A cancer success story told with charm

A humorous approach to a sensitive subject

I’ve admired these Mount Sinai Hospital ads for a long time. Mount Sinai Hospital located in New York is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious hospitals in United States. This is an ad campaign that deals with cancer and other serious illnesses and seeks to present the hospital as the best choice for treatment. A delicate subject that has been executed with ingenious creative and flawless execution. The emotional approach of the copy is simple but powerful, (“A Father…” “At 14, Ryan…”) it connects well at a human level. The photography is realistic, but sophisticated which helps targeting the upscale demographic. The symmetry of the layout is clean but original (body copy and logo at the top of the page and above the headline) with a classic contemporary font (Mrs. Eaves). The photography doesn’t show patient faces, leaving the reader to imagine their own story. It also, of course helps in dealing with privacy issues.

Other ads, more minimal in their approach stand out with their daring and well balanced sense of humor.

Overall this ad campaign does its job remarkably well while presenting the Mount Sinai Hospital image with dignity, creativity and appropriate sophistication.

Well done!

@javierjrdg

Portugal branding ads stand out from the crowd

Finally a country got its branding ad campaign right. Not huge local government agency logos, monuments, modern buildings or smiling couples.

So far most country brand campaigns I’ve seen look like they have been created by some government bureaucrat. No imagination whatsoever. Smiling modern looking couples next to some nice monument is as far as I’ve seen them go. They have also used “clever” logos like a smiling lips graphics a la Amazon.

Well, this is not your average country promotion for sure. At first these ads look deceivingly simple but looking closer we realize these images are beautifully striking, they actually include the photographer’s credit: Nick Knight, the ultra avant-garde British star photographer. Wow!! (money well spent!)

Ok, they got the image quite right but how about the message? well, direct and simple but what I love most is the tag line: “From Europe’s West Coast” this is so goooood! ok, we all love California don’t we? beautiful beaches, warm people and cutting edge technology! well Portugal is positioning itself as Europe’s West Coast! brilliant. Now when we think of Portugal this image of California in Europe pops up in our head. Not bad.

By the way, of course there is a large flag of Portugal here. I’m sure some Portuguese bureaucrat demanded it, but again, nicely resolved with a delicate transparency, even adds a nice touch of graphic color to the ad. 

But there is more. Another delight. The EU and the sponsoring Government agency logos are tiny! What happened here? The creative is right on but the true breakthrough is that the client. The Portuguese government had the guts and vision to break loose from stereotypes and in doing so the ads are truly reflecting the modern spirit of Portugal and the Portuguese people today. Well done.

Congrats!!

@javierjrdg

You are quickly browsing through the New York Times pages probably on the way to work or on a lunch break. You turn the page and voila! you see a huge scribble or a cryptic image followed by rather dull headline and a massive block of corporate copy.

These IBM ads are part of the ”Conversations for a smarter planet” campaign. Would you feel interested enough to stop in your tracks and dip into the lengthy message?  

The idea of a “Conversations for a smarter planet” green campaign is brilliant and well intentioned, the execution… in my opinion, not so much. Ad images are meant to be relevant and engaging, grab your attention and draw you into reading the copy, and hopefully you will take some action such as visiting a website. But these images, although eye-catching, in my opinion, are neither relevant nor engaging. Would you invest your time in figuring out the meaning of a scribble or an abstract icon?

IBM if you want to engage and “educate” your audience, make it easier for them to understand your message. Make sure the reader actually wants to read your message.

However well intentioned, these corporate-sponsored environmental claims are unlikely to be taken too seriously these days.

Joe Makower from The Energy Collective wrote an insightful story about this IBM ad campaign that explains its goals and strategy and includes interviews with Rich Lechner, IBM’s VP of Energy and Environment and John Kennedy, VP of Integrated Marketing Communications.

IBM “smart” copy, confusing visual

Ad visuals are supposed to entice you to read the message. Looking at this image, I doubt most readers will venture further to read the heavy copy. IBM’s highly stylized visual is getting in the way of the communication rather than leading to it. “Setting the table for a smarter planet” is a message full of promise that is in no way supported by this confusing image.

Puzzling

Snake-well drill ad

This ad is eye catching, bold, fun, and friendly. The bold graphic and a touch of humor make it approachable and fun to look at. It succeeds at communicating the complexity of Shell’s innovations such as their snake-well drill technology, with simplicity. This ad is a positive brand builder.

Bold, fun and friendly brand building