Back in the dark ages, when art directors still sketched out their ideas with felt markers, it sometimes took an exceptional airbrush artist to bring certain concepts to life. One of them I’m sure you’re familiar with even if you were still in diapers when it first appeared because it can still be found in dorm rooms all over the country–Lars Anderson’s inimitable “blown away” guy for Maxell audio tape.
I don’t know who the retoucher was on this job, but it was a masterful bit of visual legerdemain. Something just about any idiot with a computer can pull off today–and often does–as the examples that follow bear witness.
Obviously, the mere fact that you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. And the finest image manipulation imaginable won’t make a lame idea get up and do the Watusi no matter how much one might wish otherwise. But recognizing this will not stop some creative people from trying it anyway, I’ve devised a simple rule of thumb for determining if they should.
Just state the idea of the ad as a simple simile. If Lars had been forced to do that he might have come up with something like: “Sound reproduction so powerful it’s like being hit by a gale wind…” Not exactly the euphony of Yeats, but not a terrible place to start. And certainly a far cry better than “a drain cleaner so strong it’s like sending army tanks down to do the job…” (Uh, maybe we should keep working.)
Or, “a cup of coffee that’s so lacking in bitterness it’s like it’s smiling up at you…” (What else have you got?) And finally, “cold relief so effective it’s like having a warm, cozy bed on a spoon…” (As in “gag me with a…”?)
Simply stating the idea like this should be quite revealing. If it sounds halfway decent, by all means go for it. But if it sounds like something so stupid a client could have said it, it probably is. And even the harnessing of every computer processor at MIT won’t make it any smarter.
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