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Award-Winning Campaign: McFive

Winners of the 2019 Future Lions award, Da Hye Lee, Dong Hwi Jung, Lin Heo, Se Hun Oh, Seung Yeon Lee from Hongik University, Seoul, developed a campaign for McDonald’s called McFive. The strategy is to address hygiene that is often thrown out the window upon ordering from a touch-screen kiosk. The campaign utilized insight, arriving to the conclusion that customers forget to wash or disinfect their hands between ordering food and eating it. The campaign is successful through relevancy, considering hygienic concerns that rise during the pandemic.

The McFive utilizes LG’s UV disinfecting light as a feature of the touch-screen kiosk panel and prompts the user to “high five” the screen to sterilize their hands with the light source. The art direction is in-line with McDonald’s, making the campaign seem plausible to be picked up by the brand. The copywriting is very simple language that doesn’t make the pitch sound scary or intimidating. Upon research, the roles of each team member is unclear.

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Award-Winning Campaign: Off to College

Jake Christensen, a 2019 Student Gold Addy award winner, captures the sentimental moments experienced by parents and their freshman through his Off to College campaign for IKEA. The strategy is to encapsulate one of the most difficult yet heartfelt moments that many families experience, sending a child off to college. Jake Christensen does this well through succinct yet strong copy all while staying on-brand. The success of the campaign is owed to the brilliance behind pairing IKEA items with copy that pulls on heart strings. The ads feature taglines that can be interpreted as a little humorous and very touching. Johnny Lopez is credited with making the vision come to life with bright graphics that are still representative of the IKEA brand. The design is very minimalistic, featuring the text at the top, featured IKEA household item on the bottom left, and the logo plus promotion on the bottom right.

Altogether, the layout works well as the ads are neat and appealing, conveying the campaign’s message and containing the information that the consumer needs – no more, no less. Together, the team of two created a campaign in contrast to IKEA’s often sterile advertising as it hits close to home with a relatable message. The Off to College campaign also includes a goodbye card to color and a promotional tissue box named after the Swedish word for “bittersweet.”

Christensen, the Iowa State alum, is currently a copywriter by contract. His experience includes working with a variety of big brands such as Nintendo, Burger King, and FOX.

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The Top 5 Most Watched Ads on YouTube in 2017

Here’s a countdown of the top 5 most viewed YouTube advertisements as of this year.

5. Budweiser 2017 Super Bowl Commercial – “Born The Hard Way”

28.5M views

The video is meant to reflect the founder’s ambitious journey to America in pursuit of his dream to brew beer. Travelling from Germany by boat and facing threats by Americans, the obstacles of Budweiser’s founder are highlighted to deliver a dramatic effect, conveying the tale of how the alcohol brand came about.

4. Miss Dior – The new Eau de Parfum

46.6M views

This 45-second spot features Natalie Portman’s fresh face as Miss Dior, appearing in a variety of breathtaking backdrops. The quality of cinematography, along with Portman’s charming looks, makes this ad aesthetically pleasing. It appeals to women with bright tones and a mixture of both sweet, intimate moments and bold, independent ones.

3. Ping Pong Trick Shots 3 – Dude Perfect (sponsored by Oreo)

97.6M views

This 7-minute video features wild tricks all done with a ping pong ball. Dude Perfect shows off their craftily engineered mechanisms needed to execute some extreme tricks.

2. Clash Royale: The Second Last

111.4M views

This animated short brings life to the characters as they are shown in slow-motion while an arrow launches through air.

1.Samsung India Service (SVC) – We’ll take care of you, wherever you are.

150.5M views

This ad was meant to pull heart-strings as it features a warm song in the Indian language. Inspirational and very emotional, the video shows Amit, a Samsung employee, travelling through harsh conditions, showing to what extent he, like other members of the brand, is willing to go for the customer.

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The 10 Most Important Things to Know in Order to Be the Best Art Director

As an art director, one should continuously strive to become the best they can be -both in the workplace and outside of it. Putting your best foot forward and giving your client and team your all is one of the best decisions you can make. Here’s a list of ten things to know and apply to become the best art director you can be!

  1. Be a good listener

Listening is important, whether it’s clients or your own team. You’ll need to understand your client’s needs along with take criticism and suggestions from your team.

  1. Oversee

Just because a concept looks great or is on trend doesn’t mean that it’s what’s best for the company. Make sure that the idea encompasses the company’s values and what they’re trying to convey.

  1. Embrace and learn from your mistakes

Don’t be afraid to show your weaknesses and failures. There is something to learn from every mistake so embrace your experiences.

  1. Separate yourself from your ideas

It’s important that you maintain a healthy separation from your ideas should they be thrown out or excluded from the final concept. This will help you better identify the flaws or aspects that could use improvement.

  1. Direct, not dictate

Give constructive criticism. Frame all guidance and advice in a way that your team can accept and be compelled to consider. Delivery is important; effective communication is key, especially when providing feedback on an idea.

  1. Keep things on brand

Following the brand’s guidelines can be boring yet crucial for their image. Before getting too crazy, keep the client’s standards in mind. Make sure the concept is consistent and parallel to the company’s ideals.

  1. Be alert

Opening your eyes to the world around you and pointing out trends and patterns is proven to be beneficial. Your surrounding can be used to spark creativity or as a future reference.

  1. Get along with your team

Working together will help you achieve your goals sooner and result in amazing work. Your team is knowledgeable and are there to work with you, not against you. Adapt an attitude that will bring out the best in yourself and your team members.

  1. Step out of your comfort zone

This means challenging yourself for the benefit of coming up with something your client will love. Don’t be afraid to experiment with ideas that you are unfamiliar with. You can start by incorporating some ideas your team has already thought out.

  1. Keep your head up

Staying motivated seems simple yet it is more difficult than said. Look for positivity in all challenges and ensure yourself that you have more to offer your client and team.

 

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What Recruiters Look for in Art Director Portfolios

Competition within the industry is fierce, so keep these useful tips in mind when putting together an art director portfolio.

  1. Organization

A neat, filterable portfolio is what recruiters seek out subconsciously. If your work isn’t laid out clearly, then they may not give it time of day. They do not have time to thumb through every sample, so, make sure that your portfolio highlights your skill sets in an effortless manner.

  1. Versatility

Showcasing a range of work calls attention to your adaptability and versatility. Be sure to include a variety of your best pieces to impress the recruiter.

  1. Relevance

Like a resume, you will want to include only what’s absolutely necessary -nothing more and nothing less. If it’s not relevant, leave it out. You don’t and shouldn’t include each and every piece you’ve ever created. Make sure your work reflects what the recruiter is looking for and what’s most relevant to the job position.

  1. Context

This is especially important if a piece you wish to include was the result of a group project. It is only fair that you define your role within the making of the piece so that the recruiter can attribute the success of the work to your team as a whole.

  1. Starting and finishing strong

Leave a good impression by strategically placing one of your strongest pieces at the beginning of your portfolio and another at the very end.  Doing this will grab attention and make for a memorable experience.

  1. Easy to view

Don’t try to cram everything on one page. Showcasing each piece on its own page allows for a larger format. This can be more appealing, as recruiters can get a better look without really having to pause for long.

  1. Recency

Update your portfolio frequently, making sure that you are including some of your best works from the last few projects you have completed. Avoid including pieces from your freshman days. Your recruiter wants to see your current capabilities and skills.

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The Importance of Art Direction in Different Industries

 

The title of “art director” alone can be confusing to some and the specificity of the role within different industries only complicates things more. For the most part, they can collectively agree that their role is to guide creativity rather than dictate it. They handle the overall visual appearance and how it communicates visually, stimulates moods, contrasts features, and psychologically appeals to a target audience. Of course, this all sounds very generic so, what does an art director do?

In publishing, art directors take charge of managing the page layout and designs of newspapers and magazines. They direct the work produced by other designers; this includes illustrations and photography. They take responsibility for all the visuals and cover art for books and periodicals as well. Sometimes, they may handle web publications.

In the industries of advertising and public relations, art directors work to translate their clients’ desired message and make their visions come alive through ads. They oversee all the visual aspects involved in advertising and media campaigns. They may collaborate with other artistic or design staff, including graphic designers and copywriters, to complete a project. These staff are often overseen by a creative director, senior media creative, or chief creative director and are expected to cooperate and share ideas with the creative team.

In movie production, art directors work below the production designer and with film directors, set directors, and set designers to establish what sets will be needed for the scenes, as well as work the details of the style or look of each set. They may take on more administrative duties, such as assigning tasks to the art department coordinator, or other personnel, or commissioning set directors and set designers.

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The Top 10 Personality Traits of A Successful Art Director

 

If you haven’t already noticed, successful art directors within the advertising industry tend to share several characteristics. I’ve compiled a list of the top ten traits that one must possess to be great in the field.

  1. Imaginative

This one’s obvious. Art directors are creative thinkers; they’re able to think outside of the box and explore new territories. Pushing the limits of one’s own mind is an everyday phenomenon among these individuals.

  1. Self-actualizer

It’s especially important that they give their best every time, offering the client nothing less than their full potential. Overall, they strive for personal development and growth; they find that by putting their best foot forward, focusing on progression, and developing a strong drive to succeed, they reap the result of a happy client as well as self-satisfaction.

  1. Versatile and adaptable

Put them in any setting and watch them turn nothing into something. Art directors can switch things up accordingly once a new project is thrown at them. They need to be able to adjust their ideas to fit the needs of the client, along with constantly tend to their interests while balancing the creative concept that the team had in mind.

  1. Fluency

They are able to produce numerous ideas. Being able to express oneself and let one’s creative juices flow freely is only one aspect out of many needed to be successful in art direction.

  1. Open-mindedness

Having an open mind and willingness to consider many possibilities are part of being an art director. Being impartial and unprejudiced can be challenging, but achieved with enough practice. It is crucial that art directors go into each project with a fresh perspective, ready to tackle the challenge with putting their biases aside. They need to be able to hear their team out and, most importantly, listen to their client.

  1. Competitive/always up for a challenge

Art directors expect the unexpected and are always game. With each new project comes obstacles, whether it be limitations by the client, a tight budget, lack of time, etc. Discovering the most effective and appropriate way to communicate their client’s message already puts a large amount of stress on the creative team. Clients are always in competition with one another, so it is especially important that they seek the help of a knowledgeable creative teams with an exceptional art director and work closely with them to put out a successful campaign.

  1. Patient

Art directors are patient -whether they are tending to the needs of a demanding client or developing the next brilliant campaign. It takes time to put out quality work and that’s something that is understood amongst the creative team members.

  1. Curious

They are naturally curious people who are interested in trying new things. They like to experiment with ideas and play with visual elements, words, etc.

  1. Independent

Art directors think for themselves; that’s why they are so important to their team. A creative team requires a diverse selection of individuals who each have something of their own to bring to the table. Art directors don’t conform; they introduce new ideas and constantly challenge existing ones.

  1. Productive

Lastly, they get things done. They work well with their team to serve their client as best as they can and are never satisfied. Productivity is key to both the team and their client. Overall, art directors finish what they start and strive for their goals no matter the cost.

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5 Tips for Aspiring Art Directors

Here’s some advice on how to break into the business and become an advertising creative!

  1. Your portfolio – get it together!

With the portfolio as probably one of the most essential aspects to an art director’s career, it’s important that you build it up. It’s your chance to highlight your best work as well as work you’d like to do. For example, if you want to take on a more edge route with your career, show some of your boldest pieces. Also, be open to feedback!

  1. Find the right agency

Work for a company whose ideals align with yours. Rather than go for the biggest name or first company to offer you a job, seek out a company you’d actually want to work for and see yourself building a career with. You will be more compelled to do great work and this will, in turn, benefit your portfolio for the future.

  1. Stand out

The delivery of your portfolio allows for another opportunity for you to showcase your skills. What’s the use of an amazing portfolio without someone to take the time to look at it? Find a way to make it stand out. This may be a challenge, but the internet is full of useful resources to help you get started.

  1. Nail that interview

So it comes time for the company to evaluate your work and decide if they want you on their team. You can ask for feedback on your work as well as discuss the process that lead up to your success. The recruiter will be interested in hearing about your role and contribution to a project rather than a list of your achievements.

  1. Keep it up

Once you get the job, there remains a pressure for you to live up to the hype. You must prove the company that they’ve hired you for a reason and exceed expectations by giving your very best. Your company is counting on you! Be great!

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The Role of Creativity in Advertising

Art directors, alongside the members of their creative team, must rely on creativity to push their client’s message about products, services, etc. – things that may not even matter to their consumers at all. We want the consumers to be intrigued and engaged when receiving the message, but the reality is that simply catching the attention of one consumer poses a great challenge. As part of the creative team, working to solve a client’s problem is an understatement of what we are set to accomplish.

Think of creativity as the breath of life to advertising and branding. It’s what brings color to the industry and without it, there is no industry.

You got your creative team, whose job is to collaborate on the creative concept for the next hit ad campaign. There’s a lot of pressure on the designers, as they must understand the objectives before and during the creative process with the interests of the client in mind. With art direction providing all the visual elements, including illustrations and design, designers must match copy with visual components for effectiveness and creative cohesion in the message to be achieved.

Creativity has the power to establish a brand’s whole identity. Consumers associate a brand with its ads, so execution matters. Creative commercials lead to lasting impressions, thus creating a brand’s image -whether it be bold, crass, kid-friendly, appealing to teenagers, etc.

To exhibit an example of an image built by creativity, we can refer to campaigns run by Red Bull or Kellogg’s Pop-tarts. Despite energy drinks and toaster strudels being two completely different products aimed at different audiences, I find that their tactics are similar in some ways. To call attention to their products, they don’t speak about their benefits. They both have held up a consistent animated theme and incorporated low-context humor in their ads. They both utilize simple elements, such as a white background; Consumers have started to identify their brands with their style, how they convey themselves. The success of the recognition of their products is owed to the creative team.

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The Top 10 Skills Needed to Become an Art Director

Before becoming an art director, one must brush up on these ten skills.

  1. Strategic thinking

This is an unwritten part of the job description yet a powerful and effective tool. One must understand the context of the industry, project, client, etc. Going beyond seeking out trends and current events, one must share and exchange ideas to better capture the bigger picture.

  1. Multi-tasking

Future art directors must get the hang of multi-tasking and juggling multiple projects and tasks at once. Managing many things at once is something that can benefit one in the long-run, as it’s crucial to the field and useful for life in general.

  1. Collaboration

Working well with others to produce or create something great is what the advertising industry needs. Art directors often belong to a creative team composed of various skilled individuals and being able to bring something to the table is always welcome.

  1. Listening

Often overlooked, listening is a simple yet essential skill. As an art director, one will need to be attentive when a client assigns a project such as a campaign. It’s the responsibility of the creative team to deliver the client’s message and translate their vision. How will they be able to do that unless they really listen?

  1. Flexibility

This means thinking outside of the box, considering other team members’ take on things, and being accommodating of your client. Knowing that art directors and other creatives tend to be stern and hold their ego close, one must learn to loosen their standpoint when appropriate and seen beneficial.

  1. Adaptability

Art directors learn to adapt. When dealing with a new atmosphere, client, creative member, or whatever it may be, art directors make proper adjustments to become efficient communicators.

  1. Organization

One must be able organize their thoughts so that they can be well-represented throughout one’s work. Know what belongs and what doesn’t and organize ideas as they should be.

  1. Integrity

Ethics is important in advertising and should be adhered to and in mind before diving into most advertising tasks. Advertising is already viewed by consumers in a dodgy light, so it is important that ads and campaigns apply ethics.

  1. Coordination

Harmonious functioning of each creative within a team is vital for arriving at their best possible outcome. Necessary coordination of a campaign and all its ads will ensure its effectiveness in delivering the client’s message to the consumers.

  1. Concentration

Focusing one’s attention and mental effort takes a lot of power to master but reaps results that are worthwhile. In art direction, concentration can be applied during the thought process of the next project or when brainstorming up a good campaign idea. Clients appreciate working with people who take business seriously (and the pay is to show for that!).

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10 Trends in Art Direction

As 2017 is taking its final bow, I have come to notice a few trends within the advertising industry. Take a look at these ten trends that the creative team is talking about!

1. Authenticity – Get Real!
Modern day consumers like brands who are cool without trying too hard. They appreciate authenticity as it proves that the brand is really in-touch with their audience. One campaign that exemplifies this is one by Nike that aired last year during the Olympics, titled “Unlimited.” In the ad, the first transgender athlete to compete as part of the U.S. men’s Olympic team is featured telling his story. The execution of it all was great as he was able to showcase his achievements without coming off as sappy or overdone.

2. Values-based Advertising
In relation to the point above, establishing a relationship between brand and buyer has become a common dynamic present in ads of today. Appealing to an audience’s interests and values through ads makes a brand seem more human and invites the audience to engage in conversation. For instance, Always was able to hit virality before even airing their Superbowl ad as part of the #LikeAGirl campaign. Instead of focusing on feminine hygiene products, the execution of the YouTube video addressed female empowerment through the question, “What does it mean to do something ‘like a girl’?”

3. Humanization of a Brand Through Tone
The overall humanization of brands has become more popular than ever; we now see companies presenting raw concepts and authenticity upfront, relating to the audience through their values, and, of course, speaking with an understandable, approachable, more inviting tone. This conversational approach has penetrated the ad industry, giving the audience the overall feel and experience of humanization. Gone are the days of monologues and one-sided convos in ads.

4. Personalization – Hitting Home
For a brand to address a very personal issue means to “hit home” with their audience. It does not only show relatability, but may be able to demonstration empathy in some cases. The creative team R/ GA had the right idea when they called on an Australian band to write a song about the lead singer’s son battling leukemia for an interactive film for their client, Google Play.

5. The Social Validation Technique
Creative teams have caught on to the fact that people like to copy people; it’s a completely natural human instinct to follow what someone else is doing as well as become influenced by others. This search for social validation has been incorporated in various ads to date. It’s not unusual to see brands take user generated content and flip it into an ad. Many ways of making people find justification exist.

6. Utilizing Date
Things like location, browsing behavior, online activity, etc. can be utilized to better target an audience. It’s the job of the creative team to determine an appropriate way to incorporate these elements in their execution. This goes way beyond Netflix recommendations -the possibilities are endless.

7. Augmented Reality (AR)
We see the rise of AR and such technology, as it provides the audience with a more engaging and realistic experience that can even be useful to some. With things like the Apple AR kit and Google Lens, it is greatly anticipated. Expect AR to become more involved through advertising.

8. Chatbots
Just when you thought that mining data at the advantage of the advertiser was creepy, brace yourself for chatbots. They’re not necessarily a new concept, but they’ve come a long way and continue to make their way to the top. Brands who advertise through Facebook have implanted chatbots in the Facebook Messenger app to interact with the user in an intimate, casual, and more natural way. With Facebook releasing restrictions on promotional content, we can expect creatives to take advantage of this medium and shoot their shot with chatbots.

9. Video Advertising
While we’re talking about Facebook, it would be ideal to mention its many features, including its Live feature. Video is a tool that can help boost reach and so advertising should be done exceptionally. With outlets as such, the creative team has a lot to work with.

10. Steering Clear of Twitter
It’s been proven that the format of this social media site just doesn’t work. Social media is a powerful medium with an audience spread out all over the place, but Twitter is an exception to great advertising. The next creative team to think of an intriguing advertisement with the numbered characters that works with the timeline format of the site, deserves to be commemorated.

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Coming Up with Good Ideas – The Creative Genius vs. the Average Joe

You rack your brain at the wee hours of the morning, waiting for that “Aha! moment.” You grab the nearest pen and paper and brainstorm, frantically scribbling down the first thing that comes to your mind. Leaning back in your chair, you take a sip of your coffee and shake your head. You begin to cross out each word one by one in frustration and disappointment. You stare hopelessly at your paper then at the clock, which reads “3:21 AM.” Drained of all hope of a good idea, you crumple that piece of paper into a ball, toss it straight into the trash bin, and nod off into the land of slumber, defeated.

What many people fail to realize is that ideas (or, at least, good ones) don’t just happen (or, at least, not all the time). Those same people carry the common misconception that the brightest ideas are reserved for geniuses and that those geniuses are capable of achieving what is “luck” to us. This is not entirely true, especially when considering the fact that many people have shown for their effort, demonstrating the blood, sweat, and tears that went into their brilliant ideas. Would you rather be accredited to luck or all of the hard work that lead to your success?

There are a few things you can do to unleash your inner creative genius and consistently come up with good ideas but I will introduce one concept that can be applied to almost any field. The late business guru and philosopher, Peter Drucker, has referred to this concept in his book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as the “unexpected success.” In a sense, it states that new ideas can be had through analyzing other ideas within the field that have been doing unusually well despite all expectations. With reference to business, this can be a product that nobody cared about or was often overlooked until it, one day, skyrocketed and caused everyone to look and think twice. You then take this cool idea and delve into the factors that contributed to its success. Why did it do so well? Use that insight and knowledge and apply it. Understanding the fundamental reasons behind why that product or idea did as well as it did will help you generate ideas of your own.

Drucker’s concept works in a way that your eyes are opened to what’s supposed to be hot right now. Unexpected successes are effective because they are on trend, contemporary, current. Hopefully this gives you a fresh take on coming up with good ideas as well as some inspiration. Go out and give it a try. You may be surprised by your discoveries -or you may even surprise yourself.