HSBC has a series of print advertisements that center around perception. I have always found these ads eye-catching and thought provoking, as they present different points of view for the same image. Perception is not something we generally tend to think about very much, we naturally assume that what we see is the same as what other people see. It is these advertisements that drive home the fact that the glass could be either half-full or half-empty.
Different cognitive schema make us perceive things in different ways. A person’s personal construct influences how things are represented in their minds. For example, in the following ad,
the ad focuses on how the stimulus of the word ‘security’ evokes different mental images for different people.
Figure describes the focus of our attention while ground refers to the setting or context surrounding the focus. Take for example, the following ad.
The figure itself is the henna, however, the ground changes based on context. For one person the context is that henna is traditional while for another henna is something new and exotic.
While reading through the lecture notes, I decided to focus this blog entry on perception as I kept thinking of these ads and their emphasis on different points of view. I have always been intrigued upon seeing these ads, primarily due to their attention to the fact that different people see things differently.
I felt that HSBC is effectively focusing on how they respect different opinions. As a bank, it’s vital that they understand how different cultures world over interpret the same things. It’s a very eye-catching campaign because the pictures they use are of things one sees everyday and quickly interprets. Many pictures, like this one,
I would interpret in a heartbeat without giving a thought to how someone else may see it. For me a wedding means fairytale. But the ad instantly reminds you of how very different marriage is for some people. The campaign has a nice flow to it as well. Since the ads stick in ones mind, one tends to actively look for others of the same kind. I find it fascinating how one simple word can drastically alter the meaning of the identical same picture.
What about you? Do you have any alternate interpretations for the images?
I agree that perception is different to each and everyone of us. To me, cake is good and the papaya is bad. But I don’t mean it in health wise. I mean it in taste wise. The question is asked, “which is good and which is bad?” It was never asked “what”.
I think you did a good job on this. My perception is that an A will be given to you 😀
Hwaiting!
wow. thats actually true sometimes but not always.
i think it has got to do with your perception about things and not always what the creator wants you to think. Yes it does have an impact on how you think. but you do not always think what they want you to. I guess thats the difference between a good marketer and a bad one.
People see things differently, there’s no denying that. For me, papaya is good and cake is really bad.
How can the cake be bad? All I see is chocalaty goodness! But thats just me.
This is a really good technique to provoke the viewer to think about how he views the world. I think the factors that might make you see the pictures in different lights could be the society or culture you are brought up in. Surely the henna wount have any tradtional vaue for someone who grew up in Europe.
It’s definitely true that different people quite often have varying perceptions of the same subject matter. But I also believe that a lot of these advertisement campaigns are designed with an aim to develop a certain perception in particular in the mind of the viewer. For example, it’s no coincidence that as awareness of the ill effects of smoking has been increasing over the years, there has been a dramatic decrease in the tobacco advertisements especially on television which would be, by far, the medium most easily accessible to their intended audience.
Most ad campaigns are simply designed to generate profit and they tend to use the most effective technique which is very often exploitation of the fact that people in different regions of the world generally look at many different topics in very different light.
Yes indeed, perception varies from person to person. And I think that extend is shaped by cultural, societal and cognitive factors.
I have always liked the HSBC’s slogan, “The World’s Local Bank”. I thought that the commercial which show how a social norm is considered a taboo in another context is ingenious.
Good , bad, right, wrong… Its all dependant on how it is perceived.