Creative Content

    My print ad for Dr. Scholl’s For Her Shoe Inserts feature a glamorous woman on the red carpet. In a shocking twist, she has her stiletto heels in her hand and not on her feet. The photographers are in a frenzy snapping pictures not of her beautiful gown or attractive features, but of her shoeless feet. A “sensor” black bar is placed over them because they are bruised from her high heels and dirty from walking barefoot. The copy states, “Don’t let your bruised feet steal the spotlight. CAUSE A SENSATION. NOT A COMMOTION” with the logo for the product in the corner. “Most creative professionals would agree that when one—the line or visual—is the “star” or “hero” of an ad, then the other should take a supporting role. If both visuals and words are competing for the consumer's attention, then it may cause confusion or a power overdose. The visuals and the words should work cooperatively, complementing each other…” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 97.)

    The copy and picture work in harmony together to complete the narrative of the ad. “When the line and visual work off one another, together they create greater meaning. Just like a good comedy team or a musical duet, the total effect is greater than the sum of the separate parts; it is seamless.” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 210.) Without the words in the advertisement the picture become confusing and arbitrary. The combination of both are in turn supposed to create a sensation.

The typography is just as important as what is acually said.  “Selecting a typeface, handmaking type, or using found type for its aesthetic value and the impact it will have on screen or in print is as important as the attention paid to imagery.” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 132.) I used a very simple font and bold faced it to create a sense of importance. The white of the text also gives it more prominence within the visual so it does not become lost when looking at the ad. “In graphic design, typography is designed on two levels—denotation, the literal meaning of the words, and connotation, the meaning suggested by the design of the typography and the type's relationship with the images.” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 129.)

    “Two to three seconds is all someone will give to a print advertisement. Can you grab someone's attention? Can you keep it?” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 210.) This are the questions posed by every advertising professional. In my ad I have abandoned the expected and shocked the viewer with a scene that women may have experienced and yet none are proud of. Also because there is a black bar which is normally used to censor the inappropriate, the viewer’s attention is grabbed. After the initial shock, women feel empathy because of the situation. “An ad idea is visually and verbally expressed through the creation, selection, combination, manipulation, and arrangement of visual and verbal elements and the written copy. A big idea is a solid, creative, on-brand idea that is large enough and flexible enough to be used effectively across media for a period of time.” (Landa, R. (2010). Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media. Page 68.) They then become bonded with the brand which can lead to many other ads of the same theme. If Dr. Scholl’s For Her Shoe Inserts can prevent these humiliating scenes from ever happening, why not buy them?