Quick! Which of the two ads above makes the greater impact?
Pantene's (P&G) agency of record, Grey New York, apparently created an almost great ad.
Their original ad is on the left and my slightly edited version is on the right. The text is identical in the two ads except I added the URL to the one on the right to at least add some semblance of a call to action.
Why did Grey New York not use a large, bold headline that's easy to read? Heck, it's only three words. The reader would almost not be able to not read the headline if it were big and bold. Why rely on the photo to stop the page flipper and make them work to find any sort of message? Knock 'em over the head with it. Just three words.
..and the logo? Make it bigger. Don't be ashamed of your client's brand. You've got an ad with 6 words here, folks. Why in the world did you try to hide those 6 words?
I just don't understand art directors who try to hide the message in tiny, gray print. Do they believe the gap is so wide between creatives and copy writers that they simply don't think words have any impact?
Yes, cool picture but your client is paying you to deliver a message. Deliver it effectively without making the reader work. As soon as you make the reader work...
Flip. Next page.
2 comments:
anyone on the advertising agency side would know that a logo doesn't sell more product. This is clearly a retentive style ad, acting as a reminder to the target market to maintain top of mind awareness. As Pantene is in the mature stage of the product life cycle, they clearly don't need to enlarge their logo and make a tage line the size of the page- everyone knows who they are and where to get it.
This ad is a great demonstation that less is more and simplicity rules- it delivers impact and it's clean approach blows any clutter out of the water.
You gave a very weak argument for someone who claims to be a 'marketing guy who drives sales"
Less is more? Heck, there was nothing but a pair of bent scissors. If less is more then the original ad had everything.
How is a pair of bent scissors going to remind anyone to keep anything top of mind? Makes me think that I need to make sure I buy a good pair of scissors next time.
The logo was already there, just too small to easily see. I believe that most people who saw this ad just saw the scissors and flipped the page without working to find out what the ad was even for.
Admittedly my 'call to action' was also weak, but I stated that when I said the URL was there to serve as at least some semblance of a call to action.
I can't help but think that getting the message "Really strong hair" and "Pantene" across quickly and easily would have gone further to maintain any kind of awareness.
We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
Post a Comment