My Favorite Print Ads

The following are just some of my favorite print ads in the categories of consumer products, business to business, and public service. Enjoy!

Absolut Citron. 

Consumer Products

One of the most brilliant and playful print campaigns was Absolut Vodka’s two-word campaign. I thought it was a creative way to highlight the distinctive bottle using a concept with endless opportunities for legs. The only copy used was the two-word headline that was playful and straight to the point. The absence of copy is refreshing, much like chilled vodka, and highlights the brands sassy personality.

Compared to other consumer product advertisements, Absolut’s is simple and memorable. Many well known products overwhelm the consumer with unnecessary copy, that explains the visual. This ad pairs a strong visual with a smart headline that are not redundant, but nicely play off each other.     

Thirty-eight dollars in change in your check out line.
Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks?
Speed up slow transactions with the super fast TM-H6000 III receipt printer. 

Of course she'll take her time in the check out line.
That's, like, the perfect place for, like, guys to check you out.
Speed up slow transactions with the super fast TM-H6000 III receipt printer. 

She's slow, ornery, and frightens cashiers.
Let's not dilly dally with her receipt, shall we?
Speed up slow transactions with the super fast TM-H6000 III receipt printer. 

B2B

Typically, when I think of B2B advertisements I envision lengthy copy that uses very technical language. There might be pictures of the product from multiple angles or a diagram of how something works. Since the content is very dense, the ad isn’t visually appealing, only attracting the people who use the product. However, Epson approaches B2B with a fresh concept that incorporates a few lines of humorous copy, a complementary image, and the product. That’s it! Readers get it immediately.

I liked this ad for Epson receipt printers because of the simplistic layout and humorous copy. In the campaign, the copy describes the various dreaded situations cashiers encounter. Whether it is counting $38 in change, taking an extremely long time or cranky old ladies; at least the cashier does not have to worry about the receipt printer jamming.

Visually, the ads are very appealing, incorporating lots of white space. The background color is pulled right from the person’s clothing providing us with a nice visual connection. There is a nice hierarchal flow of the ad which takes our eyes from the images right to the copy and then down to the lower right for the product.

The only constructive criticism I have would be to incorporate a call to action near the logo.

Children of parents who smoke, get to heaven earlier. 

Public service

Public service ads typically seem to show the most extreme cases of the related subject area. The local agency Serve Marketing, is notorious for it’s controversial campaigns that bring light to serious social issues. For some agencies like Serve, their goal is to get the community talking about the issue. While I agree that fear tactics can be successful for select social issues, it is refreshing to see something toned down.

One of my favorite public service ads is the simple anti-smoking one for the Children’s Health Foundation. The copy is nicely crafted, and when paired with the visual tells you that secondhand smoke kills without spelling it out. 

Visually, the ad is flawless. Immediately I see the little girl whose eyes direct me to the halo. The smoke trail then takes me to the single line of copy, which pops off the dark background. After I read the copy, my eye continues to follow the smoke to the lower right hand corner with the logo and website.   

Unbalanced Major

My last three years at Marquette have flown by. It honestly still has not hit me that I am a senior and will be entering the real world in a few short months. Looking back at my time spent at Marquette, more specifically the advertising classes I’ve taken in the College of Communications, I can’t help but feel gypped by the program.

In order to graduate, advertising students are required to take between 27-35 credit hours of general communication studies. In addition to that, about 32 credit hours toward the advertising major. I agree with the majority of the courses that are required, but do feel that the order in which they are take should be more structured. For example, last spring I finally got around to taking Intro to Small Group Communication.  As a junior, this class was a waste of my time. I had already been successfully working in groups on projects for the past five semesters. This class frustrated me because it would have defiantly been useful if I took it as a freshman; however, I had already learned all the material through experience.

My real problem with the major is the lack of design classes offered. Typically, when people think of advertising, they immediately think of the creative aspect: commercials, print, and outdoor. The current program Marquette offers only prepares us for the planning, strategy, and research positions in the field. Students are at a serious disadvantage if they opt to pursue a graphic design career. Luckily, from the get go I knew I was interested in learning layout design, so I took it upon myself to get a minor in Communication Design at MIAD. The program puts undecided students at a disadvantage. If they become interested in creative their junior or senior year it becomes challenging to complete a minor or even take design classes at MIAD. Taking classes at MIAD poses challenges for students for several reasons: they need to take into account the travel, accommodating a three hour class, and the prerequisites. If students are required to take writing, law, ethics, campaigns, and research classes why shouldn’t we be required to take a class in advertising design as well?

Overall, I think the objective of the major should be to familiarize students with the different aspects of the agency. Classes that resemble the different positions or career paths found in an agency should be required. The classes might include: research, campaigns, media planning, copywriting, social media, event planning, account planning, programming (adobe suite), design.

Personally, I am still torn about the position I would like to hold within an advertising agency. I don’t think I’ve learned enough in my classes about each position to make the decision. Part of the problem is that the “upper level” courses should be introduced sophomore and junior year. This would give students more time to take classes in the area they are interested in. While I know that learning doesn’t stop after undergrad, I find it frustrating that designers have to spend an additional two years in portfolio school before they can get a job.