OUAN401:
Animation serves many other purposes than just being there purely for entertainment. One of which is advertising. Animation seems to be a very popular strategy in advertising as it is a "lighter" more fun and audience-friendly way of drawing in attention and creating appeal. I'd much rather be brainwashed and compelled to buy that funky, new, super action food blender if it were welcomed on screen by a sweet, little mascot full of expression and charisma than a middle-aged woman who's expressions show that she's been forcefully made to sing that horribly catchy jingle...
The very first animation in the commercial realm (and to my knowledge, the very first animation in history) was created by Arthur Melbourne-Cooper named "Matches: An Appeal" in 1899. This clever little stop motion animation consists of matchstick characters and items formed on a chalkboard taking part in wacky and vivid activities. Back in the day, that was the height of animation technology and would've caught everyone's attention while subliminally forcing its audience to buy those matches!
Animation in video games such as Animal Crossing: Wild World can actually be more sinister than we think. Although this is aimed at children, it sets a very standard way of living right from the start of the game. The aim of the game is to work as hard as you can to afford the biggest and nicest looking house. It introduces capitalistic values such as mortgages, consumerism, working for a living etc. It is however beneficial as you acquire social skills through talking to the animals, although this could be seen as negative as in some circumstances the animals will not visit you if you do not have a nice house and will criticise you if so.
