An Ad More Suited For Halloween

I'm sure that many of us have seen the typical Duracell ads, which promote how people in the real world use the brand and how it's oh-so-reliable. But here we see an entirely radical approach for the company, and indeed for advertising in general, one which I personally find extremely interesting and effective.

All of us as children have been scared of one thing or another. And perhaps some of us, myself included, have owned a toy, or some other object, that we feared and hated so much, that we wished it would simply go away to some far corner of the world and never return. Even now, images of talking cars haunt my dreams. So to see an ad that refers to that part of childhood, and even manages to use it to their advantage, is something worth noticing.

The first thing of note in the advertisement is of course, the doll. Though its size is small and it is a fair distance away from the camera, it still manages to look like something out of a horror movie. This is emphasized through its lengthened shadow, a mechanic that is often used in thrillers. The entire ad has a very dark color scheme, with the only light being around the doll. All this provides the undertone that the doll is something that is feared and unwelcome.

The girl's expression is interesting, as she has a somewhat cautious look on her face, as if she is scared to look behind her. Even the doll next to her, has an openly fearful  and concerned expression on her face, as she turns to the girl in what seems like a questioning stance, as if she were trying to say, "Is this really happening?" However the text at the bottom, "Some toys never die," ruins the horror-type feel of the ad and raises a bit of wit and humor in its stead.

This advertisement is obviously an example of the technique of Gestalt. As mentioned before, the colors and positioning of objects leads us to one direction, while the text of the ad leads us to another. When combined, it doesn't seem as if the parts add up. After all, what does a doll seemingly raised from the dead have to do with batteries, of all things? Yet we are made so curious by the look of the ad, that eventually we are forced to make the thin connection that Duracell wants us to; their batteries are so long-lasting that even those things which you wouldn't wish to see again will keep on "living".