Adbuster: The iThink

Shawna P.

Culture Jammer

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

October 25, 2012

Technical

While doing this assignment I discovered how to use the background eraser tool, which proved to be very useful. I used it to erase the background of the brain in the bottom. I altered the brain drawing to fit around the Apple logo (the ‘iThink chip’) by using the eraser and paintbrush tools. I used brushes to make the zombie and the white eyes, and I also used the lasso tool to adjust what the zombie looked like (I put his arm out to the side).

Idea/Concept

Originally I had wanted to make fun of the iPad by calling it something like the iSad and saying how people threw away their money on iPads when they should be donating to charities etc instead. However, this idea was not working out for me, as I couldn’t find a print ad to make fun of (Apple does most of its ads on TV through video commercials). Instead, I decided to make fun of the silhouette iPod advertisements that they have (examples above). In these ads, there is the silhouette of a person with only the headphones and iPod showing up over them. It has minimal text, and the text claims that this iPod is a “digital music revolution”. I twisted those words on my ad, claiming that the iThink was the “world’s most portable technology” (a revolution of its own J). I wanted to make fun of the fact that we are now letting our technology think for us. Whereas previously we used to ask people for directions and read maps, now we have Google Maps and GPS devices to show us where to go. You don’t have to go into a store to buy things: there’s an app for that. It’s getting ridiculous, so I wanted to explore that thought in this culture jammer. And whenever you think of ‘mindless’, zombies usually come to mind, so that’s why there is the silhouette of a zombie as the silhouette. He has a ‘brain chip’ in his head that thinks for him, and as a result has become a zombie.

Influences

I suppose that Apple themselves influenced me with this artwork. I used their ads as a foundation for my own idea. My ad was modeled directly after theirs. I also really like the ads for the “iPoo” toilet, which made me laugh when I first found them, so I knew I wanted to make fun of Apple somehow. The ads for the iPoo toilet also influenced me.

Composition

I balanced this ad asymmetrically. The first thing you notice is the apple logo chip that is on the man’s brain and his creepy eyes. Next the silhouette leads your eye down to the text at the bottom, where you see the brain and the sentence describing the products. Finally, you see the apple logo in the corner with the word ‘iThink’. This explains the product more with a small sentence below the logo.

I wanted the silhouette with the chip to be the main focus of this ad because it would make the viewer curious as to why there was this creepy-looking person with an apple logo on their head. The silhouette conveniently draws the eye downwards so you can see the explanation which further explains the product. The words on the top right balance out the composition, as otherwise the silhouette would put too much emphasis on the left side of the picture.

Motivation

I do like Apple products, but I there are three things I dislike: the ridiculous prices, iPads (what is the point?), and that they don’t support Flash. However, in this ad, I wanted to explore the idea that electronic devices are taking over our lives. I mean, if all the electricity went out in the world for a week, even for just a day, we would have a seriously difficult time coping. We depend too much on our electronic devices now, for everything from shopping to work to driving and staying in contact with friends. Some of these things are very beneficial (i.e. contact over long distances) but can also lead to things like cyber bullying and loss of skills we used to have (like being able to read maps).

Critical Assessment

I am most proud of how much it resembles the actual Apple ads for iPods. At first glance, it might seem like one of those ads, but the zombie silhouette makes you look closer and see what’s really wrong with it. I was also really happy with how well I cut the background out of the brain picture, since I had never used that tool before and found it to work very well.

I originally had a lot of text on my ad and cut it down significantly so it wouldn’t be so overwhelming. I was surprised at how much this improved the appearance and wow factor of the ad.

I would have liked to find a better zombie silhouette, preferably one in the classic sideways ‘zombie’ pose so that it would be more recognizable. Unfortunately, it proved difficult to find the correct picture on the internet. With additional time I would have either spent more time searching for the correct picture or dressed up and took it myself.