Karen Howe is creative director with Due North Communications in Toronto. For this latest instalment of Strategy’s ‘Spotlight on …’ feature, we asked her to critique some of the most notable magazine ads she’s seen lately.
Ah, magazine. The creative person’s paradise. The seductive lushness of four-colour. The alluring sheen of glossy pages. The extended life span spent sprawled on the coffee tables of this great nation.
Magazine is the perfect place to build a relationship with the consumer. The bastion of involving long-copy ads, it is a medium that makes every red-blooded creative team shiver in anticipation.
When I was asked to write this article, I felt confident of finding lots of great work to use as examples. But leafing through some 58 magazines left me shocked. Where are the great ads? And why is there such a dearth of long-copy ads? Magazine, to my surprise, seems to have become a haven for visually driven creative devoid of an idea.
But enough whining. Here are a few thought-provoking ads; see what you think. And if you should find yourself longing for a gaggle of gerunds, a peck of paragraphs and a cluster of clauses (or even a little half-decent alliteration) … well, I’m with you.
1. ALTOIDS
Two of the newest executions in the wonderful Altoids ‘Curiously Strong Mints’ series. The mints may be skull-numbing, but the creative shakes up your brain in the most refreshing way. The utterly distinctive art direction, coupled with the irreverence, is a winning combination. An incredibly diverse interpretation of the powerful ‘curiously strong’
strategy.
2. THE GLOBE AND MAIL
I am a little biased on this one. I’ve already seen the outdoor, so I can connect the dots a little more easily than someone who’s only seen this ad. While I’m a fan of this campaign’s inherent smartness, I think it would be strengthened by dropping the reader into places of greater current relevance. After all, magazines offer depth of coverage, but only newspapers have the added benefit of covering news as soon as it’s happened.
3. DIET PEPSI
The carefree idiocy that is perpetual youth. I kinda like this ad. I want to fall in love with it, but I can’t get past the first date. Perhaps the art direction is a touch austere? Still, I’m attracted to its restrained goofiness. And I love the tagline.
4. WINSTON
A fundamental truth reveals itself in, of all places, a cigarette ad. Frightening. Yes, I know the art direction bites, but some would argue that its very cheesiness is necessary to deliver the idea. Art direction aside, you can’t knock the insight. It pays off the tagline nicely. Anna Nicole Smith, move over.
Also in this report:
– The magazine as brand p.16
