Last but not least!

We thought it would make sense to do a brief overview of all the ads aimed at the Gulf and the ads aimed mainly to the West, since we’ve been doing a lot of comparing and contrasting.

Here are some of the conclusions that we came up with:

First let us talk about ads aimed at the Gulf:

The first thing everyone will say is that they are more conservative and/or are censored. Even though they are not as creative as the ads in the West, they are getting there. They still have a lot to learn about many aspects of print advertising like: what pictures to use, how to use them, text in ads, organization of the layout.. etc. Thank god they we have seen major imporvement in the past year and a half!

Ads in the west are on a totally opposite spectrum. Consumers there have seen everything so this makes the job for the advertisers harder. They have to always come up with something new and creative to attract new consumers. The ads are more raw in term of content, especially pictures. It use things like love, nudity, and politics to twist it up. They enjoy using the shock appeal, which we all love.   

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We truly hope that this blog has helped in any way possible to open your eyes to the millions of print advertisements that surround us.

Spread the word and help educate!

Feel free to send us any feedback or inquires through twitter: @printad101, or send us an email: printad101@hotmail.com

Awareness Campaigns

Let us switch it around a bit and look at something different ..

These two ads are not selling a product, they are selling a service

Or rather they are promoting an awareness campaign about road safety

But each ad focuses on a different aspect of road safety. This aspect/theme of the ad has probably been chosen according to the concern of the region.

One advertisement is aimed at the western region and follows the theme of stopping at a red light. The second advertisement is from Dubai’s own RTA and follows the theme of speeding.

You`re probably wondering how can you compare these two ads they are totally different??

You can.. we want you to look at how two different companies at different ends of the world promote the same idea but with different executions and strategies.

Analyzing and comparing is not always about look at the colors, the logo and all the small details. You have to be able to decide exactly what you have to analyze. In this case, we are analyzing and comparing the concept of the ad.

First let us look at the west based ad, they focus more on the slogan of the campaign, but they still manage to include a picture at the top.

Notice the order of the layout of the ad: the picture, the slogan, the explanation, then finally the organization information. They have designing it in this way to allow the reader to first look at the picture and read the slogan to figure out what the campaign is about and also to create curiosity so that they would continue reading the explanation. Another smart choice is placing the organization info at the bottom of the ad and not make it the center of attention. This shows the readers that this organization is taking this campaign seriously and that they haven’t created this ad to get publicity for their organization, but to raise awareness.

Now look at the UAE based ad, they have used an extremely simple layout. They have put all the focus on the knife which has been strategically placed in the middle of the ad to emphasize its importance. They have not used any real-life pictures, which you might think would be the most effective appeal for this type of campaign. Instead they have used a graphically designed knife which has the same level of effectiveness than real-life pictures. They have designed the handle of the knife to look like a car, hence the slogan of the campaign “Speeding is murder with a license. Slow down.”

Again they have used the same approach as the first advertisement, and that is to place their logo at the bottom of the ad. They have also put the slogan at the bottom in small font. As we said before these techniques are all used for the same purpose, and this is to allow the  readers to continue a thought-process of what the ad is about.

Overall, you can see that after comparing the two advertisements that they are both using the same techniques to raise awareness and make it as effective as possible.

This is the beauty of print advertising, you don’t have to duplicate someone else’s ideas to get the same response.

What Makes a GREAT Print AD?!

Here’s another video we found on YouTube that seemed very useful.

It discusses a formula to follow to develop an effective print ad.

This video is posted for educational purposes, which is exactly what we need!
DON'T MISS IT !!

Confused?

Just to refresh your memory and make sure that you're still on the same track ...

Dont get confused ...Comparing advertisements is not any different from analyzing them.

If you are able to interpret the advertisement, critique it, and compare it to another similar advertisement then you're one step ahead!

How to analyze advertisements is not something that can be learned through a book or by just reading this blog, you have to practice it, and "practice makes perfect"..

We are here as a guide to help you understand each step that goes into analyzing and then giving you examples to show you how to put together all the steps.

We also compare different advertisements that are based in the Gulf and others that are based mostly in the West because it is important for all of you to understand that the advertising strategy of a company changes according to the country they are marketing to. So this effects: the message, slogan, layout, text, and illustrations to make it more suitable for the countries culture.

This in hand does effect the way you have to analyze the advertisement, because you then learn how to see the advertisements from different points of views, which helps broaden your skills of deconstructing and helps you notice the smaller hidden details and intentions behind the advertisement.

Stay tuned for more! :)

Etisalat vs. Vodafone

Since we're still going along with the theme of comparing ads..

Lets look at these two ads for the iphone 3G

Again, same product but different companies...

Etisalat and Vodafone. One local company based here in the UAE, and another international company based in the UK.

You can see that both ads have a white background but they each use a different signature color that is associated with the brand. The Etisalat ad uses a touch of green color all around the border, and Vodafone uses a bit of red color on the bottom.  

Both ads have used the product's name as the title/heading which is the same since Apple have used this name internationally. But notice that they use different slogans...This is probably beacuse Apple have created several slogans for the iphone 3G and each company has chosen to use a different one.

The font is also similar because the companies are not allowed to change the font that the supplier (Apple) uses.

Etisalat placed its logo on the screen of the iphone, while Vodafone placed it at the bottom of the ad.

If you notice that Vodafone feature different screens that the iphone has in it to give the audience a sense of how the iphone looks and a preview of the applications and system, while Etisalat chose to show only one screen of Etisalat homepage in the iphone which is a way of pushing the customers to the Eitsalat service.

Another aspect to notice is that the iphone in the Etisalat ad has a picture of a desert. This sends a message to the customers that this iphone is adjusted to suit the UAE. Under the desert picture, you can see it says "Welcome to Etisalat", which symbolizes the launch of the iphone.

The Etisalat ad has strategically used two languages. They have chosen to keep the product name, slogan, and front page of the iphone solely in English and have only shown the launch announcment in Arabic. This acts as a dual purpose for the company, since it can be understood to customers of both languages they don't have to publish different kinds.

We really liked the green border around the Etisalat ad because it makes it more attractive and organized and the keeps the customers attention on the product. Whereas, in the Vodafone ad we found that the red bottom bar that contains the details of the offer attracts more of the customers attention away from the product picture.

Also, Vodafone included the promotion that comes with iphone at the bottom of the ad. This way customers know what to expect and can start their desicion-making process. However, Etisalat was only announcing to the public that iphone 3G is available. This leaves the consumers curious to find out about the different services and offers which leads them to directly contact the company or visit their webiste or service desks.

Both ads are informational/rational appeals which focuses on the consumer’s practical and functional need for the product.

Rewind: History of Print Advertising

Advertisements can be found in several forms and in several places, but one of the oldest and the most significant form is print advertising. Let us go back in time to see how it all started...

This advertising strategy started way back in 1468 during the days of William Caxton when he promoted a book that had his 1st printed advertisement.

After which in 1704, Joseph Campbell moved on to include ads in Boston Newsletter. This in fact was a great idea since people started becoming well informed regarding certain people and products.

In 1833 period, Benjamin Day got his 'New York Sun' book printed which was a combination of advertising vehicle and news.

After this, the 'Edward Book of Ladies Home Journal' created a magazine ad code during 1910. Since this period, print advertising started evolving with more attention seeking designs.

Print ads stand effective only if people view them. When people look through several publications, they get a tendency to receive new details and become more observant about the things that interest them.

This form of advertising aims to attract more and more people towards their services and products, as and when they read or scan publications. Such ads are commonly seen in magazines, newsletters and newspapers. This type of advertising requires lots of planning which is done often by a group of individuals.

When we glance through the history of print media advertising, we get these concepts:

• A group of individuals are required for creating ideas which further develops into a concept.

• Several others are involved in placing these concepts appropriately, since this factor earns them more cash.

Finally, print media advertising becomes a major part of earning revenue for any publication.

Different companies, Different execution

Here’s another pair of advertisements to compare and analyze

Two different companies

Two different parts of the world

Yet same product!! Take a look..

Hayat and Blue Waters are two companies that sell water, one is for Arab countries and the other is for the West.

You can notice in both advertisement that the brand is trying to sell a product. However, the ad that is targeting Arab countries uses a celebrity to advertise for the product. When you first see the ad you won’t understand what the ad really means, because the product is placed in the corner of the ad with the brand name under it. The celebrity took all the attention from the main message that the advertisers are trying to sell.

You can see that it is difficult for an individual to receive the intended message. The background  of the ad sends mixed messages for the audience, which makes it confusing and hard to understand. The layout and the design of the ad doesn’t support the product been advertised. It is hard to notice what is the goal or the purpose of the ad.

In the second ad, Blue Water send a direct message for the audience which is to advertise for their product and sell it. The way they placed the logo of the brand  and the picture of the water bottles grabs the audience attention because they are positioned in a place at the subject’s eye level.

Even the lighting and the design of the ad attracts the audience attention because the colors represents water and nature. It makes an individual thirsty when he or she first sees the ad. The motto “ join the blue crew” and the way the font is used matches the theme of the ad.

Both ad uses emotional appeals to relates the consumer’s social and psychological needs for purchasing the product. But not all the ad were successful in delivering the intended message to their target audience. I think the Arab based ad could have used more creativity and effort to push their product to be more noticable. I don't think that they always need a celebrity to promote a product, because thats when advertisers tend to make the mistake of focusing on the celebrity rather than the actual product.