Advertising Made Simple
This ad is a great example of the “less is more” worldview in advertising. It plays off both the metaphor of off-roading, plus the off road, on track metaphor of public train transportation. It’s one of the best billboard ads I’ve seen. There is wisdom and brilliance in its simplicity.
In this case, going “off road” goes on mind. The train takes you off the road and on to the train track. Three words and one picture paints a thousand advertising words. Furthermore, this example of advertising takes little thought. You “get it” immediately. You also remember the picture and the point of this ad. In my mind, this is advertising at its best. It even reminds me of the early Volkswagen advertising in the sixties. Those ads were so simple they were brilliant. Those advertising campaigns at Volkswagen such as “Think Small” and “Nobody’s Perfect” were both fantastic and simple. There have a similar advertising look and feel to the Amtrak ad below. Since the Volkswagen bug was small and simple it also became popular. Less to go wrong on a car makes it more reliable. Less to go wrong on an ad makes it more memorable.
“Imagination is one of the last remaining legal means to gain an unfair advantage over your competition”
Tom McElligott
You imaginative comments are welcome.
By Stuart Atkins
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