Working in advertising, I find myself more adept to visual aesthetics than I used to be. “Bad” advertising irritates me. “Good” advertising inspires me. But either way, I find myself far more in tune with consumerism’s reach than I ever have. Maybe it’s just because I live in Toronto and wake up staring advertising in the face every morning.
Or at least I used to, until three men sawed the recycled plastic ad bench in front of my apartment in half and walked away with it.
With the recession (I know, I know, stop talking about the recession), ad budgets are one of the first corners companies cut. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no one cares. That is, until you see some of the ads that come out of the recession with more impact than if they’d had a million dollar budget and the gears in your head begin to turn..
Ever seen those Reitman’s ads on bus shelters that articulate, “Available in small, medium and fabulous,” or The Most Interesting Man In The World commercials that are simple and yet so universally hilarious, you find yourself Youtube-ing them when your friends are over for drinks? Both messages are so basic, and yet, so much more effective than the extravagant, balls-out, in-your-face advertising of the pre-recession era.
I was driving up Spadina the other day when one specific ad caught my attention. It was for the Toronto Island and the tag line was, “Half the fun is getting there.” This really bothered me because, right now, it’s a lie. There’s nothing fun about the Toronto Island right now with the civil strike going on and the ferry being closed. And I’ve heard a lot of complaining about how Toronto isn’t very tourist-friendly right now.
To top it all off, the ad was on the side of a garbage can. One of those overflowing, pungent smelling garbage cans that, again, the civil strike is responsible for.
Ironic, no?
We now live in a culture where advertisements usher our lives. Although I, personally, tend to be less responsive to things that are trying to grab at me with both hands, when the economy is as bad as our has been lately, it's not hard to see why companies are trying to hold on for dear life.
But when it's a matter of effectiveness, less is more, people. Less is more.
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