The Advertising Message: Oblique and Indirect (Chapter 5)

Gucci's latest ad campaign has indirect/oblique ads

Advertising doesn’t always rely on direct information messages. Indirect or oblique forms of communication can register a point with more impact than literal messages. Such indirect or oblique ads often rely on powerful images to make a statement. These ads are missing the sense that someone is trying to tell you something, however this does not mean they are ineffective. The author describes indirect ads as Clayton’s messages or the message you are receiving when you are not receiving a message. Instead of directly receiving a message, consumers are experiencing life or being entertained.

This type of ad communicates impressions and can be just as effective as ads communicating facts. As these ads deliver certain impressions about a brand, we construct attitudes toward that brand. The images or attitudes that have become associated with the brand are filed into our memory without ever having been part of a direct message.

 This is done without us being particularly aware of the process. While our attention is focused on the experience or entertainment, we learn implicitly or without intent. We are learning or receiving the message with our minds on autopilot. However, our minds will only passively accept things which are consistent with our own existing knowledge or beliefs. If an ad violates this principle, it may be ineffective. Indirect or oblique communications are effective due to their ability to build the right mood associations for the brand and lock them into memory, or for their ability to put those associations on the brand’s attribute agenda. In essence, we are learning by association. It is difficult to measure the effects of such ads.

In order to measure the advertisement’s effectiveness, one must look at how the communication has influenced our image of, attitude toward or behavior regarding the brand, rather than the conscious message take-out. Indirect ads have the potential to influence our buying decisions, particularly those made with little consideration.

Key Points: Indirect or oblique ads…

• rely on powerful images rather than a direct message to make a point
• are a Clayton’s message or the message you receive when you are not receiving a message
• communicate impressions which lead us to construct attitudes toward the brand
• work because our focus of processing is on something else in the communication rather than the message
• are effective due to their ability to build the right mood associations for the brand and lock them into memory, or for their ability to put those associations on the brand’s attribute agenda
• have the potential to influence our buying decisions, particularly those made with little consideration

Some examples of this include:

Gucci, as mentioned earlier, has become one of the most recognizable labels in the fashion and retail industry. These ads are a part of the Gucci Spring/Summer 2010 ad campaign. These are indirect or oblique ads. While there is not a direct message, these ads deliver the impressions that Gucci is a luxury brand associated with wealth, status and power.

Also, 

This 2007 SKYY Vodka ad depicts a beautiful jet-setter’s arrival in a desert paradise. This is also an indirect advertisement. While the commercial is absent of words or a literal message, this commercial leaves us with the impression that SKYY Vodka is a premium drink associated with glamour, wealth, luxury and power