whoah
raub
At 06:52 PM 02/14/2002 -0600, you wrote:
>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>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>http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/report.html
>
>
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