Leung - Reading Reflection

As it says on the very first page of chapter one, "advertising calls people to action". Essentially this is the core dynamic of what we do as designers in a commercial environment, we create to make people aware to the multitude of products, causes, and experiences that are on the market. With this in my mind, I found the Ad Council's PSA on page four to be an extremely direct and effective advertisement. In terms of design it is very simple, but the message seen in the rear view mirror saying " Let's get ice cream after you paralyze us." is just jarring enough to make this ad extremely memorable. On the other hand there are PSAs, like this road safety ad for Mudra, that rely more on visual shock value. 

For Chapters two and three I really couldn't find two images that stood out as embodying the ideas of the respective chapters. Instead, I found the showcase sections on pages 24 and 42 to be much more interesting. Getting into the minds of practiced professionals and seeing how they utilize the mentioned practices for project processes and creative thinking was what kept me reading. Bill Schwab's perspective on advertising (i.e. the role of storytelling, the idea, and the engagement) was fascinating. I really enjoyed his metaphor for ads as people and his assertion that effective ads are much like people you really want to get to know at a party. With Rosie Arnold's showcase I found that she made two very important points when she said on pages 42 and 43  "find the single thing you need to say." and " It is often the marriage of the first thought with a twist that works...". At it's heart I think this summarizes modern advertising pretty well. As being able to get the point across directly and memorably is essential in garnering attention to products, causes, or experiences. At the end of these two chapters though, I really couldn't help but to think about the Google Chrome ads that followed a father as he created an e-mail capsule for his daughter. It was an ad that displayed the sentimental and creative use of Google's product.

The innate essence of a company is as vital as the product it tries to sell. Chapter four illustrates this idea thoroughly and the images that stuck out most to me were the series of three for the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel on pages 60 and 61. These ads were comical and truthful, but illustrate just how effective and attractive proper company branding can be. They make a play on the advertised thrills of high-end hotels and throw them out to cater to the young demographic of travelers coming into Amsterdam.