INITIAL IDEAS
Looking on the websites for the D&AD awards and the Roses Student Awards, the briefs that initially interested me were the National Trust, Cats and Dogs and Time Travel.
NATIONAL TRUST
Reconnect our relationship with nature and beauty. Reposition the National Trust away from its current perceived image; make it relevant to the modern visitor. Put the Trust firmly at the center of a drive to re-establish the importance of place in our lives. Create an integrated campaign that makes their brand stand for a positive impact on people’s relationship with nature and beauty, forever.
CATS & DOGS
BRIEF: Brand a weather condition.
THE MESSAGE: People love to moan about the weather – this brief is all about changing perceptions. Find the positive and promote it. Put a spin on a tornado, or make the rain shine!
OUTPUT: Brand and campaign to promote a weather condition / natural disaster, output can be anything; poster, outdoor, tv, radio, direct mail, guerilla etc…
TIME TRAVEL
BRIEF: Just imagine being able to travel back in time! Time Travel package holidays allow you to do just that. You pick the year and travel back to experience whatever you want: Woodstock, the first ever Olympics, the first Viking invasion, the fall of the Roman Empire. You can go as far back as you want. Of course you can’t change history, only travel and see. But how do you sell it?
MESSAGE: Time travel holidays are here. Book now. Book then.
OUTPUT: You can name it. Brand it. Sell it. Use any media you feel appropriate. A website, an app, short film, any promotional material, print or digital.
I got quite excited about the time travel brief, I am a self-confessed geek and my favourite film is Back to the Future! Although the subject excited me, the nagging doubt in the back of my mind was that maybe it might be too much of a challenge. I’m quite fixed on creating my own images and without paying out for fancy dress period costumes and dressing up all my friends and family, it would be difficult. I considered ideas for targeting schools, and considered the different eras that could be visited. I did have mind maps for all of this but I lost my sketchbook, which was annoying!
>>>>insert sketches here when found!<<<<
Cats and Dogs initially disappointed me when reading the brief as it wasnt anything to do with cats or dogs as I first thought! However, I quite liked the idea of advertising a weather condition, the first condition that came to mind was the rain/drizzle. I decided to make a mind map of all the different weather conditions that are considered negative, rain was still my favourite as it could be considered bad taste to promote disasters such as tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes etc.
WHY RAIN IS GOOD:
- It makes plants grow.
- You can wear wellys.
- It gives umbrellas a purpose.
- Wet cats look funny.
- It makes things beautiful.
- Spiders webs look pretty.
- Condensation – you can draw on the window.
- Its good when you’re inside – rainy days in playing board games.
- Make rain and umbrella hats fashionable.
- Its fun to jump in puddles.
- It makes ducks happy.
- You can splash people when you drive.
- It keeps your car clean.
- Without rain there would be no rainbows.
- inside-out umbrellas
- It cleans your windows.
I figured that the 2 best ways to advertise the rain would be through humour and through promoting the beauty it creates, such as rainbows, nature, greenery, water droplets etc.
I decided to look more into the D&AD briefs, as these are more in depth and most are based on actual companies, I printed out the Sky, Uniliver, DCM and WPP, none of these jumped out at me and I was really struggling to come up with ideas, wow this is really hard!! Based on my experience with previous projects where I have had to make a choice, I had planned to make a decision early on and spend more time on the actual project. This did not go to plan, as I am now well into March and I still haven’t made a decision!! Agghhhhh!
I decided to go back to the drawing board and look through all the briefs again, I considered the Uniliver brief more, I considered using PG tips to promote wellbeing in London. I found it difficult to come up with any ideas for this. I also considered the promote local libraries brief..
I decided to go back to my original first choice – Time Travel, if only I’d have just stuck to that in the beginning, wish I could go back in time! Ha!
TIME TRAVEL – THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
OK so to begin with, I decided to do a mind map of any initial ideas, I also asked others for their input. As this is a fictional product, I felt it was important to establish some ground rules for the time travel in order to make it easier to visualise. One of the most important rules of time travel is that we must not do anything that would affect the course of history, the time travel experience could be a visual experience maybe so that the travelers are not able to interact with anyone from the past. Safety would also be an issue that would need to be considered. Ways to get round these issues would be maybe avatars, some kind of viewing station, holograms or ‘Total Recall’ style memory chip. I considered making the deal bespoke so that people could pick anywhere in time but decided that actually it may be best to have a variety of package holidays for people to choose from, with specific time periods and places, aimed at specific target audiences, such as children, families, couples etc. Also I considered having ‘time cruise’ a package experience, with a tour of various themed destinations, such as ancient Greece, Roman empire and medieval Britain.
TARGET AUDIENCE
I considered the type of groups I would be targeting and whereabouts in time these groups would choose to travel to for a holiday.
- CHILDREN – prehistoric, see the dinosaurs, also option for schools to book trips.
- FAMILIES – ice age, mmm this is a tough one…! possibly a choice of options of destinations for the family to choose from to make up their holiday.
- COUPLES – French Renaissance, Roman Baths, Shakespeare, poets
- SINGLES 18-30 – psychedelic trips 60s, 70s 80s, music themed holidays
- PENSIONERS – war, travel back to see themselves younger
TYPES OF PACKAGES
- Music/band themed trips, see the Beatles, Elvis etc
- Prehistoric
- War
- Speeches, martin luther king, Lincoln etc
- Famous battles
THE STYLE
To get an idea of the type of advertisement I would like to design, I did some research on how holiday companies advertise. I would like my company to appeal to a large audience and appear luxurious but affordable. Holiday companies generally use a mixture of blues and yellows – beach colours, they often have a photo of the kind of destination they sell and will show pictures of people relaxing or enjoying themselves. They usually imply that you will be getting a bargain or a good value deal if you purchase your holiday with them.
ADVERTISEMENT MEDIUMS
Holiday companies do most of their advertising through TV and the internet, they also advertise in newspapers, magazines, posters, on sides of buses, pop-ups, internet banners, social media, mail, leaflets, brand sponsorships, displays on mobile devices
The types of medium I would like to consider for my campaign are:
- a poster/leaflet
- internet banner
- magazine/newspaper advert
HOW DO YOU ADVERTISE TIME TRAVEL?
I would like to adopt a similar approach to holiday companies, with photos of people enjoying themselves on time travel holidays, ie someone sitting on Henry VIII’s lap, riding a dinosaur…
SCRAP THAT!! ..LETS START AGAIN!
After comparing ideas with Paul regarding the Cats&Dogs and the Time Travel campaigns, we decided that promoting the weather was the stronger of the two. Time travel is quite a difficult subject to promote and I had more ideas about how to promote the rain. This is when I discover how advertising can be so frustrating at times, you can get so far and then have to start all over again!
CATS AND DOGS – CHANGE PERCEPTIONS – PROMOTE A WEATHER CONDITION
I began by putting my ideas down on paper. I did a mind map of all possible weather conditions that could be used in this context and considered ideas for each.
Taking from the brief the idea of ‘changing perceptions’, I decided to go with rain/drizzle, as this is often regarded as a negative weather condition and one that we all love to moan about! It is also the condition that actually has more benefits when considered and therefore much easier to promote the positives of. From this, I created more mind maps and sketches focusing on just the rain.
From these ideas I sketched out some possible image ideas.
THEMES
I had ideas to either go with something visual, a simple image such as a pair of Wellington boots or a rainbow with an explanatory slogan about why rain is good or something purely typographic ie; a saying or a poem about the rain. I liked the idea of going for something visual, this could either be a set of 3 posters promoting the rain or maybe a set promoting 3 different weather conditions such as snow, wind and rain.
Focusing on some of the ideas I had considered for promoting the rain, I began looking for images, ideally I would like to create my own but this may not be possible. Whilst researching, I kept in mind what theme I could consider to link the 3 images, such as nature, beauty, family etc.
THE BEAUTY OF RAIN
Rain in nature can be very beautiful, the UK is so green due to the amount of rain we have, it is good for nature and plant life.
RAINBOWS
Without rain, we wouldn’t have rainbows. I also considered the fantasy stories about rainbows having a pot of gold at the end of them or holding some kind of mystical power and maybe using this somehow in my campaign.
WHY RAIN IS FUN TO BE OUT IN
Splashing in puddles is fun and takes adults back to their youth. Dancing and singing in the rain can be quite liberating, forgetting about how we look etc and just having fun. Couples can also have quite a lot of fun alone in the rain…
RAINY DAYS INDOORS
Board games are often played on rainy days, I considered using scrabble pieces to create something. It’s always more cosy indoors when its raining outside, cosy fires, cups of tea etc. I considered having something about spending your ‘rainy day fund’. Condensation on the windows was also something I considered using to communicate something. Also taking off those wet clothes when you get in can be good for couples….!
RAIN CAN BRING US CLOSER TOGETHER!
During this research, I had a brain wave! A good theme for my campaign could be that rain brings us closer together, I made a list of possible reasons of why this could be:
- When its raining we huddle together under a brolly or under shelter.
- Rainy days indoors are a good time for families to bond.
- Love and sex in or out of the rain.
- Fun outdoors in the rain, losing inhibitions, splashing in puddles helps people to bond.
IMAGES
SHELTER
Possible images for this could be people, couples or animals huddled under shelter.
FAMILY BONDING
Days in or out in the rain.
LOVE/SEX
Getting out of those wet clothes on a rainy day – an image I had in mind for this could be wet male and female clothes discarded, image of steamed up rainy window in the background. Bringing couples closer together in the rain – huddled under a brolly, kissing/sex in the rain, or cuddled up indoors.
FUN IN THE RAIN
This could be for any age group or status – having fun brings us closer together, splashing in puddles, singing, dancing etc.
THE CAMPAIGN
I need to consider my typography, I have some sayings/slogans in mind
- “ITS RAINING ITS POURING….”
- “ENJOY THE RAIN OR JUST GET WET”
- “THE HEAVENS HAVE OPENED”
- “IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS”
- “LET THE RAIN WASH AWAY THE PAIN OF YESTERDAY”
- “NO-ONE CAN SEE YOUR TEARS IN THE RAIN”
- “LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS, ITS ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN”
- “I KNOW THERE’S SUNSHINE BEHIND THAT RAIN”
- “EVERYBODY WANTS HAPPINESS, NOBODY WANTS PAIN BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE A RAINBOW WITHOUT A LITTLE RAIN”
- “ANYONE WHO SAYS SUNSHINE BRINGS HAPPINESS HAS NEVER DANCED IN THE RAIN”
- “SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY”
- “RAINY MONDAYS”
Although there are some good slogans that can be used for this campaign, I feel I would be better to gather my images and then try to fit a slogan with the picture.
OK, so now I’ve got some good ideas in mind for the types of images I would like to use, I now need to get on with creating or finding these images, luckily for me its raining so I better get out there!..
RESEARCH
I wanted my poster campaign to be simple, eye-catching, with a message that would make the viewer want to explore more, I did some research on campaigns which used this simplicity effectively. I found a campaign for the oscars, the images used are very emotive and do most of the talking, with the typography detail minimal. I think this style works effectively to grab the viewer’s attention and make them want to know more.
The images I have chosen for my campaign are quite emotive, in that they are intended to make the viewer think about their own emotions and loved ones, I did some research on other campaigns where the power of emotion works to deliver a message.
These use a powerful image with simple typography, I looked into more poster campaigns which used simplicity to relay the message.
POSTER DESIGN
RAINBOW
I wanted an image of a rainbow, I searched several images on the web but none were big enough to use in a poster, so instead of going out and searching for a rainbow, I decided to create my own. I used one of my own images, taken during the Visual Communication Assignment. I chose this one due to the clouds and sky looking like the right climate for a rainbow to appear in.
Using Photoshop, I rotated the canvas and stretched out the image, using the tutorial http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/rainbow/ I created a double rainbow effect onto my image. This was done using the gradient tool and layer masks.
The final image, I’m really happy with this image, the rainbow looks quite effective, I now need to come up with a slogan.
FROGS
I found this image during my research and loved it, the frog is using a leaf to shelter his partner from the rain, I thought this would be a good image to use to communicate ‘Rain Bring us Closer Together’ Below is an idea of how I would like the poster to look, I need to do more work on the typography.
I added the website address as I would like to have a go at designing a website for this..
EUREKA!
I went away and had a think about this, I gathered images from the net and even tried to create some of my own, I chose some favourites and edited them to try to fit with the theme of ‘rain bringing us closer together’ and felt like I was getting nowhere… It felt like I had been thinking of possible outcomes forever and not coming up with anything!
I took a break then began looking through my images and somehow it all seemed to come together! With the help pf my darling husband, we looked through some of my favourite images and tried to think of words to describe the image. I was amazed at how quickly it all came together! For a while I had felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere and was just searching through images and sketching ideas to no avail and then I created the following posters in all of 5 minutes! Thats the deal with advertising, a concept can grow so quickly and become a campaign in minutes! As said previously, I wanted to make my ads simple, one word to catch the eye then details of my website underneath. Heres what we came up with.
FAMILY
Target market – families, parents
After asking my mum to find our old scrabble board and searching through every charity shop in Sheffield I decided to bite the bullet and look on the web. I found this image of the scrabble pieces, I cut them out and put the image of the rain behind them using Photoshop. This is to symbolise staying in with the family playing board games, whilst its raining outside. Bringing the FAMILY closer together.
FRIENDSHIP
Target market – Young people
I found the picture of the bird in the rain, I duplicated and adjusted him using Photoshop to make his friend, isolated the shelter and reduced the saturation in the rest of the image. This image symbolises sharing with a friend, getting close under shelter, sharing the nuts etc
KINDNESS
Target market – Adults
I thought this image beautifully depicted kindness, the frog is such a gentleman! The rain has brought them closer together.
LOVE
Target market – Couples, any age group
I reduced the saturation of this image to tie in with the theme of the others. The couple getting close under an umbrella in the rain demonstrates love in the rain.
NURTURE
Target market – parents
I thought this was a lovely image, I had to do some patchwork to make it fit A3, I isolated the umbrella and reduced the saturation to make the umbrella stand out, I kept some of the pinkness in the flowers to add depth. This symbolises a father and daughter getting close under an umbrella in the rain.
PASSION
Target market – women
Sex is a very powerful tool in advertising, this couple are clearly making the most of the wet weather!
SACRIFICE
Target market – young people, cat lovers!
This is one of my favourite images for obvious reasons! It seems that the larger cat is a little displeased about the other cat sharing his umbrella space but he’s putting up with it! He’s making a sacrifice for another in the rain.
The typeface used is Helvetica Rounded- Black, set at 118pt on A3. I wanted to use a rounded typeface to give a friendly, cuddly effect. If this was a real campaign, I would take more time perfecting these posters.
The persuasive elements I have used to convey the message are emotions and humour, to capture a wider audience as possible. As the brief is to change people’s perceptions, it is not to sell to a particular type of consumer, it is to deliver a message to as many people as possible. As I have been able to choose the website name, the website address explains what the campaign is about. If I were not able to obtain a web address similar to this, I would consider using a # hashtag or simply saying ‘I love rain’ above the address to create the same simplistic effect. I want the posters to create intrigue in the viewer, to prompt them to find out more, this is why I have chosen not to give too much away in the posters, this technique works for some people but not for others, which is why it needs to be an integrated campaign.
WEBSITE
To tie the whole poster campaign together, I designed a website. The idea is that the posters will be dotted around all over to capture people’s interest, the details of the website appear at the bottom. I would also have web banner ads, with a link to the website.
INTERNET BANNERS
To lead people to the website, I decided internet banners would be effective, the different images would be placed strategically on certain types of websites/search engines to target the audience they are intended for ie friendship on Facebook, family on children’s clothing/toys sites, in order to reach a large audience.
Above is a leaderboard banner size 728 px X 90 px.
Above is a large rectangle internet banner, size 336 px X 280 px.
POSTER DISPLAY
I figured a good place to place my posters would be on bus shelters, as often this is where people will shelter from the rain.
OTHER ADVERTISING MEDIUMS
The campaign could include distribution of umbrellas with the website details printed on them, this would be at a low cost and create awareness via a relevant medium.
BILLBOARDS
As this is a local campaign, to promote the rain in the UK, banners would be effective to catch the attention of drivers in the rain.
In addition to this, I would place the posters on the side of buses and in newspapers.
CONCLUSION
I have found this project very enlightening and enjoyable. I feel I have learnt a lot about advertising and the different mediums available. I have also found that advertising can be quite a challenge, the ideas can be flowing, yet I found it often felt like I wasn’t achieving a great deal. However,after some perseverance, the ideas came together and I had a ‘Eureka’ moment,’! All the sketches, research and ideas I had been doing for months came into fruition, I found that everything fell into place and the campaign came together in a matter of minutes. The main thing I will take away from this is that the research, idea building and background knowledge is crucial and this work becomes the essential building blocks to any advertisement campaign.
Rebecca Gregory 