I’ve found myself thinking about advertising lately. No, I don’t produce any physical ads myself, nor do I place ads for our company. Thinking about ads is a rare beast for me. Like most consumers in the US, I’m awash in advertising from the moment I wake up until I return my head to the pillow. So, when something rises above the noise to make me smile, or even better, make me think about it long after I’ve seen the ad, I’d call it a success.

Two pieces have have struck me within the last 24 hours. Ironically they were both in an advertising medium that I tend to regard with little respect. I view billboards and outdoor advertising as astronomers view light pollution – an annoyance that makes me relish my time in the woods.

The first ad is a simple logo design on brown background that says “Slay dragons with Sir Snacksalot.” The words are set in distinctive typeface on a white background that is framed by a red line. Nowhere on the ad does it mention the product name, yet it’s immediately apparent which product is being advertised. How’s that for the power of a typeface?

It’s the multilayer thought process that made this effort sink in for me. After figuring it out, my thoughts immediately jumped to thinking how impressed I was that the corporate client approved the ad. My applause also goes out to the guys who created this masterpiece. I’m sure that there were no end of nay-sayers in the process, and that impressed me even more. Perhaps some of the negatrons might have said:

• “You can’t do that! You need the product name!”
• “Nobody will understand that it’s for a candy bar.”
• “Most of our consumers are kids. And the younger generation doesn’t like to think, right?!”
• “What’s up with the dragon? That’s too Dungeons and Dragons for me.”

The second piece was more of a clarification of corporate slogan. From my childhood, I remember television ads for the company Sara Lee. To be honest, I don’t remember any of the products specifically, but I remember their tagline song that played at the end of every commercial. What I thought the lyrics were saying was “Nobody does it like Sara Lee!” The reality of the lyrics were brought home to me on my sleepy morning drive to work on the side of a Sara Lee company van. The real slogan “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee!” drove by me this morning and even got my un-caffeinated brain going. They could have chosen the straightforward “Everybody likes Sara Lee!” but instead, they went with a double negative that rhymes with the positive phrase that I misheard. Pure genius that probably took some courage to accept at it’s initial inception.

So, turns out if you wanna get me, you’ve gotta catch me intellectually.

Have a favorite ad or slogan that’s made you think? Tell me know about it!

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