UWC2101F: Writing & Critical Thinking: Aesthetic Transformation

Beatrice Liu Shiying
UWC2101F
Dr. Julia Gardner
20th August 2002

This cartoon illustration of a typical teenager room, with conventional furniture is special because of the character "Qoo," who is in the foreground of the picture, nonchalantly enjoying an orange drink, presumably the "Qoo" orange-flavored juice drink. It is intriguing how this misshapen and rather grotesque creature raked up a storm in the consumer market by virtue of its "cute" image; many attribute cuteness to "Qoo" because of its disproportionately large head, but upon close examination, "Qoo" is hardly anything like our conventional cuteness. Nonetheless, "Qoo" became the most popular juice drink in Singapore within nine weeks of its launch. It is undeniable that the unconventionally "cute" characteristic of "Qoo," alongside with relevant semiology of images, has played a significant role in helping the drink gain popularity amongst teenagers and children. In this essay, I will demonstrate what is so "cute" about "Qoo", as well as identify the underlying successful marketing techniques that are not so apparent in this seemingly simple advertisement.

Usual qualities associated with "cute" such as symmetry, being huggable and friendly are not evident in "Qoo." Instead, it is bald, bare and has an antenna-like branch sticking out of its head. Any reasonable person would not associate beauty with "Qoo." This is probably what Daniel Harris meant when he mentioned in Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic that "the grotesque is cute because the grotesque is pitiable, and pity is the primary emotion of this seductive and manipulative aesthetic that arouses our sympathies by creating anatomical pariahs." (Harris 4) In other words, we conceive "Qoo" as cute primarily because it seems inadequate and hence, pitiable. Besides the main character, the objects in the image give a "cute" feel because they are generally rounded as in the bed knobs and curved radio, making the room appear more welcoming than if the objects were angular.

The advertiser obviously wants to humanize "Qoo." Besides giving it a human quality such as the ability to drink, the advertiser gave it a room with furniture that humans use. "Qoo," like humans, has a variety of expressions: smiley, naughty and contented, to name a few. These expressions help make "Qoo" more personal to consumers, and thus, easy to relate to. My little cousin actually said she found puckish "Qoo" cute because it reminds her of herself when she is feeling naughty. In this advertisement alone, "Qoo" in the foreground has a happy, impish look while the "Qoo" in the television appears impassive, but they are both drinking the drink "Qoo," which implies that we can drink "Qoo" regardless of our moods. In fact, the happy look on "Qoo's" face gives an sense of pleasure after consuming the drink, suggesting that consumers can attain this feel of happiness and contentment after drinking "Qoo." At the same time, the asexual quality of "Qoo" also has an effect of appealing not just to one gender, but both, hence garnering a larger consumer audience.

At a glance, the straightforward picture is that "Qoo" is in a room, likely to be its own and enjoying a drink. However, there are numerous symbolic connotations in the small objects lurking in the background. The objects in the room, such as the notebook and skateboard, attribute a sense of youthfulness and trendiness to "Qoo," making it easier for youths to associate with the character "Qoo" and hence, making them more inclined to drinking the product. Two significant objects are the open book on the bed and school bag on the floor. These objects create a notion that "Qoo" is putting aside its work to watch the "Qoo" program on television and notebook, thus, empathizing the importance of "Qoo" drink in its life. The advertisement deliberately puts the skateboard without any neighboring objects around it, giving it almost a lonely and neglected quality. Again, this connotes "Qoo" drink seeming more valuable, since it takes precedence over work and play.

The colors in the picture are bright and almost energetic, once again evidently appealing to the youthful. These colors, nonetheless, have been chosen with much deliberation. Taking a closer look, there are only four main colors in this advertisement, blue, pink, green and orange. These are actually the colors of the character "Qoo" and the 3 flavored drinks - Fuji Apple (pink), White Grape (green) and Orange (orange)! I can safely assume the advertiser was trying to create a subconscious leitmotif by choosing these colors. These bright colors are skillfully chosen; they are contrasting yet complimentary. For example, the orange blends well with blue, and the green poster is mounted on a blue wall, which appears smoothing to the eye, thus achieving a striking but not provoking feeling. Hypothetically, these colors, usually associated with cartoons, trigger our childhood memories nostalgically. For instance, the television is bright blue, the portable hi-fi is pink and the skateboard is bright orange. Truth to be told, these colors are highly unnatural! However, we accept and embrace this color scheme in this advertisement exactly because it is artificial, and perhaps helps us escape briefly from reality. The character "Qoo" is also particularly intriguing because of its pastel blue color. As Jill Black says in Color Psychology, "the competitive advantage and selling power of color comes from its ability to communicate emotions.(17)" The pastel blue gives a childlike and cozy feel to the character "Qoo." Another observation about the picture that cannot be missed is the recurrence of the brand name "Qoo" on the skateboard, schoolbag, notebook, calendar and television. It first struck me that "Qoo" must be a narcissist, employing so many objects that have its name or face on it. Besides the obvious message that "Qoo" can and has infiltrated into literally every corner of its life and room, recurrence of the brand name helps to emphasize brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is a term coined by economists to name the fad whereby consumers stay faithful to a certain brand even when there are readily available substitutes, as a result of rampant advertising and firm establishment in the minds of consumers that the brand is superior. In addition, this recurrence appeals to the super ego in all of us. In real life, many of us see good traits in ourselves which we would like others to recognize and applaud. Yet, we do not flaunt our qualities for fear of rejection. "Qoo" however, is blatantly living out an egoistic lifestyle by looking at its commercial on television, watching its personal advertisement on its laptop and endorsing its own products such as the calendar. This perhaps gives us a chance to live vicariously through this character "Qoo."

Another subtle hint that creates positive feelings about the brand and character "Qoo" is smartly disguised in the picture. In the left background, the calendar shows the number '1,' which is almost coincidentally the same color at the brand name "Qoo" right on top. This forms subliminal connections between "Qoo" and it being the number one drink. The room has a crowded feel, packed with big pieces of furniture and small items, such as the cap and plants, giving an allusion that "Qoo" is a well-to-do character, who can afford not just the necessities in life, but also rather luxurious items such as the notebook and the skateboard. This could insinuate that the "Qoo" drink is ostentatious, once again, enhancing the chances of "brand loyalty." Almost intentionally, the brand name "Qoo" is synonymous with the word "cool." As such, certain connections between drinking "Qoo" and being "cool" are formed. Since being cool equates to somewhat having a sense of composition and it is an extremely popular attitude to have as teenagers, this drink becomes invariably popular among youths.

It is amazing how much deliberation went behind such a simple image. By playing on our sympathy, this almost pitiable anatomical disaster has shot to fame because so many youths have labeled it "cute." It is likely that some of us have fallen prey to some of the subliminal links that the Coca-Cola wanted us to form about "Qoo" and it being a pleasant drink. Whatever the case, it is undeniable that "Qoo's" advertising techniques have been successful, with Qoo clinching top selling spots in juice drinks not just in Singapore, but also in Japan and Korea. Did you say that is "Qoo"? Yes, it sure is.

Black, Jill. Color Psychology http://www.netwrite-publish.com/color_psychology.htm