In advertising, is not uncommon to perceive art direction as beautification of an ad. The copy-art team sometimes think independently and one adapts to the others’ idea. But when an idea drives the campaign embellished with great art & copy, magic happens. A new campaign for Hard Rock Casino from Canada seems to be that kind – driven by an idea and made better through craft.
Iconic status, brand loyalty based on true love for the brand is a rare in the world of brands. We have a transactional equation with most brands we deal with and aren’t really emotionally attached to them. Except a handful, perhaps. Land Rover is one such brand which has a huge fan following, loyalty and ‘likeability’. But how do these brands strengthen such equations? Of course it starts with a great product and then goes beyond to include great customer experience. Of late, such experiences of the brand arise out of what the brand does and not just what it says in advertising. Take a look at what Land Rover did in New Zealand to strengthen the brand love.
The power of the Snickers campaign is that it can be extended to theme ads as well as tactical ads based on current events. In this context, the latest tactical ads based on Valentines Day are just as good.
Advertising folks have to contend with vagueness galore. How do you counter ‘there is no wow factor in this film script’? Or ‘mazaa nahi aaya’ (‘that wasn’t much fun’) as reaction to a packaging design? There is no specific, technical term we can use to counter such vague, subjective feedback.
Lovely art direction in these set of ads for Goodyear, highlighting road grip in extreme conditions. I love print ads, especially those with some wit and charm in them. These ads set of aren’t the witty kind but those with fantastic craft in execution.
BMW is the Official Vehicle of England Rugby. A new ad, Road to Twickenham (the ‘Home of England Rugby’) showcases a drive from a driver’s point of view. Aside from the mesmerising visuals, you cannot but appreciate the awesome sound design. What seems like the sounds made by a vehicle neatly merge into the song Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – England rugby team’s anthem – and then gives way to the crowd roaring we often hear in a stadium in England.
The ‘Be Together. Not the Same’ addresses a critical need for an identity among all of us. We all want to showcase, express who we are and the most personal device we carry with us – the smart phone does just that. Such a proposition appeals to both current users (reinforcing their choice) and potential users – creating doubts about them being unable to ‘stand out’.
Lovely idea for UK dating site Match.com. Most of us believe we have certain habits or quirks which we are not very proud of and might let that hold us back when interacting with the opposite sex. This dent in confidence is given a nice shift in perspective in a new advert. The promise: If you don’t like your imperfections, someone else will.
Over the years, there’s been a pattern to the Super Bowl ads – bizarre plot lines, big production values, jaw-dropping computer graphics, humour (slapstick or intelligent), elements designed to be cute and so on. Rik Haslam, Executive Creative Director at RAPP categorises them as Super Satire, Super Serious and Super Silly stories. There is likely to be a pressure to do whatever everyone else is doing – ‘most of the spots look like what we think a Super Bowl spot is supposed to look like’, as this article says. This year too, there have been the regulars – big-scale production values, tear jerkers featuring puppies and so on.