ASSESSMENT 1 - RESEARCH PRESENTATION
Take a couple of current television advertisements and explain what it is they tell us about the society they come from as if you are an anthropologist.
Bonds, a company established in 1915 by Mr George Allan Bond, an American who came to Australia in the early twentieth century. He started importing women’s hosiery and gloves. The manufacturing began in 1917 in Redfern, Sydney. He moved to Camperdown in 1918 and introduced the making of underwear. in 1932, Bond built Australia’s first cotton spinning mill at Wentworthville.
In 1929 the company went into liquidation and a public company, Bonds Industries Limited was established. 1987 was the year the company was taken over by Pacific Dunlop. Further sold in 2001 to a separate entity ‘Pacific Brands Holding Pty Ltd’.
The year of 2006 saw Bonds manufacture 40% of it’s goods in Australia; including Cessnock; Unanderra and Wentworthville. The factories produce nearly 17 million garments a year and employ 295 full time staff. They also have relationships with a number of independent manufactures in China.
The Australian manufacture import men’s, women’s and children’s underwear and clothing. It is a popular mid-range brand within Australia and the United Kingdom. It’s trademark is the ‘Chesty Bond’, which is recognised by many as a popular national icon of Australia. Over almost 90 years Bonds has sold over 400 million ‘Chesty Bonds’ singlets, 155 million pairs of Cottontail pants and 20 million baby Wonder-suits. Bonds produces more t-shirts and underwear than any other company in Australia.
I am choosing to research current advertisements by the Bonds company, showcasing the women’s variety of underwear. The creative team at Bonds seem to be asking the right questions of the consumers and improving upon their products to satisfy the buyers.
The culture of Australia (which I will focus on) is quite urbanised, with most people living in built up areas in cities or on the coast. Australia today has a broad variety of cultures and it’s own unique characteristics. English is the prominent language, the government stands similar to the Westminster system, the people have a love of sports and a big diversity within religion, Christianity being dominant. As the years go on the further Australia becomes more and more like America. The media is a strong tool in moulding a society, their views and desires. Every advertising agency knows this and uses it to their advantage.
The twenty first century is seeing a deeper focus on materialistic values within what is now a highly consumerist population. Following in step with America and the ‘famous’ people, we as Australian citizens become exceedingly influential.
Advertisements have always had a frame that most companies would work within. That is, the superficial view of a person, lifestyle or product to gain the interest of the viewer. Something they cannot have, often seen in a fantasy makes the product that more desirable. The unrealistic characteristics to the advertisements, be the people or the surroundings are used and exaggerated to grab the audiences attention. The more unrealistic it is the more inclined we are to be engaged.
Bonds existing print advertisements and television commercials are very innovative. The concepts are strong and engage the viewer. Many of the print advertisements have a play on words (particularly the male variety), the female range is shown in a laid back fashion that again keeps the viewer interested and invites the viewer to be comfortable in their own underwear.
The Campaign Palace, an advertising agency that has been creating innovative ideas and services for Australian companies since 1972, developing commercials for Bonds, Target, Panasonic, Australian Government and so many more. They develop their ideas from the research they do, they go in trying to understand what the potential consumer wants to see in this product and how to ultimately spotlight it to it’s greatest potential. They forage until they find a truth that they can work with and work well with, these wonderful insights create memorable communication campaigns that connect people with the brands.
There are many advertisements that have boosted Bonds popularity and sales, most likely done by The Campaign Palace. The television commercials are all very similar, they convey an enthusiastic background of the company, a comfortable acceptance with the product in a fun, bright innovative fashion. Sometimes, calling on the past to capture the audiences attention and hold it, a nostalgic feel (for example, retro hippies and psychedelic period in the ‘Racey Shapes’ commercial).
My focus is on the women’s range, the ‘Kaleidoscope’, the ‘Hi and Lo’ and the ‘Racey Shapes’. They all showcase the product in a radical fashion, the competitors advertisements aren’t quite as experimental as Bonds are. The aim of the commercials are to persuade the likely shopper into buying the product, as they are comfortable doing all sorts of activities (roller blading, dancing and hand games), stylish as they are worn with leg warmers and bonds chesty singlets. The energetic campaigns invite the viewer in to watch the whole promotion, the music is very alluring so are the uncharacteristic surroundings and of course women all in their underwear.
The Campaign Palace and Bonds have stepped outside the boundaries of design for commercials, like every ad agency they know sex appeal sells but they use it in a less direct way. The women seen in these contemporary commercials are not your typical model, they showcase women of an average size, women that are real, Bonds are aiming their campaigns at every person. They use famous faces to often start a campaign if the product is new to the advertising circuit, such as the new ‘Cottontail’ seen with Sarah Murdock and the jocks ad with Patrick Rafter. These two abnormalities in their commercials interest both male and female in the product.
Today’s people are more accepting of the ‘body’, our grandparents might not think these advertisements are suitable for all ages of individuals in the country but today it isn’t unusual to see little clothing on women on the television screen. Modern humanity have been brought up with the media and it is very hard to surprise a viewer with a new visual. It is almost as if we have seen it all. The Campaign Palace understand this and source things from the past, imagine something out of this world or something that hasn’t been tackled yet. Because otherwise the impact and intrigued response they are hoping for, will not be achieved.
The cinematography of the Bonds commercials are quite thought through, every moment is a work of art, this mirrors society in their intrigue with Art, in particular installation art pieces. The dance sequences also reflect the increasing popularity of musicals and performances, rooted in history with the famous Big Productions. The 1930’s saw a massive favour towards synchronised dance, similar to productions like ‘Busby Berkeley’. The patterns that are made, especially in the Kaleidoscope commercial, are reminiscent of the psychedelic 1960’s, the patterns and colours are a spectacle playing on the human brain.
Today’s society has been conditioned and influenced by the media and advertising, forever believing the outlandish stories and engaging with the fantasy that is put forward. These television advertisements done by The Campaign Palace for Bonds Industries reveal the revolution within the trade. The research behind what triggers the human brain, what attracts the human brain, how the human brain responds to certain visuals, is the basis of modern commercials. Nowadays the media is apart of our life, advertisements in Australian culture and in the twenty first century are common enough that the commercials don’t necessarily always gain interest or convey their message correctly, unconventional commercial like these Bonds campaigns stand out. Because of the growth in society of technology and further equality, these advertisements reflect things that are valued in society, in particular Australian culture.
Bibliography
28/03/2011
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonds_(clothing)
- http://www.bonds.com.au/?ignoreRedirect=true
- http://www.bonds.com.au/?ignoreRedirect=true#/aboutUs
2/04/2011
- http://www.smh.com.au/business/pac-brands-exits-australian-manufacturing-20090225-8hei.html
7/04/2011
- youtube.com
- http://www.mua.org.au/news/chesty-bonds-blockade/
- http://web.archive.org/web/20061024013156/
- http://www.bondsaustralia.co.uk/About-us/default.asp
16/04/2011
- http://advertising.nsw.gov.au/accredited-agencies/campaign-palace
- http://svc037.wic025v.server-web.com/
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