Friday, September 7, 2007

A Closer Look at Ad Superfiiality and Dorm Realities

“Walaaang pasook!” These lines may seem familiar, right? Exactly, this is the famous shout by a male occupant in a coffee commercial a couple of years ago. In that famous ad, a bunch of boys are doing their daily routine- ironing their shirts, brushing their teeth, taking a shower as if there seem to be an endless supply of water. All these are done in a Glamorous slow motion as in a trance-state sequence. But when one handsome guy shouted out ‘walaang pasok!,’ they all break out into happy grins and drink coffee, in a high ceiling lobby and huge windows very happy and laughing all around. Everything’s perfect. Hurrah for world peace. But my question is, can you relate?

The ad had probably made our eyebrows rise especially to the real dorm and boarding house occupants.

Actually, in an ordinary dorm or boarding house there will be about four to eight guys in one bedroom. Their shared bathroom will have a long line due to the morning rush. There won’t be even shower heads, but instead they’ll be using ‘tabo’ while taking a bath.

I addition, the all-male dorm will be occupied by at least, to be polite about it, a handful of not-so-good-looking occupants as opposed to the tisoy ones in the ad.

The details in the ad makes us think if such a dorm exists, and if so- where? So why should the setting be so artificial? One of my friend commented that advertisements are superficially glamorous yet so dishonest just to catch the attention of the audience and their target market. In general, there are no ‘real’ ads; ads are always above or below true conditions.

Let us not argue that boys would rather drink coffee instead of going back to sleep knowing that the class is suspended. But it would be better if the advertisers to create an environment setting so close to reality so that the viewers can relate.

But well, on the other hand, the ad probably wants to comment on the recent state of dormitories in the campus! It is very obvious in the commercial that it wants to promote a dorm-awareness campaign in different and even at different boarding houses. If we look at it in depth, the ad wants to speak to the students: “this is how your dorm should look like!” “You should have clean available water, your bathroom tiles should be germ-free gleaming like glass and you should also have comfy sofas!”

So why do all guys have smooth, fair skin instead of pimples? Of course, because they have clean, insect free- beddings. There are other things that our dorm should have; since the guys looked fit, the dorm must have a gym, and needless to say the fast food must serve nutritious yet affordable food. Frankly speaking, something that our dorm administrators should provide.

To be bold about it, the ad stimulates all dorm occupants to have a sense of activism and fight for their rights for proper housing that is, a dorm so nice you’d prefer drinking coffee there than in the cafeteria. Well, students in LSU are still lucky enough they found an affordable place to stay. But despite the affordable rentals, is your dorm decent enough for you to call a home away from home?

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