Watch out Sports Direct, there's a new kid [well, fat bloke] on the block. Brian Butterfield's Sport Warehouse will be giving Mike Ashley sleepless nights with this tour de force advertisement.
Advertising: The Means Not The End
I stumbled upon an ad book called Mad Ave, edited by Jackie Merri Meyer. There are some great classic US ads in there, but also interesting written pieces by the likes of George Lois, Ed McCabe and Jerry Della Femina.
Anyway, this one particular quote from the great Ed McCabe caught my eye...
Anyway, this one particular quote from the great Ed McCabe caught my eye...
“Advertising has evolved into a business driven by megalomaniacs who know a lot about making money but little or nothing about making advertising. In some respects it's also being driven by “creatives,” who have it wrong to the opposite extreme. They believe the ad or commercial is everything and that winning awards is something. They've lost sight of the fact that advertising, in and of itself, isn't anything. Advertising's sole purpose is to be the cause of something else. To cause a sales increase. To cause a shift in perception. To cause the creation of an edifice of imagery that allows a product or service to be something. But advertising itself is nothing. Nothing but a means to an end. Only fools believe the the means is as important or significant as the end.”Sounds like he has it spot-on to me.
My 3 favourite things about working at Sell! Sell!
As we start the new year I have found myself reflecting on the previous year. Who I have wronged, how I will continue to wrong them and what brand of chocolate spread was my favourite (Nutella).
I then got thinking about the job I was fortunate to have got here. I compiled a short list of my three favourite things and thought I would share my experiences with you, dear reader.
'In at 3:' The Strong Coffee
The coffee at Sell! Sell! is made groin-grabbingly strong. The smell alone is enough to wake a corpse and cause it break out into the 'Thriller' dance routine. Perfect for those monday mornings.
'In at 2:' My Claw
After 4 months of continuous pen and tablet use it has left my right hand somewhat misshapen. Some of you may see this as a negative thing, that my hand may one day be subject to arthritis and will cause me a lot of pain. Well to you I say 'Jog on'. Whenever I pick things up with my new mangled claw, I feel like an eagle swooping down to catch its prey. Anything that feels that cool can't be bad for me, surely.
Numero Uno: The toilet seat
Yeah, that's right, my favourite thing about working at Sell! Sell! is not the opportunity to do great work, the friendly people or the endless cups of tea/coffee. My favourite thing about working at the sausage-fest that is Sell!Sell! is the fact that every time I go to the toilet I am greeted by an upright toilet seat.
Look at it. Doesn't it warm your heart? Never again do I have to fight gravity lifting it up or hear the words "blah, blah, blah, you left the toilet seat up, waffle, blah, blah". I can just walk into the toilet, gun in hand, and unleash terror.
I then got thinking about the job I was fortunate to have got here. I compiled a short list of my three favourite things and thought I would share my experiences with you, dear reader.
'In at 3:' The Strong Coffee
The coffee at Sell! Sell! is made groin-grabbingly strong. The smell alone is enough to wake a corpse and cause it break out into the 'Thriller' dance routine. Perfect for those monday mornings.
'In at 2:' My Claw
After 4 months of continuous pen and tablet use it has left my right hand somewhat misshapen. Some of you may see this as a negative thing, that my hand may one day be subject to arthritis and will cause me a lot of pain. Well to you I say 'Jog on'. Whenever I pick things up with my new mangled claw, I feel like an eagle swooping down to catch its prey. Anything that feels that cool can't be bad for me, surely.
Numero Uno: The toilet seat
Yeah, that's right, my favourite thing about working at Sell! Sell! is not the opportunity to do great work, the friendly people or the endless cups of tea/coffee. My favourite thing about working at the sausage-fest that is Sell!Sell! is the fact that every time I go to the toilet I am greeted by an upright toilet seat.
Look at it. Doesn't it warm your heart? Never again do I have to fight gravity lifting it up or hear the words "blah, blah, blah, you left the toilet seat up, waffle, blah, blah". I can just walk into the toilet, gun in hand, and unleash terror.
A Post About Art Direction, With No Pictures.
We were chatting a bit about art direction in Sell! Towers the other day. We're specifically talking about art direction for print advertising here. Poor old print advertising eh? Much maligned in recent years. But it is often so badly done that it isn't done any favours.
What makes for great art direction?
I have to say over the last few years, I've seen a real trend towards over art direction. I suspect that's maybe because people have so little confidence in print advertising these days, and certainly very little confidence in people actually reading print ads. So they just throw everything at it. Everything is over-done; overwrought typography, over-styled photography, over done illustration, over-elaborate layout or – even worse – starbursts, everything big, CAPITAL letters. The works.
Great print art direction starts with copy. What are you trying to communicate? Everything should start from that.
Here, we tend to take the approach of as little art direction as is necessary to make it work as well as possible, but no more than that.
Almost all advertising needs words to communicate what it needs to communicate.
The role of art direction should be to get people to read and understand what is being communicated.
Great art direction makes the message appear in someone's head like a thought.
Show-offy art direction makes the ad or the type a pretty thing.
Think about the way people read or consume print media, that is, magazines or newspapers. People scan the pages quickly looking for something that interests them, it could be a key word or phrase, or less often, a picture, or a hint of a subject matter. They don't read every story, they don't read every headline. They're just scanning. People use visual magazines, like fashion mags, visually - that is, they are in the frame of mind that something visually pleasing will catch their eye.
(People in the ad business often scoff at fashion advertising, because there is often no idea.The truth is, the people who produce fashion advertising probably know their market and their audience far better than the ad people know theirs.)
The trouble is, art directors tend to be very visual people, they consume print media differently to the average Joe. And this is compounded through years of study and work in their specialism. Their eyes are caught by great layout and clever craft touches, by beautiful typography or new or experimental techniques.
Most art directors don't even realise that they consume print in a different way to normal people. So they go through life designing things for themselves rather than for their audience.
Some highly regarded art directors are just really good at show-offy art direction, They don't really understand their craft, and where it fits into communication, and into peoples' lives. They only know how to make things look good. How to produce the kind of things that they, and their art director peers, admire.
That's potentially quite unfortunate for the people who pay them to create their advertising, don't you think?
What makes for great art direction?
I have to say over the last few years, I've seen a real trend towards over art direction. I suspect that's maybe because people have so little confidence in print advertising these days, and certainly very little confidence in people actually reading print ads. So they just throw everything at it. Everything is over-done; overwrought typography, over-styled photography, over done illustration, over-elaborate layout or – even worse – starbursts, everything big, CAPITAL letters. The works.
Great print art direction starts with copy. What are you trying to communicate? Everything should start from that.
Here, we tend to take the approach of as little art direction as is necessary to make it work as well as possible, but no more than that.
Almost all advertising needs words to communicate what it needs to communicate.
The role of art direction should be to get people to read and understand what is being communicated.
Great art direction makes the message appear in someone's head like a thought.
Show-offy art direction makes the ad or the type a pretty thing.
Think about the way people read or consume print media, that is, magazines or newspapers. People scan the pages quickly looking for something that interests them, it could be a key word or phrase, or less often, a picture, or a hint of a subject matter. They don't read every story, they don't read every headline. They're just scanning. People use visual magazines, like fashion mags, visually - that is, they are in the frame of mind that something visually pleasing will catch their eye.
(People in the ad business often scoff at fashion advertising, because there is often no idea.The truth is, the people who produce fashion advertising probably know their market and their audience far better than the ad people know theirs.)
The trouble is, art directors tend to be very visual people, they consume print media differently to the average Joe. And this is compounded through years of study and work in their specialism. Their eyes are caught by great layout and clever craft touches, by beautiful typography or new or experimental techniques.
Most art directors don't even realise that they consume print in a different way to normal people. So they go through life designing things for themselves rather than for their audience.
Some highly regarded art directors are just really good at show-offy art direction, They don't really understand their craft, and where it fits into communication, and into peoples' lives. They only know how to make things look good. How to produce the kind of things that they, and their art director peers, admire.
That's potentially quite unfortunate for the people who pay them to create their advertising, don't you think?
Weekend vs Office
If you're ever in doubt as to whether an item of clothing is ok to wear into the office or should be reserved for weekend wear, ask yourself :
"Will this make me look like a giraffe with polio?"
If the answer is yes, play it safe.
Happy New Year!
Hello there kind reader. Hope you had a cracking break. We wish you a 2013 filled with laughter and success, along with plenty of whatever vice is your thing. In the meantime, here's a picture of an old man with a cat in his beard...
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