I was browsing through some ads online, and I was continually amazed by the creativity in many of them. I was interested to see that many of the ads in a website/blog’s “most creative ads” collections have been photoshopped/digitally altered. Outstanding ads from ten, twenty years ago were probably just as creative, but in a different way. New technology has given ad agencies a new tool to create visually-surprising, attention-grabbing ads.
For example, this Sony VAIO ad exaggerates the idea that their laptops/notebooks are light enough to fly away on the wind like paper. This “light” claim surprised me, because I have several friends with VAIOs that are not particularly easy on the back (perhaps they own different models). The well-dressed businessman is caught in a dramatic, slow-motion pose, watching in consternation as his laptop floats away from him.
For me, the strategic placement of a private plane in the background only highlights the implication that this man is important, and possibly wealthy. This ad is saying to me, ‘real, important professionals use the Sony VAIO – it’s so lightweight, you’ll hardly notice it when you’re carrying it around’.
I’m thinking about how this ad was created. It looks like the actor was in a photograph, but was his papers part of the picture? Or did Photoshop whizzes add the papers (and presumably the laptop) on the computer afterwards? The ad looks like a composite picture too – it’s likely the mountains, plane, and businessman were all separate pictures. With my untrained eyes I can’t really tell, and this only attests to the quality and possibilities of digital manipulation.
I also wonder where Sony will place this ad – possibly in business magazines or similar journals. Although lightweight laptops will also appeal to students and other target populations, this ad is clearly aimed at the young professional. The emphasis of the ad does not seem to be on the laptop as a whole; rather, it highlights one trait of the laptop.
So by the end of this ad I don’t really know that much more about the Sony VAIO, apart from its apparent propensity to blow away! I guess running through a whole list of technical specifications in an ad would put any reader to sleep, so finding one or two traits that differentiates “your” product from a competitor’s is a key to creating effective ads.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!