After reading through the first 4 chapters, the book sets up a decent blueprint of how to begin an ad campaign. The part that stood out to me the most was Chapter 4's focus on branding. This concept can be seen today, as many companies are trying to build upon their branding. I found it interesting when the book referred to most products as parity products. No one seems to think about this idea when you go shopping. Most products under a certain category are the same and offer similar results, yet we tend to stick to a brand that we are familiar with. For example, laundry detergents all offer pretty much the same results, yet most people will continually buy the same brand of detergent over their lifetime. Reflecting on why we focus on particulars brands refers back to advertising. Whether we are conscious of it or not, advertising has become such a vital part of our economy. Decisions like which brand to choose off the wall seem innate, but most likely because at one point or another an advertisement told us that that was the right brand.
When reading about branding, I found the little subsection about Relevance to be the most interesting. This idea may not be the most obvious to consider when developing an ad, but it is one of the most important. A designer could develop an incredibly creative and unique ad, but if it is not placed in the right context, the effect of the ad will not be as strong. Because of this section, I chose to include old cigarette ads as my images. I think cigarette ads are some of the most interesting to study, but more importantly, they remained relevant to the time. The images I am uploading all were in print in various magazines between 1943 and 1945. Relevant to life at that time was the war. Therefore, these ads showing soldiers smoking Camel brand cigarettes are more than relevant. However, if these ads were reprinted in another time, they would not seem as relevant.
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