This is pretty much genuis advertising.

If you didn’t get the gist, here it is; Swiss Skydiving school lacks cash to lauch a large-scale advertising campaign; advertsising agency outfits high-traffic elevators with photographs creating vertigo view; result is regional and nationwide press coverage, as well as s whole bunch of elevator riders getting an unexpected experience.

I myself would probably have a heart attack if I got into an elevator that was lined with panels such as these. I go to great lengths to ensure I never have to ride in a elevator. If I ever  absolutely had to – then stepped into it and discovered that on the way down I would inadvertantly be experiencing quite possibly the most horriffic combination of vertigo and freefall I could imagine - I would, quite literally, die.

A friend of mine coaxed me into riding the London Eye a while ago now. I really underestimated my fear of heights and especially of moving whilst up high, and unfortunately spent the entire upward journey and half the downward sitting on the bench in the middle of the frightening glass pod trying desperately to imagine I was somewhere else. I should have prepared myself a little better, and so really I just made an ass of myself, in this case.

But this elevator…it is just cruel in the eyes of someone like me. But, I can certainly accept that a company dedicated to jumping out of planes and from great heights for the thrill isn’t trying to cater to people like me.

Advertising Agency: Wirz/BBDO, Switzerland
Creative Director: Matthias Freuler
Art Directors: Kim Sokola, Rahel Boesinger

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This is an interesting depiction of Hell; one which does not in any way make me feel inclined to clean out my cupboard and head to my local r2 fittness club.

Satan doesn’t look quite as evil and menacing as I like my Satans to be. He looks particularly relaxed - almost meditative - and nonchalant about the whole fire and burning thing. It almost looks quite comfortable there, I myself could do with a nice warm seat near the fire, watching my minions poke at some fatty foods in the eternal fire…

The concept of a hell for my calories doesn’t really work for me, no matter how strangely appealing this depiction of eternal damnfire may be.

As far as I can conclude, this illustration, with it’s calorific foods melting away, more resembles my own version of hell. One I would prefer to see would have spin cycles and weights and treadmills burning in the depths of fire. This all supports my conclusion that a workout at an r2 fittness club would also constitute my idea of eternal damnation. Mind you, it all beats Bill Weise’s depiction of Hell (and he should know, he’s been there).

So my twisted logic has determined that this is an ineffective advertisement. It seems more to offer an awesome illustration rather than attract clients to a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Advertising Agency: RGA Comunicação, Recife, Brazil
Creative Director: Daniel Zago
Art Director / Illustrator: Adriano Marcusso
Copywriter: Pedro Lazera
Published: March 2009

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Some things, even we can’t get out of your head

Eeewwwwww……

I think I can speak for most people when I say, these are all pretty disturbing images. Only the middle one has the potential to years later become one of those you might be able to have a laugh about. The first and last are just too gross to ever be funny.

I for one am definitely glad that I have never wittnessed any of these things. Actually I never witnessed anything all that disturbing as a child, and just the thought of any of these makes me even more grateful about this, because I might still need therapy if ever I came across a face in my dinner a a child.

This is a great campaign, very imaginative and the illustration is really nice. I can just imagine the artist being asked to draw an almost exposed grandma in the shower, a scene where a beloved pet has just been squished, and a chicken’s head that has accidently made it into a take-away fried bucket. All to advertise a dandruff shampoo.

“Trust us, it will make sense”…

And while I don’t really know if these ads do actually make any sense, or even they even need to. It doesn’t matter because they are just cool ads, either leaving you grateful that you never had any of these experiences, or sorry that this ad has just reminded you that you have.

Advertiser: P&G
Brand: Head and Shoulders
Art Director: Patrick Ackmann
Illustrator: RichardWilkinson

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Cruelty to children is ghastly, malicious and cruel*

* advertisers exempted

Again we see a favourite of many art directors- text or copy assembled into an image. I could easily get into the strength and faults of this, however it appears i am distracted by the disturbing misery of these children.

This is undoubtedly an effective campaign, whether it is a fresh idea or not. The photography and art is direction is quite good. The copy particularly works to highlight the horrors of verbal abuse. Importantly, they did not take a leaf out of the ASCA book, and freak us out with weird alternative nonsense.

However the clear question remains- how they made these children cry? I have studied these infants rather carefully and I’m confident they’re not fake. I can also conclude that they are not old people dressed as children, nor were not digitally mastered by the people who brought us Call of Duty 4.

They are therefore real human children in absolute state of discontent. Should i believe that an adult successfully captured this emotion by mere request? Did he/she say to each child; “OK when I say go, I want to you to erupt into a hollering, blubbering cry. Now I don’t want weeping, I want wailing..”

The subject of child abuse is indeed a non laughing matter. However when I think of the boardroom brainstorming in this campaign I cannot help but giggle. Am I crazy to think that somebody’s eyes once lit up and suggested “we will advocate against child abuse by poking a child to make it cry…”. I wouldn’t be surprised if he then followed to explain his grappling idea of ‘text as an adults hand’ . It would then explain why everyone overlooked the ridiculousness of poking a child.

Advertising Agency: EuroRSCG Chicago, USA

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In this economic climate it’s hard to imagine many people would stand on their front porch and casually exclaim: “you know what… I think we need to re-landscape our front yard. I’m just not feeling it anymore.”

Now I don’t believe nobody will make this observation. Rather, I believe only certain persons will actually do something about the greenery surrounding their home. I picture them to be the likes of a gentleman drinking brandy, a woman with a poodle/alternate rodent-like canine, or the “we take the time to appreciate artistic talent” couples. I think Wesley Landscape is trying to reach these enthusiasts, where by offering ‘time’ they mean ‘money.’

Landscaping as “expressive art” is a nice way of ensuring a Keeping-up-with-the-Jones.’ You can imagine the old hag peeping outside these windows, inspecting the “work being done” on her adjacent neighbours’ home (and nose).

What is her response: she hires somebody to show them up, and continues to sit on her pruned bottom. She opts for the rarest plants and has them positioned in a greenery masterpiece (which will eventually waste litres of water in maintenance). She then marvels at her design’s creativity and her skill of “thinking” of getting somebody else to “make suggestions.”

Now I am not making fun of these green [with envy] estates. I assure you there is real intensity in the lawn game. I have the proof:

My front gate isn’t technically a gate – it is actually formed by squishing different plants together in a line (I’m sure “squishing” is a common landscaping term, no?). I was once given a plant as a present, and while disheartened by the present’s boringness, it was pretty so I planted it. Two days later when exiting my home I noticed the unimaginable- through the night somebody had DUG IT OUT of my front lawn. True story.

Advertising Agency: Scout Branding, Birmingham, USA
Creative Directors: Paul Crawford, Ryan Gernenz
Art Director: Ryan Gernenz
Copywriter: Paul Crawford
Photographer: Jason Wallis

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When i was little, soon after I read a picture book I would usually forget a considerable amount of the story (a disease that later made tertiary study rather challenging). When I would try to re-think or re-tell the story, all i had was bizarre excerpts which did nothing to communicate the book’s brilliance. I ultimately found myself filling in the gaps with anything I found lurking in my head.

In one story for example, a boy walks from his home to a secret tree-house. I knew something happened in the woods on the way. But what was it? Something to do with a turtle. I think? Or was it a fox? Such an issue was solved by concluding that it was a turtle-fox, ie a half-turtle, half-fox that carried the boy across land and water.

My imagination was actually a little too much in space. My mother recalls that she could leave me in my cot and leave the room for hours. Time would pass I would sit there unfazed by the lack of human contact.

Sadly the thought of a real turtle- fox like animal hardly creeps into my mind today. Yet now when I share my childhood escapades with others, I smile at my previous lunacy.

This campaign for Vividha extracts these same warm feelings. The artwork is beautiful. Each execution has such vivid colour and imagery, and the copy weaves nicely into them. I will be honest and confess I don’t exactly like/understand the Paisley or the Curtain executions. However I have taken the old childhood tactic of ignoring whatever I don’t like /understand (note your mother telling you not to eat the chocolate after you dropped it on the floor. You don’t like her “suggestion” so you ignore it).

This campaign truly has captured the mind of a child. I wouldn’t be surprised if they collected a handful of children, ushered them into a room, and watched them behind a window for 3 days. Unlawful and unlikely, yes. However I know that if I was in that room, hours could go by and i would certainly remain happy as larry.

Advertising Agency): ideas@work, Mumbai, India
Creative Directors: Zarvan Patel, Prashant Godbole
Art Director: Shriram Mandale
Copywriter: Kartik Smetacek

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Breast cancer is the cancer with the highest incidence in Portugal. About 4,500 new cases are detected annually. And the death rate is one of the highest in Europe. Their challenge was to create a simple low-cost action to raise women’s awareness about the importance of self-exams and thus help them detect breast nodules or lumps. Simple and revealing, just like the self-exam. The agency created an anti-stress ball with a defomed stone inside, simulating a tumour. On squeezing the ball, the women feels a foreign object wich raises her curiosity. “You don’t see breast cancer. You feel it. Do the self-exam”. 50,000 balls and a flyer – explaining the correct way of doing the self-exam were produced and distributed to women on the street, at companies, hospitals and at theme-related events. During the action period, records showed a 22% increase in mammography exams and a 28% rise in hospital consultations.

This is absolutely brilliant. What a frantastic way to raise awareness and educate women. Every woman in the world should have access to one of these, breast cancer is so relevant and so important everywhere, and this stress ball makes it something women can feel more comfortable talking about.

Stress balls have always been cool, I’ve always liked them. I haven’t had one for years, and I know that if I had one of these, I would probably find it fun to play with. I don’t know if that would be a good or a bad thing. What if I just started using it as a toy? Would I forget what it is supposed to be for? 

Thinking about it though, I have to admit it would be pretty hard to forget why there is a little hard lump in the thing.

 This is the most impressed I have been by an advertising campaign that is trying to sell knowledge, health and education rather than a fancy product that we really don’t need. It doesn’t play on our sympathies, our fears or our personal experience (like most do), but rather just puts the topic of breast self-examination out there, with no embarrassment and no awkwardness.

In most countries, breast cancer is a fairly serious issue for women, being in many cases the highest killer of women annually. The message is not new, but the method is quite innovative, and hopefully something that can be produced worldwide.

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson, Portugal
Chief Creative Officer: Pedro Pina
Executive Creative Director: João Taveira
Copywriter: Emerson Braga
Art Directors: André Lopes, Rita Andrade
Account Supervisor: Sônia Correia

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