The image that stood out to me most from chapter 1 is the Girls poster on page 5. At first when I saw the image, I thought it would be a music themed company or possibly a concert venue advert. But when I looked at it for a while I noticed the penguin in the bottom right corner which is the Penguin Books logo. I think it is an effective ad because it reminds you that books can also be filled with excitement and take you on journeys. The image has a very British style to it which is fitting for a British company. But it seems to me that it does not fit what I would imagine to be the brand personality of Penguin. They took a leap with this advert trying to possibly target a younger audience to read books. The Penguin brand is an old publishing company from the early 1900’s. This exciting and slightly provocative advert is showing the public that yes they are an old brand and their main selling item are books, but they also contain a youthfulness that extends beyond the traditional stereotypes of publishing companies.
I found Random House Publishing ad that ran as a public service advert in the United States. It compares to the Penguin ad because it is trying to approach a younger audience by being relevant and accessible. Because it is a public service advert, they probably did not have to pay to run this ad, but it also probably means that they did not have a large budget. I think this ad is also effective for its use of humor, relevance, and resourcefulness on a smaller budget.
Chapter 2
Chapter two dealt with the advertising process and the ad that I focused on most was the Chick-fil-A ad on page 17. Not only is the ad visually pleasing, I also just saw this on the highway so it has some immediate relevance to me as well. I find the ad to be extremely effective because of the playfulness to the ad. You want to engage and like the ad. Billboard ads that use external physical props are not new to the advertising world, but I find that this one does so very well. It is bold enough that it does look new and exciting. In a row of billboards, this one would definitely catch an eye driving down a highway. I also like that it borderlines guerilla marketing and has the potential for a long term extended advertising plan. Once the general public is familiar with these images and the characters they chose (the cows) there are a range of different approaches the ad agency can take to further their campaign. It is a clean, simple, and engaging ad.
I found a Wendy’s print or online ad for a spicy chicken sandwich. It is not perfectly comparable because it is not a billboard ad but I suppose it could potentially be. This ad focuses simply on the product. Food photography has been a powerful tactic in fast food companies recently and this ad demonstrates that trend. Of course consumers know that when they purchase this sandwich, it will not compare to the perfectly styled one in the advert but for some reason they look past that, enticed just enough to try it and find out.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 did not have many advertisements to choose from but I decided to analyze the Levi’s 501 original-shrink-to-fit jeans campaign. I think Rosie Arnold took on a difficult task creating an advertisement for a jean company that does not directly use sexy or provocative images as their main focus to drive the campaign. It is difficult not to use these images because they have proven to be a profitable and effective strategy for clothing companies and jean companies in particular. This campaign uses the idea of visual tension to parallel the tight fit of the jean style. In the top image, a man cowers behind a pole escaping a rather large dog looking for him. The image creates a mentally stressful situation, making the viewer feel tight and cornered themselves, creating a metaphor for the jeans. The bottom image also uses the same strategy to create the feeling of an incoming tight squeeze where the character needs tight fitting jeans to evade the situation.
I found a Diesel jeans campaign that uses more sexy images to sell their clothing but in a more tongue and cheek way. The ad pokes fun at the amount of racy, minimalistic jean ads with the slogan, “Sex Sells, unfortunately we sell jeans”. I think the ad is a clever way to poke fun at the industry, but at the core, consumers are still staring at a sexual based image. I think it compares to the Levi ad because they both are targeted at a younger audience, I think the Diesel ad may be targeted at a slightly younger crowd, using humor and sex as their two core tactics. While the Levi ad uses more emotional and visual stimuli to create a lasting impression.
Chapter 4
I was intrigued again by another Penguin advertisement in Chapter 4. I think it is interesting to compare it to the previous ad that was aimed more at a younger audience. This ad with an older man appearing to open a book actually has the book cover printed on his hands symbolizing he carries the book everywhere. That it is impossible to put down. I think this ad works well as a visual piece, there is no need for copy in this ad which I also think is effective because when the image can speak for itself, I think that carries through and makes a strong impression on the viewer. This ad seems to be targeted at possibly a post college and up audience. I do not see many people that would not react to this ad even a little but it is clearly not as directly marketed towards a younger audience like the last ad.
I found an ad for a website called Mint Vinetu which is a foreign company but their ad ran in English. I think they were trying to get the website to catch on an a US market but from going to the website I do not think it ever happened. The website is to recommend, buy, sell, and trade used books. An online network and database for the sharing of books. Their ad caught my eye because it seemed to borderline copy the Penguin ad that is shown in chapter 4. It seems to have the same idea but with faces instead of hands. It makes me wonder how original ads really are or what ads run in foreign countries that are similar that we have no idea about.
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