Print Ad Series

As a student studying both Marketing and Fine Arts, one of the things that I can really appreciate is a well-designed print ad. A lot of print ads out there have all the right information but aren’t creative enough to break through the clutter – a phrase thrown around in the advertising industry way too often - and actually communicate this information. On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of print ads out there are creative and do break through the clutter but don’t actually communicate anything meaningful. Of course, the most effective print ads are those that are both creative enough to break through the clutter and informative enough to communicate something meaningful. These ads are rare, but they do exist.

As part of a series, I’d like to start closely examining some really great examples of effective print ads and explaining why they’re effective from a semi-academic standpoint. For those outside of the advertising world, I will do my best to explain the underlying advertising concepts and terms as they come up, while still staying true to how print ads might be more formally evaluated in an academic/work setting.

Stay Tuned.

P.S. Check out Ads of the World in the mean time to get your Print Ad fix.

UPDATED 02/23/10

Here’s a quick breakdown on how I will be breaking down each ad as well as a quick primer to some of the terms used in the advertising world:

1) Communication Objectives: What is the ad trying to communicate?

2) Message Strategy: Who is the ad targeting and how? Is the intended audience a high or low involvement consumer? Does the ad use an informational or emotional appeal?

3) Creative Execution: How does the creative execution achieve the ads communication objectives?

4) Sources & Appeals: How are the sources and appeals used to achieve the communication objectives?

5) Layout: Why is the ad laid out the way it is?