What’s so great about this campaign? A few things – - it’s simple, the visual is astounding and is straight from the program being promoted, and the copy matches the visual to perfection.

“Visit places that still don’t exist” – - This is one of those simple “DUH!” lines that just works and appears as if it was probably very easy to come up with. No matter the difficulty, when the copy and the visual are in such harmony, you can’t debate it. What’s important to think about is the impression these ads have on individuals who are civil engineers or would use this program; more than likely very effective.

I’m not going to go into any further discussion; I just wanted to give this some recognition.

Courtesy of AdsoftheWorld.com

This is an excellent ad. The visual execution is fantastic, the copy is congruent with the message being conveyed, and the copy placement/style is good. So what’s the problem? This ad is targeted towards men.

Kitadol is a form of acetaminophen, and apparently there is a menstrual-relief-specific product as well. Barring the occasional gender-curious specimens or science experiments gone wrong, the only people who will be needing this product are women. Now I don’t have any research data in front of me, but I think it’s fair to say that most women buy their own “I hate you PMS” pills.

As for the boyfriends, husbands, and “What the hell am I doing this aisle” fathers that may be generous enough to throw this into their shopping cart either out of sincerity or personal defense; they are not the ones making the decision on which brand to buy. If they have any common sense or previous second-hand PMS experience, they will buy what the woman wants them to buy. There will be no man “shopping” through the variety of these pills and making his own decision on which to buy. I acknowledge the fact that there are always rarities in any population as well as extreme situations, but even then the number of male shoppers would account for a very, very low percentage.

While this is a great ad, does it do any good? It’s a clever idea and I give a lot of kudos for that, but it’s aimed at the wrong audience. Period.

How many companies are wasting money by promoting their product or service to the wrong audience? Do you have any examples of this?
That pun you noticed about 10 seconds ago…it was intended.

At first you think Gold’s Gym is just being environmentally friendly and simply positioning their name in a place where people who care about their physical appearance are likely to be. Then you read the line “And pick up the trash, too.” What a great double meaning for the first line!

I love it when a company can cleverly put a double meaning on something that is actually relevant to their business. There may be a small percentage of people who read it and never notice, or don’t get it. But I’m willing to bet that the majority will understand it rather quickly if not after a few seconds of thinking. And isn’t that what you want? Get your audience to not only see your name, logo, or slogan, but to get them thinking? This means that they are spending and extended period of time dedicating their thoughts to your company’s message and your message only. It’s a winner!

Do you have any favorite ads that use a double meaning?

If you are unaware, it is believed by many that the world will end on December 21st, 2012 because that marks the end of the Mayan calendar.

The narrator is Michael C. Hall from the hit show Dexter.

You can see more of the Dodge Charger commercials on YouTube here. They are all worth a watch, but the one above is my favorite.

What do you think?

Kudos to John Nolan for his creativity in this piece.

Imagine if this were a real TV ad for some brand of cheese, and shortened a little in order to fit a proper commercial slot. Would you enjoy it and tell your friends? Would you remember the brand of cheese being advertised? Would you at the very least remember this pumped up little mouse? If you answered yes to at least one of those questions, then that commercial would be considered a success.

I think it’s very memorable and powerful because it actually brings you through a set of emotions. I’ve included the steps for what I believe would be two general reactions:

1. Aw how cute that little mousy is getting some cheese
1a. Ah I hate mice! I hope that mouse trap destroys him!

2. *Snap* Oh no! Poor little guy!
2a. *Snap* Haha, he had it coming! Stupid mouse.

3. *Music* YES! YES! That mouse is the man !!
3a. *Music* What the ?! Crazy mouse better not come to my house.

It’s just a winning video on multiple levels with the music choice, emotional attachment, humor, and clever transfer of strong cheese to a beefy mouse.

What do you think?

Courtesy of Toxel.com

We all know who Mr. Clean is so there is no need for words, all that’s needed is the very recognizable Mr. Clean himself! This is a great demonstration of cleverly portraying the brand and what it is known for in a unique, high-traffic area. I’m not 100% sure this is real, though, because if companies could advertise on the streets like this we would see a lot more of it.

Either way, imagine walking across the street and seeing this, how could you forget it? With the possibility that the picture itself was used as an advertisement (billboard or posters), and not actually done on a public road, it’s still quite memorable.

Good job freaky bald guy.

Take a look at the old logo:

Now here is the fresh, new logo:

First thoughts?

They did a great job with the negative space in creating the “31″ that you are seeing. My thoughts were “Oh isn’t that the place famous for 31 flavors?”

Which do you like better?

The old one has more of an old ice cream shop feel, very traditional, appealing typeface, and the semi-circle over the 31 has been said to symbolize an ice cream scoop. Overall, it’s nice.

The new one just screams childhood to me. Clearly, BR is focusing aggressively on a new market. Doesn’t this seem more appealing to the youth? Heck, if an old Baskin Robbins was right next to a new one with their respective logos, I’d stroll into the new one; I might even skip in. While this is more inviting, did they try too hard? Was that “31″ put in there too forcefully? I think they’re right on the edge of that debate.

I’ve seen many complaints that the colors are two contrasting and it’s simply “too much”. Well those are there colors, slightly changed from the old logo, and they made it work. The 31 inside of the BR is clever, plain and simple. I enjoy it because I can look at this and see the 31, but then quickly change my focus to see the BR again, whereas in some logos or illusions it’s tough to see it the “normal way” when you’ve already seen the hidden picture.

What do you think of the logo? Do you think it’s working for them? Better than their very old logo?

Before moving on to other intriguing logos and advertisements I decided to explore the Goodwill Industries a little further. James Harder, the Director of Communications for Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, was kind enough to leave a comment on my last blog post and he directed my attention to the fact that some Goodwill chapters aren’t using the exact same logo. As he mentioned, the San Francisco and New York chapters do sport different logos, but I decided to search for more.

I simply googled many popular cities and states followed by ‘goodwill’ to find different chapters; most sported the same “smiling g” discussed in the previous post. I did find one minor difference in one logo, and that was for the East Texas chapter.

Now if you look at the original logo above and to the right, this is practically the same. I like this simple change in the face however, less rounded, more hard angles; it still works. Another thing I like is the smaller eye, I didn’t have a problem with the original one until I saw this eye. The original appears very dilated to me now and that’s where my focus lies – which is not good.

What I do not like about the East Texas style is the font of “goodwill”, the letters seem to fat for their own good. Can’t see the holes in the o’s and to me makes it look very rough. The opaqueness of the logo is a turnoff as well. Looks to me like an unnecessary effect that does more damage than good. On a broader scope, I dislike the style of the banner text. The colors are fine, but I think the shadows are too much of a focal point. Almost like they tried too hard to make it “cool” looking, looks very amateurish.

Above is the logo for the Greater New York and Northern New Jersey. It has a nice, childlike feel to it. Again, the first thing I see is the smiley face – not the g. Staring at the face long enough makes it look kind of creepy and peeping-tomish, but I won’t get into that. The whole theme is consistent with youth and childhood. The box has loose lines and the underlining of goodwill has a paintbrush style to it.

I like this for the message it conveys without saying anything. If the word goodwill were not present, you know by looking at it that the company does something with the youth.

San Francisco’s is entirely different; SF decided to ditch the smiley for a new approach. Unfortunately this remind me of Google instantly. I see a big G, and the Goodwill font is similar to Google’s (the double o’s don’t help either). What I like about this is that I’m actually not sure what I see first, a large G or an upward pointing arrow. It’s amazing how just tilting the letter G and adding a little line turns it into something entirely different. The obvious idea thrown at us here is that Goodwill is a positive thing, doing good things, and moving upward. At least, that’s what an arrow pointing towards the sky says to me on the simple level.

While I like SF’s logo idea, I feel that the smiley face does the name of Goodwill more justice. The upward arrow seems like it would fit better in a more corporate setting. Not to say that Goodwill isn’t a large, recognizable company; I just think it belongs elsewhere.

All in all, still a great logo for all three.

One logo that I have always loved is up in Boston. It belongs to the Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. Just so you know what they do, here is their Mission Statement found on their website: “Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries’ mission is to provide exemplary job training and related services to help individuals with disabilities and other barriers to self-sufficiency to achieve independence and dignity through work. Not charity, but a chance.”

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

The first thing you probably see is half of a smiley face, I know that’s what I first noticed. A company with goodwill in the name that bears a smiley face in its logo, makes sense. I passed this sign multiple times and didn’t realize the actual beauty of it for a while. I appreciated this sign a lot more when I saw that the half-smiley face was actually a lower case g as well. This realization was quickly followed by a couple “Oh WOW!”’s.

I will admit though that I was a little disappointed when I realized that it is simply the font that they chose. If you look at the word goodwill at the bottom of the logo, it’s the same g, meaning it was just the correctly chosen font. I originally thought there must have been some “sculpting” done to make the g look like a happy person. Either way, very clever. Designing ones own font or even finding the perfect one is something to be proud of. It is extremely hard to make a simple logo and have it convey so much just by looking at it. Mark this down as one of my favorites.

Do you have any favorites?

Clever, clever, clever.

KFC sent out a letter to mayors nationwide offerin their services. “In honor of our “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign, we want to come and Re-“Fresh” your roads! The Colonel and his crew are on a mission to help out America and sponsor your city’s “Fresh”ly repaired roads. Every patched pothole comes with the Colonel’s very own stamp of approval.” -Roger Eaton, President of KFC.

Photo Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

Obviously this is a great promotional idea, that’s a given. But, in which way? Is KFC seeking to place their brand logo on the road for drivers to see? Or is this a nice publicity stunt that drives people like me to talk about them; in turn generating attention.

On the idea of just getting their brand out to more locations, I feel that the attention would go both ways, but probably more towards the negative. If you’re walking by, or driving slow enough to read words on the ground below you, and you see the letters “KFC”, what would you think? You’re either going to think one of four things:
1) Wow, how genius is that!
2) Good thing KFC helped out, government has no money to fill these damn holes!
3) Are you *@&!)^#% kidding me ?! Now I have to look at advertisements on the road too ?!
4) Mmmm bucket of chicken sounds good right now.

While the creativity of their brand placement is clearly present, I think they would also believe that the overall attention would be negative. However, from what I’ve read, the stenciled letters are not permanent, chalk or something. In this case, the logo is only going to last for a little while, and will be remembered more positively, as opposed to getting on the nerves of people who can’t take reading “KFC” everyday on their way to and from work.

On top of that, just the idea in general is worth it. KFC started in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and it may end there. So even if it doesn’t catch on, their generosity is noted, and publicity has clearly been created. Good publicity at that. While performing a needed community service by fixing some roads is greatly approved of and respected, just offering the service can be just as effective.

Head marketer of KFC, Javier Benito, said this is “a perfect example of that rare and optimal occurrence when a company can creatively market itself and help local governments and everyday Americans across the country.” Regardless of how far this goes, KFC has done an excellent job in marketing itself in a new way and creativing positive buzz about their company. I applaud the creative idea of getting the brand out into a new public space, while at the same time helping us out. Because we all know those potholes are extremely annoying; moreso after you’ve had some spicy chicken from KFC and need to get home to the thrown ASAP.