DIRTY PLAYING ON HUMAN NEEDS
Fabio Bondi, MAGB&I 11
INTRO starting point......02 what is it about and who for......03 why a game.....05 statement of intents.....06
HUMAN BUYOLOGY neuromarketing.....10 human needs theory.....13
MAGIC hidden forces.....20 the placebo effect.....23 distorted perceprion of reality....25 THE DIRTY PLAY nocebo effect.....28 subliminally speaking to our needs.....29 fighting back over the same ground.....34 INSIDE THE GAME the metaphor.....38 testing the demo.....41 components.....43 logotype.....45 nocebo cards.....49 human identity system....51 CLOSING THE LOOP summing up & conclusion....56
INTRO
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STARTING POINT
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he shift into the the Branding field strenghtened my personal interest into those subjects related and, somehow, complementary to it. On this basis, the starting point of my project idea has been a strong interest for the irrational and unconscious level in wich we tend to perceive and react to brand’s images. Becoming a “branding“ student opened me a window on how it is seen and understood among people, and I found myself challenged within this subject. People in general (and some graphic designers specifically…) blame graphic branding to be a mere tool to make “the Boss“ sell more, to feed up consumerism and create appealing visuals just in order to attract attention on unuseful products; in other words, to sell by lying. But at the end, almost everybody admitt to be in love with a certain brand, without even being able to explain why, recognizing so an irrational attachment to it. Explained its roots so, the question that drove me throughout my research has been:
“HOW BIG BRAND’S PERSONALITIES AND IDENTITIES PLAY ON OUR SUBCONSCIOUS NEEDS AND DESIRES ?“
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WHAT IS IT ABOUT AND WHO FOR
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The method I applied to develop the project and research is strictly “scientific“, comparing data, studies and theories relevant to my subject, to finally come up with a personal theory; a critical point of view I want to share and deliver through my project. Involving the same overall visual style of the contents I am treating.
he project is about theories related to brand and perception, going deeper on the aspects of human “Buyology“ and reasons of people’s irrational love and need for brands such as social validation, sense of belonging, self actualization and so on. As final output, I decided to make a “Board Game Demo“; to invent a whole “world“ with his own rules, dynamics and visual language...but also with an inner or, to speak on the same level of the subjects it involves, a “subliminal” message to deliver.
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potential target is everybody who has a “favourite brand”, that is somehow concerned about the brand’s world, marketing, advertising or that use to be a “loyal customer” (and in this globalization era, this means almost every human being in the civilized world…).
The message is the result of a personal journey through a research about how people tend to perceive brands and the subconscious gears they play on; questioning and challenging player’s points of view on what is the consequence of being overexposed to advertising and communication aimed to make us buy thinghs.
Although the game is thought for a relatively adult public (let’s say between 14 and 50 y.o.), the dynamics of the game are of easy understanding, so to allow almost everybody, even younger people to play and give more chances to the message to come through.
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WHY A GAME
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reating 2 levels of reading, will make this project enjoyable from a broader target of people, giving a chance to a further interpretation to whoever would be particularly interested into the subject.
he decision to make a game has been the natural result of a process of thinking that started with the association between brand identities and tarot card. Moving forward from that concept, I wanted to create a sophisticate emotional, irrational and somehow “mystical system“ in wich to condense the most interesting points of my research into something “enjoyable“. The idea of a game with cards offered me the chance to create a Metaphoric system in wich people could find themselves, not just reading about or understanding, but actually experiencing the dynamics reported in my research. So, the key concepts behind the choice of making a game are: _delivery an (hopefully enjoyable...) experience _create a story _learn by doing and really relevant for the result of my purposes, _to create through a metaphoric system, 2 different levels in the game: _the first, basic one, the game it self that everybody can enjoy just by playing the game, and a _second, deeper one, in wich the point of view and dynamics emerged in my research are revealed.
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STATEMENT OF INTENTS
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this society ruled by consumerism, people tend to build their personal identity through ostentation of brands and sometimes, literally hiding their selves behind a premade identity borrowed from some other already existing stereotypized images. We all are media communication’s targets, and nowdays almost 90% of all the messages we are bombed with are aimed to make us “buy” something*, be it a product, a religion or a political party. The intent behind my project is to help to start off a process of elaboration, interpretation and developing a critical point of view about facts that concern our everyday and emotional life; offering a different angle in wich to frame media communication of this so called, “first world society“. I would like my project to contribute to the dialogue going on the streets, magazines, blogs, books and so on, well known as the phenomenon of the “Culture Jamming“ (fighting back the society of consumerism and the overdose of manipulating messages we are exposed to...). Also, I want to underline that the nature of my research is not to be read in a marketing or statistic key of reading: the approach and motivations behind this project move from the desire to understand the ”customer” anthropologically and in his human condition first. Hate it or love it, all of us, we are subject to brands influence in our perception of personal needs, desires and identities.
* Scientists agree that 70% of time, people can not give a rational justification for their shoppings.
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“It’s a measure of the depth of our consumer trance that the death of the planet is not sufficient to break it” Kalle Lasn, CoFounder of Adbusters
HUMAN BUYOLOGY
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NEUROMARKETING
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ince the very beginning of media communication, human beings were interested in the results of messages, in spending energies making something to move people’s mind rather than understanding how communication works. So when something was able to move people’s mind, it was more likely considered as mystical, magical or divine rather than a good piece of communication engineering… Just about 5 years ago, science gave us a tool to really uncover the dynamics of how communication works and how it affect us, there where we can not lie, in our brain. Through the technolgy of ”Brain Scanning”, scientists are today able to monitorize what is going on*, in terms or chemical rections, in our brains when we are exposed to certain inputs (like advertisings, logos, religious icons, music and so on..) How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today’s message-cluttered world? An eye-grabbing advertisement, a catchy slogan, an infectious jingle? Or do our buying decisions take place below the surface, so deep within our subconscious minds, we are barely aware of them?
* The experiment I am refering to are the ones conducted into Martin Lindstrom’s research and reported in his book Buyology.
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Among the recent findings of scientific studies in this field, I would like to share some reported in Martin Lindtrom’s book “buyology“, relevant to to undersatnd the connection betwwen this science and my project
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•Health warnings on cigarette packets have a similar effect to advertisements for cigarettes – they actually stimulate craving. •Sex does not necessarily sell, ads using sex distract from the brand. In other words, sex sells sex, not brands. Sex and controversy (Calvin Klein) does, however, sell. •Subliminal advertising does work – bypassing people’s cognitive defences against direct appeals, with sensory data – sounds, fragrance, touch, tastes and visual appeal – that appeal to the brain. Appeals to multiple senses work best. •In an scan test, associations around the Marlboro and Camel cigarette brands (cowboys, camels) triggered a stronger brain response consistent with craving than did exposure to logos and cigarette packets themselves. •Smart marketers intuitively know this using the of architecture of religion – community, rituals and a common adversary (fear) - as a branding device. •Advertising may work through mirror neurons, nerve cells that replicate observed emotion and behaviour. See a happy person in an ad, your brain is happy. Then buy the product, your brain is happy again. •Purchasing decisions may work through somatic markers (emotional associations) embedded in ads and product design – Johnson’s No More Tears baby shampoo is essentially an attack ad/product working on fear creating associations between alternatives and childhood pain of stinging eyes. •The brain responds to brands the same way it does to religion – religious symbols and brand iconography light up the same areas of the brain. Virgin Mary or Nike (Goddess of victory), Pope or iPod – there’s no difference.
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HUMAN NEEDS THEORY
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ourses in marketing teach Maslow’s hierarchy as one of the first theories as a basis for understanding consumers’ motives for action.
umans are meaning animals, so they tend to apply meaning to everything, that’s why at an irrational level we tend to perceive stimuli like the sight of the “Apple“ logo triggers in our brain the same chemical reaction of an Iconic image of the Virgin...
If producers design products (or communication) meeting consumer needs, consumers will more often choose those products over those of competitors. Whichever product better fills the void created by the need will be chosen more frequently, thus increasing sales.
Neuromarketing started to show us how our brain interacts with these visual inputs, but it doesn’t tell us why . The key to the reading of these dynamics that tend to categorize stimuli of apparently total different nature into something that works in the same way into our brain is to be found in human motivational theories.
This application of the theory, makes it relevant to the selling process.
One of the first theories relevant to understand why people buy was the “Theory of Human Motivations“ presented by the psychologist Abrahm Maslow. It dates back to the 1943 but is still the basis of present-day Marketing.
Human needs are categorized into an hierarchical system called “The Pyramid of Needs“.
The basis of Maslow’s theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, which exist in an hierarchical way so that, normally, human beings tend not to be concerned about higher levels of needs unless they fullilll the lower ones (you don’t really think about your haircut when you are starving...) There are general needs which have to be fulfilled before a person is able to act unselfishly. The satisfaction of these needs is quite healthy, while preventing their gratification makes us ill (like anxiety, anorexia, complex of every kind) or act evilly (selfishness, envy...).
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Self Trascendence Needs
Self Actualization Needs
Self Esteem Needs
Love&Belongingness Needs
Safety Needs
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Physiological Needs
Safety Needs
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he most basic needs of oxygen, food, water, and reproduction.
rotection from harm, the need for law and order. Safety needs can never be over satisfied, when children do not have their safety needs met, they tend to develop basic anxiety and may become neurotic adults.
Commonly satisfied in first world countries, physiological needs are the only needs which can be completely or even over satisfied. These needs are continually recurring, so we must seek satisfaction of this basic need on a daily basis.
In peaceful societies, safety needs are relatively easy to satisfy, but they become highly important during natural disasters, fires, accidents, and other life threatening situation.
In Marketing:
In Marketing:
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eople that are in this stage probably do not have a lot of money. Food and water must be their main priorities. They will buy cheaper things even if the quality is not very good because they can’t afford better quality items. These people are attracted to anything that will save them money. Other things (luxuries) seem minor to these people because they know they need food and water in order to survive.
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onsumers in this stage need to feel that they will be safe in the present times and in the future. They will purchase items to help them feel secure like retirement funds, selfdefense classes, and a safe shelter. They will also buy things to help protect their families and possessions and to enhance their feeling of safeness.
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Need for Love and Belongingness
Esteem Needs
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Maslow states that this level is what the majority of the population remains at. The desire for friendship, the search for a mate and the desire to be part of a family are all reflections of this need.
Maslow distinguished between two levels of esteem needs : Reputation and Self-Esteem, fundamentally important to find meaning within your life.
uman beings need to feel a sense of belonging, acceptance and identity, whether it comes from religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, social connections or, most important, the family.
ll human beings have a need to be respected, to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted by others, gain recognition and to feel self-valued, be it in a profession or life.
In Marketing:
In Marketing:
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nce we reach this stage, we are ready to take better care of ourselves. Individuality is important to these people because they are happy with themselves, have good self esteem and do not want to be like everyone else. These people will dress nice to attract praise because it makes them feel better about themselves and recognized. Consumers in this group want others to respect them, look up to them, and value them. People in stage four often purchase items like anti-aging cosmetics so they can look younger and have more control on the aging (or not aging as quickly) process, expensive clothes, cars, etc. so they will have the power to feel superior to others.
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cceptance and sense of identity are also big part of this phase. Everyone likes to fit in with other people, and nobody wants to be labeled as strange, unusual or weird. People in this stage of life will follow the current trends so that they’ll be accepted by their peers. Stage three is also the stage where people desire to be with other people. At this stage, tehy will usually purchase anything else that will help them to feel a sense of identity like name brand items, and trendy clothes to help them fit in and be accepted by their peers. Particularly relevant to this stage are the relatively new phenomenons of social networking, that seems completely shaped around these needs.
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Self - Actualization needs
Self transcendence needs
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What a man can be, he must be.” This forms the basis of the perceived need for self-actualization. This level of need pertains to what a person’s full potential is and realizing that potential.
he need to connect to something beyond the ego or to help others find self-fulfillment and realize self potential.
Maslow also proposed that people who have reached selfactualization will sometimes experience a state he referred to as “transcendence,” or “peak experience,” in which they become aware of not only their own fullest potential, but the fullest potential of human beings. He made the point that such individuals experience not only ecstatic joy, but also profound “cosmic-sadness” at the ability of humans to foil chances of transcendence in their own lives and in the world at large.
People who reach this level are “fully human”, Maslow stated that only 2% of the general population and 1% of the college population is self-actualized. In Marketing:
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adly many people will never reach this stage, so more than people at this stage, it refers to people that want to reach this stage, offering solution to fully develop their skills and potential, shaping the message as a promes of real evolution. However, the people that do reach stage five are happy with themselves, and the lives they have lived. They buy things that give them enjoyment and soul nourishing like art, flowers and travels.
In Marketing:
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his stage tend to be not totally involved in the Advertising’s gears. The need to understand humanity, the world, or to help others could be easily confused with the features of previous needs like the Love for family or willingness to help others in a materialistic way (through charities for instance) that could be due to a need of self esteem or public recognition for instance. People, at this stage, have a superior understanding of reality, so they tend to be attracted more by the “pure truth” or pure utilitaristic functions rather than possibilities of self-projection offered by the way to market products.
“Man is a perpetually wanting animal” Abraham Maslow
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MAGIC?
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HIDDEN FORCES
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o, explained the context of my research on the “Human Buyology“, I am going to talk more about Brand’s role in these dynamics.
Some Marketers try to market this phenomenon as “The Brand Miracle“, and it would explain why, to mension some interesting facts:
It is no secret that certain people relies on brand to enhance their personality or image, even if most of this process actually happens at a subconcious level. Is also nothing new to hear that some people would feel much more confident wearing a well recognizable brand clothes (even if fake, the important is to show off the brand visuals) or driving that type of car that is seen more as a status symbol than a mean of transporting...
Athletes performances improve when they wear the brand they consider the best,
If you look closely, is not that people just think to be more confident wearing that brand or driving that car, they actually are.
and also, strange enough, that an illness modern medicine could not heal, is healed with a sugar pill. MAGIC? No, placebo.
the same guy looks more attractive when driving an expensive car have than when driving an utility car, same beans can have different taste to the same person or why the same aspirin in 2 different pakges works way differently,
Just because their feeling of confidence comes by something an system of irrational dynamics, it does not make it nontheless real*.
The only magic of the placebo effect lies in the fact that you can’t do it to yourself. You need an accomplice. Someone in authority who will voluntarily tell you a story; and this is where Brands come into play.
* According to “Predictably Irrational“ book, by Dan Airely.
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“This discussion of placebo effects demonstrates the power of the unconscious mind to produce very powerful and beneficial experiences over and above those expected from the technical merits of the product.� How Customers Think Gerald Zaltman
THE PLACEBO EFFECT
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eally interesting are the theory and data regarding the so called “placebo effect“ of brands, a feature also shared with the power of religious beliefs; and here I would like to remember the interesting findings of NeuroMarketing* experiments: religious symbols and brand iconography light up the same areas of the brain. Virgin Mary or Nike (Goddess of victory), Pope or iPod – there’s no difference. When people have strong expectations about something that is going to experience, tend to have their experiences altered by these expectations. This effect triggered by the Brand Image when associated with a certain product (and again for products I mean also services, rituals and so on…) is something not that abstract: it has actually been estimated around a 30% improvement in the way people perceive it. A simple experiment help us visualize what we are talking about in terms of quantity:
* Martin Lindstrom’s brain scanning research.
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SAME PRODUCT BUT DIFFERENTLY PACKAGED
POSITIVE FEEDBACKS:
+30% EXPECTATION’S EFFECTS ON PERCEPTION
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DISTORTED PERCEPTION OF REALITY
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n this context, is easy to understand how brands offer a complicity to trigger a shift into people perception of world they are surrounded by, offering a dimension in wich project themselves, becoming an actual extension of the personality.
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After all, it will enhance the consumer’s experience if the right irrelevant or even false information is given. However you cut it, a lie is a lie, no matter what placebo effect it may have.
Big brands understand this process. Even though they could not be totally aware of the irrational dynamics they brings into people’s life, they surely understand their position of being a party into the manipulation of of costumer’s perception of reality.
Whichever you stand for, it doesn’t change that branded products has the power to trigger a shift in your perception of reality in a real, tangible way. The term Placebo anyway, defines a positive effect on something.
So, can we blame marketing professionals who hype a product?
Shopping doesn’t help life satisfaction:
PERCENTUAGE AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS
RADIO
PROZAC
AUTOMOBILE
INTERNET COLOR TV
TELEPHONE
CELL PHONE COMPUTER VCR
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but why shuold Brand’s affect us in just a positive way
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THE DIRTY PLAY
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NOCEBO EFFECT
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ven though all the theories concerning Brands and Placebo effects are relatively new, the feeling of branding as something able to move people’s mind has been in the air since the beginning of this “scientific art“. In the last 60 years, marketing developed a way to advertise branded products based on trigging subliminal chain reaction of thoughts, to explain it better: The brand Colgate in an adv run in US claimed that “emerging scientific research is associating serious gum desease with other deseases such as heart deseases, diabetes and stroke”. In short, brush with Colgate or else you will die!
“A NOCEBO EFFECT REFERS TO AN HARMFUL, UNPLEASANT, OR UNDESIRABLE EFFECTS A SUBJECT MANIFESTS AFTER RECEIVING A STIMULUS OR INPUT OF DIVERSE NATURE. NOCEBO RESPONSES ARE NOT CHEMICALLY GENERATED AND ARE DUE ONLY TO THE SUBJECT’S PESSIMISTIC BELIEF AND EXPECTATION THAT THE INPUT WILL PRODUCE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES.
Now, this adv is based on fear, creating a necessity - more people would feel bad if not actually brushing with colgate (NOCEBO EFFECT) - so, what they are selling, more than a tooth paste, is a solution to the problem they triggered; but don’t worry, using Colgate will make you feel better about it (PLACEBO EFFECT).
IN THESE CASES, THERE IS NO “REAL” DRUG OR TRUTHFUL MESSGES INVOLVED, BUT THE NEGATIVE FEELING THAT MAY BE PHYSIOLOGICAL, BEHAVIOURAL, EMOTIONAL, AND/OR COGNITIVE, ARE NONETHELESS REAL.
From this reading of the facts, this is not just the enhancement of some good feelings from the brand, rather it is a subliminal manipulation of our perception aimed sell us a “placebo“solution to a “nocebo“ feeling:
EXPECTATIONS COULD ACTUALLY AFFECT YOUR PERCEPTION AND FEELINGS ABOUT REALITY AND YOUR SELF IN A BAD (NOCEBO) OR GOOD (PLACEBO) WAY”
CREATE A PROBLEM-SELL THE SOLUTION, the basis of Evil Marketing. This way, brands tend to earn to a Placebo Effect on people by setting a Nocebo Effect that affects the perception of reality, creating through the dynamics of offering an escape to reality, a similar effect of drug addiction, the so called Brand Addiction.
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SUBLIMINALLY SPEAKING TO OUR NEEDS
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n this Nocebo-Placebo reaction so, brands present their selves as a promise, a solution to an emotional response aimed to make us feel unsafe, insecure, or feel we are missing something. The target of this chain reaction is where human beings are more vulnerable, their irrational needs, where there is no defense at a rational levels, where we just think by arcehtypes, stereotypes and associations. As explained before, according to Maslow’s theory, human needs are categorized into 6 levels that exist in an hierarchical way. Most of the advertising and marketing communication tend to appeal to a determined category of need; (mostly evident in advertising from 50’s to late 80’s...)* tending to destabilize how we feel about it, creating a “void“, the sensation that the need is not fulfilled, as I call it, a Nocebo Effect. When a need is not fulfilled, we look for a solution, that 80% of times in this society, means to buy a solution.
* Advertising of this period is particularly known for the the use of subliminl messages and manipulative style.
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IRRATIONAL CHAIN OF THOUGHTS:
To give a more tangible example about what I am talking about, an example of unconscious desire filler brand would be Volvo. It is sold as a secure and solid space to sit in and the designs are purposely boxy to accentuate the feelings of complete impenetrable safety of the cars. People who choose Volvo would generally choose brands which they perceive to offer what they are missing internally – a safe place. Their backgrounds may be from divorced or bereaved families, or those who had parents who were financially insecure or unable to provide a safe and stable enough environment for them.
Ad: Volvo logo, car and image depicting happy family in or around car Base Unconscious Trigger: Insecure family background Quick feeling of yearned for internal security and stability / Volvo will protect me and keep me safe Chain of Thought: Happy family – stability – personal happiness – safety for my family most important part of buying decision – best car for me is safest car – buy Volvo Generally the only part of the Chain of Thought that the consumer would remember when asked would the last three: safety for my family most important part of buying decision – best car for me is safest car – buy Volvo..
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READING NOCEBO FROM ADVERTISING BASE UNCONSCIOUS TRIGGER: Fear to die AUTOMATIC EMOTIONAL RESPONSES: harm feelings caused by the idea to die because of dental problems/ Curaprox will protect me RATIONAL CHAIN OF THOUGHT: Heart killed by dental problems – death – I don’t want to have problems – safety for me and my family most important part of buying decision – best product to protect me from that is Curaprox – buy Curaprox
NOCEBO:
IF I WILL NOT BUY CURAPROX, I WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO DIE
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FIGHTING BACK OVER THE SAME GROUND
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main goal of the project is to offer people a different point of view about what is going on between media communication and our subconscious, without bother with an academic research. Thus I have been looking for a visual style that could make these messages easily digestible to people and the Culture Jamming movement offered me an inspiration. Throughout the developing process of my personal, critical angle, a constant source of inspiration has been the “Journal of mental health“ of Adbusters. The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based notfor-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. The foundation describes itself as “a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age”. The main feature I was inspired by is their attitude to fight back the consumerism machine using the same techniques it adopts to spread its manipulating messages among the society, fighting back over the same ground. The concept of my game was so taking shape.
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“The same instruments that created consumerism dynamics, have the power to free the society from its.� David Bearman
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INSIDE THE GAME
THE METAPHOR
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First steps were into understanding other games like board games, card games video games and so on, going through an huge case history focused on games with a moral. One of the first rules of game design, is to ensure the engagement of the player offering a story to play or a character to impersonate, but rather than in making up a funny story , I was focused in finding the right way to introduce 2 different reading levels of the game.
The point I have been mostly fascinated by in my journey has been “the Placebo effect of brands“, that also carries a strong magical imagery. I was going into this direction, I have been very surprised in a positive way to find out that I was not the first to see brand power as a placebo effect. There actually was a relatively new debate going on into marketing communities regarding this thought; so I got the felling that I was going in the right direction.
y whole research has been conducted with a scientific method, but what I find really interesting about it, is the particular “mystical and magical flavour” that comes from talking about irrational beliefs and the human unconscious...I decided so to keep this flavour as a thread in the whole project.
o deliver a message, the main feature I have been working one since the first moment I decided to go into the design of a game, has been the development of a “metaphor“ in which to encapsulate both meanings and dynamics of the message I wanted to communicate.
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T
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he name of the game: “Nacebo Æffect” has a voluntary negative connotation, as well as the title: “Dirty Playing on Human Needs“. The word æffect* instead of simply effect brings in a meaning that is part of the Metaphor: the action to affect with an effect.
finally came up with the concept of the Nocebo effect of communication aimed to sell, that turns into an enhancing of the Placebo effect of brands. Suddenly everything made sense from this point of view, the reading of the irrational chain of thought and the dirty play on human needs; I was able to tell my story, furthermore speaking about scientific based theories and data... I finally had the metaphor I was looking for (also the name and title of the game were already there...!)
As I said, the negative connotation is voluntary: the dynamics of the game are thought to engage the players into a competition about who can affect Human Needs in a more effective, lasting and productive way, that playing on their competitive spirit.
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efore to develop my work any further, I have been collecting feedback from people about these concepts: friends, people aware of marketing business, psycholgists, younger people, tutors from my MA, colleagues, advertisers and some other species of human being... the feedback was really encouraging and almost the same from everybody, my theory was considered interesting, understandable and most important, agreeable from most of them (even though it was a bit freak...).
In the playing of the game no moral judgements are involved, player are asked to do bad thing instead, presenting them a bill of how badly they acted and some consequences of their behave, but only in the end of the game. The awareness of to be doing something bad is anyway brought in the game, both by the language register adopted and the same look and messages of the playing cards. So during the game everybody acts badly, but the game does not question it.
The following step has been develop the game dynamics and the test the game: create a system built on the metaphor of Nocebo&Placebo effects that tells a story and put the player into the position to experience the metaphor and enjoy the game.
In the game, who earned the biggest Placebo Effect Power on human needs wins.
* This midified word is not ufficially recognized from the Oxford English Dictionary but is commonly used in spoken english.
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NEED
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EVIL ADVERTISING
= NOCEBO EFFECT
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BRAND IMAGE x PRODUCT (SOLUTION PROMISE)
= PLACEBO
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TESTING THE DEMO
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fter translating the metaphor into rules and the theory in practice, I selected 18 people from 11 to 50 years old to test it*. Few of them were Game Board Geeks, other people randomly selected by their age and gender. The game almost immediatley showed some weaknesses in the practical setting of rules, but after few adjustments, the flow of the game became easy to understand and enjoyable, to use a tester sentence: “because planned in logical way that make sense� (Pierluigi Fagnano, game board geek). The part people enjoyed the most was the design of the cards and the possibility to use a range of different dice. The more weak part was the limited range of actions in the game. Most fundamentally, the part I was interested to test was the metaphor: have I been able to craft the abstract dynamic of my research into something understandable?
* This is the range of age I felt relevant for my project.
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Feedback on a scale from 1 to 10
clear
boring
engaging
confusing SINGLE FEEDBACK
AVERAGE FEEDBACK
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COMPONENTS -a board -6 conuters -a deck on 60 cards -a set of 5 dice (from d4 to d12) -+1 Nocebo Effect Power coin The Cards: “Nocebo Cards“ (11cmX7cm)
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ame cards are called “Nocebo cards“, and are composed by a real brand slogan (with the relative brand logotype or pictogram), and an illustration that tend to twist their meaning, enabling a different interpretation of the slogans (according to the visual language of Adbuster’s spoof ads). They are classified by the same 6 categories of the human needs: playing a card means to affect an human need with the new twisted meaning of the slogan. From this affection players will be rewarded by gaining power in the game and power in the Placebo Effect: “the more effective the nocebo effect, the more powerful the placebo effect of the solution”. The Dice
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sing 5 different dice brings in the game the possibility to differentiate the different level of each player in that turn. According to how many needs you are affected by your Nocebos in that turn, you roll a different die; in terms of the Metaphor of game, the more Needs you affected, the more power you have. You roll a die not only to prevent somebody to affect the needs you are affecting, but also to move you counter on the game board.
d4
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d6
d8
d10
d12
The Game Board
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t is numbered and composed by 2 different paths: a first one that determines what happens at the beginning of your turn; it has different boxes that could make you pick up a Nocebo Card, skip the turn or similar game dynamics. A second path on wich you move your counter on according to the score of your die: each complete spin of the second path the player earn a +1 placebo Effect Power coin. At the end of the game wins who earned more coins, so more Placebo effect Power on human needs. The Counters
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here are 6 counters (according to the max number of players). They are a 3d representation of the graphic element extrapolated from the logotype. As in every board game, the function of the counters is to move on the numbered path to indicate the position of each player. + 1 Nocebo Effect Power coin
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hese coins symbolize the Placebo Effect Power you earn during th game. They are represented by the silohuette of a human head, relating to the concept of Placebo Effect, typically associated as a mental process.
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LOGOTYPE
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he main concept of the logotype was to deliver a feeling of an hidden message; is not easy to read in order to attract the attentention and the focus of the user, triggering the sensation of a deeper symbolic reading level hidden through the combination of the letters. This feature is meant to reflect the the metaphor and concept of the 2 reading levels of the game. The visual style had to reflect the scientific but enigmatic flavour of the subjects treated in the game: Placebo effect, branding, irrational needs and subliminal messaging... I wanted the whole identity of the project to
The Logotype is developed from the Typeface “Washngton D_Bold“
here it is an example of typeface Washington at 12 pts. AND HERE IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE SAME TYPEFACE BUT UPPERCASE This is mostly a Display Typeface, and I choose it because of his clean, but retro style, according to the visual style present among the visual element of the game. As it is possible to notice, I re-elborated the letters and the kerning and create ligatures.
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he leading is voluntarily reduced to create a controlled overlapping of the letters, creating graphic elements from the interaction of the two words. This process enabled me to obtain 6 different graphic elements that could be decontextualized from the Logotype to create a system of visual elements that reinforces the visual identity of the game across the graphic works. Afterwards, I composed a texture with the elements: when used not in the same order, distance and scale of the logotype, these graphic elements create something that the user do not try to read, rather it suggests a feeling of visual continuity between space and the logotype. Also the same graphic elements became the shape of the counters.
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NOCEBO CARDS
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ike for the logotype, card’s refers to the concept of a subliminal and hidden messages. I wanted their style to bring in a feeling of evil, of manipulation. I also wanted to introduce a visual language coherent with the messages and subjects cards had to embody (fighting back over the same ground). I choose so to adopt the style visual style of vintage advertising for different reasons: it speaks the brand language, it is often associated with explicit attempt of manipulation and has a strong imagery of subliminal messaging. Happy faces smiling, sexy pin up girls, vintage dressed people consuming products: Playing with this features, I managed to create a visual grammar discourse about concepts of fear, subliminal advertising, and mind control.
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Nocebo card structure expample: the pictogram at the top indicate that this nocebo card is to affect the Survival need.Right below we got the unmistakable “Coca Cola” logotype, followed by the famous slogan “Have a C*** (coke) and Smile!“. The slogan sounds like an imposition, and the illustration suggest us its imperative tone: Santa Claus, that is recognized as a coca cola’s “testimonial“ advertising, is forced to smile by the other other coca cola’s “mascotte”. The aim is to offer an angle to interpret how this repeated slogan tend to create in the customer the feeling that he has to smile when having a coke; so basically “coke makes you smile, if you want to smile get a coke!”.
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THE HUMAN NEED VISUAL IDENTITY SYSTEM first: Survival Needs (food, reproduction, sleep...)
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he image of the apple and the snake expresses the concept of food and also draw on the archetypal imagery of the “Primordial Sin�, reminding the reproductive function relative to this need. C 15 M 40 Y 20 K0
The color is a Human Pink, and refers to the human body,
second: Safety Needs
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he image of a shell expresses the basic need of a shelt in wich find safety.
The color is a Dark Sea Green, colore related to the feeling of tranquillity of the spirit. C 76 M 30 Y 50 K 10
third: Love & Belongingness
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he anchor is a symbol of belongingness, so the hart anchor represent the feeling of being loved, being part of something. The color is a dark Magenta. a color of passion and emotional health. it is associated with feeling of harmony; according to the psycholgy of colors: at its highest level it generates love, caring, kindness and cooperation, encouraging a balanced and C 20 M 90 Y 45 K5
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fourth: Esteem
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he sense of esteem is something we externally attribuite to things, is not an intrinsec value. That’s why a sparkling stone has became the most esteemed symbol in the world imagery; and that’s why I choose this image to represent this need.
C 15 M5 Y 55 K0
The color is a Golden Yellow. Yellow is the most powerfoul of every color, it enhance the perception of value, it relates to the head, not to the heart. fifth: Self Actualization
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he symbol of an human silohuette in the meditating position and the big eyes are archetypal of reaching awarness and reachness of the spirit; stages of this need. The color is Indigo, a certain shade of blu that refers to the symbology of the Intuition (represented in many cultures with the third eye) and spiritual knowledge, that are the main feature of the self actualization process. Also according to the theory of perception of colors it is associated with: introspection, integrity, structure and order, winsdom and sincerity.
C 85 M 50 Y 30 K 10
sixth: Self Transcendence
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his stage of the human needs involvse the feeling of wanting to understand the world and other people, transcending our own vision of the things in search of a superior thruth. Two faces, one point of view. Two entities, one perception, this is the meaning I wanted to achieve with the design of this Icon.
The color is a Dark pastel Purlpe that connotates the spiritualism, emphaty and love for humanity. C 60 M 60 Y 30 K5
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“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.� Tom Robbins
CLOSING THE LOOP
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SUMMING UP
CONCLUSION
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Whit this project I do not mean to state that all branding or advertising is evil or plays on our irrational desires. My intent is to bring to a conscious level what happens at the irrational level of the human “buyology“, offering people another angle to question their relationship with brands. In this world where about the 90% of the whole communication inputs are aimed to make us “buy“ something (be it a product, a service, a religion or a political party...), I feel really relevant to get people aware of the overdose of commercial messages we are bombed with, to attract their attention on this issue of the current society, perhaps giving a contribute that could help them to develop a critical point of view about the facts rather than just inform them.
Being asked to face my self, to develop a personal project researching about something of my interest, without anybody telling me what to do, eihter if it was right or wrong, has not been easy and probably because, be the background academic or commercial, everybody is used to just have somebody telling them what to do, without being asked to use their creative potential at 100%, starting a project from their own interests. This method anyway, gave me the chance to grow an inner discourse and realize what I really wanted to do with my skills of visual communicator.
ne of my purposes for this major project was also to start something that would not just finish with the hand in, but that I could keep and develop further on, perhaps in prospect to have it produced or published. I will keep working on this demo, so more than a conclusion, I see a starting point for my work.
A game, this is the channel I choose to communicate my message. The message so become an experience, the experience perhaps a smile, the smile hopefully a thought. “Learn by doing” is the offer of this game, the whole meaning of my research is achievable with a small effort, just play the game critically, and it will be revealed.
would like to conclude this report saying that this project is not just the expression of my research, but I also consider it as a personal statement. What I am really glad about, is that this MA helped me not just to define and understand better my personal design style, it also got me to draw a line about how I see my role of designer and communicator in this society.
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started this MA, as I use to say, “to better understand my enemy“, because I always felt against the commercial exploitation of visual communication...what I wanted was to understand more about dynamics that moves people’s mind, about targeted messages manipulation; that because I am really fascinated by human perception. I finally ended up realizing that as a communicator I have a responsibility regarding messages and meaning I create and spread across people; so rather than just a “job” for a living, I now feel I have a moral “duty” towards my works. Communication is a powerful tool, and I promise my self to not use it for meaningless or evil purposes.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Lindstrom, M. (2009) Buyology, Random House Business Book Settle, R. and Alreck, P. (1986) Why they buy, New York: John Wiley&sons Klein, Naomi (2000) “No Logo“ Ariely, D. (2008) Predictably irrational, New York: HarperCollins Hamerman, E. (2009) Illusory Control and Superstition: Impact on Consumer Behavior, New York Noble, I. (2005) Visual research: an introduction to research methodologies in graphic design. Lausanne: AVA R. Klanten, S. Ehmann, T. Tissot, N. Bourquin (2010) Data Flow 2, Gestalten Roberts, K, (2005) Lovemarks, PowerHouse Books Lasn, Kalle (1999) Culture Jam, Mondandori
Berns, S. (2005) Price, Placebo, and the Brain, Journal of Marketing Research,Vol. XLII (November 2005), 399–400 Carmon, Z. and Ariely, D (2006) Placebo Effects of Marketing Actions: Consumers May Get What They Pay For, Unpublished Waber. L (2006)The Role of Branding and Pricing on Health Outcomes via the Placebo Response, Master of science in media arts and sciences, Massachusetts institute of technology
WEBLIOGRAPHY www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-477986/Confessions-brand-addict-.html http://www.design-thinkers.co.uk/the-psychology-of-brand-choices/ http://coolmarketingstuff.com/the-placebo-effect-and-marketing/ http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/02/the-placebo-aff.html http://www.designerblog.it/categoria/graphic-design http://www.millwardbrown.com/BrandZ/Default.aspx
IMAGE REFERENCES pag 2 Scientific Illustration, Unknow artist pag 7/8 Honk Kong, ©chinalights.com pag 10 Illustration for “The Econimist“, Brett Ryder pag 11 The economy Journal, Unknown Artist pag 15 “Fresh young chicken”, Tibor Calbam pag 21/22 Personal elaboraton pag 23 Personal Elaboration pag 25 “Are you happy yet?“, Beau House studio pag 30, Volvo Advertising 2006, unknown photographer pag 31 Curaprox Advertising pag 33/34 Obsession and Absolut Spoof ads, Adbusters pag 35/36 “Come to where the flavor is”, Alex Gross pag 53/54 “Tarhumarens playing Queenz”, Unknown artist
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