impressive demonstration of the effect of the dryness of your skin.
The slogan of the advertising campaign exclaims: “Your skin needs moisture”.
At the next layout, the advertised milk promises to make your body so smooth that no dragon will ever stick to your shoulder (see Fig. 2.6.).
The idea of Bates, Singapore, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov
Fig. 2.6. The advertising of a moisturizing cosmetic product for your face and body.
Division technique can be applied not only to the content of advertising but also to the form of advertising. Divide mentally the layout into two parts. Could this procedure lead us to some interesting ideas? In many cases it definitely would. In the beginning of the chapter I mentioned one of them.
Here are a few more examples. A manufacturer of products for hair removal (epilation) shows a sexy smooth female leg on one page. On the other page he shows the hair you can get rid of with the help of the advertised product (see Fig. 2.7.).
With kind permission of Luc Du Sault (Lg2, Quebec, Canada)
Fig. 2.7. Instant hair removal in the pages of glamour magazine.
The woman opens the favorite magazine and performs epilation at the same time. Quickly and painlessly.
The manufacturer of folding bicycles splits the image of the product to demonstrate that even a child can fold the bike (see Fig. 2.8.).
With kind permission of Kürşat Ünsal (The Adquarters, Istanbul, Turkey)
Fig. 2.8. Just close the magazine to fold the bike.
Let’s divide the billboard into two parts and put them on opposite sides of the highway. We get an unusual advertisement of a large fish, for example (see Fig. 2.9.).
With kind permission of Anatoliev & Partners, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Fig. 2.9. Ocean fish is so big you need two billboards to advertise it.
But for the advertising of super sharp knives you don’t have to push anything. On the contrary, the closer the posters are placed to each other, the better the result is (see Fig. 2.10.).
The idea of Leo Burnett Frankfurt, Germany, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov
Fig. 2.10. Advertising knives that are anything but safe.
Sometimes you may need to divide the poster into more parts. For example, in the advertising of romantic movies where the most juicy, explicit scenes are not cut (see Fig. 2.11.).
The idea of Kolle Rebbe, Hamburg, Germany, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov
Fig. 2.11. Do you want to watch movies without censorship and interruption? Then get tuned to the new erotic channel.
But who says that this creative technique works only in space? Why not divide our advertising in time? What happens then? We get a creative technology which is known as a “teaser”.
Teaser campaigns consist of two stages. Initially there is an advertisement that creates intrigue, what inevitably raises the interest of the target audience. After a while the advertised product itself and explanations are presented to customers.
Here is one of the most famous examples of the teaser in Russia. In 1995 in Moscow the following billboards appeared along the highways (see Fig. 2.12.).
Fig. 2.12. One of the first teasers in Moscow. Headline: “Carjacked?” How do you think what product is advertised?
Two weeks later the billboards were changed with the response (see Fig. 2.13.).
.
With kind permission of Begemot, Moscow, Russia
Fig. 2.13. A world-class car alarm is advertised.
It is worth mentioning that only 11 of these billboards were placed in Moscow. But because of the bright ideas and non-standard delivery, Muscovites had the impression that the advertising campaign covered the entire city. A strong idea helps to save money on placement.
The first teaser appeared over 100 years ago in the United States—the homeland of both good and bad things in advertising. The tobacco brand Camel was one of the first who successfully tested this practice in 1913. Marketers at the tobacco company agreed that the name of the brand was already pushing advertising innovation. Then three days before the beginning of sales, they published mystery ads in newspapers of 90 American cities.
A strong idea helps to save money on placement.
On the first day there were images of camels with the laconic headline: “Camels”. The next day the headline had become a little more informative: “The Camels are coming!”
Then, people found out that “tomorrow there will be more camels in the town than in Asia and Africa combined!” This peaked their curiosity.
On the day of sales beginning, everything became clear. Finally, both worried and intrigued Americans learned the whole truth. “Camel cigarettes are here!” was written in the final ad. Stunned with the unusual advertising, people in big cities gave the new Camel cigarettes a try.
Camel cigarettes grew from fourth place to first place in sales in just five years, securing about 40 percent of the entire cigarette business5.
Here is a more recent example. A month before the launch of the four-door Jeep on the US market, the automaker prepared a guerrilla sticker campaign, which imitated a rear side-door handle (see Fig. 2.14.).
Stickers were placed on two-door Jeeps while their owners were absent. Of course, these people would made up the core target audience who would be interested in this new innovation, more than other drivers.
With kind permission of John O’Hea and Ty Hutchinson (BBDO Detroit, the United States)
Fig. 2.14. The sticker imitates the back-door handle of the Jeep.
In conclusion,
