Ads you love and why you love them

[pinksatin]

I am curious to know what makes a good effective ad. What are your favorite ads and why are they your favorite? Which ones make you actually buy the product (or really want to if you can't afford it)? What is it about the image that attracts you?

I found this thread:
the most beautiful advertisements thread but it focuses only on ads with models and people just say it's beautiful but they don't say why. Is it possible to have a beautiful ad without a model or product? Just to sell an idea?

Also, when I look through the other threads on specific ads, it isn't usually helpful because people make +/- judgements about the models or photographers and they don't give concrete reasons why they feel that way.

This is a stumper for me since most of my favorite ads either feature my favorite models or someone else who I consider equally beautiful photographed in a beautiful way.

I have to be honest, part of it is genuine curiosity and part of it is research for a school project. I have to create an ad or environment that really sells something but there is no product I need to sell, it's imaginary. And I have no models (although I could ask friends but they aren't models so I don't think it would be the same). So I'm curious what kinds of design elements and ideas and colors and scenarios appeal to people. It's hard to put my finger on when I take away the models. Honestly it's hard to even think of an ad without models in it.

TIA for any ideas, opinions, opinions, insights, etc. I am excited about this project but I'm honestly stumped.

 

[pinksatin]

Just to start and for an example: I love this old Gucci parfum ad. Natalia just looks so sexy like she's about to break a sweat and has bedraggled hair and the seductive expression. All very suggestive and I think I bought this fragrance just b/c of the ad

from gucci archive thread
Natalia Vodianova


herfamedgoodlooks & bwgreyscale

.... trying to think of examples without models

 

[pinksatin]

I've been looking through mags and this forum and one thing I noticed is textures. I like the juxtaposition of different textures. It looks luxurious to see smooth skin, hair, glossy lustrous metals, and soft fabrics together.

Also I think dramatic lighting appeals to me more than soft lighting.

please let me know what things you like and don't like in ads. feel free to post examples. Thank you so much.

 

[papa_levante]

My favorite ad of all time is of Gisele for Dior S/S 2004.

Why? I think it's the contrast of the clothes: a bikini and snowboarding gear.

Plus, it's a great angle of Gisele's body. She's so sexy that even I, a heterosexual girl, even had to take a second look!


hfgl.

 

[ThiagoMello]

Great example of Gisele for Dior!

Gisele for
Dior S/S 2005
Ph:. Nick Knight



Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2003
Ph:. Steven Meisel


herfamedgoodlooks and fmt

and
Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2006
Ph:. Steven Meisel




Fendi fragance "Palazzo" F/W 2007
Ph:. Karl Lagerfeld


fmt

 

[sillysara495]

I tend to like the ads with a story that goes along with them

these include the current disney campaign



Disney.com

because i like to look for the next line, or ad in the story

I also love ads from The Sak
thesak.com
they make me laugh

OPI ads are the same, they play on the names of the nail polishes

I think, at least for ads without models, the ads are made or broken with the writing. As for ads with models, I think it is if the ad is innovative and new. Bright colors, or a lack of color (previous burberry campaigns). But that is just my opinion on the subject. I'm interested to see other people's input.

 

[pinksatin]

Thanks for the examples guys. I think I like the Gisele Dior ads because they are so dynamic and she is in motion (or looks to be). It makes it look powerful. Also even if she's not in motion, the shape of her knee bent makes your eye move at a fast pace through the image. WHich makes it seem active.

And btw, I changed my project. I couldn't think of a way to advertise a non-existent imaginary object without models in an appealing beautiful way. So instead I'm designing a maquette of an imaginary store which sells nothing but looks appealing to make you want to buy whatever it would be. And I talked to my teacher and she said I can use existing ads and images if I combine/edit/phtoshop them in a way that you can't tell what they were originally. So at least I can have marketing with models in my store.

But I still think this can be a very interesting discussion so I'm interested in more opinions project aside.

 

[sillysara495]

that class sounds awesome. I want to take that! I'm a marketing/advertising major, but i haven't started my major classes yet.

 

[OriginalSin]

What a great idea for a thread. Thanks pinksatin

One of my favorite ads ever has to be this Hermes S/S 2006 one with Gemma Ward (shot by ? I'm dying to know!)



source: bwgreyscale

I loved this ad from the moment I saw it (I even put it on my wall in junior year). It's not particularly edgy or artistic, but it does convey a sense of chic sophistication that I love. It was also the first time I'd seen an ad and thought not "I want the clothes" so much as "I want to be that sophisticated girl walking the streets of Paris." It's the ad's ability to capture an entire mood with scenery, styling, and an ever-so-slightly arrogant (just a tad, just enough to be intriguing rather than off-putting) look in the model's eye that really pulled me in.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

This is a great and thoughtful thread! Thanks for starting it

I'll have to give this some thought before posting some selections...

 

[MulletProof]

Lovely thread, pinksatin.
some of my favorites..

JIL SANDER S/S 04

Probably my favorite campaign of all time (so far!), I love everything about this set of photographs, it represents an aesthetic in clothing and lifestyle that I very much look up to.. the simplicity in the garments and how carefully proportioned they are, with a hint of irreverence somewhere.. in addition to the styling that makes a perfect match with the setting, both picturing the typical first days of spring when everything's blooming, wind's warmer and clothes lighter.. I can imagine and wish for all of that when I look at these ads..


CHLOÉ S/S 02

this campaign defined the all-white trend of Summer 2002 for me, one of my favorite tendencies, which, as overdone as it was back then, it's quite lovely in hindsight.. the delicacy in the outfits.. all the lace and linen, and the spirit of the collections, encouraging a peaceful post 9/11 ideal, it's quite memorable for me..


CALLAGHAN F/W 88

One of my relatively new discoveries, I love everything about this picture.. it doesn't cease to fascinate me every time I look at it, so current and vanguardist even to this day, the mismatch of materials with the intricate detailing in contrast with the clean, minimal look of Kirsten Owen, it's quite a school of thought in styling, I think.

[bwgreyscale and scan by MissMagAddict]

 

[Spike413]

Gucci f/w 1997 - Easily the best campaign of the Ford/Testino/Roitfeld era. I love the grainy, pervy, voyeuristic quality the campaign has. It's genuinely erotic, like you're seeing things that weren't meant to be seen.

scanned by testinofan/uploaded from my computer

 

[Spike413]

Another favorite is Versace s/s 2001 by Steven Meisel - This campaign has a creepiness to it that I respond more to now than I did back when they originally came out. They're definitely the most "arty" Versace ads I've ever seen, they really bring you into a scene. I like that there's something uncomfortable going on, whether it's the lesbian undertones, the sado-masochistic relationship that seems to exist, the 70's bordello setting. It's all beautifully unsettling, reminiscent of Bourdin's crime scene beauty shots.

photos: commercialcloset, lepanse, fashioncosmos.com

 

[hypnoze]

Meisel and Małgosia did such an amazing job with that Versace campaign. It's one of my favorites too! Stunning.

 

[annamaria]

I'd say Louis Vuitton

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=m5xCGZuvhWI



about self-discovery, suitcases, trains and new places...felt like i need a new one-way ticket
Was watching The Darjeeling Limited some time ago and saw the ad this week - the movie (Darjeeling Limited) is all about the journey plus: LV plays his role in it I like the whole idea
oh! and that music...

 

[pinksatin]

oh good! I'm glad people are sharing.

Mulletproof- that first Jil Sander one I like too. It's sexy in that Venus Pudica way b/c you almost see through the backlit dress but you don't, it's just her silhouette. Like an innocent tease as if she doesn't realize you can see through her dress.

I think I like the look of billowy windswept fabrics too. Especially silks.

And SPike, those are great. Guy Bourdain is one of my favs and those do evoke his sexy voyeuristic aesthetic.

 

[ParadEyes]

what a great thread
good luck with your project, pinksatin

 

[Common_1031]

I love love love Coco Rocha for Balenciaga S/S 07...Because i like david Sims and Photograghy and when i saw it I was first like "ugh...Boring" but then I stared at it then it felt like i was lookinh at Screencaps from a movie...A Fashion Fembot lands in the Suburbs....I put the Ad in my school Folder and it stayed thru 2007 til now...lol

Coco-rocha

 

[ParadEyes]

^ oh yes it's beautiful i love how she looks very futuristic/cold in contrast with the natural/warm background

 

[kasper!]

yves saint laurent 2004 fall/winter
photographer:craig mcdean
stylist:carine roitfled
model:gemma ward

it was in 2004....i saw this in a hong kong magazine....in fact that was a coverage for platform shoe....alongside with this ysl ad!!!(pic from hfgl)i still remember the price of the red leopard platform shoe on gemma...around 4700 hkd(around 500 euros nowadays)well back to topic....i was totally amazed by this ed...the orchid,the leopard shoe,the pose,the legs...even
the purple cushion....everything is so chiiiiiiiiiic...it's ultimate glamour!!!after sevaral yesrs i finally know it was styld by carine..which made me adore this ad even more..oh i loooooooove ysl×tom ford×carine