Is everything done in a successful advert done by chance?

The answer of course must be yes, chance having such an impact on just about everything in our lives today, but saying that, are some of the images we see the result of some careful digging into what makes us all tick??

The answer to that I reckon, is an emphatic yes. Why do I say this, well in my 30's I was a very keen photographer, taking pictures of just about anything, including the human form. I took part in many competitions and studied for qualifications with the Royal Society of Photography.

It is the Hidden that Facinates

My experiences and reading gave me one great truth (which may well not be "news" to many of you) in that it is not always what is in a picture that fascinates, but rather what is hidden or hinted at, this is especially the case when dealing with the human form and any sexual interest.

One great example of the "draw" of the hidden is the experiment run on a beach full of totally naked men and women. When a girl walked past in a dress which blew up in a draft, all the men without exception turned to see what they could see. The fact that naked women surrounded them was of little interest, it was the "lure of the hidden" that fascinated.

Sex Sells

Now, we all know that sex is used to sell, and we all know that the reason this is the case is that the human is programmed to take the matter of sex very seriously, we have little choice in the matter, and advertisers make full use of this fact.

It was with this musing that caused me to consider a large hoarding on a builder's site. The hoarding is being used to promote the new housing development of course, but when I looked at it and it's sister (there were two) I wondered why one was so much more interesting to me than the other.

The hoardings are both of the same size, one showing a very posh living room, and the other, the fascinating one, a picture of a family playing indoors. Now, it might be the human interest that causes the reaction, but then I got to thinking about the "lure of the hidden" and cross referenced this to my research into eye tracking on the web. It was then that things started to drop into place…

The Light Dawned

The advertising hoarding looks pretty standard at first glance, being simply a picture of a couple playing with their young son. There is a net curtained window at the back of the picture telling stories of a nice sunny day outside (first hit on the hidden), the room is well carpeted and the furniture all very nice, all painting a very nice picture. But what of the people in the picture??

Well, on the left at the back is the presumed wife (why presumed, because the ring finger is not visible in either the man or woman) and on the right, the man of the house. Both of these people are of course very attractive and are playing with their son, who occupies the front of the picture and is very happy.

First impressions, a very nice family group (which again triggers thoughts of the story behind such a sunny couple).

Eye Tracking Surveys

But it is the way that the man and woman are posed that really caused me to think that this advert was the result of some very careful planning. Now, before I say why, let me give you some interesting facts about the way we humans look at other humans, most of which I would guess will already be known to you.

It was no surprise for me to learn that both sexes looked at the sexual areas of the other, or that they both checked out the ring finger, but it was a surprise to learn that many men also checked out the size of the "packet" of any male images (the surprise for me being that I don't).

The Advert Dismantled

Thus when I viewed this advert in detail I noticed the following:-

1) The female's crotch area was obscured by her right hand
2) The male's crotch area was hidden by the little boy
3) The ring fingers of both were not visible
4) The female's t shirt style blouse was ever so slightly bowed

All the above would trigger the "what is hidden" part of our brains, both male and female, and thus draw us to look at the picture, perhaps again and again. Why again and again? Well, the logical part of our brain will tell us that it is a picture and can't change, but the other part will be hoping for the wind to blow (like on that beach) and change the image so we can see what was hidden, thus revealing what "fascinates" us..

Now, I could be reading too much into this particular image, but it makes you think doesn't it…


Graham Baylis
Internet Marketing and Promotion Specialists
www.I-O-M.com
"Making sure your needle is found in the Internet Haystack"