In some industries, there seems to be a go-to format which has been used for years. For example, the classified section of a newspaper is grey with lots and lots and lots of boring listings. It's typically layed out with "filler" ads at the end to fill in the space not sold. Who says the filler has to go out at the end? I created a series of Classified Filler/House Promotion Ads which took a different approach. The series simply used a very old slogan "one call sells it all", but with a new twist. I took a "slice of life approach", showing real people actually on the phone (not the standard pix of an old table top telephone.) I also, added color and structured the ads in many different sizes. The, we put the filler in the middle or off-center in the rows of listings - not the end. So,they totally broke up the boring "grey" of the classified listing and added a focal point to the page. Picture this full-length vertical ad (1x21) in the 7 the column out of 9 on a classifed page of a newspaper. Much more interesting the stuck at the bottom of the page. Great for sales and a little visual stimulation. Here's a few samples. Feel free to contact me for any advise or suggestions for making your publication house (or any) ads more noticable and effective.
I really like the "slice of life" concept. A punch of color in the classified section is really necessary. Little touches like this are what pull a paper together. I have to laugh every time I hear someone complaining about the amount of advertisements there are in any given newspaper. I love telling them that if it weren't for the advertisements they wouldn't have a paper. I really hope that more businesses return to print. It would be a shame to lose the news in that medium.
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