10 (Now 11) Good Reasons To Stop Making Ads That Look Like These

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtSCQNB_UaubrOqMpv60j7eaI2A_PpLkrDCWMa831YB1s5UJG2RJzp8ELEL5iHmAkPZ1mfA6ZWtny1ZOcXIHCLNSinnMnKuVt-qEREg9mpOTzCFMIBxTwQx1idAmgM4Kb48JRXwbpN-Jb/s1600-h/gangedheadads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379978134292575090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtSCQNB_UaubrOqMpv60j7eaI2A_PpLkrDCWMa831YB1s5UJG2RJzp8ELEL5iHmAkPZ1mfA6ZWtny1ZOcXIHCLNSinnMnKuVt-qEREg9mpOTzCFMIBxTwQx1idAmgM4Kb48JRXwbpN-Jb/s400/gangedheadads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 495px; height: 387px;" /></a><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/sharethis.js#publisher=0d650ffe-1ec7-4395-883b-24e806d21a65&type=website"></script><br /><br />It's not uncommon to see trends in the creative executions of advertising, but here's one that reached critical mass. The compositing of items to create human faces has been used in several different ad campaigns from reputable agencies all over the world.<br /><br />I saw a post on <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2009/03/31/visual-tributes-to-music/">Brainpickings.org</a> via <a href="http://picocool.com/art/top-3-visual-tributes-to-music/">PicoCool</a> about three campaigns that are visual tributes to music using this technique. It was then that I realized, I knew of several others, so I decided to do a round up of ten campaigns for you, not exclusively related to music.<br /><br />Here are ten (now, just updated..so make that 11!) different ad campaigns (and one art project) all created within the past 3 years. Each of them is well-executed and very nicely art directed... but I think it's time to put a moratorium on assembled faces.<br /><br />In the meantime, enjoy these (click on each image to enlarge):<br /><br />1. The first is an art project by multimedia artist <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/iri5/">Iri5</a> who considers this her "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ghost In The Machine"</span> series in which Robert Smith from The Cure, Jimmie Hendrix and Bob Dylan are all composed of cassette tape. Most impressive is that these are NOT photoshopped or painted but use a real cassette and tape.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjOgXi0nI/AAAAAAAAotw/q374yksE_cc/s1600-h/Iri5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493579480158834" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjOgXi0nI/AAAAAAAAotw/q374yksE_cc/s400/Iri5.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 501px; height: 229px;" /></a><br /><br />2. The stunningly composed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Grammy Ads </span>(and accompanying tv spot) incorporate a concept by using the musicians favorite songs typographically to compose the image. Shown below are Coldplay, Thom Yorke and Lil' Wayne.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjmQdwn1I/AAAAAAAAouA/d37X8APNX0s/s1600-h/Grammy+Ads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493987528122194" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjmQdwn1I/AAAAAAAAouA/d37X8APNX0s/s400/Grammy+Ads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 498px; height: 679px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Agency: TBWA Chiat Day<br />Copywriter: Eric Arnold<br />Art direction and illustration: Steve Yee<br /><br />3. These four <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bose ads </span>feature Elvis, <a href="http://www.yoodleeyoo.com/">Kishore Kumar</a> (an Indian singer who resembles Wayne Newton), Madonna and Jim Morrison made up of black and grey silhouetted audio components.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjzUnzz-I/AAAAAAAAouI/d4uPE1yJdDE/s1600-h/Boseads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319494211982315490" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjzUnzz-I/AAAAAAAAouI/d4uPE1yJdDE/s400/Boseads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 490px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Ad agency: Unknown<br />Art director: Nirmalya Chakraborty<br />Copywriter: Sanjeev Anand<br /><br />4. The ads for <span style="font-weight: bold;">RAM FM</span>, a Jerusalem and Ramallah radio station known as Peace Radio, communicate the fact that the station brings people of different beliefs together via the use of passport stamps to comprise the visuals.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKi-zMPhGI/AAAAAAAAotY/gS823hys5Vs/s1600-h/RAm+FM+ads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493309655123042" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKi-zMPhGI/AAAAAAAAotY/gS823hys5Vs/s400/RAm+FM+ads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 508px; height: 238px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Advertising Agency: Gitam BBDO, Tel-Aviv, Israel<br />Art Director: Noam Laist<br />Copywriter: Orel Bitan<br />Studio: Ariel Vitkon, Elina Uretsky<br /><br />5. One of my personal favorite executions are these stunning out of home posters and bus shelters, which make the faces of actual postage stamps, celebrating <span style="font-weight: bold;">Finnish Stamps for the 150 year Jubilee Exhibition.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjKF7F9MI/AAAAAAAAoto/KWk2y2apvew/s1600-h/Jubilee+Stamp+ads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493503662027970" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjKF7F9MI/AAAAAAAAoto/KWk2y2apvew/s400/Jubilee+Stamp+ads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 502px; height: 240px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Advertising Agency: TBWA\PHS, Helsinki, Finland<br />Art Directors: Pia Pitkanen, Jukka Rosti<br />Illustrator: Pia Pitkanen<br />Copywriter: Erkko Mannila<br /><br />6. An Argentina agency created these <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nike Football ads</span> out of little stamped footballs (or soccerballs for those of us in the States) as tributes to individual players.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjE0Q8xBI/AAAAAAAAotg/xzQG-SXVM0w/s1600-h/Nikeads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493413022516242" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjE0Q8xBI/AAAAAAAAotg/xzQG-SXVM0w/s400/Nikeads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 505px; height: 215px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Nike football: Aguero<br />Advertising Agency: BBDO, Buenos Aires, Argentina<br />Copywriter:Pablo Alvarez Travieso<br />Art Director:Gonzalo Vecino<br /><br />6. These bus shelters for the Swedish furniture chain, <span style="font-weight: bold;">IKEA</span>, celebrate diversity by showing people of different ages and races all made up of the various product items available at IKEA.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjbd23B2I/AAAAAAAAot4/kc6P5-NLB6I/s1600-h/IKEA+busshelters.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493802144499554" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKjbd23B2I/AAAAAAAAot4/kc6P5-NLB6I/s400/IKEA+busshelters.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 729px;" /></a><br /><br />9. A nice attribute of this campaign for <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Bela Sintra</span>, a restaurant in Sao Paulo, is the varied state of the beans for the art, from full beans to finely ground, all make up the faces.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKj_dZ7BHI/AAAAAAAAouQ/950oNjZQacs/s1600-h/abelaSintraads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319494420498416754" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKj_dZ7BHI/AAAAAAAAouQ/950oNjZQacs/s400/abelaSintraads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 726px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Advertising Agency: Giovanni + DraftFcb, Brazil<br />Art Director: Sidney Araújo<br />Copywriters: Alexandre Peralta, Astério Segundo<br />Illustrator: Marco D'Giorgio<br /><br />10. Playing off the adage that "Music soothes the savage beast", this campaign for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Samsung i450</span> uses terrorists and dictators like Idi Amin and Osama Bin Laden to show how music in their heads can bring an end to fighting.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKi4hRSvjI/AAAAAAAAotQ/SQTLhOBTPpU/s1600-h/samsungi450ads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319493201765252658" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKi4hRSvjI/AAAAAAAAotQ/SQTLhOBTPpU/s400/samsungi450ads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 501px; height: 244px;" /></a><br /><br />10. And finally, an <span style="font-weight: bold;">anti-smoking campaign from Unimed</span> uses actual cigarettes to comprise the faces of such hateful characters as Hitler and Osama Bin Laden with the phrase "cigarettes kill more" is accompanied by <a href="http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/unimed_war">an animated tv spot of 'war'</a> signed off with "smoking kills more".<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKxby9v7SI/AAAAAAAAouY/uah-KF4nUWQ/s1600-h/SmokingKillsMore.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319509200973327650" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdKxby9v7SI/AAAAAAAAouY/uah-KF4nUWQ/s400/SmokingKillsMore.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 433px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Advertising Agency: F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Brazil<br />Copywriters: Ricardo Jones, Eduardo Lima<br />Art Director: Airton Carmignani<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LAST MINUTE UPDATE (forgot to add these!)</span><br />11. Another nicely constructed campaign, this one for Harley Davidson that uses tools and motorcycle parts to make up the visages.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdUtCwsjS5I/AAAAAAAAo5Y/QiEeBMe6FAE/s1600-h/Harley+ads.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320208060262861714" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zqFoq3qej2c/SdUtCwsjS5I/AAAAAAAAo5Y/QiEeBMe6FAE/s400/Harley+ads.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 513px;" /></a><br />credits:<br />Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, USA<br />Copywriter: Eric Sorensen<br />Art Director: Brock Davis<br /><br />A big shout out to Ivan and his <a href="http://www.adsoftheworld.com/"> Ads Of The World</a> where I was able to find many of the visuals and credits.<br><br>

10 (Now 11) Good Reasons To Stop Making Ads That Look Like These

It's not uncommon to see trends in the creative executions of advertising, but here's one that reached critical mass. The compositin...

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