Project 1 Pat OConnell iPhone Christmas Commercial

Thesis:

Teenagers are always attached to their iPhones these days but we are able to see the good and the art the can make from using the iPhone that ultimately is able to bring together an entire family

Triune Brain:

            Rational Brain- The Neocortex is used to help us understand the abstract thinking. The viewer wanting to know what the kid is doing on his phone all the time uses this brain in this commercial. It is also used to understand the message at the end of the video, that the iPhone can bring together family memories in an instant and in an artistic and emotional setting

           

            Emotional Brian- The Limbic brain helps us understand and comprehend images and music. The combination of holiday music and a loving family at the holidays is used to promote the use of technology especially with the iPhone. Makes the viewer connect with images of their own family at this time of the year.

            Reptilian Brain- In The Reptilian Brain the ideas of Fight, Flight, Eat, & Mate are stored and processed. This video brings out the Mate side of the brain. This is used by the idea it makes the viewer think of their family and the love that makes and keeps the family together. This video also brings out a slight fight side of the brain for me at least. I wanted to slap the phone out of the kids hand the first time I saw this video.

3 Shift/Trends

1)   Technological Shift- this video shows how the world is evolving from Kodak type film cameras to digital photography in the form of a mobile device.

2)   Aesthetic Shift- the video shows how technology has made the convergence of multiple media platforms. We see this is the fact that the kid has his phone with him wherever he goes with such ease. Then with the same ease he is able to move his creation from his phone to the TV for the whole family to see.

3)   Cultural Shift- In the video we see the kid with his phone out the entire time. We assume he is talking to his friends and avoiding his family but in reality he is watching their every move. We also see how the kid is able to “multitask.” We see this by the fact that his is there participating with the family but he is also creating art using technology without anyone noticing anything out of the norm.

5 “Facts”

1)   Kids are Always on their iPhones

2)   The iPhone works everywhere he goes (Car, House, Outside Sledding, Making Snow Angles)

3)   Kids do things that adults don’t always understand

4)   The iPhone is more than just a phone

5)   The iPhone can bring together families

3 Principles

1)   Pacing- we see the use of pacing in this video by the fact that the whole video seems to move a bit slower than most commercials. The emotional messages that are trying to be conveyed are used thru the seed and timing of the music throughout the video. The video also uses shorten time for the scenes. It almost looks like its jumping from family member to family member. Then the pacing changes with the start of the video on the TV screen. We see a series of the video slowing down i.e. the snowball thrown at the kid and the grand father throwing the hat.

2)   Individual Meaning- this video leaves a lot for the viewer to take in to their own perspective. Some may see the iPhone as a distraction from the whole meaning of the holidays. To others like me it shows how technology can really bring us together as a whole. While we still may be addicted to our iPhones there is so much beauty than can be made with it.

3)   Value Messages- this video is intended to show how technology can bring families together in ways they never imagined. The entire family is surprised and deeply moved at the end of the video is shown to them. They finally see that the kid has really been involved the whole time. It also shows how kids may seem separated from the family by technology but in the end we see how technology has helped bring the kids closer to the family.

5 Persuasive Techniques

1)   Plain Folks- this video shows a stereotypical American Christmas. The video shows a regular family in one house for the holidays. We see how the kids are all in the same room for sleeping arrangements. There is no use of a high profile actor in this video. It seems as if they picked a random family off the street.

2)   Nostalgia- this technique is used by the idea that it brings us back to family holidays that we have spent throughout the years. We see the typical holiday activities, baking, playing in the snow, family outings. All these activities are used to try and connect the viewer to the video.

3)   Repetition- this techniques is used by the fact that the video keeps showing the viewer a family then a kid on the outside of the activities with the phone sporadically being involved yet still there but attached to the phone. We keep seeing the family and then the kid with the iPhone alone all the way thru the end were he steps up as the family goes quite to see what he is finally doing all along.

4)   Warm Fuzzies- we see this technique being used to draw the viewer into this family’s holiday and trying to get them to remember their own past holidays. We also see this technique being used by the response the video gets from the family watching it. We see an emotional response from basically everyone in the room.

5)   Timing- this technique is very important to the whole video. We see the changes in music from emotional to even more emotional. The music and filming is slow to begin with and as we see what the kid has created we hear and see a change in the music and the effects used in the video.

3 Course Themes

            This Video shows use that the iPhone is now a part of life whether we know it or not. We see how technology has slowly crept its way from science into our family room. We also see from this video how technology has begun to bridge the age gap. We see a couple different generations of a family all brought together by the iPhone and the art it can create. The video also shows us how technology has started to replace certain aspects of our lives. Not once in the video do we see an actually camera being used by the family. We see the digital and instant effect that the iPhone has on the family today. We no longer have to wait for the next family gathering to see the memories from the last time they were together. We see how digital technology has replaced scrapbooks and photo books and home movies forever.