Simple Yet Noticeable
Kellogg’s developed this ad campaign in 2008 to promote new flavors of the classic cereal. Leo Burnett created a full campaign for every flavor. The original ad can be found here: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/kelloggs_strawberry
Let’s look at this simple layout for five design elements including contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity and color that make it noticeable and pleasant to read. In this example, I chose “Strawberry”.
Contrast
The contrasting images from the clear mini wheat to the slightly blurry reflection draws the reader in.
Notice the contrast of the text used throughout the ad. The comic style bubble has hand-written text. The information about the product is more formal, yet the tag line is in a casual font. Each carries a distinct message. The comic bubble conveys humor, the product description clarity and the tag link is catchy.
Repetition
The overall color of pink gives the reader the idea of the flavor of mini wheat. In the overall campaign, each flavor has a different color; pink for strawberry, blue for blueberry, brown for cinnamon.
The use of the comic bubble with a humorous message for each color makes it fun to seek out every ad if in a magazine. It also ties in all the separate ads.
Alignment
The ad has a pleasing rule-of-thirds spacing generally used in photos. This brings the readers eye tot he center where the most important message is.
Down in the bottom third, the product description and tag line are flush right to the cereal box image.
Proximity
The mini wheat and the image are grouped together in close proximity. This organizes the actions in the images so the reader understands they belong and are part of the humor.
The text is close to the cereal box picture helps the reader understand this isn’t part of the humor above, rather explaining what the product is.
Color
The monochromatic color of pink clearly carries the message of the flavor. The light hues can be seen at the top of the page and become slightly darker.
The dark, solid hues of pink emphasis the mini wheat. The text is easy to read in the darker pink, but doesn’t overwhelm the center image.
Conclusion
Overall, each of the five elements compliment the others. The use of the monochromatic color repeating in the background, image and text is subtle and soft, yet the reader knows what flavor the cereal is. There is enough contrast to draw the eye to the different sections, and the proximity makes it easy to understand the differences of the cartoon theme and the product description. In this case, simple is clean, pleasing and still very distinct!
M's Musings 