Andre Breton the Surrealist Manifesto

The surrealist manifesto was written in 1924 by the original member and leader, Andre Breton. It was the culmination of the writings of the surrealist group and sought to dispel the ‘rationalism’ which brought about the first world war. It really identifies the whole surrealist idea as a movement, with an agenda, rather than just a style of art. Some of Bretons ideas flirted with Socialism, indeed he was part of the French Communist party, although this political link for the surrealist movement as a whole is hotly debated as it is a popular notion that their work was apolitical. There follows some extracts from the manifesto of 1924.

The simplest Surrealist act consists of dashing down into the street, pistol in hand, and firing blindly, as fast as you can pull the trigger, into the crowd.
Andre Breton, Second Manifesto of Surrealism 

Let us not mince words: the marvellous is always beautiful. Anything marvellous is beautiful, in fact only the marvellous is beautiful. 
Andre Breton, 1924

And ever since I have had a great desire to show forbearance to scientific musing, however unbecoming, in the final analysis, from every point of view. Radio? Fine. Syphilis? If you like. Photography? I don\’t see any reason why not. The cinema? Three cheers for darkened years. War? Gave us a good laugh. The telephone? Hello. Youth? Charming white hair. Try to make me say thank you: “Thank you.” Thank you. 
Andre Breton, Manifesto of Surrealism

vintage surreal ads

Manifesto research Guinness surreal ad

FISH AND BICYCLE 1996

In the later Nineties, Guinness advertising went a bit ironic. It developed attitude. The new campaign, “Black and White”, was all about not believing what you saw. It took famous quotations like Pete Townsend’s “hope I die before I get old” from “My Generation” and set them in high-contrast black-and-white posters. This commercial, “Bicycle”, was directed by Tony Kaye, the Nineties’ most controversial commercials director. It is built around the feminist graffiti “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle”. It’s the predictable women at work doing men’s jobs – mining, drilling roads and driving lorries – and the wonderful image of the fish on the bicycle.

Manifesto research Benson and Hedges ‘Iguana’ 1979

Created by the legendary Alan Waldie during the golden years of Collett Dickenson Pearce, this classic piece of surrealism inspired many a creative director who, on first seeing the ad at the cinema, vowed to get into advertising. The commercial was shot by Hugh Hudson and is imbued with an ominous atmosphere and mounting tension which are only released at the dramatic climax. Audiences had never seen anything like it. Why is the helicopter there? The guana? We never found out, which of course was the point. The ad was part of a long-running campaign produced by CDP for Benson & Hedges which demonstrated how advertising restrictions could in fact fuel creative potency rather than restrict it. Indeed the lack of a traditional idea in this commercial openly mocked the ban on saying anything about cigarettes in advertising. An ad that changed advertising.

Benson and hedges ‘Iguana’ 1979

Manifesto research United colours of Benetton

United colours of Benetton has never shied away from pushing the envelope with its diversity-championing ads. gone too far with its  anti hate campaigns. For its first major advertising push in a decade, the retailer’s just-released campaign sees Photoshopped images of world leaders kissing each other.

President Barack Obama is seen smooching Venezuela’s Hugo Chàvez (above left) and China’s Hu Jintao, German chancellor Angela Merkel plants one on France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and likely most controversial of all, Pope Benedict leans in for a kiss from Islamic Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb.

“What does UNHATE mean,” the advertising copy reads.

“UN-hate. Stop hating, if you were hating. Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think. Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.”

This is an incredibly powerful campaign, it brings so much shock value, and I personally feel would make you stand up and take notice. Would a campaign be an effective campaign without the shock impact to make you stand up and believe in it? 

Featuring powerful and sometimes graphically disturbing images representing racism, death, world strife, and social taboos, the ads from these campaigns had nothing to do with the clothes that United Colors of Benetton sold. There was much debate over the ethics behind the campaign and many publications did not run the ads.

The company is extremely proud of their campaigns despite all of the criticisms, as you can see from this quote on their website:

“Creating added value for the brand: this is the aim of United Colors of Benetton corporate communication. It contributes to creating the image of a global enterprise that invests in research, is modern and projected towards the future, emphasizing its principal and most important characteristic: uniqueness.”

United colours of Benetton ventured into controversial territory in 1991 with the publication of “Pieta”, a photographic expose of the reality of AIDS. The photo of AIDS activist David Kirby was taken in his room in the Ohio state university Hospital in May 1990, with his father, sister and niece at his bedside. The photo was taken by Therese Frare Frare included the black and white photograph in a photographic documentary on the lives of clients and caregivers in a hospice for people with AIDS. The photograph was included in Life Magazine in November 1990, and went on to win the 1991 World Press Photo Award. This poster although does not have anything to do with the clothing they sell, people were drawn to it, and causing a stir, only gets the name out, more people will talk about it. 

 

Manifesto research Cadburys Gorilla ad

The intriguing part of this commercial is that it contains no hard sell. The visual element is just a Gorilla playing a Phil Collins song on the drums. So what gave the brand a lift in sales? Some background: During the industrial revolution, the Cadbury Brothers took over their father’s business, laying the foundation for its growth into one of the largest confectionery giants in the world. The brothers also made their mark on UK society through their philanthropic attitude towards their workers and the community in general. In modern speak, this approach in a society which generally treated workers as lowly paid serfs, generated huge positive word-of-mouth publicity among the masses. Chocolate is an impulse purchase. There are, of course, chocoholics but they are few in number. Prior to the release of the Gorilla movie, according to UK trade media, Cadbury was having a poor season. Sales were down because of screw ups that affected the quality of the product, which resulted in the brand dropping in top-of-mind awareness and sales.

I believe the reason the Gorilla commercial attracted so much attention was because it was totally out the norm. It amused, which enabled it to break through the boredom barrier. Coming in from outfield, it generated word-of-mouth. As a result the brand regained a place on the public’s radar screen, and sales followed. Which is proof that out of the ordinary, surreal does have a huge impact on viewers, resulting in cadburys sales going up.

 

The Cadburys Gorilla ad

Manifesto research Valerija Ilchuk

Valerija IIchuk has created some very disturbing collage art. Disfigured, bloodied and disembodied people appear in this artists work, which involves fashion advertisements, such as the Gucci ad, which has what looks like blood pouring from the models crotch. A company wanting to create a buzz for the brand would be more likely to invest in Avant – Garde or shocking. By attracting consumers to the ads disturbing content, the company stands a good chance of earning long lasting brand recognition from a critical media. 

Manifesto research A powerful ad technique

These surrealistic ads show that incorporating fantasy into your advertising strategy can give you a strategic advantage due to its incredibly artistic and creative nature and make any audience keen to see your ads. From surreal skydiving commercials powerfully promoting the experience of human flight to TBWA’S futuristic vodka ads. Pieces in the collection capture the effectiveness of surrealism in advertising and encourages marketers and advertising agencies to follow the powerful pattern. Romain Laurent, Yeva Babayan and Armands Leitis ad agency, are are on the cutting edge of innovation. Embraced in everything from fashion and chocolate to sports and investments, surrealistic ads are the way to go when looking to differentiate a company.