COMD Agency

The COMD Agency aims at helping Pratt students transition from an educational experience to the professional world by providing the opportunity to become more involved within the active advertising commmunity, as well as creating a student identity for those interested in obtaining the most out of their college years.

Organized events will include guest speakers, portflio reviews, and other social gatherings allowing the advertising majors to develop a better sense of community and extended networking. We are also working on obtaining ADC (Art Directors Club) memberships for the participants, which will be discussed at the weekly group meetings:
Tuesdays at 12:45 Steuben 403.

Though advertising majors are strongly encouraged to participate, the agency is open to graphic design and illustration majors as well. If you have any questions concerning the COMD Agency, please feel free to ask.

Contact us:
gescobar@pratt.edu

Yahoo! New TV Anthem

Yahoo! makes themselves visible and fun with their new colorful and inviting anthem. Click here to check out the spot on Youtube.

Read more about the new "Y!ou" campaign here.

Love the pie, hate the chart

This site by "visual & data journalist" David McCandless is very inspiring.

The Americans 50th Anniversary

Swiss photographer Robert Frank had several photographs included in MoMA's 1955 "Family of Man" exhibition. Shortly after that, he turned away from all that optimism and looked more objectively at what he observed here in the states. This show at the Met celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publishing of "The Americans".

Bizarre Fish Found in Brazil

Six-foot long jelly-like fish was accidentally found by the Bahia coast in Brazil. Very big and weird. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of it. But here is the link of the video from National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090922-bizarre-gelatinous-fish-brazil.html. Pretty cool. Check it out guys.

Serena

Article: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i74837948a5cbe20d9a6d779bd43a3d16?imw=Y

youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13xx50-ES2A&feature=player_embedded

I thought this was an interesting response to Serena's tantrum at the US Open. Follow the links.

Your Flight, Swiss Made

Client: Swiss
Agency: Publicis Zürich, Switzerland
If you have a few minutes to spare, do check out this amazing spot for Swiss, which further demonstrates how brilliant cinematography can provoke an emotional reaction in the viewer.
This was clearly the intended purpose for a well-known company like Swiss, whose goal was perhaps to simply 'wow' the viewer, in order that he/she then associates that emotion with the service provided.

Link: SWISS

Advertising: It's A Cultural Thing

Client: InterSport
Agency: AdmCom Bologna, Italy
If you saw this ad in North America, I'm quite sure it would not be long before you started hearing complaints about the image's content. However, if I were to tell you it was produced by an Italian agency for an Italian client, posted up in the city of Rome, where a group of strolling nuns is nothing out of the ordinary, well..that just about changes everything doesn't it?

Client: Volkswagen
Agency: Lowe Zürich, Switzerland
Targeting the right audience, and speaking to them directly is a critical part of advertising. It is a great enough challenge already to communicate efficiently to the selected market in a country that speaks one language, so how do you go about that in a country where they speak four? Using cultural reference and popular knowledge is one of the most exploited means to vehicle an idea. Yet as we've seen, the universality of a message can often be limited by geographical borders and linguistic barriers.

Client: Volkswagen
Agency: KSB/SJ Zürich, Switzerland
Does anyone who isn't German get this?
In central Europe, it is custom when transporting large objects that exceed the car's space to place a little red handkerchief at the end in order to signal other drivers' attention. Is this a good ad? If its target audience understands, does it matter that we might not? If German Volkswagen distributors are making a profit, then for all intents and purposes it must be.

ComD Agency

Tuesday is the first information meeting of the year for the ComD Agency. This is the student run club that will be focusing on creating a dialogue between Advertising students and Art Directors through lectures, studio tours, portfolio reviews and other events.   
Tuesday, September 15 12:45 PM Steuben, room 403   
Since this club is just forming, it seems like an excellent chance to get involved from the start. I'd like to see some of my top students get involved.

All Your Dreams Belong To Us

London street artist D*Face has a U.S. debut show at Jonathan Levine Gallery. Mark Dean Veca is also showing with a smaller solo exhibit.

Informative Advertising

Agency: The Richards Group
Client: Episcopal New Church Center
Pitching an ad for a church must be a pretty hard thing to sell. Especially since their is no real product, service or any kind of monetary transaction involved. Working with informative advertising is all about moving people to action.
In this brilliant ad, the agency succeeds in addressing the brief, who's main focus was targeting young adults who had lost interest in their religion or felt the church was too sectarian.

Agency: Unknown
Client: La Ligue Contre le Cancer
Here is another powerful example of informative advertising. This ad conceived for a French organization against tobacco demonstrates how image and text complement one another by suggesting a cigarette autopsy and labeling the toxic substances found inside.
The copy reads: Autopsy of a murderer

Minimalism

Agency: Unkown
Client: BIC
When working on a product that has been around for some time, one might deduce that its practical benefits are well known to the general public. At this point, the ad can serve more as a reminder of the product's value, and go on to play on an emotional quality.

Agency: Unkown
Client: BIC
Another example of an ad in which the product's function is demonstrated in a simple and efficient way. The creativity displayed here transcends the two dimensional plane of a roadside billboard and uses the surroundings to communicate the product's efficiency.

Borrowed Imagery

Agency: Unknown
Client: Foundation for Allergy Prevention
A great example of how popular imagery can be used in a completely offset way, in order to reinforce the ad's message. It's interesting to note the obscenities they get away with in the copy by using such contradicting visuals.

Agency: Unknown
Client: LEGO
The intention to mimic a tremendously popular photo for this ad is both witty and effective. LEGO allows a child to play, imagine and build whatever he/she wants, and it all starts with a few simple building blocks. By replacing the construction workers with children, the ad conveys a lot about the product without ever having to make reference to it. A strong visual and a logo, that's it.

Psychedelic Concert posters

Optical illusions

Dada Film