Magic, Arts and Ads

Today's graphic arts create a virtual reality that builds on magic. I've noticed ads today often create magic in similar ways. And there's a fine line between great magic and deception.

Have you ever watched a magician pull rabbits from an empty hat, and then tried to figure out how you missed seeing something? I'm curious about magic because I like the challenge of figuring it out. Since, the eye is faster than the hand, I start with the sense that I can unravel the magic.

Amazingly, magicians divert your attention in ways that surprise. They trick you, no matter how hard you try to see how they elude you. Experts in visual perception and cognition, point out tactics that divert attention. Interested in ways magicians pull off this sleight of hand? Here's four key points that no doubt come into play with their illusion.

When magicians sidetrack you, diversion is key. Magic casts its spell when your eyes focus away from the hat. Think of attention as a flashlight to find your way through woods at midnight -- you see clearly where the light is pointed, yet surroundings stay too dark to dicipher. In similar ways, have you focused on one part of an ad, missing other details?

During a Pied Piper effect, you'll intuitively follow a magician's focus so that you stare where he stares, simply because your eyes automatically follow his lead. Today's Pied Pipers sport many products and entice others to join the ranks.

Using info overload, fast talking performers burden your brain for the sake of magic. They prattle to create smokescreens while you grasp small pieces only. Your brain is not built for their fast flying details and so it misses the key behind the magic. Noticed any used car dealers' ads that employ this one?

And, to fill your expectations, magicians show you an empty hat, just as you'd expect. Understand why you're shocked when you see that rabbit? I think I've noticed this artifice when that other detergent just can't remove dirt and grime like the featured ultra product.

You could say literary arts create magic in a sense. For instance, in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge described what he termed a willing suspension of disbelief. It works like this, an old seaman, comes to a wedding and casually converses with another wedding guest. An everyday happening, right? What you may not notice is that he transports the guest and you to the high seas. So you move imperceptibly between the real to the unreal. The arts move your mind in similar ways. Have you noticed ads can work similarly both in words and graphics?

Curiosity led me to dig into neuroscience as it relates to magic. Ever tried starting a day with a two-footed question about a dilemma that has puzzled you?

Magic is a great tool in ads but there's a point where it can slip from real art to pure deception. You play along with great virtual reality, but you don't want to be tricked. What ads have you seen lately that work magic as real art?