This advertisement may seem simple,
but it effectively demonstrates the principles of contrast, repetition,
alignment, and proximity. It uses contrast in various ways. First, there is
contrast between the “Love you Mom” typed and the same phrase written out in
the young boy’s handwriting. The first one seems dull and impersonal, while the
handwriting seems to come to life and shows that the boy really cares about his
mom. Contrast is also used with the Bic logo, which is yellow. Since it is the
only yellow part of the advertisement, it stands out against the white
background. The bold typeface in the logo also contrasts against the other
text, since it is the only part that is bold. The image of the Bic pen also
stands out against the white background.
The image includes two uses of
repetition. The first one is the message written by the young boy, Eliot. He
says “Love you Mom” twice, the first one on a computer and the second one on
with the pen. The repetition of the phrase makes the contrast work. The next
use is the repetition of the boy’s handwriting, which is used at the top of the
page and again at the bottom to give the overall message of the advertisement:
“A lotta you in every stroke.” This use of repetition draws attention to the
idea that the handwritten messages are preferable to the typed messages, and
that Bic is the best product to use to write those messages.
Alignment is another important
element of this design that makes it more visually appealing. Since the pen is
the longest image, and the product that is being sold, everything is aligned
based on it. The phrase “A lotta you in every stroke” and the Bic logo are
centered right above the pen. The two messages from Elliot are just inside of
the two ends of the pen. The layout is simple and not distracting, allowing the
message to work effectively.
Finally, the use of proximity helps
the message makes sense and guides the reader’s eye among the different
elements. Since the two uses of “Love you Mom” are next to each other at the
top, it helps us to see the contrast more clearly. The message of “A lotta you
in every stroke” is located right above the pen, indicating that the use of the
Bic pen in the picture will help your personality shine through when you use it
to provide handwritten notes.
I agree, this ad is very effective in using the techniques we read about. I thought that the alignment and proximity were pretty effective - the writing and picture of the pen were on the edge of the picture, leaving a lot of white space in the middle. This kept the ad very simple and not cluttered, which emphasizes the simplicity of the little kid's hand writing, making it seem more realistic and little-kid like. Those aspects of the ad really help make the ad cuter and more effective.
ReplyDeleteI would also agree that this advertisement is very effective using the CRAP principles we had read for our assignment. This ad is very simple, which is good to have as it makes the message clear to the person when seeing this ad. As well, having the BIC logo contrast against the black and white colors used definitely draws the viewers attention to the bright yellow logo - a great way and even technique used to draw the viewers attention to see the logo and even remember it.
ReplyDeleteThis advertisement utilizes the design principles of CRAP in a very effective way. With the sloppy child's handwriting, I think there was a risk that the advertisement could have looked messy itself. But the alignment, simple color scheme, and proximity of the text to each other made for a clean and professional design. The simple message gives a big impact to the reader, and it's very easy to discern what brand the pen is. The advertisement is playful and clever, but not careless.
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