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.
