Comments on Ch. 1-4; 7-9.

Ch. 1 pg 7: “Boo” Mini Cooper ad

One of the reasons I think this ad is successful is because of its timeliness.  Every car manufacturer puts out a Christmas ad, but very few put out ads for any other holiday.  Even though certain aspects of the car are concealed, the car itself is still recognizable even without the brand’s logo which is a testament to the car’s design.   

Ch 2 pg 20: “I Know this Stuff: Campaign

The copy on this ad is hilarious.  It’s a clever ad because the copy is witty, and on a deeper level it plays off the stereotypes of lawyers have of being untrustworthy, greedy, etc.   The headline is attention grabbing, and invokes readers to continue reading.  The ad itself is minimalist, but the copy is so strong that it speaks volumes.

Ch 3 pg 35 “Stolen Handbag I”

I won’t lie, the concept behind this ad didn’t click until I read its title.  At first I thought the scenes depicted were of people’s things falling out of their broken or poorly constructed bags.  Then I read the title and figured that the idea was that someone stole the bag for the bag itself instead of the valuables inside it.  All in all I think that the ad was rather unsuccessful because it’s easy for the message to be lost.  I think the ad could have been strengthened by adding a line of copy to reinforce the underlying message.

Ch 4 pg 61 “We Have a Suggestion for Whoever Suggested It”

In the case of this ad, I think the art and copy are of equal importance.  The copy is very cheeky, and highlights the brand’s affordability in a very playful manner.  The suggestive image ties the whole thing together.  I also like the weight of the sans-serif used because I think it mirrors the boldness of the copy well.

Ch 7 pg 116 “Bunnies” and “Worm”

I really enjoyed the “Bunnies” ad because it was simple and to the point.  The visuals carried a lot of impact.  I like that they used a seemingly fragile object (chocolate bunnies) as their prop to emphasize the importance of protecting yourself.  I think the “Worm” ad was a little less successful visually because the small copy at the bottom was needed to get the concept across.

Ch 8 pg 142 “All of the Caffeine”

I think this ad does a successful job of establishing a tone for Ink Coffee.  The mixture of elements has almost a chaotic feel to it.  I think the mixture of signage and typography really captures of feel of the Punk/Alternative movements of the 90s which really falls in line with the “anti-establishment” message the copy sends.  Even though I fall outside the target audience for this ad and it therefore does not speak to me on a personal level, I think it would resonate well with its target audience.

Ch 9 The Guardian ad

I liked this ad because it was simple and to the point.  I think that as far as layout goes it did a great job of establishing a flow because the vertical line of the belt guides your eye down the list down to the tagline and Guardian logo.