyes of the viewer. She looks at him with
a neutral expression, but lips slightly parted. She establishes eye
contact. By virtue of the stillness of a painting, she maintains eye
contact indefinitely. She gets the viewer's attention and transfers it, by
her pose, to the rest of the painting to her right.
The whole of the painting evokes nostalgia in the target viewer. The art
style is reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons® games and fantasy novel covers,
which the target viewer has probably seen (Yee). The characters and
creatures are straight from common fantasy novels and games. The title
"EverQuest®" sells the core activity of fantasy novels: the quest. The
subtitle "The Shadows of Luclin tm" reminds the viewer of common fantasy
novel and game titles. Thus, this ad offers roots. It appeals to the viewer
who has played or read the fantasy genre. The target viewer needs these
roots (Packard 76).
The product's service gives the viewer companions to share these roots
with. The ad repeatedly hammers the companionship available: "Join hundreds
of thousands of real people", "make friends", "take part", and "play
cooperatively" (Sony). Appeal to companionship helps sell the product
(Packard 272).
If sex or companionship fail, then all is not lost for the publisher. The
advertisement also gratifies the viewer's ego and reassures his worth
(Packard 72). The golden warrior in the center of combat is rich. His armor
is rich and prestigious. By transference, the owner of the armor is rich
and prestigious. By identification, the viewer accepts the self-image of
the golden warrior. The viewer can become the golden warrior. He is
positioned facing away from the viewer, so his face is not visible. The
viewer may imagine the face to be the viewer's own face. This position is
also similar to a third-person view that is used in many games.
"The Shadows of Luclin tm" expansion advertisement communicates much more
than a casual observation would consciously recognize. The advertisement
wins the heart of the target viewer, usually without the target viewer
being aware of the influence. The artful advertisement may influence the
target viewer to buy the product and service without being aware of why. If
asked, the viewer might rationalize that he had been sold a game (Packard
14), but the nonverbal offer was sex, power, and prestige.
Works Cited
Castronova, Edward (2001) "Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market
and Society on the Cyberian Frontier", The Gruter Institute Working Papers
on Law, Economics, and Evolutionary Biology: Vol. 2: Article 1.
http://www.bepress.com/giwp/default/vol2/iss1/art1
Dyer, Gillian. Advertising as Communication. London, United Kingdom:
Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1982.
Imagine Media. PCGamer. Brisbane, California: Imagine Media, January 2002.
Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. New York: Washington Square Press, 1957.
Sony Computer Entertainment America. "EverQuest®: The Shadows of Luclin tm"
advertisement. PC Gamer. Brisbane, California: Imagine Media, January 2002:
32-33.
Yee, Nicholas (2001) "The Norrathian Scrolls: A Study of EverQuest"
(version 2.5)
http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/report.html