EOC: Exciting Ad

At first glance, this ad just looks like a still from a mess in motion. The soup is spilling, the parsley is flying, and the sleeve is about to become in desperate need of some cleaning.

But wait... that tag line captures my eye (it has a fun shape and design all to its own). "Because stains love your clothes."

Oh! That sleeve is a face! The soup is a face! And though the sleeve is not very excited about getting a smooch from soup, it really has no other choice. That soup is flying everywhere!

There's a great use of positive and negative space. Though the images are not directly in the center, they do attract your eye from the bowl of soup to the face of soup.

The components also work in unison. You can practically feel the bowl about to drop and the faces meeting.

Also, the vivid colors keep your attention. If this ad were in, say, black and white, I'm not sure I would be as likely to keep looking and thinking about the ad as I am with the orange, green, and the faded background.

Overall, this ad is really dynamic and gets the point across: BUY TIDE! KEEP YOUR CLOTHES CLEAN!

EOC: Final Project: First Thoughts

I've got a few thoughts rolling around in my head as far as what product to choose for my Advertising Final Project. I knew right from the beginning that I wanted to choose a Jewish/kosher product, because I know those products best.

Being "unorthodox", I figured out my slogan before I came up with a product. (You're going to have to wait just a little longer to find out what my slogan is.)

I have 3 products in mind so far:
Zomick's bakery (the BEST challah!)
Schnitzel (the Friday night staple)
Bagels (who doesn't love bagels, lox and schmear??)

So that's what I've got so far. Stay tuned to find out what my slogan is and how this develops!

EOC: Week 6: Make 'Em Laugh

We live in a world where everything we do, think, and know must be confirmed computers and the Internet. So what is one to do one is in a dangerous situation and needs a way out?

GOOGLE IT!

And what are you going to trust your survival and "googling" to? In this ad, the answer is the Philips V900. This phone can apparently get you out of a bind because it is reliable and fast. It's so fast, in fact, that it can give you a solution while a hungry bear is coming at you!

The caption reads, "Fast Internet access when and where you need it". Now, I don't know how often I'm going to need to Google how to escape a grizzly, but the ad does make you think that to be without this phone and its reliable Internet capabilities is setting yourself for trouble.

So get a Philips V900! You'll never be caught clueless in an unpleasant situation again.

EOC: Week 6: Jerry Metellus

It was a very exciting afternoon at the Art Institute today... Jerry Metellus, renowned photographer (and 8-pack denier), came to speak to us! I don't know about everyone else, but I've been looking forward to hearing him speak for weeks! His photography is so inspiring and unique, and what he said really resonated with me.

I particularly like his motto: Do it seriously, don't take it seriously. A photographer should be loose yet sure of himself/herself. If you come into a photoshoot, or any life situation in general, and you're stern and stiff, chances are the outcome of whatever you're doing will appear stern and stiff. (Unless your client is a stick-up-the-butt, you really don't want that impression.)

He also spoke a lot about rights of usage and how vitally important those are to a photographer's career. Even if you're the one who took that photo that's on billboards across the country, you don't get a penny if you gave up your rights to it. and that could be the photo that changes the world! How sad would it be if you couldn't get the credit for it??

Finally, make sure your "tool box" is constantly being filled with new tools. This "tool box" is what you get once you graduate from college. It's just waiting to be filled with experiences and lessons that you learn in life. It's so important to get out there and actually LIVE. Every experience takes you to another experience that takes you to another, and so on and so forth.



Now comes the next step: work towards an internship with Jerry. I know I just started at AI, but I think I could learn so much from him and his team. I want to learn about the ins and outs of the world of photography, especially the kind he does. So, I'll speak to my advisers and hopefully get on the right track towards making this dream come true.

EOC: Week 5: Ad Categories

Category 1: Endorsements Drew Barrymore, actress, director, and now spokeswoman of Covergirl Cosmetics, can afford to use the most high-end and expensive makeup products in the world. So why is her [beautiful] face the canvas for inexpensive mascara? She is endorsing the product, making consumers see that she uses it. "My, she's so beautiful! If I use this mascara, will I be beautiful just like her?" -- "Yes!" Covergirl would respond. With a hot celebrity endorsing a product, how could you lose? Exactly. YOU CAN'T.


Category 2: Declarations
Through an image of blood-stained shattered glass and a simple tagline: "Get the Message", the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons is evoking a very strong emotional and physical connection: texting = death. It's not new news that texting while driving is dangerous, but when an ad shows in the most "PG rated" way its consequences, it strikes a chord with, well, EVERYONE. It's as simple as a piece of shattered glass.


Category 3: Meta-Advertising
This Apple ad is pretty much the definition of meta-advertising. "I'm a PC. I'm too business oriented and my operating system is so-so." "I'm a Mac. You should buy Macs because they're awesome, just like me." Just like all of Apple's other ads, this one is very simple, sweet, and to-the-point. Just looking at the differences in the men's outfits, it's clear that Macs are more relaxed, whereas PCs are suit-and-tie and restrictive. I'm already an Apple girl all the way. But even if I wasn't, this ad would make me run out and buy a Mac, just being this clean and simple.

EOC: Week 4: Bob Isherwood - Why is he Important?

Bob Isherwood was the Worldwide Creative Director for the advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. In his career which spans 35 years, he has become one of the most influential and respected individuals in the industry.

Isherwood "believes passionately in the power of ideas to change the world... [His] vision and leadership have been instrumental in transforming Saatchi & Saatchi from an ad agency to a global ideas factory." http://www.saatchi.com/news/archive/clio_lifetime_achievement_award_for_bob_isherwood This rings so true when analyzing the firm's range of advertisements.

This first one, for example, speaks about domestic violence and how verbal violence can escalate into physical violence. This PSA says so much without using any words except for the tag below, which reads "Verbal abuse can be just as horrific."

The linked ad is very creative and an unexpected way to connect the consumer to the product, in this case Cheerios. It's saying, "Your heart is the source of beauty and greatness. Let Cheerios help it exude beauty." http://www.saatchi.com/en/our_work/ideas_gallery/cheerios_what_runs_through_your_veins

Isherwood said it best in an interview from the textbook Advertising by Design (Robin Landa, 88), "I need to understand what the problem is to be solved; otherwise how will I know when I've found the answer?" With this ethic, Bob Isherwood greatly impacted the way Saatch & Saatchi, and the advertising world as a whole, works.

BOC: Week 4: Jerry Della Famina - The Big Idea

The inspiration behind the hit television show, Mad Men, Jerry Della Femina can be called the true American Dream. He grew up in a rough and tumble neighborhood, beating the odds, and has ended up owning a thriving advertising business. How does he view success? "...as a wonderful punchline to one of the universe’s more benign jokes. He did say to himself as a kid, “I’m gonna get out of here.” But he couldn’t have predicted that he would get out so spectacularly." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/145766a2-8fb1-11df-8df0-00144feab49a.html

Della Femina has compared the advertising agency to the cut-throat world of the Mafia, since "An adman is only as good as his latest ideas, and when he runs out of them, he walks the plank." And the shelf life of an advertising exec is "really not unlike baseball. You've got about seven, eight, or maybe nine years when you're hot... and then there's that long downhill slide." http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944114-2,00.html

The advertising world nowadays is not so exciting for Della Femina. “It’s different. There’s less risk-taking in writing or in art direction. People just basically sort of do their job. There used to be people sitting around with giant note pads and art directors with drawing pads … and there is none of that now." http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/145766a2-8fb1-11df-8df0-00144feab49a.html



With this sort of enthusiasm and passion for his field, it is needless to say that Jerry Della Femina is the advertising industry.