An Ad that Needs Better Design.

 

 

 

While I like the product this ad sells, I have to agree with the critic who wrote this:

“While flipping through some magazines recently, I came across this ad for a laser sighting device. I know what the ad is about because of the photo, but certainly not because of the text. This ad ignores virtually every convention for designing readable copy.

Notice that it wants to be a direct response ad. There’s an offer for a DVD at the bottom, but the Web address and phone number are tiny and hard to read. There is no headline. The text is “justified,” meaning it’s stretched to line up with both margins. Copy is set in all caps. The background is dark. And the main text is framed as if it’s artwork. If you want to design an ad no one will read, this is how it’s done.”
Source: http://www.directcreative.com/blog/how-to-design-an-ad-no-one-will-read

Beretta Ad Conepts.

In the ad business, there’s something called “the pitch,” that is when several agencies compete with each other to win an account. The ads you see here won them the account, as they wrote in their website:

“When we were asked to develop ad concepts for Beretta and their PX-4 handgun, we came through with work of the highest caliber. The treatment we applied to the product and copy befits the meticulous craftsmanship of the Beretta itself. Our work went up against concepts from other shops around the nation, and in the end there were two winners – as Beretta chose elements from our creative and from a competing agency on the east coast. Bullseye.”
Source: http://www.adventureadvertising.com/work/detail/beretta

Adventure Advertising has balls the size of mountains. In all my years in the ad business, I have never seen  “shit storm” in a headline, so as a copywriter and gun owner, I get it, I love it, and I congratulate you.