Where Advertisements Are Missing Out
If you were the art director for this particular ad campaign, would you be pleased with these two ads?
Vicco Ad – 1
Vicco Ad – 2
Yes, the model selected for the ad is a pretty looking lady but her facial expression, which is always a package of all muscle movements on the face, not just the pretty eyes or the partial smile, is not particularly flattering or accurate.
As is very evident in the pictures, the model is displaying an asymmetric raising of a single eyebrow. The neutral eyebrow does not really convey any expression by itself, devoid of wrinkling lines by the eyes which stands for real enjoyment. But the raised eyebrow is generally used in a surprise expression. Why that emotion would want to get conveyed in the advertisement is not very clear.
According to famous anthropologist Desmond Morris, a single raised eyebrow, also called an Eyebrow Cock, is generally a sign of scepticism (Morris, Body Talk). It is a hybrid gesture, says Morris, the raised eyebrow signalling surprise.
The same is concluded by Paul Ekman, master of universal emotions and facial expressions, who says that the unilateral raise of one eyebrow is an emblem, with a standalone meaning of scepticism (Ekman, Telling Lies).
It is often spontaneity during advertisement shoots which define the final few selected shots which make it to the client’s cabin for chosing “The one”. But if the facial expression or body language in the selected shots are not up to the mark, the ad spend and the efforts put in behind the entire process right from creating the white board to the ultimate execution can be wasted. The production team, the photographer, the creative director or the art director might be able to detect that there is something missing in the piece, but it is crucial to be able to pinpoint what that missing piece is. Often times, that happens to the be incorrect or inept body language. It helps, at such times, to engage the services of a body language expert and get the signal of the ad shoot correct.
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