Advertising

Local Billboard Ad Campaign

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 20, 2013September 4, 2014

Sometimes a literal visualization of a message is the most effective one. These billboards by creative agency Extra Credit Projects in Grand Rapid, Michigan, promote the services of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, an 80-bed rehab center in Grand Rapids. On the all-text billboard ads, the ailment to be treated is clear; nothing more need be said or shown to improve understanding.

As an aside, the name of the hospital itself has a fascinating origin. In 1891, a group of women in Grand Rapids sought to provide medical care for people with limited financial means by asking everyone named Mary, as well as those who knew anyone named Mary, to donate money to secure a free bed in one of the local hospitals. The so-called Mary Free Bed Guild went on to raise funds for convalescent and orthopedic centers for disabled children. In 1966, the program, expanded to care for spinal injury and stroke adult patients, was renamed Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.

Illustration

Comic Book Depiction of Volkswagen Emergency Brake System

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 16, 2013September 4, 2014

Anyone who has read an action comic book knows what a cataclysmic impact looks like. Splat! Pow! Blam! Swoosh! Clouds of dust, explosive rays, stars. Adam&Eve DDB London worked with illustrator John Rogers to demonstrate how Volkswagen’s City Emergency Brake system can avert disaster by using a comic book illustrative style and visual sound effects. It certainly beats the more realistic approach of showing blood and gore, police cars and the message “don’t let this happen to you.”

Advertising

IBM Billboards That Do Double Duty

By Delphine Hirasuna | June 9, 2013September 4, 2014

IBM’s “Smarter Planet” communication platform, developed with its long-time agency, Ogilvy & Mather, added a low-tech, but highly appreciated approach to its outdoor advertising campaign. IBM looked beyond its digital technology business and considered what would enhance the quality of life in a community. It didn’t change its marketing message, but it did alter its outdoor advertising strategy. Incorporating a simple curve in the physical shape of its billboards transformed them into street benches, rain shelters and ramps — which all goes to prove that small changes can provide smart solutions for cities.

Advertising

Selling Speed Where It Matters

By Delphine Hirasuna | May 10, 2012September 4, 2014

The new Hertz ad campaign theme “Traveling at the Speed of Hertz” isn’t meant to imply that Hertz cars go faster than those of other rental companies, but to suggest that Hertz can get you in and out of their rental lot in a flash. For customers, quick, hassle-free service is really where “the rubber meets the road” when it comes to renting a car. That’s the focus of the Hertz print ad campaign by DDB New York, which introduces Hertz’s Gold Plus Rewards program. Illustrated by Christopher Grey, the print ads feature strong stylized graphics and bold solid colors and the message that customers will enjoy a carefree “lot experience.” The “Bypass Lines” poster doesn’t even show a car, just a superman-type customer soaring over a long line of waiting people.

Photography

Making the Plunge

By Delphine Hirasuna | August 25, 2011September 4, 2014

San Francisco-based photographer Ryan Heffernan took these dramatic shots for a Japan Rags ad campaign. What looks like a freeze-frame photograph captured with split-second timing is actually a composite of three different stills.