South African Conceptual Advertising

Cherise Prinsloo

BE 2010-0496

History Of Graphic Design

AGHA 300

Assignment 1

Question 5

South African Contemporary design

Concept design is the metaphorical translation of an advertisement. Advertising companies use techniques likes exaggeration, false truths, and downplaying to manipulate the consumer. 

This Allan Grey advertisement has a little girl who wants to grow up too fast, so when she is restricted by her parents she blocks her nose and blows, and that makes her grow. This has no true value, but the theme of the advertisement is that "Time Flies". It is an advertisement for an insurance company, the metaphoric meaning to this is that one should make arrangements to insure that your life, and the life of your family is covered. 

The translation of this advertisement is "boy or man", this insinuates that if you can drink this beer, you are a man. It is a false truth that people usually associate with beer. This advertisement plays on this preconception that men have to drink beer, and real men drink this beer.This beer sets the man apart from the boy.  

In this advertisement, MTN have approached a sensitive issue in South Africa. There is a increasingly high unemployment rate in South Africa. MTN have taken this fact and used it order to better their sales by stating that they are motioning toward changing this. The unemployment rate has nothing to the do with the brand, however, it does add more positivity to their image. People associate them with a philanthropic image that deals with an issue that can be fixed. Unemployment is results in a high crime and corruption percentage in the country, so MTN is seemingly approaching the small tasks in order to solve the bigger problem.