Chapter 9: AdvertisingWilliams & Tollett, 2007

Roger VacovskyPRWR 625

Starring Nicki Minaj!

Keys to creating effective ads Prioritize the Information

› Find what is most important and make it prominent

› Choose a focal point Determined by size, placement, and intrigue

Choose a Nice Font› DO NOT USE AN EXISTING TYPEFACE!

Don’t rely on what is already on your computer; buy some new fonts!

Keys to creating effective ads Focal Point

› Where are you drawn to first in this awesome picture of Nicki Minaj? Most likely, the

drumstick she is biting. By evaluating the image you can determine how effective it might be for the ad in question…

Choosing the right image

Which image sells the product better?

Nicki’s DrumstickiesFashion may be bad taste,

but our food isn’t!

Nicki’s DrumstickiesFashion may be bad taste,

but our food isn’t!

Use contrast and alignmentDanceDanceDanceDance

*Note the alignment of the words to the border of the picture within the negative space to get the message across. It juxtaposes the more fluid shape of the body. Also, the motion of Minaj invokes the meaning of the text.

DanceDanceDanceDance

There is very little negative space in this image to place text. In addition to Nicki’s horrible outfit, the entire photo is too distracting to use effectively; she would at the very least need to be cropped out. Finally, the body language is not representative of the message the ad is trying to get across.

Effective uses of negative space, cropping and repetition

From a graphic design perspective, this is an effective ad. Note how in each advertisement, the image is cropped so that Minaj is framing the page. Her name is set to fit perfectly in the in the negative space, and to display the variety of nail polish choices, OPI has repeated the bottle image with each available color. Finally, the choice of outfit mimics the angles produced in the ads (most notably, Minaj’s arm positioning). To create the most effective visual ads, everything needs to be working together and off each other to most accurately convey the message.

Effective layout

The album cover for Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday relies heavily on the use of placement and the sense of illusion to generate emotion. Her torso is aligned with the word ‘pink’, which is in a different font for emphasis. She is placed on the right side of the image, which is not only jarring because we naturally read left to right, but you are then (hopefully) surprised by the fact that her arms are not visible. This draws you to look at her legs, which frame the picture and are elongated for further effect. Finally, the seemingly out of place Parental Advisory logo, in effect, ties it all together to communicate what potential consumers of this product might expect upon listening to the album. This album cover made your decision whether or not to purchase it for you.

Collecting images for a concept

Create an attention getting juxtaposition to engage your audience

Try combining two images from same sequence for actionable effect

This image (top), a combination of a figure and a separate background, has a different feel than pictures of Minaj performing live (bottom). However, by placing two pictures from the same sequence, you also convey the feeling of energy and action.

Look around!Whether or not it is deliberate, everyone

and everything is advertising something.

Advertising helps to establish brand identity. Your personal appearance is how you market yourself.

If that is truly the case, then what better representation of advertising to use then…

Nicki Minaj!

Thanks to Nicki Minaj for agreeing to participate in this lesson