Maybe it’s my penchant for drawing from my childhood days, that I still seek out great illustrations and drawings in ads. Vintage ads had to perforce resort to illustrations to convey their message – ads for Pears, Lifebuoy and several others come to mind. Photography then became the norm. Illustrations then became a way of breaking the clutter, as they simply looked different.
Herewith a small collection of ads which use illustrations to enhance the advertising concept. The illustrations are great, can’t say the same about all the ads, though.
1. Huggies Diaper
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, Beijing, China
Diaper pants for the more mature toddler, says the ad. I guess it would have been difficult to capture the situation through photography. One other ad in the series is here.
2. Ariel
You need to stare at what’s going on in the lipstick smear to figure out the message. A stain can reveal a lot is the intended claim.
Well, adopt a dog because they will at least not resort to stuff your kids resort to, is a bit much. But the illustration style is great.
4. BROS Mosquito Repellent
Cartoon or illustration? Whichever. I thought both the concept and the execution were simply superb.
Imagine attempting to photograph a dog controlling its urge to jump at the barbecue stand by ‘pulling’ its own leash. I guess some concepts are best captured through illustrations.
Advertising Agency: CBGrey, Paris, France
6. Friskies Nido Bird Food
Winner of several awards, this surely appeals to the pet owners among us. Owners are said to resemble their pet dogs (or is it the other way around?) over time. Birds, too?
Advertising Agency: DDB, Madrid, Spain
7. Comedy Central
Laugh out loud stuff. And from Germany, to boot.
Hmm, healthier kids is the proposition. The stretch is that while the kids are healthy, can’t say the same about their parents. Nice twist.
Advertising Agency: Lowe Honduras
9. Durex: Stork
Thanks to Durex, the stork has found an alternate profession.
10. Faber-Castell
A simple, memorable twist on how ideas take shape. Or not take shape.
11. Tiji TV
As imaginative as children, is the claim.
Rest of the ads are here.
Advertising Agency: DDB, Paris, France
12. Heineken
Call it 3D-Art and not strictly illustration, but the end result is still ‘wow’.
13. Terra Web: Parental Control
The web can be a dangerous place for kids. Setting up a pretty picture only for you to discover the shocker in it, is a nice approach.
Advertising Agency: DDB BRASIL, Sao Paulo
14. Levis Slim
The campaign that won a lot of accolades for JWT, India.
15. Levis Kids
As I said before, nice leap from ‘tough jeans for kids’.
16. Macacolandia Design Studios
Perhaps the best example of how an illustration can bring an idea alive, ‘give more life to your illustrations’ is the claim.
17. Smoking Kills
One of the many ads attempting to either scare a smoker out of his habit, or entered into awards, whichever comes first.
18. Rotomac
Lasts forever is the claim for this brand of pens. Any idea how the pen ‘lasts forever’?
19. Schwarzkopf Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
Don’t leave a trail behind is the claim.
20. Sharpie
This is a take off on a famous Burger King ad. So it’s like an inside joke for the agency folks.
21. Tide – angels
Where has the dirt gone? To the heavens, with a little help from angels.
22. Showoff Films
Sure to appeal to the much-beleaguered advertising agency folks.
23. Coca Cola
Finally, a blast from the past. The whole Santa series of print ads and TV commercials from Coca Cola usually score high on the feel-good factor.
Of course, there are several other examples, like the Clinic All Clear ads and Sour Marbles ads from India. Speaking of regions, notice that a lot of the ads listed above are from Latin American countries? Hope you liked this collection. Do comment on the use of illustrations above and point us towards more such inspiring stuff.
2 Comments
superb work in illustration
Few of the Ads I have already seen, so nothing new, such as Macacolandia Design Studios, Tide & Smoking kills.
I liked the concept and illustration of levis kids.
Concept of Huggies needs improvement,illustration is wonderful though.
Bacaolinita: Healthier kids,illustration has much scope for improvement.