Reading Response for Ogilvy on Adervertising

Are body copies necessary for any ads? No body read body copy?

Ogilvy explained this controversial issue in his book, he state that body copies are really depending on different situations. The first one is how many people are interested in the kind of product people are advertising, for example, a lot of woman will read copies about food productions and cosmetics. Most men will read copies about electronic devices. The second one is how many people have been enticed into your ad by your illustration and headline.

Actually the average read about body copies in magazines ads is about 5%, that ‘s really low. So you cannot persuade people to buy it depends on body copies, you can only interest them in buying it. So we should avoid say “buy it” or “it is the best”, never write body copies as we write an essay. We should tell the reader what your product would do for him, make it clear and credible.

Reading respons for Ogilvy on advertising

In 1930’s the new media emerged, television. At the beginning of that time nobody imagined that television will become the major media that affect advertisement industry. accompany with more and more people have TV, a huge amount of TV commercial inject into TV stations. Clients spend most of their money in TV ads than ever.

Today Internet is consider as the fifth major media after newspaper, magazine,  radio, and Television, that ‘s stark fact. But the affect of Internet to advertisement is less than television did. Some peoples predicted in the early time, that ad agency would spend most of their energy and found on Internet ads. However they are wrong. Because based on the statistics in recent years, most ads that post on Internet are not success due to the special feature of this new media. Internet is a media that allow the audience search information actively，they only want to see some thing which related to their searching but not ads. So, never post an Ads as a banner on the top of a web page, and expect those web user to click it, because they almost see those ads as junk. Some ads with pop-out window even more annoy, people even close those windows without a glimp.

Most client spend a lot of money on the Internet Ads, but have not get corresponding reward as their expectations, they lost their money. Anyway, we should think twice before we choose the media.   

Illustration ads and photography ads

What do you guys think the differences between illustration ads and photography ads? Some people may say that illustration ads are more abstract and photography ad are more concrete. Some people may say that illustration ads are more approach to express a concepts rather than a specific product.

However in the current advertisement industry, the ad agency would concern about more about their cost, because photography ads usually more expensive than illustration ads. They usually make a decision by how much money would their client pay for them. If their clients inject less money for making their ads, then   illustration ads are the better choice, because to draw several pieces of illustration is fast and economy way. In addition, those illustrations that contain some symbols and graphics are a kind of stronger visual language that most photography cannot compete with.

Photography are consider as a common way of making ad. Although to making a photography cost a lot of money to rent s studio hair a bunch of people such as photographers, photographers assistances, gaffers, talents, or cosmeticians etc, there still 90 % of Ads in the market are photography. Because real image are more explicit and more direct way to selling their products, and real image has less possibility to confuse audience. When people see a real image, they would spend more time to reading the image rather than reading the headlines. So that a efficient way to target people. 

GAUGE Presents John Coy, AIGA LA Fellow 2010

Although I did not know who is John coy before, I can assert that he is a very success designer through seeing his portfolio. John gave us a lot of ideas and experiences that he gained from his personal occupational career. For example, as a designer, how to judge yourself is very important, because only you are the one who you mostly. In addition you also the one who know what you are good at and what your goal. When you see yourself clear, you will follow yourself directly to the success.

After the short dialogue with the students, John started his portfolio screen from a logo of Washington Mutual. I think that John put this logo at the first because he believed this is his most successful design artwork. Because working with a big corporation, like Washington Mutual, required a lot of skills for the designer. The designer must be very sensitive to feel and understanding the culture of the client, otherwise the designer may convey some wrong information that deviate to the corporation. Beside this, a good designer must be smart and negotiable, because to persuade a big corporation accept and adopt your design is a tough work.

I appreciate his achievement in his career that his told in his presentation. But I personal think he gave us less information about his artwork. For example, he only told us what his did before, but what I interested is how did he do it, and why did he do in that particular way.

Washington mutual was a nation wide bank and I can guarantee anybody know the logo of the bank. However only a few people know the meaning behind the logo. I suppose that if he can bring us some sketches of the logo that allow us to know how dose this idea originated, and I expect to know everything about the logo, including the typeface, the color, the counter line, the structure etc. I really wished that he could tell us the story of designing a logo from the beginning to the end, even some trivial detail such as how to fix the problem of the design when you negotiate with your client.

Maybe because of the he got to much information want to convey to us within 2 hours. He only told us some personal concept and his experience of operating a studio. I think his presentation is too general. I really expect to see a presentation that focus on design itself rather than telling a personal biography. I admit that John is a great designer, but as a educator, he should concern more about the what is the student really need. This quarter some student will graduate, they urge to find a job, so some encouragement remark is important for them. However the must realize that success is based on the ability, otherwise everything is empty talk. 

advertisement and commercial murals

As commercial mural, the main function is propaganda the productions or the services. Despite the difference between advertising and mural, they play the same role in the market. In another word, I would say the commercial mural in this market is just advertising without a price tag.

Nowadays the advertising bombard us in anywhere, the outdoors advertising expand from the walls to the rooftop. There is a statistics shows that large size advertising occupied the most public space in urban area, almost 3,000 pieces of advertising in our face per day by all kinds of media and outdoor space. I thought modern people have had it!

Since most audience treat advertising as garbage information, traditional advertising already looses its power of attracting consumer. commercial murals propaganda their production peacefully, and also they improved the aesthetic feeling of the community.