Poor Ad Choice

This is a print advertisement of Burger King's Super Seven Incher sandwich in Singapore. Showing the sandwich by a wide-eyed woman accompanied by a suggestive tagline is incredibly distasteful. It's showing unappetizing references to oral sex.

The ad was a limited time promotion in Singapore and shortly discontinued.

The message 'It'll blow your mind away' did not entice anyone to try the sandwich. The message most definitely conveys a double meaning.

The response is for people to try the sandwich, however,  the problem with this particular ad is that it discourages people from buying it because of the confusing message.

Usage

I honestly don't know who is the ultimate authority of "correct usage." Who's to say that one person is more "correct" than the next? I think usage should depend on the person using the word. Also, is the word relevant to the conversation? I liked Theodore M. Bernstein's quote, "We should apply the test of convenience. Does the word fill a real need? If it does, let's give it a franchise."

One "usage" rule that bugs me (and one I am frequently guilty of using) is ending a sentence with a preposition or any other insignificant word. Sitting down to write this blog, I started to think of phrases I've used this week that would be considered incorrect usage.

Where you at?

Who's that book by?

What's that near to?

What's that movie about?

Where's my wallet at?

What do you need to go to the store for?

These are all sentences that if phrased differently would be perfectly acceptable. By ending a preposition at the end, not only is it incorrect English, it makes you sound unintelligent. Then again, I must come back to "who's to say that's wrong?" As long as a sentence sounds natural and its meaning is clear, why can't we end a sentence with a preposition? In Pennsylvania, there are many people that feel it's perfectly acceptable to end their sentences in this fashion. It's simply common in certain areas. It's literally verbiage that's been passed down for generations and will continue to be a never ending cycle. You can try as you might but sometimes those little words just pop out at the end.

Design That Wows

Volkswagen started the Cause+Affect campaign to help the company evolve into "green space."

Volkswagen was looking to improve their traditional car show experience. They wanted to create a new brand strategy that resonated with a conscious consumer audience.

"Green Guts" focused on the release of the new Jetta TDI Clean Diesel. Custom designed brochures and T-shirts were made for the special VIP launch party in Toronto, creating a holistic VW branded green experience.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Volkswagen/132045

Great design, great execution. Obviously it was appropriate to use green as the only color. The entire piece is incredibly clean, uncluttered and eye-catching. Creating the brochure to look like a leaf, a natural object, was also a smart design choice given that the company was trying to improve their green space.

Unique Calendar

2013 Hood College Calendar

I have never seen a calendar quite like this before. This unique calendar for Hood College in Frederick, MD makes for a quick and easy date reference. Each page has a digital illustration of a building or place on campus. Ellen Bryne, a freelance artist illustrator specializing in graphics and fine art illustration for editorial advertising design created all the images in the calendar. On the back of each page is a brief description of the particular place on Hood's campus.

The calendar comes in a plastic disc case. The lid flips to the back and is to be used as a stand. It is an extremely simple concept yet very practical. It now sits on my desk at work :)

Packaging

Stacy's Pita Chips, I believe, has one of the best chip bag packaging. When looking at the long isle of chips available to consumers, Stacy's immediately pops off the shelf. There's tons of colors in the chip isle. But Stacy's chose a basic route: black. The black bags stand out like a sore thumb in the colorful sea of chip bags. You can't help but walk over and see what it is. The 'simply naked' logo is, well, simple. Each variation of pita chip is awarded a different color banner but it's still the basic black bag that draws you in. The typography is elegant and the yellow type really stands out on the black background. Also, the images are always appealing and immediately makes me hungry!

Journalese

Apparently, journalese is everywhere. Zinsser noted People as one of the guilty magazines using "a mixture of cheap words, made-up words and cliches that have become so pervasive that a writer can hardly help using them." I had to look for myself. I flipped through an old People magazine I had in my room and sure enough, several journalese words and phrases immediately popped out.

... led U.S. troops to a swift victory...

... rocker Chris Daughtry...

... brings a bit of flash ....

... couple keeps it light ...

... had a near miss when a car sped close by...

... these troubling days ....

... sitting at a cushy desk ....

... magical hero....

Logotypes and Tag lines

LOGOTYPE

The images shown below, I believe, are simple, yet successful examples of logotype:

http://blog.the-dot.co.uk/design/40-more-clever-logos-with-hidden-symbolism/

http://cargocollective.com/admixdesigns/LOGOS


Using only letters, these logos are incredibly effective and easily understood. These particular designs were created by designer Joe Prince with Admix Designs.

TAG LINE

I believe VISA has a very effective tagline. VISA's old tag line was "It's everywhere you want to be," to "Life takes VISA"and most recently "More people go with VISA."

VISA focuses on its audience's needs and desires. The people want a card they can use anywhere and VISA has given that to us. Their tag line promises fulfillment. VISA truly is offered everywhere and with the their simple tag line, now everyone knows. Go, enjoy and don't worry that you're card won't accepted because it always will if you have VISA.