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Re: LOLOL!
robert — (archived)

That would be bent, all right. Actually, adding a small jarring note, like the significant glance at the start of the line dancing commercial, is a recognized technique for hooking the viewer deeper into the video. It might otherwise just roll right over us, but one little thing at the start can cue us to pay attention for other anomalies.

You hear the key phrase "a good time" clearly and loudly and repeatedly, but you have to listen to hear the rest of the lyrics that tell the alternate story. That's the signature of a subtle use of subliminal techniques, the quiet hardly-noticed message slipping in under cover of the loud noises and bright lights. You got the first layer of meaning clearly, and I'm suggesting that there are additional layers below it.

I really do think that advertising has evolved into an art form of miniatures, video short stories that labor mightily to pack a huge amount of meaning into multiple layers constrained by time. The commercial message is ignoble, and I wish my use of the word "whoring" weren't so accurate, but even so, somehow art finds expression, however perverted.

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