Ad for homelessness

Indifference kills. Nice idea and strong execution. Can't remember where I found this. I grabbed it a few weeks ago. Probably adsoftheworld.

Effective press ad for autism

They say a press ad should stop you in your tracks. Interrupt your reading. This worked for me.

Website for finding vintage ads

Anybody pursuing a career in marketing should know their advertising history, so you know what worked in the past, why it worked and if it could work now. If this is your thing, you'll like this - a search engine dedicated to vintage ads. Lot of VW ads from Bill Bernbach's time. And beer ads, coke ads etc.

Found via Drayton Bird's site.

Nude beach - clever Corona ad

I've heard Corona punch above their weight when it comes to advertising. They don't spend as much as their competitors on advertising - but people remember their ads.

They achieve this by consistently keeping with their beach idea, relaxed tone, the lime slice and clever play on words and visual - such as having no label on a nude beach.

I like their greedy execution too.

Be consistent but evolve - Absolut Vodka

Consistency is generally something brands try and maintain in their advertising.

The reason is clear. A consistent look or feel across your advertising will help consumers know it is you quicker. Each ad builds on previous ones and helps build awareness quicker. At less cost. All good. But the danger is everything becomes the same. And you lose cut-through. Yes, they know it is your ad but are bored with it.

Absolut Vodka is an interesting case study of a brand that has been highly consistent - while managing to inject relevance into their advertising.

Absolut break many of the rules most brands work within. For example, unlike most global brands in the 80's and 90's, they never used TV to build their brand. Most brands might use an advertising idea for several years, then move onto another. Absolut have used the same campaign since their very first ad in 1981. And unlike many premium brands, all their advertising is based on product shots - on the bottle.

They are consistent. Very. But they are brave and intelligent enough to break their own brand guidelines rules, while still staying true to the campaign. For example, in the beginning they agreed they would always have two words in their headline. Nice idea but they dropped this, as it was limiting. You'll see many ads with just one word. Another example - in the beginning, their brand colours were black, blue and white. Again, they dropped this later, introducing some vibrant colours like red, blue and yellow.

Seems like small stuff but if you've worked with any large brand, you'll know how serious they are about their brand guidelines. And rightly so. Brands need guidelines to be consistent, to get the awareness and craft the right position and image. But having the courage to break the rules is important.

I'll come back to Absolut in future posts pointing to more examples showing their leadership approach to brand management. There is a good book available with all their ads if you're interested.

Will this ad sell?

Found via AdsoftheWorld

Visually, this looks good. The contrast between the shiny car and everything else would catch a reader's eye. The copy reads "New Megane Coupe. Everything else seems older".

The message is clear-ish - something along the lines that this car is more advanced or at least will look better than other cars in the market. The visual and copy both amplify this message. I can't fault the execution.

But does this sell? I don't have experience marketing cars. Is it ok to just say that the car will stand out? Without giving any reasons why? Or is the strategy to compete on looks alone? And this ad is simply to show off how well the car looks?

And if so, is that good enough?

Striking press ad

Press ad for a shopping centre in Sao Paulo. The copy - which is too small to read - says "Morumbi Shopping Fashion Mall. For and inspired by the city of Sao Paulo." Visually this stands out. And feels high quality for a fashion mall. Nice job.

Found via here.

A good press ad should grab your attention.

A good press ad should grab your attention. This one would I think.

The copy reads "It's not acceptable to treat a woman like one". Found via AdsoftheWorld. Reviews of it were not great, but I think this would stop and make me look.

Insightful press ad about toast

I like this. I love my toast. And hate when butter is too hard and breaks it up. Nice.

Found via AdsoftheWorld

Nice press ad

I didn't get this immediately. But if you look closely, you'll see the snowboarder jumped over the fold in the newspaper.

I know most people don't actually study ads but that's ok, as comprehension is there I think. What I mean is even if you don't pick up the clever part, you still know it's an ad about snowboarding / skiing. And if you are into snowboarding and notice the jump over the fold, you get more out of the ad.

Found via AdsoftheWorld

Clever press Ad

'Super Absorbent'. Press Ad for Scott Towels. Simple and clever.

Via AdsoftheWorld

Your arm's broken. Your back's wrecked. And all you can think is...

Press Ad for Liberty Mutual Insurance, by Hill Holiday.

The insightful copy on the left page reads - Your arm's broken. Your back's wrecked. And all you can think is 'Getting my car fixed is going to be painful'

A beautiful lawn deserves respect

Copy reads "A beautiful lawn deserves respect".

Found via AdsoftheWorld

Classic Ad placement for Veet hair waxing

Classic ad placement for Veet hair waxing and hair removal. This came into me twice yesterday.

Thanks to both Lorraine and also to Mark in Generator.

Strong image. Nice copy

Strong image. Nice copy. Shame no urgent call to action here. The copy reads "Sadly, in some parts of Africa, bullets outnumber grains of rice".

Via AdsoftheWorld

No headline. No copy. But solid idea.

This is pretty good. No headline, copy and even logo is not too obvious. But the idea is solid and the scene is intriguing enough. If I'm honest, I think I'd have played it safe and added a line of copy somewhere. (Sorry)

Some folks on AdsoftheWorld said this was an old idea. But I hadn't seen it before.

Via AdsoftheWorld

Striking press ad

I was taught that a good press ad should stop you in your tracks. Make you forget what you were reading.

I like this a lot. The image is striking. There is lots of copy for those readers that want to know more about the agony of cancer breakthrough pain and a possible solution. But the copy doesn't get in the way.

Only thing missing is a website or phone number? But I don't know the brief so there may be a good reason for this.

Found via The Inspiration Room

Wonderful Ad. Loved it.

Wonderful Ad for f22 Photography. Click here if you can't read the copy.

Via AdsoftheWorld

Honda Post-it ad

Copy on the post-it says "If you are going to buy another car, let us remind you a couple of things". Nice idea, although not sure about the execution. I guess the car has lots of good stuff, but I'm still no wiser to what they are.

Via Dark Roasted Blend

Water-Resistant Pen

Inventive idea for Pilot's Water-Resistant pens.

Found here