We are in an exciting age for advertising!

With so many different mediums out there for consumers to be informed through, advertisers are no longer restricted by paper, radio and TV. The real superstars are those who make the medium part of the message. Making the setting of the ad inform a central part of the message rather than being just ‘where it’s printed’.

Here are 4 examples of times when advertising agencies made the medium, part of the message:

1.

To raise awareness about domestic violence against women in Germany, the Berlin based women’s rights organization ‘Terre des Femmes’ and DDB Berlin built a photo booth and placed it in a frequented train station. The booth created a classic 4-picture printout but used facial recognition tech to identify women in the photos and superimpose bruises on their face in one of the four pictures. This was to draw attention to the shocking statistic that 1 in 4 women in Germany are affected by domestic violence. Genius.

2.

Using a wine bottle to tell a story about the dangers of drinking excessively as more of the wine is consumed is the aim of the ‘Don’t Reach the Bottom’ campaign in Russia. Y&R Russia and Simple Wine partnered up to create a bottle that reveals more of a comic strip as the wine is drunk. One of the comics shows a young couple who start out enjoying themselves sensibly but then get increasingly wild before ending with a drink-driving related car accident that is only visible once the bottle is empty. Who needs a book with pages when the bottle itself can be the way you tell your story?

3.

Saatchi & Saatchi Argentina have built a whole pub at a 45 degree angle on the side of the Andes mountain range, to illustrate the perfect angle to pour Mendoza’s iconic beer ‘Andes’. Although ending up as a TV spot, the pub was actually built and forms the backbone of the advert. We imagine it would be lethal in there once someone spills their beer though!

4.

Pereira & O’Dell have used the medium of the movie trailer to advertise the mineral water brand Ciel in their latest online campaign. The concept involved releasing a teaser for what genuinely looked like a big budget post-apocalyptic theatrical movie starring famous Mexican actress Karla Souza without any mention of the mineral water! Then a week later, an online video was released showing what looked like behind-the-scenes footage of the film being produced and comedically having to be cancelled because of ‘thirst’!

Food for thought! If you think your next advert has the potential to use its medium as part of the message, maybe drop us a line to see if we can help you bring it to life!