Using this advertisement or the screening from class as an example, discuss how Ernie Kovacs’ artistic experiments with television sound (or silence), aesthetics, and timing dialogue with growing concerns about television’s noisiness and commercialism?
Ernie Kovacs was an innovative entertainer, however he did not succeed as a popular host. Critics praised his work, but viewers tended to avoid his shows. He used the TV as a medium and manipulated its qualities to entertain the audience with illusions and gags. In the screening in class we watched a character seated at a table attempting to pour milk and the milk appearing to defy gravity and flow to the side. He achieved this special effect by tilting both the camera and the table. Even though his effects were simple, they challenged the viewers’ minds. His characters were simple as well. For example, his character of Eugene never spoke but he was the star of a thirty-minute comedy sketch. This show was part of a time when television was still relatively new and experimentation was acceptable. His quirky sense of humor probably wouldn’t be widely accepted in more modern television. He wanted to push the limits on what was considered a normal variety-type show. Like many of the other shows at the time, advertisements and commercials were incorporated into the show. However, Ernie Kovacs weaves in his familiar, yet somewhat bizarre humor into the commercials like the example above for the Dutch Masters cigars.
ReplyDeleteKovacs was a smart man. People of his generation were growing upset over advertisers increasing the volume of their broadcasted commercials during television programs. Sound familiar? It’s still an issue today. Advertisers want to get the attention of their viewers and what better way to do it than by forcing them to listen no matter what room of the house they’re in.
ReplyDeleteKovacs had a different idea. He began to make commercials in complete silence. I personally think this was very clever on his part. Words can be powerful, but sometimes they are even more so when they are taken away. Instead of people ignoring the commercials, they began to watch them more, curiously wondering how he would sell a product without saying a single thing about it. His approach to silent TV was new and whether people agreed with it or not, it got them watching.
Kovacs didn’t have to oversell like most advertisers were trying to do. In the commercial above, Kovacs had an announcer give a brief introduction to the commercial (while cleverly mentioning the product’s name and giving information without viewers feeling as if they are watching an advertisement) and then Kovacs does something comical (and silent) with the product, finally ending with the announcer briefly closing the commercial. In a time when people were extremely upset with noise levels of ads, this was an innovative way to grab viewers’ attention and make them feel as if their complaints are being heard, gaining Kovacs attention and potential fans.
I personally would love to see silent commercials made for television today. I find most commercials to be very annoying and often times I mute them and focus on something else around me. I think bringing back silent commercials would be exciting to see how they are incorporated into television and the advertisement business and to hear the reaction of viewers after watching them for the first time.