Advertising

William (Bill) Bernbach was born in New York City on the 13^th August 1911 and died in 1982. He was a famous advertising director and one of the co-founders of DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc.). He has created many famous ads and had a long lasting impression on advertising. He was known for his simplicity in design but also humour and an unorthodox style.

During and after the Second World War, the American government wanted Americans to think big.  They were sold a life which they were expected to aspire to, but it was all false. These big ways of thinking and ‘The American Dream’ were especially prominent in the way in which they advertised. Many of the ads of that time were very over the top and glamorous, they also expected its audience to spend lots of money. These ads didn’t appeal to most of America so it wasn’t talking to its audience. DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc.) were commissioned by VW to create an ad for its new VW Beetle. Bernbach broke all the rules of advertising and changed it for the better with this simple ad. It featured the phrase ‘Think Small’ which was the complete opposite to what the Americans were told to think. The car in the ad was also small with a lot of blank space. This weird and new to American advertisements and they never seen anything like it. But by having the car small and lots of blank space, it creates a better level of visual hierarchy; with the car being the first thing that your eyes are drawn to. 

Imagery is not the only important thing to think about when designing ads; you also have to think about the use of language to sell a product. Many of Bernbach’s ads for VW also showed a great skill of Visual language, this sometimes was more powerful than the imagery itself. One of the most famous ads featured just the word ‘LEMON’ and above it was an image of a VW Beetle. In America Lemon is seen as an insult, but Bernbach turned it round and made it humorous. This was a great use of visual language making the audience gasp and maybe be insulted. But at least they would remember the ad.

By looking at Bernbachs work it has inspired me greatly. It has taught me to think outside the box and try and break the rules when designing. You shouldn’t follow the current trend of design; you should create your own trend.