You know how people say "a picture speaks a thousand words"?
Well this one will only speak 300. (hehe sorry, I just couldn’t help myself... yes i know, lame! =P)
The other day while I was in a bus, I noticed this advertisement (the bus had stopped at a bus stop, hence the photo's unprofessional shot hehe), and I took a photo of it because it made me laugh -not with the intention to use it on my COM blog-.
Note that the advertisement is very basic, consisting of a company logo, 4 words (which clearly isn’t even the company slogan), and a picture of items most households have in their fridge.
So what makes this advertisement special, or even worth publishing?
Timing.
With China's milk market hitting news headlines titled "Another China milk product withdrawn - www.theaustralian.news.com.au", "Taiwanese 'brawl' over bad milk - news.bbc.co.uk" and "Tainted Chinese milk products found in Russia - www.iht.com", there is no better time for this simplistic yet effective advertisement.
The simple and subtle use of effective intentional non-verbal communication is apparent in the above advertisement, yet goes unnoticed by its intended audience.
The placement of this advertisement for a start, being at a bus-stop, the intended audience is the general public that are on the move, for example those we would walk by the sign, car’s that may be in traffic, or buses stopping to load and/or unload passengers.
Secondly, important to note is the layout of the poster. As the audience are those on the move, the message being transmitted has to be able to reach the receiver in the given amount of time (whether it being 3 seconds or 1 minute) as well as ensure accurate decoding, hence the poster’s simplicity.
Repetition of idea is the main focus in this advertisement, as all 3 parts (logo, words and picture) circulate around the key idea, which is (Australian) Dairy products.
The logo, which says “Dairy Farmers” emphasises that this advertisement is about dairy products, and is most likely not from China because it is in English.
The wording is restricted to 4 bold point-making words “Weekly Airflown from Australia”, which clearly states that it’s Australian (indirectly targeting the “China media frenzy”) and fresh (“Weekly” subtly hints at fresh in the readers mind).
The eye-capturing part about this advertisement is not the smallish logo, or the 4 boring mono-coloured words (which are both effective, just not as captivating), but the main picture of the many different types of dairy products offered by the “Dairy Farmers”. This part of the poster repeats the main idea by visually illustrating the advertised dairy products.
Not once did they mention China, or their current milk problems, yet this advertisement still remains as effective (and perhaps even more so, because it’s less wordy; considering the intended audience).
This is just a mere example of the power of effective non-verbal communications.
Just imagine its possibilities.
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4 comments:
hi christine!
haha i so agree that it was all about timing that made the ad even more effetive. like how some candies now have the "product of australia" sticker.
but i guess in times like this, such ads give some people a peace of mind. Knowing that the dairy products they buy are safe for comsumption =D
oh dear,i didnt even see that advertisment,but it sure has timing, admit the food scandals that have plagued china.
i think you've touched on a good point that non-verbal comm at times such as these are so effective. I am pretty sure there would be plenty of singaporeans who would choose dairy products from other countries even though singapore is not tainted. (:
good article and good analysis.
yup these opportunities come in rarely. and when it comes, people will grab it without a moment of hesitation. i know i will. (especially if my milk products were not tainted with melamine!)
so i do agree its about timing.. but those key strategies in differentiating a good long-lasting impression advertisement is its simplicity.
They can be as short as a few words or an interesting logo or product. What matters most is whether the intended message of the ad is being conveyed across successfully.
christine,
wow i wouldn't have picked up on that. very subtle how they diss the china milk problem!
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