8 rules for creating great print ads

1. Combine product with emotional values
A lot of print ads are just bland and talk about the product. There is not much for the consumer to entertain them. This of course depends on the product category. But creating an emotional reaction will imprint the brand better in the consumers mind.
2. Balance branding with your objectives
The small branding in these ads are ok given the high visual impact and the fact that they communicate well established brands. These create more brand intimacy by engaging consumers to figure these out. Look at your awareness levels. If they are already high, you can focus on other drivers. If they are low, make sure your brand recognition score after viewing the ad for 2sec is high.
3. Create visual puzzles or visual stories
These create more brand intimacy by engaging consumers to figure these out.



















Axe: if the nun smells Axe on a guy she would not be able to control herself and therefore putting herself in an undesirable position















Unilever Slim Fast (Germany). If you eat enough of the stuff you can get so slim that you can slide through the bars.
4. Limit your text
Make use of catching headlines. The amount of text should in principle be short, but for some categories like cars people like to read about the stuff. Sometimes consumers just think that with lots of text there is lots to say and therefore deduct better quality from this without actually reading the ad.
5. Steal from the art world
There is a lot to learn from the art world. You can use this to increase your creativity. Copy says: As soon as a black spot appears, use Clearasil.

















6. Use strong headlines
Your headlines should motivate readers to want to read on to learn more about your product, price and offer. Get ideas about what headlines to use by scanning different types of ad copy, particularly those from the competition. Effective headlines address a pressing customer need or desire. You should stay away from using your company name as a headline, a common mistake made by many business owners. The reality is that people care more about themselves—and what you can do for them—than your business. You'll get a much higher response rate when your headline quickly answers the question, "What's in it for me?" So, craft a headline that gives your audience a compelling answer.
7. Include phone numbers and websites
Although the creative folks don't like this as it ruins the art in it, a lot of people tear out stuff if they want to follow-up on something. Not including your website is just a waste of an opportunity and these days we see enough evidence that multi media channel advertising is more effective then the sum of the individual media channels.
8. Ensure your message is in line with your brand positioning
When your print ad is in line with your brand positioning, you can easily execute a different campaign from you TV creative. It doen't always have to be synchronic. Your print might want to tackle some of the (product) performance elements that would not be suitable for other media.