Textual analysis of ebay stop-motion viral advert

This advert has used over 1000 photos and put them together smoothly through the editing. It appears that quite a few of the photos may have been manipulated on a photo editing software which improves the overall quality of the stop-motion movement. Even though the photos are shown in a smooth sequence the audience can notice  most cuts to the next image; for this video, the stop-start movement adds to the quirky inventiveness of the advert. The appeal of stop-motion is the focus on fantasy rather than reality so, with the picture by picture movement,  a tennis ball can appear to come out of a page. Since the photos are edited to seem animated the creator can have a lot more happen than if they were filming  which gives the video a sense of  being a cartoon in real life. The stop-motion movement is interesting and creative with what is done with it.

The only sound in the advert is the non-diegetic music. It is whimsical and has a steady rhythm which compliments the different items in the advert as well as the movement. The acoustic guitar suggests a mellow mood and the voice of the female singer has a soft tone and a high pitch thus  giveing the advert a playful and fun undertone. The song isn't very complex which is in cooperation with the simplicity of the white colour.

 There is not as much emphasis on the camera angle and framing since each of the pictures make a continuous sequence of different photo shots. However, when a shirt seems to be pulled out of the page there is a fast zoom out so the whole shirt can be seen as well as the table being worked on and the sheet of paper made to look like the ebay website. This angle highlights the almost instant delivery aspect of the website since the shirt just pops out of the page and the quickness of the zoom-out tells the audience that the delivery service is very quick. The continuous aerial shot of the page shows the whole drawn and animated website indicating that the website is accessible and easy to use.

A lot of colour is displayed by the props in contrast to the simplicity of the white paper backgrond. This is let's the audience know that the website is very straightforward and that you can bring colour to your life by buying items online easily and having them delivered quickly but also being able to sell items easily as shown by the small house sinking into the page. The movement of the drawings on the page are fluid and yet messy at times  which makes it appealing to watch and directs the user to expect the website to be innovative like the advert.


The slogan 'shopping worth talking about' hints at the idea of spreading the word p others about the website to get the viewer to promote the website themselves since the website's creative and innovative functions are meant to be 'worth' visiting and speaking about. This has seemed to be successful as the advert went viral on the internet.

This advert is effective because overall because of the creative stop-motion and use of pros going in and out of the page as well as the hand drawn website. This makes the user feel as if it is so responsive and simple to use that they could have designed the website themselves.