Surreal photography is adopted in advertisements to achieve strong appeal to the customers. It rests on aesthetical manipulation of imageries of real life objects to drive home adverts information in a more functional way. In other words, Surreal photography is not an arrangement of abstract pictures. Rather, the images are real life images carefully put together in an innovative and a far-from-conventional manner to project the message of the surrealist effectively. Though traditional Surrealism seeks to create a disturbing effect, the current application of Surreal photography in advertising creates an appealing effect. It would not have been important to advertising if it had been otherwise. The beautiful aspect of the Surrealism feature is that the image composition and arrangement are such that it produces better impressions on the viewers than would the conventional advertisement. This may be due to its somewhat unusual configuration of images. Direct studies of pictorial communication in advertising are rare. However, emphasis on the nature and influence of pictorial communication has been given in psychology, social psychology and anthropology. This book provides a useful foundation for the study of surreal images in advertising.
Raqee S. Najmuldeen obtained his BA from Faculty of Fine Arts, Baghdad University. He has a Master degree in Graphic Design in 2000, and later worked at the Iraqi House of Fashion as a Graphic Designer until 2002. Mr. Najmuldeen was appointed as a lecturer in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baghdad University in 2003. He was conferred a PhD by Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia. Mr. Najmuldeen is also a member of Graphic Design Association of Malaysia (wREGA), Photographic Society of America (PSA) and ico-D (International Council of Design).
