2013년 5월 30일 목요일

Faber-Castell Ads

I vividly remember the day when my father gave me a new set of Faber-Castell colored pencils. As a kid, I bounced up and down excitedly on the bed. Still, even looking at dozens of colored pencils brings joy to my heart.


As you may know, Faber-Castell is a German stationery manufacturer.
They tout the top-of-the-line range of “Artist Color Pencils.” 
The ads I brought today show us how real and natural their colors are.

 




The images they are using are definitely eye-catching.
However, the dog combined with the brown colored pencil looks a little bit awkward.
Using foods like the eggplant and banana seems better.




The next series of ads are also fun. Neat and effective, aren’t they?
Can you find where the colored pencils are? The colors are so natural that we cannot even distinguish Faber-Castell’s colored pencils from the sky.




Now, there are some famous paintings.
They are masterpieces of Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch.
At first, you might think what they have to do with Faber-Castell.
Well, take a close look, and you will see they are made with colored pencils.
By using well-known paintings, Faber-Castell effectively shows us the distinctive features that they have a wide range of colors and their products are for artists’.






Finally, let us take a look at their eraser ads. They are creative as well.
I guess the message they wanted to deliver was erasing also can be a brilliant idea.
Faber-Castell defies the stereotype that only drawing matters.
Be an innovator with Faber-Castell erasers!





2013년 5월 22일 수요일

Greenpeace Ads + WWF Ad


Greenpeace. Their ads are as creative as WWF’s.
I brought a series of ads which is unusual but creative.
Let us take a look at them first.





This kind of approach is quite unique.
On the surface, they look like pages torn out of a children’s story.
However, after reading through the scripts, I guess many of you will be shocked by a sting in the tales. The stories are somewhat intimidating as well as cruel!
Baby squirrels, rabbits and birds meet their doom by the avarice of humans.
In reality, countless forests are being indiscriminately devastated in the name of development. Nevertheless, not many people are aware of how many creatures are being sacrificed in the process of logging.


As an example out of many, a few weeks ago, I saw an article of the koalas who had lost their habitat due to forest clearing. Luckily, before cutting down the trees, they were migrated to another forest. However, some of them came back to the old one they used to live as they have a homing instinct. Those who witnessed that scene said that one of the koalas had been sitting on the ground in a daze for hours. The picture of it made my heart ache. We really need to take some action for peaceful coexistence.

Back to the ads, needless to say, storytelling is truly a powerful way to deliver a message. These Greenpeace ads prove it perfectly. Using little creatures that most people adore, Greenpeace effectively enlightens us and evokes our sense of sympathy even though kids might cry over it.



Plus, I found this while surfing through the Internet.
Neat and great! WWF’s ads never disappoint us.
It will take only a few moments to realize that a lion, the symbol of MGM has disappeared.
The copy says, “In twenty years time one third of the world species may have disappeared. When are you going to do something?” A bit threatening but definitely touches our hearts.
Unless we take more steps to conserve the environment and other species,
we may not be able to hear the roar of the MGM lion.

Save our earth, and save our animal cousins!

2013년 5월 16일 목요일

Exaggerated but Fun Ads

Today, I will cover some advertisements which are exaggerated
but effectively emphasize product features.


The first one is an ad for rolls of paper named Scott.
The image shows us directly that Scott’s paper towels are truly absorbent.
With only a piece of paper towel, you are able to clean your spilt coffee perfectly.
It is also brilliant that the piece of paper towel looks three-dimensional by adding a line.
It seems that the coffee is going down a drain.



Look at that. Isn’t it funny?
In thick grass, only the referee’s hand holding a red card is shown.
The second one I brought is a lawn fertilizer ad from Germany.
In English, the slogan says, “Quicker. Taller. Denser.”
It clearly highlights the great performance of the lawn fertilizer.



The next one posted above is advertising slim jeans by Levis.
It is true that the ad is somewhat exaggerated.
Nevertheless, it addresses its feature efficiently with a few lines and Levis labels.
The message is clear enough, not to mention it has simplicity.



Oh, somebody has stuck in the gutter after drinking Slim-Fast, a diet drink.
Only the cap remains. Exaggerated but fun!



I think it is a truly splendid advertisement.
At first, I thought it was advertising some kinds of pins.
Actually, it is a hair gel advertisement. They are saying that with their product, your hair can be thick and straight enough to unlock the handcuffs!

Sometimes exaggeration used in ads stirs up our interest and accordingly, makes us remember their products better.


2013년 5월 9일 목요일

Diesel Ads

Diesel, a global fashion brand, has been successful at promoting a lot of unconventional advertising campaigns. Among them, I would like to introduce my favorite campaign.
“Be Stupid” is the slogan of the campaign I brought today.
Today’s society requires more people to be smart.
On the contrary, this campaign is telling us that we should be stupid. How funny is it?
Of course, it does not mean that we should be literally “stupid.”
It says that being a risk taker sounds challenging, but it certainly is worth it.
Thus, we need to be more audacious and creative.








The images used in the print ads are perfect for their copies. Some are even hilarious.
Here I borrowed some lines of the copies of the advertisement.

“Don’t be stupid.” It’s the crusher of possibility.
To be stupid is to be brave.
The stupid isn’t afraid to fail.
The stupid know there are worse things than failure… like not even trying.
Remember only stupid can be truly brilliant.

These copies are truly thought-provoking.
I wholeheartedly agree with that.
What we need is to think outside the box and be brave.
We should keep asking ourselves “What if…?” and “Why not…?”
Stupid ideas sometimes seem reckless and without logic.
However, that is what makes it brilliant. Indeed, all the fun ideas derive from stupid ideas.
Playing safe is not likely to be a breakthrough.
Indeed, so many people are not even trying as they are afraid of failure.
Consequently, they lose their opportunities to accomplish and create new things.
I guess sometimes it would be better to muster up the courage and dash for a goal.

I also brought the video version.
It is as great as the print ads. Enjoy and be stupid!


2013년 5월 2일 목요일

Lego Ads

As I walked past a Toys R Us this afternoon, I saw a lot of parents holding Lego boxes in their hands.
I guess they were preparing for Children’s Day.
I believe almost everyone has fond memories of playing with Lego as a child.
Indeed, Lego was my favorite toy in my childhood.
Not to mention that I loved building things with it, I enjoyed destroying Lego castles built by my cousin. Back then, he hated me.
Reminiscing about the old days with Lego, I brought some Lego ads.
I would like to share their creativity. They are truly brilliant.




The first set of ads looks simple but somewhat confusing.
For a while, I did not know what the blocks are for.
I got a hint from the short slogan in the upper-right-hand corner, “Imagine.”
Right. Lego stimulates our imagination. The blocks are Donald Ducks!
The next one is pretty obvious. They are Smurfs.



There is another great ad whose slogan is also “Imagine.”
For me, this one was quite hard to guess.
There is only a block looks like a pipe on a wide blue canvas.
What does it mean? Take a wild guess!
Well, it is a submarine under the sea!
I think it is literally an amazing advertisement.



Next, I think many students may have done this activity in class.
However, instead of finding words, let’s find components of a spaceship!
What a fun idea!



With a paint work, the Braille guiding blocks on the floors became Lego bricks.
Like this, sometimes ads can be successful even without spending a fortune.

Lego ads are as fun as playing with Lego!