Boo! Happy Holiday Advertising!

Only a few days left till my favorite holiday ... Halloween! Scary movies, costumes, and all the candy you can eat, what's not to love! Have you ever noticed during the holidays most Advertisers try to spin their products towards the approaching holiday? Even certain foods only appear around the holiday...and thank goodness for that.. Peeps? Marshmallow covered in sugar? Yuck! To get in the mood for Halloween I found some funny food advertisements based around the holiday. Which ones your favorite?

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Blame it on the A-a-a Alcohol..Packaging.

If you've ever been to a grocery store in your life ( and are of age aka 21+ ) you know the alcohol isle is a pretty fun place...especially for a person who appreciates good design and advertising. Sure, tons of other products do a great job of creating attention grabbing packaging but I will bet you 99 berries ;) that alcoholic beverages take the cake for some of the most appealing and eye catching packaging. I compiled a few images of bottles / cans / etc. that really showed the quality of a great design. Next Friday night when your heading to get stocked up for the weekend, take a little extra time to look at the packaging of the wines, the vodkas, the rums. Appreciate the designers work, and try to depict what the message of the product is. Is it elegant, sexy, full of energy? Or calm, cool, and collected? Great packaging should make you feel something and if it does maybe you found a new favorite!


 

The Perfect Burger : How to create the perfect burger in Advertisements.

Have you ever wondered why that McDonald's Cheeseburger looks so good on TV? Crisp green lettuce, juicy tomatoes, melty cheese... and then order up! ... your cheese burger looks a little less then satisfactory. So how do advertisers and photographers make these foods look so appetizing even after hours of preparation and sitting under bright lights in a studio? Well you'd be surprised to hear all the tips and tricks to making " The Perfect Burger".

Lets first take a look at creating this perfect mouthwatering burger...
You'll need a few simple "Ingredients"

• 3 lbs Ground beef
• Vegetable oil
• Brown food coloring or molasses
• 100 hamburger buns
• 2 cases of lettuce
• a dozen tomatoes
• paper towels
• Superglue.... sounds tasty right?
• tweezers.... to pick what out of what?
• paintbrush
• waterproof spray
• glycerin and water (glycerin is a syrupy, sweet liquid made from oil)

First step? The Bun!

Out of the 100 buns you have try to find one with no wrinkles. If the bun has sesame seeds, carefully arrange them with glue and tweezers. Use waterproof spray on the surface of the bun so it won't get soggy. Second... The Meat. Cook just the outside of the meat and leave the center raw to keep it plump then paint the burger with oil and brown coloring. To make grill marks, brand the meat with a hot metal skewer. Use some paper towels to make a diaper for the bottom of the meat so no juices leak onto the bun. Sounds yummy right... a diaper for your burger! Third step : The ingredients everyone loves to hate...the Veggies! Find an attractive lettuce leaf with no brown spots. Cut the tomato's but only use  the center slices of the best tomato. Spray the tomato with a mist of water and glycerin to keep it looking fresh. Ready to take a bite? Final step? Eat! Now after the superglue, waterproof spray, raw burger, and some oil and brown coloring this burger may not be that tasty treat you imagined. But hey at least it looks good right! I also found a great video from the McDonald's Marketing Director in Toronto, Canada. This was a bold move from a PR standpoint but she was honest and it was pretty interesting to watch. Click the burger to watch! The Perfect Burger

Interview with the Advertising Man Himself : Mr. Gary Kroeger

Alrighty folks, I'm back to blogging. Last few weeks have been preeeeeeeety hectic. Apparently the whole senioritis thing won't be able to kick in till next semester. Recently I got the opportunity to interview a well known man not only in advertising but show business as well. Gary Kroeger, a long time actor with previous parts on SNL, Dilbert, and Press Your Luck, currently works at Mudd Advertising as the lead Marketing Director. I sat down with him a few days ago and got to pick his brain and got some great insight on the Marketing and Advertising profession.

When I first shook hands with Gary, I instantly knew this interview was going to be well... entertaining to say the least. Gary is very enthusiastic about not only his job in advertising but about life in general. I started by asking him a few of the basics...how did you get involved in marketing, what do you do on a daily basis, if you could go back and redo everything would you? Gary answered all of these with ease but also took time to relate them to me, a student hoping to eventually be where he is today.

He summarized Advertising as being a mix between sales and entertainment. Everything he does is a little play, with a beginning - middle - and an end.  Its about creativity and innovation. I thought I would list the points that really hit home with me.

-Advertising solves problems. Messaging media. SELL. Create the messages and find the medium to call people to an action. 
- Trust Yourself
- You are the storyteller
- Know what your getting into
- On time is late
- relationships start 10 min before and 10 min after the meeting.

be friendly
be happy
be positive
be open
be early.

Color Theory : How Color Affects Behavior.

Our newest project in Graphic Design incorporates elements of color and the color theory. It got me thinking of how important color is to advertising. I had always heard that certain colors can actually effect consumer behavior and how they choose to purchase products but didn't quite understand how. How could simply looking at a color unconsciously make me feel or even do something? After further researching I found that Wexner, a famous ppsychologist from the 1900's explored how colors and their different wavelengths to the eye affect our emotions and behavior in different ways. I then wanted to see what each color meant and and how advertisers used them to benefit their product and draw the consumer in. Take a look at your favorite color.. Are you surprised at its meaning?

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Found on : http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Red
Red is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. It  is a very emotionally intense color and has the effect of enhancing human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. Many Restaurants or fast food chains will use Red in their logo and advertisements. It creates a feeling of urgency and hunger in the consumer so when they see those gold and red arches they think... "I really need a burger now"

Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Orange

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.

Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design. Orange is very effective for promoting food products and toys.

Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Yellow is seen before other colors when placed against black.  Advertisers use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. You can choose yellow to promote children's products and items related to leisure. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight the most important elements of your design.

Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.

Green

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money.

Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience; for example, a 'greenhorn' is a novice. In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope.

Use green to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. Green is directly related to nature, so you can use it to promote 'green' products. Dull, darker green is commonly associated with money, the financial world, banking, and Wall Street.

Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.

Blue

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.

Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.

You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products.

Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.

Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

Purple

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.

According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. Purple is a very rare color in nature; some people consider it to be artificial.

Light purple is a good choice for a feminine design. You can use bright purple when promoting children's products.

Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.

White

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.

White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.

In advertising, white is associated with coolness and cleanliness because it's the color of snow. You can use white to suggest simplicity in high-tech products. White is an appropriate color for charitable organizations; angels are usually imagined wearing white clothes. White is associated with hospitals, doctors, and sterility, so you can use white to suggest safety when promoting medical products. White is often associated with low weight, low-fat food, and dairy products.

Black

Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.

Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humor, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.

Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes readability. A black suit or dress can make you look thinner. When designing for a gallery of art or photography, you can use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme.
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If interested in learning more about color check out this YouTube video. Youtuber: AdamationStation explains color theory and how people perceive them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ1ejsq2hQg&feature=plcp

Typography : Essential to Design

As a Graphic Design student one of the first things we learn is how important typography is to design. It is what seperates the good vs. the great. Typography is defined as "the art or process of setting and arranging types and printing from them." Knowing how to properly do this in Advertising is key. So many products have set themselves apart just because of the look of their logo and the typography used within it. While researching typography and products, I came across another blog that focuses on all types of design and had some really great examples of product typography. Shoutout to http://designfestival.com/ for really knowing their stuff. While reviewing their blog, I decided to take a more mainstream approach and find some product or packaging that people would be able to recognize.. some daily food products that incorporate really great typography.



Budweiser Beer Label

1. Budweiser Beer : " The King of Beers". Budweiser Beer , produced by the Belgian / Brazillian Anheuser-Busch has branded themselves as the " King of Beers" sence the 16th Century. To represent this theme of loyalty and sophistication, Busweiser created their logo with a cursive based type that was elegant and free-flowing. A dark blue type font, laced in gold placed around a royal red, white, and gold pictoral elements. This logo and type portray the feeling of sophistication and luxury. It makes people believe that Budweiser is no ordinary, friday night ,"get drunk"  beer but more of a gentlemans beer. A beer a man could come home to after a long day at work. As the king of a household...this is the beer I need to drink.

Snapple Label

2. Snapple : Snapple was founed in the 1970's in Valley Stream, New York. The word "Snapple" is derived from a carbonated apple juice. Snapples brand is based around having natural ingriedents including fresh fruit and " made from the best stuff on earth". Snapple took this natural feel and based their logo and product design around this. They choose bright colors that alternate based on what drink it is, and chose a type of font that is free flowing and curly. It gives off the impression that Snapple is fun to drink, and healthy too.