Embodied Emotions
It’s currently 1:14 A.M. (PST, if you care) and I absolutely cannot sleep.
I funny thing happened to me, right before I went to sleep- I read an article. The article dealt with an issue that is very near to my heart, and probably many others, although who am I to put thoughts in people’s heads, other than an expert manipulator. However, a rush of emotions was set off, causing panic, euphoria, anxiety, fear, happiness, sadness, and the rest of Noah’s ark of emotions. Only they don’t really come two by two.
It’s something that I know happens, but never realized with a cognizant manner what was happening. Simply reading about these issues, my body and mind were brought to a place where these emotions commonly manifest themselves. You can do this with anything, photos, books, movies, porn. All design to make you feel a certain way.I’m sure advertisers try and leverage this against us. Why are all late night ads about food or some shitty school? Maybe because the type of person up at 3am doesn’t have that 9-5 job? These ads fail though, because they are targeting a need, no matter how manufactured or necessary, that the person has not experienced.
Sure they’ve been hungry before, but not the way they are hungry right now. What if an add for a cologne some how made you think of the worst smells in your memory? Something so offensive and intoxicating that the only way you could get through the rest of the day was to know, and i’ve never meant the word more powerfully, that the smell was gone.
What would that commercial look like? To me, it’d probably be a wet dog, or a still camera shot of the grungiest, dirtiest toilet. That shit (pun intended) would make me want to by all of the following products: cologne, toilet paper, lint remover, antiseptic, odor eliminators, etc.
I think I missed my calling.
Anyone reading this is very happy about it.