Making an Impact

Victoria Sandison

9th June 2008

Students at Farnham College are coming up with fresh ways of getting advertisers’ messages across. We take a look at some of their work

A man on the brink of despair sits in his car, waiting for the toxic gases pumping in through a hosepipe to take their lethal affect. Only….nothing happens. The reason? Emissions from this car are so low that his suicide attempt fails.

This is the viral ad designed by Farnham College’s advertising student Louis Downs as part of his cross-media campaign for the UK launch of a new brand of car. It would, no doubt, cause waves of protest were it brought to our screens in reality. Does he feel the shock factor is necessary in modern-day advertising? “Generally speaking, no, as you can see from the television and poster adverts we designed for the same campaign. However, with viral ads it is more difficult to capture the viewer’s attention, so adding an aspect of shock can create more of an impact,” explains Louis.

It is a view shared by his college peers, creative partnership Will Marsden and Jo Wadley. “These days the shock factor can sometimes backfire,” suggests Will. “Consumers are becoming harder to sell to as they have become more savvy and cynical,” agrees Jo. “Advertisers need to find new ways of engaging the viewer, be it through shock, humour or other means.”

Quirky humour characterizes this duo’s work. Their “Tantastic” poster campaign for low-cost airliner Easyjet plasters images of grinning real-life celebrities notable for their permaglow complexions next to a catchy strapline that further promotes the low-cost message from the advertiser. In one poster, the smiling face of TV presenter David Dickinson is splashed up next to his well-known catchphrase, “Cheap as chips!” It’s a light-hearted and memorable campaign, well-matched to both the advertiser’s existing branding and its target audience.

Will and Jo are also constantly searching for unprecedented ways in which to use public spaces for promoting a brand. For example, in a campaign for gym chain LA Fitness, they came up with the idea of inserting humorously drawn human silhouettes into escalator lights. As the escalator rises, the silhouettes become progressively fitter-looking and physically attractive. “This is a space where the public’s attention is otherwise unengaged, and by adding the element of humour the advertising message becomes more memorable,” explains Will.

With such intelligent, innovative approaches sparking up from the students at Farnham College, there’s little chance of advertisers losing the consumer’s interest just yet.

Victoria Sandison