Bank of America Leaves Footprints Behind

Heading into Chicago this weekend,  outdoor signage for the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon caught my attention.  The campaign's images, runners formed from colored footprints, are accompanied with the individual's reasons for being at the race.  All over the Windy City the campaign has a presence, from murals to lamppost signage. From BBDO, New York, the campaign is part of a digital fundraising push for 123 charitable causes.  As one article states, the campaign "illustrates the theme that every participant and spectator who attends on race day directly contributes to the impact that the race leaves behind."  Great art direction for a great cause, I can dig it.

Livestrong: #8

Maybe it's because I support the LIVESTRONG cause, but I immediately was attracted to, and understood this visual. I also like the vertical text and logo placement, upper right hand corner instead of the overused lower right hand corner. Kudos to Marmalade.

"Lance Armstrong was dealt one of life’s most difficult hands. He has managed to survive to ride for an incredible eighth Tour de France title. Win or lose, he’s already won just by being there. No matter what life throws at you. No matter what obstacles are in your path. No matter if the voices in your head are telling you that you can’t go on. Live every minute of your life with every ounce of your being. Unite and help us fight cancer. Because whatever you face, you can Livestrong."

Advertising Agency: Marmalade, Melbourne, Australia
Art Director: Tim Forte
Copywriter: Dan Forestal
Photographer: Chris von Menge
Retouching: Imagenation
Published: July 2009

Dos Equis: The Most Interesting Man in the World

I absolutely love the creative genius behind The Most Interesting Man in the World campaign for the imported beer brand, Dos Equis. Done by EuroRSCG, the commercials are accompanied by the company's excellent interactive website that includes The Most Interesting Academy. The noteworthy part of this campaign is that it has produced measurable sales growth. According a recent Ad Age article, "Through mid-June, a period when imported beer sales dropped 11%, sales of Dos Equis rose more than 17%, moving the brand into eighth place among imports (in a tie with Stella Artois), when shipments rose 13%, claims Advertising Week."

Some of my favorite liners describing the MIM:
"He once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels."
"His blood smells like cologne."
"Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number."

Television Spots











In addition to the traditional 30 second television spots, the campaign also includes shorter advice spots from the MIM.





Couldn't forget the print ads.


And a radio spot.

WWF: It's your turn

Another batch of brilliantly simple ads for the World Wildlife Fund, by JWT Singapore and from Cannes Lions 2009. The signature black and white of these print ads is signature of the organization's identity. An easy to grasp idea is another mark of a WWF ad.

JWT Singapore
Executive Creative Directors: Ali Shabaz, Tay Guan Hin
Creative Director: Ali Shabaz
Copywriter: Pradeep D'souza
Account Manager: Peter Cheung, Group Account Director
Art Directors: Christiano Choo, Karen Muck
Production Manager: Neo Kian Heng

What Goes Around Comes Around

These four posters were done by Big Ant International, for the Global Coalition for Peace. The images are designed to wrap around poles and campaign for an end to the war in Iraq. It is this type of creative that shows ideas must be pushed far outside the box to get the best results. The creative here is the design placement.

“What Goes Around”
Big Ant International, New York
Creative Director Alfred S. Park,
Associate Creative Director Frank Anselmo
Art Director Jeseok Yi, Copywriters Francisco Hui and William Tran

iPod Shuffle Ads

Advertising Agency: Cap Q, New York, USA

Creative Director / Art Director / Copywriter / Illustrator: Steve Quint

Ads for the ultra-tiny iPod Shuffle. These prints are relatable and visually shows how the product is used. Two points for Cap Q.

Hero Design

These rockin' posters are by Hero Design Studio in Buffalo, New York. The studio specializes in music related designs and there is even a Hero's Boutique. According to their blog, the boutique is 'Western New York's largest retailer of limited edition designer toys, silkscreen concert posters, P22 font collections & so much more designer geek stuff." Enjoy!

Bosch IXO Ad

Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt/Elbe, Hamburg
Executive Creative Directior: Sascha Hanke, Wolf Heumann
Creative Directior: Andreas Ottensmeier, Harald Gasper
Art Direction: Roman Mitterer
Copy: Christine Graf

Copy reads, "Unexpectedly powerful: the IXO with Lithium-Ion technology." Art direction like this catches the eye, then brings the reader in to figure it out, through the copy. Perfect harmony.

Paul Newman Poster

It took me a few seconds to figure out how this piece works. The 2001 film festival poster portrays one of my all time favs, Paul Newman. Tilt your head to the left. Then to the right. Hopefully you'll see it now. Found here.

Hot Wheels

"Parquet"/"Carpet"/"Tile"

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, London; UK Creative Director: Alasdair Graham; Head Of Art: Andy Bird; Art; Directors: Andy Wyton, Jason Mendes; Copywriters: Jason Mendes, Andy Wyton; Photographers: Chris Jelley, Photolibrary; Retoucher: Trevor Qizilbash @ Tag; Art Buyers: Coral Stafford, Brigette Martin; Agency; Producer: Mark Doyle; Account Manager: Leah Walsh; Account Supervisor: Kate Dowling

Produced by Ogilvy, London, this campaign plays off the setting Hot Wheels are used within: the home (specifically different flooring in a home.) This idea also taps into the key insight that a child is not imagining their Hot Wheels driving around their living room or kitchen, but rather places like a forest or an ocean-side highway. By integrating both images, the prints show the reality of Hot Wheels and the imagination of a child. I also like that these ads don't show the product. It is uneccessary and would just add clutter. The strong visual protrays just what needs to be said.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation: Deathbed

Advertising Agency: CHI&Partners, London, UK
Creative Director: Ewan Paterson
Art Director: Dave Masterman
Copywriter

: Ed Edwards
Photographer: Stock
Designer: Kylie McLean

I love this kind of ad. It is completely visual with no need for copy (not to knock copy!) It is also an image that instantly is understandable. While the message couldn't be clearer: cigarettes=death. The quicker an audience can understand your message, the more likely they won't dismiss it. Sometimes, ads have an amazing creative idea but it takes to long to get it, whether it is the visual and/or the copy. As an ad lover, I'd take an extra moment to figure such pieces out, but most consumers won't. Luckily, this ad sidesteps that trouble by making the idea easy to grasp.

Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies

Advertising Agency: Neogama/BBH, São Paulo, Brazil
Executive Creative Director /Copywriter: Alexandre Gama
Art Director: Márcio Ribas

Way to sell yourself smartly. The mark of a good ad agency.

Panamericana Escola de Arte e Design: How Far Does Your Creativity Go

Advertising Agency: AlmapBBDO, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Directors: Marcello Serpa, Luiz Sanches, Dulcídio Caldeira
Copywriter: Andre Godoi
Art Director: Andre Gola
Producer: José Roberto Bezerra
Account Supervisors: Martha Almeida, Isabela Filippi
Advertiser’s Supervisor: Enrique Lipszyc
Published: February 2009

As someone who doodles a lot, I love these ads for the Panamericana Escola de Arte e Design. These print ads hit the nail on the head because they focus on a simple everyday occurrence that creative individuals understand. This is what makes good ads: a key insight specific to the target.

Reporters Without Borders

Copy: "Ink should flow when blood flows. Nothing and no-one should prevent journalists from reporting from combat zones."

"Ink"

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Paris, France
Creative Director: Christophe Coffre
Art Director: Florian Roussel
Copywriter: Guillaume Blanc
Photographer: Peter Turnley
Published: February 2009

I couldn't agree more with this statement. Excellent visual and outstanding copy that work together in unison, without feeling like there is too much going on in this ad. Nicely done.

WWF: Our life at the cost of theirs?

"Elephant"/"Turtle"/"Rhino"
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, India
Executive Creative Director: Piyush Pandey
Creative Director: Sumanto Chattopadhyay
Art Directors: Mayur varma, Mandar Wairkar
Illustrators: Swapnil Nilkanth, Nishikant Palande
Copywriters: Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Karn Singh, Mandar Wairkar

These ads for the World Wildlife Fund are simple yet poignant. Each detailed image is of a city, town, human-built area, etc. that make up the whole image of the animal. The simple headline "Our life at the cost of theirs?" offers the reader an issue to contemplate and then reflect upon. The hand-drawn style typeface for the headline fits perfectly with the image. I also like the decision to place the WWF logo and tagline in the upper left corner. It is nice to see an ad that breaks the typical logo placement mold. Black and white was also a smart choice, like the images could be straight out of The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustrations.

Seperated at Birth? Coca-Cola and Pepsi

"Surfer"

Agency: Ogilvy, Singapore
Creative Director: Sonal Dabral
Art Director: Alan Vladusic
Copywriter: Neil Flory

"Surfer"
Agency: BBDO Germany
Creative Directors: Veikko Hille, Sebastian Hardieck, Toygar Bazarkaya
Art Director: Michael Plückhahn
Copywriter: Dietmar Neumann Beratung: Heike Flottmann, Annika Lauhöfer
Art Buying: Birgit Paulat
Production: Stefan Kranefeld Imaging, Düsseldorf

Apparently if you like cola soda you are Kelly Slater. Despite the same basic idea, each ad was able to have a different stylistic direction. Pepsi's landscape photo is a nice change from most soft drink ads. Sans the photoshopping in color, the image could be in any nature/surfer magazine. I especially give kudos to Coke for their ability to produce an ad without using the brand's name. It is classically Coca-Cola in every way: the color, the copy, the simplistic style. The two ads are definitely related, but I'll say they're fraternal twins, not identical.