The advertising agency Leo Burnett, USA recently created an amazing McDonald’s fry lights billboard in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. It consisted of a billboard shaped like a french fry box, with ten yellow vertically beaming lights shooting out the top, and into the night sky. This created the look of french fries, of course – for a unique marketing piece that was bound to turn heads. Spotlights and laser lights have long been a way to attract attention. In Time’s Square, the Top Ramen billboard actually uses real steam, so that it looks like the cup of soup is steaming hot. How effective are these simple methods at getting your brand’s message across? Very! Read the rest of this entry »
Talk about a cool tear-sheet… Kohls (a United States based clothing department store chain) used an ArenaCreative.com stock photo in a commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez’s clothing line! What an honor, and a surprise. At 00:03 during the above video, you can see the stock photo of the NYC Uptown / Bronx subway sign that I shot one day while in the city.
J-Lo is really popular again and in the limelight right now; coming off the whirlwind of being an American Idol judge, having the biggest hit single of her life (On the Floor, featuring Pitbull) and recently being in all of the tabloids regarding her recent split with husband and Latin singer/actor Marc Anthony. He also has a new clothing line at Kohl’s now, as well. I had seen this JLO commercial a few times before, but hadn’t paid much attention to it. As I sat there staring at the TV, realizing that was on of “my babies” on national television, I flipped out. In this business, we never really know where our images are going to end up. When we stumble upon them, and see them being used in real life applications, it makes up extra glad we were a part of it.Good old “Jenny from the Block”. At ArenaCreative.com we are proud to be a part of effective marketing and advertising materials, and want to thank the advertising department at Kohl’s for using one of our images. To learn more about us and other large corporations that have used our royalty-free stock images, click here.
I had to share this very-well-put-together commercial for the brand new video game installment of Forza Motorsport 4 for Xbox 360. It’s a live-action trailer entitled “Endangered Species”, narrated by famous automotive guru Jeremy Clarkson. This is another example of an effective ad spot that doesn’t even show more than a glimpse of the product until the last few seconds. This method often induces intrigue within the audience; the element of surprise or curiousity in the product is heightened, especially toward gearheads and car lovers.
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Feeling a little creatively dull? We all get caught in creative ruts once in a while; sort of like how writers get writer’s block. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are 30 amazing digital Photoshop manipulations that will get your creative juices flowing! Some of the techniques used below are simple, while others get pretty complicated. Try some of these things out on a rainy day when you get a chance. There are many tutorials on this blog as well as elsewhere on the web that can get you started in the right direction, in case you find yourself in over your head. You can also click on each individual image to learn more about the artist, and to see more of their work. Be sure to let us know which images are your favorites in the comments section below!
Billboards are an entirely different animal in the advertising world. You have just a brief moment to get your message across to the viewer. There isn’t a 30 second window, or even a 10 second one. Sometimes it’s 5 seconds or less, depending on traffic, and the speed the car/bus/train is traveling. Here are some effective billboards that I shot while driving through Brooklyn one day. These are great billboard designs.
An amazingly executed job by Coca Cola. All three soccer players are smiling and staring towards the bottle. The corporate logo is clear and identifiable at the upper left, with a simple, two-word catch phrase “open happiness”. Why are the guys so happy? Oh, it’s the cola. It’s plain and clear. You see it, and you get it. And yeah, it only takes a few seconds. Brand recognition is visible not only in the form of the logo, but also in the product itself. The photography is excellent, and the image has been stylized in almost an illustrative way to make it stand out from the crowd.
The Applie iPad did it right also. Logo, upper left hand corner. It’s human nature that we read from the top left hand side, from left to right. It’s proven fact. They placed the logo and product logotype there. The photo of the woman lounging with the iPad on her lap, shows how portable the product is. It’s almost like you’re looking over her shoulder. This billboard has no words other than the product name, but it promotes the lifestyle. Once again, less is more. And when is the last time you saw a crop like this on a billboard? This woman is relaxed, and enjoying her brand new iPad. Similar to the Coca Cola ad above, the product here speaks for itself. There is no need to busy the ad up with website urls, phone numbers, or any other call to action.
Bad billboard design has text that isn’t viewable from further than a few car lengths away, and they usually have way too much text. You can’t read that much text on a billboard, because you’re usually traveling at least 65 mph down the highway as you’re viewing it. Mostly passengers will have the advantage over the drivers, but effective ads will be brief enough to be noticeable to the drivers as well. If you ever have the privilege to design a billboard, keep these pointers in mind.
