A picture is worth a thousand words

I recently ran across this blog post that looks at some of the early design layouts for popular websites and I had to share.

Overwhelmingly, it seems that these sites — including heavy hitters in the game like facebook, twitter and Amazon — have moved away from text-heavy displays to more aesthetically pleasing designs that use negative space to their advantage. Like the saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words, so chill with the extensive copy and throw up a cool photo instead’…or something like that.

Check out a few of the highlights from the post below.

Twitter then:

Twitter now:

Young Facebook:

Facebook now:

Amazon back in the day:

The Amazon we now know:

Apple, before puberty:

Apple, the innovator:

Oreo takes a shot in the dark

It’s two days after the Super Bowl, so you know what that means: it’s time to talk Super Bowl ads!

That said, this year’s big winner for best ad is…drum roll please (wait for it…waaaaiiittt for it). Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, but this can’t be right. This year’s best Super Bowl ad goes to…Oreo? But not for its “Cookie or Creme” spot, which I must say was one of my personal favorites. No, Oreo stole the spotlight (pun slightly intended) when its marketing team posted this on its facebook and twitter pages:

During the mysterious 34-minute delay in the middle of the Super Bowl where a large bank of lights went out in the Superdome, the Oreo marketing team saw its chance to seize the moment. And that’s exactly what they did.

The marketing team knew that staring at the half-lit Superdome would get old pretty quickly for the millions of people watching the Super Bowl. They also knew that after about 13 seconds in the dark, these same people would pick up their phones and tablets to check facebook and twitter to pass the time during the break.

So, seeing the opportunity, the Oreo team rushed to its New York office and threw the ad together just before the lights came back on — pretty impressive, huh?

Well, that’s not exactly what they did, but it doesn’t make their accomplishment any less impressive. As it turns out, the Oreo team went through a lot of preparation and planning before the Super Bowl to be able to post this ad in real time. So when the lights went out, they knew it was the perfect opportunity to seize the moment.

A few quick,  yet calculated, decisions later, the ad went up on facebook and twitter…and then it went viral — within seconds.

Check out this blog post from 360i, the digital marketing company responsible for the ad, which details how the Oreo ad took center stage just as the Superdome dimmed the house lights.

I want to hear what you think about Oreo’s ad. Share your thoughts, good or bad, about your impression of the marketing team’s decision to post the picture, and about the ad itself. Does this signal a new era for advertising and real-time marketing?

Reading between the…logos

Ever since high school, when I learned about FedEx’s hidden arrow in the negative space between “e” and the “x,” I’ve been intrigued by the ‘hidden’ messages in corporate logo designs.

Recently, I watched a documentary on the evolution of the Heineken brand, and I learned each “e” in the Heineken logo is tilted back slightly so that it resembles a smiling face. Don’t believe me, well have a look for yourself:

Interested to see what other companies are incorporating these tactics into their brands’ logos? Check out this post from BuzzFeed.

Google-y Eyed

Ok, so I was just looking at a YouTube video at work…er um, during my…lunch break…and this Google ad popped up:

Now, I’ve used Google Docs before, and believe me…it sucks. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great idea in theory, but it’s slow and you can’t actually type more than three words without it freezing, and…sorry, that’s not the point.

The point is that despite knowing the frustration and agony that comes with using google docs, I still think this is a cool, catchy ad. It works for me, and it makes me think google docs will work for me, too. Most importantly, it makes me want to try google docs again, even though I know I’m almost certain to be disappointed with its performance.

Is this ad grossly overstating the ease of collaborating via google docs? Almost certainly. Am I willing to overlook this lie because of the catchy hook and clever marketing? Undeniably. And for this crafty approach to selling a communal experience (because the fear of isolation is real), I say job well done Google.

one of my all-time favorites

I was honestly sad when this campaign ended. These were some of the best ads I’ve ever seen. Why? Because they do everything a good ad should do.

These commercials effectively connected with the target audience and left a lasting impression that clearly sets Johnson Automotive apart from other car dealerships in consumers’ minds.

Whoever developed this series of ads took a creative approach to an experience that often evokes negative emotion (i.e. car shopping), and they were able to position the Johnson Automotive brand as a refreshing alternative.

A badger car salesman in a blazer? Classic. And it’s something we can all relate to…well, not seeing badgers in blazers, but dealing with sales people who constantly badger you. This is creative advertising, done (w)right…ok, I know, I had nothing to do with the creation of this ad, but I wish I did.

Let me know what you think! Would you say this is a good ad?

the beginning

I’ve always been fascinated with consumer behavior and marketing – although, until recently, I’d never heard of the former of these terms. Why do people choose one product over (similar) alternatives? What are brands doing to influence consumers’ decision-making processes? Why can’t I buy a freakin’ t-shirt without first wondering what my boys will think of it? Well, I hope to touch on those questions, and several others, in this blog.

And of course I can’t start a new blog without also commenting on one of my favorite things to talk about – ads. The good ones and the myriad bad ones…they’ll all be put on display here, in my (w)right-brained blog. Welcome.