Déformation professionelle - Professional diseases in advertising and marketing
Axel Eckstein, Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Switzerland, writes in Werbewoche about pathology in advertising and marketing. In the second episode: visual fetishism (stimulus best practice).
Visual fetishism is understood as behavior in which an object, the so-called fetish (yogurt, car, sweater), is to be depicted in a schematic advertising manner in such a way that arousal occurs. If the stimulus seems impossible without the fetish, the behavior is considered to require treatment.
Forms
Characteristic is the precisely defined way in which a fetish must be photographed or filmed. In food fetishism, for example, artificial raspberries fall into cream yogurt at 360 frames per second. Automotive fetishists (paint erotica) respond to reflections and split mass. Fashion fetishists have the drape of clothing retouched until they experience visual satisfaction.
Causes
The motive is still unclear today. According to a theory of Freud, the always same presentation of the fetish symbolizes ritualized actions of one's own mother, i.e. security. Skinner, on the other hand, suspects that the fetishist is simply reacting to the pressure of conformity of his professional group, rather than to the target group's need to be able to distinguish offers.
Distribution
Visual fetishism occurs almost exclusively in triangular relationships between client, agency and production company. The consumer is left out, as the fetish has become a complete substitute for the genuine communicative act with him.
From the current Print edition the advertising week.
