Project Evaluation

NOTE TO TUTOR, the final outcomes shown below feature the copy "1350- tailored by Umbro," as required by the brief. This copy is missing on the files I submitted to the hand-in folder, due to an error on my part where I submitted the wrong files.

Overall, I am thoroughly happy with the Ad campaign I have produced. While some aspects of the campaign could perhaps be a little better, I am fairly confident with how I have portrayed the themes. The only things I would change about my campaign looking back, are the use of brand logos. While I am most happy with how I have designed the Nike spoof poster, I think the Reebok poster, in terms of imagery, is perhaps the weakest, mainly because it is only the brand name I have changed, whereas the brand marque has remained the same, so it could be seen as an actual Reebok poster, although I think due to the copy I have placed on the poster & the inclusion of the Umbro logo are enough to get the message across that this, and the rest of my posters in my campaign, are "Anti-every-other-brand." Looking at my campaign I think it succeeds in appealing to the 18-24 demographic, as this age group can relate to the language used, and also with the brands being spoofed in the campaign, so this empowers the audience as they can relate to what is being shown. The only problem I have with my campaign is that I don't think it really puts a lot of emphasis on the "1350" theme. While this theme is clearly visible in the copy, I think the actual concept needed a little work, perhaps done a different way it would have ticked every box, but I think the way I have put across my ideas visually only brushes the surface of the "1350" theme. Other than that, I am very happy with my outcomes.

Final Outcomes

So, here are my three final poster advertisements. As seen in the image, I have gone for three memorable mottos or slogans for each poster. "Don't Do It" as opposed to "Just Do It" for Nike, "Rethink" as opposed to Reebok, and "Three Stripes And You're Out" for Adidas. I'm hoping I've made these different enough, even through using some other brand logos, that they look more like spoofs or plays on other brands as opposed to actual adverts for them. The accompanying copy to each motto is the same throughout each poster to provide a unified look & the copy reads "You've got 90 minutes to show your skill on the pitch & 1350 off it. Don't look a mug. Choose Umbro A-Frame." I've done this to focus on the "1350" theme of the whole ad campaign, using the kind of talk the 18-24 year old demographic is familiar with & uses, while at the same time tying in the accompanying copy to the slogans themselves, by "Not doing it" or "Rethinking" you're not choosing other brands, you're choosing Umbro, and you don't want to "look a mug" wearing other brands, such as Nike, Reebok & Adidas.

Finalising Ideas

Since my ad campaign is mainly focused round spoofing other brands, I've decided to choose the "Big Three" brands to make fun of in my posters. I've twisted the Nike spoof round enough so that it looks like a spoof rather than an actual Nike ad, same with the Reebok poster, but when it came to the Adidas poster, I struggled a little, at least imagery wise. I've stuck with the "Three Stripes & You're Out" motto as that definitley works, but I tried placing the Adidas logo on the poster & it just looked like an Adidas campaign, so I've come up with an image that plays on the iconic Adidas three stripe logo, but also keeps with the theme of avoiding other brands & only choosing Umbro. That is the image shown here, a simple red circle with a red line through it, commonly seen on road signs, or to show something is banned or forbidden. In this instance, I've added three lines instead of just the one, in order to create a sort of visual pun, without prominently featuring the Adidas logo. This works in my opinion as Adidas don't just used their iconic logos anymore, they also use 3 simple straight lines, so the audience should be able to recognise this instantly.

Don't Do It!

Just so I knew how the rest of my poster ads would look, I quickly mocked up, basically what my "Target: Nike" poster would look like. I had the idea at first to form an "X" from the two Nike ticks by flipping one horizontally & crossing them over each other, but this looked more like a coat of arms or a pair of swords as opposed to a cross, so I went with the idea of turning the Nike logo upside down, as turning things upside down is often interpreted as negative (i.e turning a countries flag upside down). Combined with the slogan "Don't Do It", I think I've created a pretty effective poster here, although it still needs a bit of neatening up. I'm fairly happy with underlying theme, highlighted in the copy below the main slogan. "Don't look a fool in your 1350 minutes off pitch. Choose Umbro A-Frame." I think this ties in well with the 1350 concept, not just because it mentions it by name, but also because the main theme of these ads focus on social standing, which is somewhat of a big deal amongst people off pitch. This theme also applies to the 18-24 year old demographic, as the target audience can not only associate with the brands being spoofed, but also with the perception of people themselves based on what they wear.

Rethinking...

Just in case the whole "Reebok-Ret*ard" slogan doesn't really work (which it probably wouldn't in the real world of advertising) I've come up with an alternate slogan; Rethink. Once again though before finally deciding on a slogan for this one, I'll need a bit of tutor input to steer me in the right direction... Get ready for a flurry of blog posts on Monday once I have a clear idea in mind.

Getting back into shape...

After having a couple of brainstorms overnight as to how I can successfully pull off this ad campaign, I've decided what I'm going to do (with a back-up plan if necessary). Using the logos of other brands as my imagery, my main theme will be completely typographical, using witty puns & slogans. I'm fairly confident about the ideas I've had, but I'll need to clear them up with my tutors on Monday just to make sure they will work, otherwise, back-up plan it is. The three brands I've decided to "target" in my ads are Adidas, Nike & Reebok. I think I can cleverly devise some sort of pun-driven slogan to put my campaign across, but the Reebok one in particular is the one that concerns me, mainly because of how controversial it is, as you'll see from the image. I'm positive this is the direction I want to take, but I think a bit of tutor input would be nice at the final stage, just so I can clean my designs up & prepare a final outcome. I'd also like a bit of advice on whether or not this theme still ties in with the whole "1350" concept.

Pete Tong.

As the title reads, it seems this whole concept has gone completely t*ts up! I've really been struggling to find the right way to pull off this advertising campaign & I think this project has seen me come up with the most ideas for one outcome. I'm really going back to basics with this one as I've been totally unable to execute my past couple of ideas properly. I'm going to work my backside off this week & next in hopes of really pulling the whole "Three Stripes & You're Out" concept off & getting back on track with that, as I think it's definitley been my strongest concept so far. On the other hand, I've had a couple of issues with how to pull this campaign off design-wise, so if push comes to shove (which at this late stage, it probably will, I'm going to have to really go back to basics & just do a simple campaign that really hammers home the whole idea of "1350 minutes." Not what I'd hoped for, but I really don't see any other option. Based on the problems I had with the "Brand War" campaign before, I think I'm going to have to make this one completely typographical if it is to work, with some witty copy below the main type, just to get my messages across. Totally ballsed this one up, and I am NOT happy about it. This is what happens when I think too much.