Creative Review
The Hytrin Balloon is the “Ad I Wish I’d Done,”says Jeff Lipman.The borrowed interest is a simple and telegraphic approach for BPH.Every detail of the imagery, from the color and shadow to the high lights, was meticulously thought out.The payoff headline, “Free the Flow” works in harmony with the imagery of the clear flow of water depicted in the visual. The headline leads the eye to the logo and tag line, “For Fast, Effective Relief.” The copy likens the drug therapy to a solution as simple as releasing the clothespin seen on the cover panel.This ad is an example of prob lem/solution minimalism at its best,proving that less truly is morememorable. For Jeff Lipman,VP,creative director,Catalyst Communications Inc., South Plainfield, N.J., Abelson Taylor’s clean,fresh approach inspires agencies and clients to develop their ownHytrinBalloons. … an accomplishment Abel sonTaylor is now famous for. As an art director, this is the type of advertising I strive to emulate.As the creative director, this is the level of creativity and branding I encourage my entire depart ment to achieve. I applaud AbelsonTaylor for its ability to consistently produce such strategic, creative campaigns. Scott Watson,VP,creative director,Torre Lazur McCannHealthcareWorldwide,Parsippany,N.J., encourages his department to achieve the level of creativity andbranding depicted by AbelsonTaylor Inc.s’ Hytrin balloon. Brand:Hytrin Balloon Ad Client: Abbott Laboratories Debuted: 1993 Agency:AbelsonTaylor Inc. Art:Stephen Neale Copy: Jeff Chouinard Hytrin Quick. Smart. Relevant. Memorable. The Hytrin balloon embodies all of the classic branding and marketing charac teristics … and more. I first remember hearing about this advertisement in the halls of Torre Lazur, then Salthouse Torre Norton.Although that was years ago, I vividly remember the buzz the ad created. I was,and still am, impressed by the simplicity and power of the concept.The bright red balloon with a hand relieving the pressure speaks clearly to the solution, while the headline works to solidify the message.With this concept, the creative team managed to symbolize the disorder and depict the patient’s distress in a memorable, iconlike graphic Jeff Lipman Scott Watson reativity in the pharmaceutical industry involves more than just a pretty picture and some clever words. The develop ment of an impactful, and successful, creative campaign starts with good strategy. This month, AbelsonTaylor’s Hytrin Balloon campaign was identified by two healthcare advertising creative executives as having a good, strong strat egy and an equally strong creative effort. At the time of its debut in 1993, the Hytrin Balloon campaign was considered ground breaking. Today, the ad still resonates with creative directors as an example of simplicity and power. The other two ads featured this month are ads that have withstood the test of time. The Sudler &Hennessey Bentyl ad and the Medicus Demulen ad are considered “timeless” in their execution by today’s creative execu tives. Both of these ads have something in common: simplicity and clever execution. C For Art’s Sake of problem/solution minimalism at its best.
Creative Review
Timelessness …the test of all great ads. And this one sure ly passes the test. After almost 50 years, the Bentyl Spasm ad is still current, effective, and delivers tremendous impact. The ad is really the epitome of less is more. The metaphor of the slinky simply communicates the benefit of Bentyl,and nicely balanced copy says just enough but not too much. Herb Lubalin crafted Don Clark’s copy so that it becomes art. A bal ance of white space and the lack of interfering elements allowed Mr. Lubalin to set the type so large that it is impossible to miss the message. The headline leads the eye across the layout to the core visual idea and then vertically on to the long copy and the dosing information. Brand:Bentyl Slinky Ad Client: TheWm.S.Merrell Co. Debuted: 1954 Agency:Sudler &Hennessey Art: Herb Lubalin Copy:Don Clark Bentyl The Bentyl Spasm ad is what all pharmaceutical ads should be:simple, to the point, and elegant. Abby Mansfield and Bill Dutton,VP,creative directors, at Topin & Associates Inc., aChicagobased healthcare advertising agency, identify Sudler & Hennessey’s Bentyl Slinky ad as passing the test of time.They say the Bentyl execution is an example of what all pharmaceutical advertising should be: simple, to the point,and elegant. Simple, to the point, and elegant. I love this ad every time I see it. Rather than just telling a story, it accomplishes what every ad should: it creates a relationship between the brand and the viewer.Too many ads are so literal and overstocked with information that the message gets sent,but without the emotional force that imprints a reader with empathy and desire.Ads should transfer enthusiasm. This one delivers. Copy and art work so well as a team that the value of each is found only in rela tion to the other.The spare black squiggle is clear healthcare advertising agency based in NewYork, the Demulen ad tells more thana story, it creates a relationship between the brandand the viewer. Brand: Demulen 1/35 Contender Client: G.D. Searle &Co. Debuted:NA Agency:Medicus Art: John Hegquist,Caroline Cooper Copy:Steven Gold Demulen 1/35 enough to represent a sperm,but with a whimsical appeal that elevates the visual to become some thing bigger — a personality with which we can identify.The copy,which is borrowed from one of the most endearing scenes in an American film, co opts the plight of Marlon Brando’s character,creat ing a context that is both familiar and new.We rec ognize how noble efforts often can be frustrated by a more formidable force in life.Yet, here, we are made to realize that this force is Demulen.The jux taposition provides a bold new way to think about efficacy in an oral contra ceptive — one rendered simply enough to stay in our hearts,and therefore in our minds. For Vince Parry,executive VP, chief creative officer,Sudler & Hennessey,a fullservice, Vince Parry Abby Mansfield andBill Dutton 67 PharmaVOICE S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 00 1