THE ARTISTIC COMPONENT OF VIDEO ADVERTISING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRAGMATIC CONSUMER REQUESTS (THE CASE OF THE FRENCH PROJECT THE NIGHT OF THE AD EATERS)
Authors: Luhovyi Victor 
Published: December 2023

The article examines contemporary video advertising as an important component of the socio-cultural space and a field of innovation related to advertisers’ search for artistic expression aimed at the integrity of the advertising message along with the manipulative nature of these practices. The figurative symbolism of artistic creativity absorbed by contemporary advertising remodels charismatic characters, plots, and forms of artistic expression. Although the ultimate goal of an artistic work and an advertising product is different — artistic creativity is aimed at shaping the worldview of an individual, while advertising is aimed at stimulating a positive attitude towards a product and shaping the necessary consumer behavior — they are often based on similar artistic principles. The nature of an artistic idea is not manipulative, but only in the advertising space can it be transformed into manipulation aimed at achieving the desired result — the match between the consumer’s choice and the advertiser’s expectations. Video advertising is particularly instructional in this context, as it combines different artistic genres: video, music and storytelling, forming a synthetic space of contemporary artistic practices with a shared purpose.
In the context of shaping the artistic discourse of advertising and its perception as a holistic idea, the French project The Night of the Ad Eaters, initiated by Jean Marie Boursicot, is important. Launched in 1981, this project specializes in the preservation and popularization of commercials. The main idea of The Night of the Ad Eaters is to continuously showcase advertising video content organized by time periods, geographical regions, and artistic and genre manifestations. The research aspect is key to the platform’s activities: in cooperation with leading universities, scientific research is conducted to study the principles of advertising, its impact and development as a selfsufficient artistic phenomenon that becomes an important component of the artistic discourse of its time.
The artistic component of advertising plays a key role in the structure of screenings within The Night of the Ad Eaters. The content of video ads is organized by genre and type, such as story and game; epic, based on the use of elements of mythopoetic (archetypes, epic heroes, symbolism and dramatic conflicts); puzzle and constructivist, based on experiments with video graphics; aesthetic and artistic with attention to detail, lines, colors, etc.; polystylistic, which combines different stylistic layers aimed at recognizing both the advertisement itself and the advertised product; futuristic, where advanced technologies, modern effects and hyper-realistic graphics, science fiction images play an important role; cartoon, where the integrity of the advertising idea is formed through color, configurative modifications of the picture, visual effects.
The analysis of genre and type components confirms that advertising actively absorbs artistic experience. It is this aspect that allows us to speak of advertising as an artistic phenomenon of our time, where the very content of artistic advertising (as emphasized by the organizers of the The Night of the Ad Eaters) is an example of high artistic value. Apart from its immediate purpose, artistic advertising influences the development of the recipient’s artistic experience and his or her inclusion in the cultural and artistic field. The Night of the Ad Eaters is a cross-cultural event that brings together advertising professionals and fans to showcase creative solutions, exchange ideas and explore new trends. This multidirectional platform shapes the modern advertising space, where its artistic aspect becomes a key element of development and influence on the consumer.