Good, Memorable Advertising

I've always liked how an ad can be memorable if it's really great or really bad. Of course, I think ad agencies set out to to make great, memorable ads. And some really hit the mark while some completely miss it.

One of my favorites right now is the Converse Century campaign with Pharrell Williams, Santogold, and Julian Casablancas.

[Picture from Converse.com]

I'm a fan of Converse. I bought a cool pair of lumber-patterned Chucks when I was in NY a couple months ago. The campaign makes me wanna buy a new pair. It's funky, the song (which I'm listening to right now) is infectious, and you've got cool celebs. Couple that with simple yet effective creative (the campaign is styled to look like the people are paper cut-outs and there's a sense of unity created between Chuck owners, since the shoes connect the three stars) and you've got a memorable campaign by Anomaly.

In other parts of the ad world... Sex sells -- supposedly, anyway. I support it. If sex helps to establish an intimate (in the most literal of ways) relationship between the brand and the consumer, then great. Someone did a great job.

Since I was about 10 or 11, I've been obsessed with magazines. I have hundreds of them because I feel like I can't throw them away. They represent, in some ways, my past and my knowledge. Reading mags was one of the ways I started analyzing advertising consciously. I remember Dolce & Gabbana  ads very vividly. A bunch of staged, uber-beautiful people staring at you through the ad. There've been some variations, but that's basically how they've been for a while. And a lot of luxury clothing brands have similar styles of advertising.

One company that's selling sex in a way that I really like is Tom Ford. His S/S 08 Menswear ads are extremely memorable. The ads are pretty raunchy, but I can't help but love them. Everyone I've discussed them with (mostly guys) like it.

Later