An oldie but a goodie. In thinking about how scale plays into production elements, I wanted to reference the ad campaign "Think Small" created for Volkswagen Beetle during the 1950s. "Think Small" is a highly regarded advertising campaign that is said to have changed the advertising industry as a whole. Looking at the production elements used in the ad, scale is certainly a major player. Emphasizing the unique small size of the car was accomplished by scaling it down to an unusually small size in comparison to the amount of white space in the ad. Instead of trying to market the luxuriousness of a car like most other car brands, Volkswagen choose to instead sell the idea of its simplistic and minimalist value through scale.
Without such an effective use of scale, the ad and the Beetle would have likely been lost among many of its more traditional competitors and their more established 'American sized' cars. The "Think Small" campaign is a great example of how a well-executed production element can drive the success of a piece of media.
This is one of my favorite ads. Altogether work so well to convey the message of Think Small. Speaking of the scale, I was hooked into the car on an empty, spacious background. This tricks me into seeing the vehicle in a new light; the way the designers saw it. Not a normal car from daily lives of smiling, middle-class family. It makes me think that owning a small car could be a good thing after all.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting ad for the time. The intentional use of white space was likely a hard sell. As a designer, I have a difficult time convincing clients that white space can say much more than a page filled with content. I am a big fan of this advertisement because it is a great example how good design reflects your message in every element.
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