Ad: LEGOVader (Blog 4/6)

http://www.thecoolhunter.net/ads

This ad is part of a social media advertising campaign by LEGO that places LEGO creations amidst popular landmarks or simply in unexpected places, like this parking garage. Visually, Darth Vader's mechanic and rigid body stands in for a parking machine and his light saber is the parking gate arm. The futuristic figure works well visually and functionally as a stand-in for the mechanic device.

I really like this advertisement because it is unusual that it features no logos or text at all, except for a LEGO banner that was accompanied above it. As a social media campaign I think it works well because it is something that one would come across online. Leaving out text that prompts the audience to buy makes the image more intriguing for the viewer. I think ads that are only visually intriguing work well because they seem to blur the lines between the publisher of the image and the viewer, who has more power in making meaning from what they observe. It is fun, playful and fresh, and this comes across in the visual composition of the piece.

The yellow painted line on the pavement guides the eye toward the arm. The audience is visually experiencing the unusual presence of Darth Vader as a passenger in a car moving approaching the gate. The lights along the concrete wall make it clear that the tunnel narrows and will lead to an unknown end that Darth Vader guards access to. The lights appear to be turned off and only the glowing red light that reflects off the pavement makes this area visible. Positioning a car right behind the gate makes the possibility of entering into the alternate world a reality. The adventure is not only attainable and possible in this ad, it is immediately imminent. This adds to the playfulness and imaginary aspect of the advertisement. The audience is left asking, what happens next, and what exists beyond the gate. The skillful darkening of the tunnel and curve of the wall heightens this "need to know".

I think this ad works really well for the LEGO brand. Beyond the fact that it is playful and imaginary, which is logical for a toy advertisement, its pairing with the popular saga is visually and ideologically perceptive. The colours and lines of this mundane real-life parking garage scene mimic that of the futuristic world of Star Wars. It is as if the audience is entering the modern world of technology, which works to benefit the LEGO brand by bringing the classic toy into the modern day. The associations the audience makes just by pairing LEGO with Star Wars works positively to make the toy a timeless, yet fresh and innovative product.