Top Advertising Techniques In Graphic Design

Good Graphic Design Is A Key Aspect Of Advertising

Today every company needs to advertise its product to inform the customers about the product, make sales, acquire market value and gain reputation and stature in the industry. Every business spends lot of money to advertise their products but the money spent will lead to success only when the best techniques of advertising are used as part of a well designed image. So here are some very common techniques used by the advertisers in web and graphic design to get their desired results. These techniques can be used regardless of the design style but some techniques do work best when matched up with a particular design style.

Avant Garde

This ad on the official apple website used the avant garde technique to promote the iPad

Avant Garde is a French phrase used to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art and culture. In graphic design advertising it is the suggestion that using this product puts the user ahead of the times. Phrases like "revolutionary" or "cutting edge" are often used too but overall a general sense of the product/service being futuristic is the key aspect. Apple are the masters of this technique with all their recent product launches using this technique.

Weasel Words

"Bang and the dirt is gone" - an example of weasel words in an advert

“Weasel words" are used to suggest a positive meaning without actually really making any guarantee. A classic example being the Cillit Bang catchphrase "Bang and the dirt is gone!". IT sounds simple, has impact and is memorable but what does it really mean?

Magic Ingredients

Actimel advertise their magic ingredient in their advertisemnts

The suggestion that some almost miraculous discovery makes the product exceptionally effective such as the "L. Casei Immunitas" in Actimel. They constantly mention this ingredient in ads despite the fact that very few people outside of micro-biologists knows what it is! It sounds impressive though and "if we haven't heard of it then it must be very special",  that's what they want us to think.

Patriotism

An example of an advert using the patriotism advertising technique

The suggestion that purchasing this product shows your love of your country or supports your country through your purchase. In these ads there is often no effort to talk about the superiority of the product/service or it's attributes, the emphasis is solely on the fact it is a local or national product/service.

Diversion

Katy Perry is used as the diversion in this advertisement for .... chips! Sorry I got distracted.

Diversion seems to discuss a product or service or tackle a problem, but then throws in an unrelated topic or distraction. What distracted you in this above ad...?

Snob Appeal

The imagery and the text in this advertisement portray an elegant, sophisticated service through the snob appeal technique 

Snob appeal is the suggestion that the use of the product or service makes the customer part of an elite group with a luxurious and glamorous life style. We all aspire for a better life, that is human nature, and this type of ad appeals to that desire.

Bribery

This one is very simple and is therefore very common. The bribery advertising technique seems to give a desirable extra something when we use/buy a service/product. We humans tend to be greedy so getting something for free or for a reduced cost is very appealing, sometimes even if we didn't need or want the product in the first place!

Testimonial

Another simple one that advertisers use is to get a famous personality to endorse the product. In this way they can grab our attention using the iconic attention grabbing technique as well as adding a sense of the products appeal by associating it with the right type of person. In the above example the young, beautiful, talented and successful Taylor Swift adds a lot of positives to the Diet Coke brand.

Humour

Customers are attracted to products that give them a reason to laugh or to be entertained by clever use of visuals or language. Ads using humour also give a brand a fun factor which can make a customer "like" the brand's approach to doing things and thus favour them over competitors. The above ad uses humour but also a hint of the sexy attention grabbing technique as well.

Simple Solutions

Avoid complexities, and attack many problems to one solutions. Seems good, doesn't it! Thats what the advertisers are relying on of course. Phrases like "all in one" and "multi-purpose" are commonly used in these types of ads. We can tend to be lazy and is offered an easy, all in one solution to multiple issues then why wouldn't we take it?

Bandwagon

Bandwagon is a form of propaganda that exploits the desire of most people to join the crowd or be on the winning side, and avoid winding up the losing side. It's a popularity contest with these type of ads which often compare their customer base to competitors or suggest that "everyone" is with them so why aren't you. "Join us", "be part of it" or "get on board" are commonly used phrases in these type of ads.

Sexy...?

If you are thinking that surely sex is an advertising technique seen as beautiful people are commonly used in ads and of course we've all heard the phrase "sex sells". So why is it not in the list? Actually is it an attention grabbing technique as opposed to an actual advertising technique.