Eisenstein And Advertising
:: Matthew Hundley :: 1992/2002

While taking a film criticism course at the University of Colorado I had viewed a television commerical for Bayer aspirin. What I found interesting about this :30 masterpiece is how many conventions established by the great Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein were being used - whether consciously or unconsciously.

I quickly wrote an analysis for the commercial, which went as follows:

Film techniques established by the masters of the silent era are still in use in modern advertising campaigns. Though the following analysis breaks down a particular commercial for Bayer aspirin-the elements discussed are applicable to many of the standardized commercial fare of today.

This ad starts out with a barrage of "loud" images, a montage in you will,
of images which portray conflict in everyday life: police cars, traffic jams, headlines in newspapers of pitfall of society, TV politicians and evangelists, and trouble in the home with a spouse or with children.

The ad then presents an oversized Bayer logo as the entity which breaks
down conflict bringing peace and joy into your life presented through a
barrage of uplifting images: a woman with a content look and a bouquet
of flowers sitting in the sun looking very angelique.

Now that we've established the feel of this commercial we shall apply
Eisensteinian theory to twelve situations presented on the screen and
the subtitles that accompany them throughout.

1. Close-up of an old man with a newspaper. Conflicts of volume and depth, with the newspaper serving as metaphor, possibly the initiator of the events about to be played out before us.

2. Zoom in to police officer. Pan right across line of police vehicles w/flashers
on. Conflict of space found in the contrasting direction of vehicles and camera.

3. Intercut shots of rock star give stroblit effect and sense of imbalance.
An awkward rhythm is created through the insertion of various lengths of black.
Conflict is created by flashing from 5 medium shots to 2 sudden close shots. The change of poses between the shots also creates conflict.

4. Close shot of woman w/baby shot at angle. Cut to MLS of woman still
holding baby, objects tilted downward toward the left with two more children weighing down left side of screen. Conflict in depth created by the empty hallways behind this seen while actors are aligned in one plane.

5. WS of foundry workers moving from screen right to left. Camera is stagnant. Cut to CU of hand reaching for timecard. This is a dark image. Conflict arises in the jump from WS to CU. Viewer does not know who is punching timecard.

6. A biker, screen center, in foreground of traditional Renaissance perspective city scene. At issue here is conflict in depth. As city buildings pass and cars get smaller in the area behind him. Our first subliminal text "RELIEF" emerges highlighted in blue. Exercise (biking) plus our product (Bayer) equals Relief. Subliminal text moving left to right across lower third of screen created conflict of direction with biker who goes right to left.

7. A TV screen, slightly slanted, ECU face of politician or evangelist. Cut to CU of mouth ranting. Conflict in volume. Frame divided with horizontal lines also causes conflict. Text "NEW" enters upper 1/3 screen from right to left and in bottom third from left to right; highlighted in red. Resulting concept: new politics (pertinent to election year), new religion, new feeling.

8. Frame within frame: MS of woman standing and man sitting. Jump cut to man's dark body engulfing woman's light body. Jump cut MCU of jacket thrown over man's head. Screen left is dark. Text "STOMACH GUARD." Conflict of dark and light. Message that product relieves emotional conflict.

My favorite aspect of studying early film history is examining the production codes and procedures that were established by the great directors like Griffith and Eisenstein that we still incorporate today into television and movie production.