Brayden McCall
Summary:
For this project, I was instructed to take an idea I had previously come up with in class and turn it into a full-on ad campaign. I chose an idea I had for a Timberland ad. I had to create a target market and creative brief, come up with a strong big idea, create ads that fit that big idea and the creative brief, and then create social media posts to go along with my campaign. This project challenged me and was a lot of work, but I am pleased with the final result.
Ideation:
My ideation for this project was mostly talking through my ideas with my classmates and professor. My original idea was an image of two guys having just completed a hike through a burning forest or a volcano. Their clothes would be burned and one guy would be missing his shoes, while the other would have completely clean Timberlands. While talking about this with my classmates and professor, the focus shifted from the two guys to the weird scenario that they were in. Eventually, I decided to cut people from the ads altogether and just focus on a Timberland boot going through odd situations.
Sketches:
After ideating I went on to sketching. My original sketches were a little all over the place. I put down my original idea just to see how I felt about it when I saw it. The rest of my sketches were of boots in strange situations. After discussing these sketches in class, it was decided that I would not use people in my ad and focus on the absurdity of putting a boot through odd situations. Part of my creative brief involved the boots being tough and long lasting, so I wanted my absurd situations to reflect that as well.
Ideation and First Round Sketches
My second round of sketches were a lot more clean. I decided on three scenarios to show in my ads and sketched those. The first was a Timberland boot after someone tried to cut in with a sword. The sword is broken and the boot is in good shape. The second sketch showed an alligator trying to eat a boot and getting stuck. The final sketch was of a car with a flat tire after having run over a boot. The boot was not damaged. These sketches and ideas were well received, but some changes to my layout and content were suggested. It was suggested that I take out a lot of the extra detail in my sword sketch and just focus on the sword and the boot, and that I zoom in on the car to put the focus more on the boot.
Critique:
After sketches, I went to digital and started work on my final ad. These digital versions went through many rounds of critique and revisions before they were finished. The first round of critique was very helpful. It was recommended to me that instead of using real backgrounds like a wooden table or a sky, that I try solid colors instead. It was also suggested that I try a torn paper effect and handwritten headlines.
The second round of critique went pretty well as well. I implemented the changes suggested from the last round and got some more good feedback. First, my headlines were a little generic and could be better. Secondly, I should make the logos bigger. Finally, I should try adding a little bit of damage to the boots while leaving them mostly intact.
During the third round of critique it was suggested that the damage that I added to the boots be a little more realistic. That was the main feedback I got this round.
Social Media:
For social media, I tried a few ideas. First I wanted to create user engagement, so I created a post that prompted users to share the story of what their Timberlands have gone through. My second post was mostly a prompt to go to a website, telling users that we hired stuntmen to do crazy stuff with their Timberlands. The final post was centered around the alligator ad. I tagged Robert Irwin, son of Steve Irwin, and said something about getting him a pair of Timberland boots to protect him from alligators.
Why does my Big Idea work?
I think my big idea works for a campaign because of the absurdity of it. There are tons of situations you could depict a Timberland boot surviving at many levels of absurdity, making for as many different ads as you want. Some ideas I had for this that didn’t end up getting used were a Timberland boot surviving a nuke, a Timberland boot being thrown into a volcano, and a Timberland boot crossing a field of buzzsaws. The possibilities are near endless. This also leans into social media well. You could prompt users to come up with their own ideas, maybe with a contest and a prize. Certain scenarios could be recreated in real life (by professionals and not users) and posted on social media. I believe that this idea works well for a campaign.
Knowledge Gained:
This project definitely prompted me to think creatively about advertising. It was fun for me to get to create something that I thought was cool, and it challenged me by testing how well I could make what I saw in my head show up on a page. I learned a lot about the process of pulling a campaign out beyond just a few ads, and how important it is to put a lot of thought into tying a campaign into social media. I also gained more confidence and skill in Photoshop. I truly feel that this project pushed me past where I was before and that I will be able to use what I learned to make cool stuff in the future.
