The Kuleshov Effect is part of basic craft for film makers and editors- would it have implications for development and testing of advertising or other communication pieces?

1. MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS
AND
THE KULESHOV
EFFECT
Is effectiveness extrinsic to the execution?
Muder Chiba

2. The Kuleshov Effect
 The Kuleshov effect is a film editing
technique that was recognised and
demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev
Kuleshov between 1910-1920 during his
montage experiments. These experiments
indicated the usefulness and effectiveness
of editing and formed the theoretical basis
of Soviet montage cinema. Films of this
movement include The Battleship
Potemkin.
 Kuleshov's original demonstration showed
an expressionless man intercut between
images of a bowl of soup, a girl, and a little
girl's coffin. Each time the shot of the
expressionless face was exactly the same,
but what the experiment showed was that
audiences bring their own emotional
reactions to the sequence. Source : http://boxcleverfilms.blogspot.in
Muder Chiba

3. The Kuleshov Effect 2
 Context adds meaning
to the images.
 The consumer carries
his emotions into
reading meaning into
the visual
Muder Chiba

4. Alfred’s Endorsement
Alfred Hitchcock called this
technique “pure cinematics – the
assembly of film.” Sir Hitchcock
says that if a close-up of a man
smiling is cut with a shot of a
woman playing with a baby, the
man is portrayed as “kindly” and
“sympathetic.” By the same
token, if the same shot of the
smiling man is cut with a girl in a
bikini, the man is portrayed as
“dirty.”
Muder Chiba

5. Sensory Load is Omnipresent
Important: Always start with your slide
size set to the aspect ratio you intend to
use. If you change the slide size after
you’ve created some slides, your pictures
and other graphics will be resized. This
could potentially distort their appearance.
 Advertising is surrounded by
visuals and communication -
‘programming’ or other
content, including other ads !
 This is even more apparent in
websites and social media
Muder Chiba
This ‘Clutter’ creates The Kuleshov Effect?

6. This Clutter creates The Kuleshov
Effect!
 Advertising appearing at a dramatic
moment during a soap episode .
 A banner ad around a headline story
about the home team loss.
 A mobile interruption.
 A smiling visual just after the gory
pictures of a civilian disaster zone.
 Or the reverse!
Effectiveness is, at least in
part, extrinsic to the execution
per seMuder Chiba

7. Implications for Communications Testing and
Placement
Muder Chiba

8. The Choice
Current Practice
1.Test communication
solo for effectiveness
And/or
2.Test communication in
‘clutter’ of other ads for
noticeability
Now
Test communication
‘in context’ of likely
content it will be
juxtaposed with
Muder Chiba

9. Should we ?
 Would it make more sense to
return to testing all
communication in the context
in which it will be seen?
 A/B/C/D testing for contextual
response to communication ?
 Focus on individual response
rather than aggregated ?
And-Ensure Placement of ads
in context for desired response
? Muder Chiba

10. Or?
 Ignore this implicit response ‘bias’ per se ?
Assume that the response to the stimulus
would be ‘standard’ and that the sample size
would cover the range ? Continue with current
practice.
Muder Chiba

11. Apply Occam’s Razor.
 Each individuals
exposures , ‘mood’ and
context impossible to
manage across media
and time
 Recognize the Effect
implicitly in creative
development and in
media choice! Muder Chiba

12. Muder Chiba
Market
Complexity
Decisio
ns
Informatio
n
Complexit
y
Probabilistic decision-making perspectives
muder.chiba@gmail.com