Original Advertisement
As far as billboard goes, they are there to attract the attention of the public. It is the use of a large eye-catching image that will attract attention of the spectators. In cases of a billboard it is the image that is selling towards the audience. Hence the images need to be eye-catching with the use of colours, shapes, and sizes. In this particular case it is an area in Indonesia called Raja Ampat. It consists of islands and beaches where the view is spectacular. The image of this beach is the foreground as it is eye-catching with its mesmerizing beauty. There is also a logo in the right corner which states ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ which is the slogan that the ministry of tourism gave in order to attract foreigners to come to Indonesia. However, as mesmerizing the image is, it is also there to deceive the audience. As it only focuses on the good side of Indonesia. Indonesia is actually a heavily polluted country especially with the plastic as the main problem in the pollution. Indonesia was once ranked the second most polluted oceans. The oceans are filled with plastic waste that is not managed by the people; hence the waste ends up in the ocean. This hurts both the ecosystem of the ocean but it is also deceiving as the image shown is not exactly the same as it is. The image is also photoshopped as the colours seen this this advertisement is a lot brighter and more vibrant than it actually is. Hence, the main purpose of this image was to attract attention of the public. To convince them to come visit Indonesia, it is also noted that this billboard is in New York. Which is a metropolitan city, hence it would attract the eyes of the public even further as these tropical islands do not exist in New York.
Edited Advertisement
In this new image the focus was still as a billboard that would attract foreigners to come to Indonesia to visit. However, the image is the one that is foregrounded, as the image was the main focus of the previous billboard. The changes come with the image itself, which shows a more realistic image in terms of colour, saturation, shadows, highlights, and structure. It also shows a more realistic image on what to expect when coming to the sea, which is a lot of plastic waste. This picture shows a real image of a surfer in Indonesia surfing in the waters of Indonesia. With this change it highlights a main problem that Indonesia is currently facing, which is dealing and cleaning the ocean from plastic waste. The other thing that this highlight is how in an advertisement, especially visual advertisements whether it is motion or still, always tries to deceive the audience and attract the audience into believing into something that actually does not exists or is too real to exist. The location of Raja Ampat is real, but the actual place does not actually replicate to the one shown towards the public. This alteration of the images reveals how companies exaggerate images in order to attract audience and attention. This allows them to benefit that is their main focus when advertising a product, place, or service. It is the job of the audience to be wary of this fact and to understand that the companies are trying to attract us. It invokes the idea of how the public needs to be more aware at what big companies are doing in order to attract attention. Therefore, through this alteration in the image, there is a big impact on how we see the billboard. The audience might still be attracted to this image but for a different reason. As the motto and the picture are contradictive and would make the audience think. This alteration gives a more honest answer towards the audience which was the opposite of the prior image.