Our first project is about print ads. In order to give us some idea about what should be considered as “good ads”, Professor showed us some examples from magazines, then discussed with us the reason why they were good.  The following ad about Subaru was one of the ads we went over in the class. The structure of this ad is pretty simple; basically there is only an old Subaru car key. However, because it’s old, that means there are lots of stories behind. It also implies that Subaru is a car maker with long history. The message at the bottom, "Tell your story at subaru.com/dearsubaru.", is another key factor in this ad. It calls for an action from the customers. Action is important even just visiting corporate website, which means the customers will have a chance to obtain more information about Subaru. This ad’s object is a key; it also serves as a key to open the gate of Subaru to the customers.

        What are good ads? I think a good ad should catch audience’s attention, stimulate readers’ curiosity, use limited space to deliver unlimited information, serve as a key, a bridge linking up the customers with the products.



       

        We discussed social issues SOPA in Wednesday class. SOPA is the short for “stop online piracy act”. According to wikipedia: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a United States bill introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith (R-TX) to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. The law would expand existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyright material, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

        The class started to discuss the matter that the government was trying to pass the law to enforce people to credit the artists whenever someone posts something on you tube or any similar site. If they post something and not credit the artist, they would be fined or punished. I absolutely support intellectual property protection. Each intellectual property is the result combining designers’ hardworking, time and money. It will take long time for them to create an awesome work, but piracy only takes a minute. Without protection, the designers will be lack of motivation for creation. However, if such protection is undue, like the matter we discussed in the class, I believe it will also slow down the popularization of the awesome work. Everybody has to spend more time in searching authors before each post. The fun thing will become a time-consuming duty. We always criticize Chinese government’s control in internet. If the matter we discussed becomes a law, how the US government enforces the law without watching our online behavior? Is it not a different type of control?

        The first project assignment was announced in the class. We will work with one partner to create two full-page print ads for an important or controversial issue. We are free to pick any issue we feel interesting. The print ads should persuasively communicate a -pro and a -con perspective. After the discussion with my partner, we have chosen a Health issue. We need to do some research and develop imagery to support that concept.

What is a good advertising?

        Advertising is a way communications with the consumer. This include advertising via internet banners, magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, billboards, and the multitude of other media available as advertising space. Designing a good advert can mean the difference between success and failure and is worth investing in. Selecting the right image can make a huge difference to the impact of the ad. People will make quick assumptions about your product and brand from the images you use in your adverts. In Wednesday class, each student in the class had to bring in three separate examples of a good advertisements. I found three good examples ads to share in the class.

1.GRAFF is a one page jewelry advertising. This type of advertising uses a monochrome background which is very useful for emphasizing the jewels as they clearly stand out and almost pop into the eyes of the ad viewer. The diamonds are displayed in great detail, which underlines the high quality and value perception, The jewels are positioned on an elegant and beautiful woman which is shown in the monochrome background. The ad impresses with its understatement which only heightens the value and image of the product. The ad simplicity also allow easy product and brand recognition which is important since magazine ads have to be recognized within the turn of the page

2.Retin Ox Night is a skin repair serum. The advertising consists of 2 pages. Left hand side shows a woman’s face with the wording “I am 46”, this is a powerful convincing marketing message as the woman’s face looks much younger. This right page shows in large print “10 years back”, which obviously strongly supports the message of the left hand side. The right hand side also shows the entire product and logo for easy recognition in the retail store. The ad further impresses with a good balance of the various ad elements, such as images, text, logo, colors and font size. The overall look is contemporary, which also is very fitting for a trendy and modern beauty product.

3. The Sally Hansen premier ad is a typical consumer ad. I like it because the purpose and benefit of the product can be successfully recognized within a glance. The ad also shows the entire product with packaging and brand logo which supports the shelf recognition within a retail store. Since the ad features the logo in very big letters and font size, it is conclusive that the company intents to promote its brand value as a major consumer product supplier. The color choices are bright and pleasing to the eyes. The purpose of this product can be determined within a glance.