About the Image

Karen D’Silva
Remember when placing a computer in the shot made the image “high tech”?  These days, it’s difficult to imagine a time where you don’t have at least one digital device attached to you in one form or another. Thanks to technology, we can now take our work home or rather bring our life to our  work.  This UK Sony ad for their Vaio laptop, illustrates the blur we now experience between work and life.

Though the image in this ad is intentionally ambiguous, the photograph Iooks to be of a twenty something using her laptop.  The laptop is surrounded by props that imply she could be working on a project that was conceived on paper, and will eventually be burned to disc.  Or maybe she’s downloading tunes to burn for this week’s imix commute while she catches up on celebrity gossip with her favorite mag.  Her body language points to her concentration and determination to get something done.  All these variables point to an image we have seen hundreds of times advertising the likes of almost anything from telecommunications to an online department store.

Where the image starts to separate from the rest, is the superimposed image of the home.   By focusing on the patio door  reflection of someone using their laptop, the visual metaphor comes to light.  Work and Life have now blurred into one.

 
Meg Asaro
What I love about this ad is the relationship between the tagline ‘Be Like No Other’ and the image. The ad agency is positioning the Sony Vaio computer as an extension of the user, a means to an end in defining the self. After all, our possessions define us to a certain extent and technology has now officially moved into that arena with fashion brands.  Why do you buy Calvin Klein for instance? Usually, to show that label to the world.  The same is now true for technology as it becomes part of our uniform. For instance, I am a Mac user. Come on, like I am the only one who has made that statement.  I feel like I am part of a cool, creative club. Snotty but true. My sister uses a PC. We talk about how this is reflective of us as people. This is the platform Apple has used successfully for years and here, Sony is attempting to break into the same brand badge arena where your tech can elevate your own personal Cool Factor. Apple just broke selling 100 million ipods. Sony, as the makers of the walkman back in the 80’s, would love a piece of that pie. That is why I see when looking at this ad - an attempt to make Vaio computers cool to the cool crowd - so Sony can grow their market share.  Must be a difficult proposition, making a PC cool, with Apple doing so well.

They have used photographic elements as a means to an end to convey the Cool Factor.  By using moody shadows, the viewer feels like they are entering a world maybe they shouldn’t.  What is she doing?  Is she working?  Is she blogging? The unknown element of the image makes the viewer pause and in that split second, think about Vaio computers.  Would you change your computer?  Quite a big decision, right?  But, by illustrating how young people interact with technology on such a personal and individual level (‘Be Like No Other’, remember?), we the viewers, might think about the relationship we have with our own computer and consider changing brands, even if only for a second.

 
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Related Stories:

Visual case study: State Farm microsite NowWhat.com (April 3, 2007)
Visual case study: Samsung Black Carbon Ultra Edition mobile phone (March 6, 2007)
Visual case study: Sea Island Resorts (February 6, 2007)
Visual case study: Microsoft Zune campaign (January 4, 2007)
Visual case study: California Closets (December 1, 2006)

Meg Asaro & Karen D’Silva are the Principals of Spark Visual Research. For more information about the authors visit the bios for Meg Asaro, Karen D’Silva, or www.sparkvisualresearch.com. D’Silva and Asaro also publish their own newsletter for professional photographers seeking highly applicable market research presented specifically for use in conceptual planning for commercial photography productions.