STOP! Read Me.

That’s really the trick, isn’t it — getting your ad read? Whether in print, online, or on a billboard on the side of the road, you need to stop the reader and grab their attention. Why else would advertisers use a woman in a bikini to sell … well,  just about everything?

You can bet that every technique imaginable, and a few that never should have been imagined at all, have been employed to this end. Clearly, some attention-getting devices that are appropriate to one product would not be for others, but that shouldn’t keep you from considering the options and exploring the possibilities.

This very effective print and online ad for Quince, a  jewelry, clothing and gift shop on Grand Ave. in St. Paul, is a good example. It features a nice female face, but it’s not a photograph—it’s an original painting done specifically for the ad. In a way this makes it an even more arresting image. The unique and varied lettering in the shop name speaks to the variety and uniqueness of what you’ll find in the shop. Even the shape of the ad itself, and the way it crops in on the face of the woman, helps create interest. The “hand-written” letter style and skewed placement of the ad copy is one more technique that catches the eye, ads interest, and is a perfect compliment to the other hand-drawn elements of the ad.

One thing intentionally missing from this ad is a picture of the store or product. Many advertisers have a habit of wanting everything including the kitchen sink in a single ad, and this can be a bad habit. This ad stops the reader and simply puts the  main message front and center without wasting time. That message is: we sell cool stuff and you’ll save 20% if you buy in December–and, oh yeah, here’s our address and phone number.

[NOTE: This ad and its original artwork were conceived, designed and executed by T&T Designs, Inc.]