As I flipped through the magazine, it didn't take me long to establish the target audience: Women, particularly moms. Each advertisement has something to do with beauty products, food, children's medicine, or cars -- but not just any cars. We're talkin' the bulky family cars of the '90s, folks. And, since this is a magazine for moms, the advertisers made sure to stress the word "family" in each ad.
My first reaction upon seeing these car ads was distaste. Personally, I find most '90s cars unattractive, so I wrinkled my nose at each picture. But, I'm not here to discuss the prettiest car. In terms of design, some of the advertisements looked more appealing to the eye, while the others did not.
Firstly, let's start off with the more appealing ad. Now, I'm not a big fan of Ford, but the advertisers made the picture looks nice. I especially like how big the picture is. This helps the audience get a better feel for the design of the car. The white text at the bottom tells me exactly what the car is, which is appreciated. The side column highlights a few of the car's features in a clear, concise manner. Adding a picture of each feature makes the ad more engaging.
I enjoy how dark/light contrast works in this image. As a result, the car's body looks sleek and shiny. The shadow beneath the car distinguishes it from its surroundings. Sharp contrast exists between the earth and the sky. The car stands out in the middle with its curvy lines and reflective body. I see a small amount of contrast in the headlights and rims as well. This car has that brand-new shine all over!
There's also a few Gestalt things going on in this ad. I automatically grouped the symmetrical ovals in the column together following the Law of Similarity. All four tires touch the ground, so I see a clear figure/ground relationship. The car's position leads into the Law of Continuity in that it stands at a particular angle with the horizon line. That strong line leads me into the frame, through it, then back out.
Along with the clean layout, I think the certain design elements help make this advertisement more successful. It almost, just almost, makes me want to go out and buy a new car.
Oh, my...now, that is one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen. Er, no offense if you or someone you know drive one of these, but you won't catch me behind the wheel of that thing!
As you can probably tell, I don't like this ad. It's not just the car, but the layout is awkward, bulky, and boring. I mean, really, how many people are going to read all of that text? Not I, for one! This whole design just makes me uncomfortable. The disembodied hand jutting into the text doesn't help anything, either. I kind of understand that the advertisers had a space theme in mind, but that's it? That's as "outer-spacey" as they could get?
The lighter color contrast of the car works against the black backdrop. The car doesn't get washed out, and the color isn't so light that it distracts me or ruins the attempted theme. Although an obvious shine shows on the car, the car's position makes it look dull compared to the other one. The text looks fairly symmetrical, but the straight-across block looks rather bland. It does not get me any more excited about this car than I already am.
The only Gestalt principle I see here is the Law of Continuity. Like with the first car, a strong horizontal line guides me through the image.
Thanks to strong design principles, the first advertisement is a cleaner and more effective car advertisement.
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