Romanticizing the product as they do here is a psychological advertising technique often used by retail. As a matter of fact, that’s how the tradition of giving a large diamond solitaire engagement ring was created – from a De Berre’s advertising campaign.

Looks like this ad from 1995 has found a permanent home in my creative morgue. Today is Day 13 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge. TGIF!

Day 12 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.

Thank goodness I’m taking the time to sort through my creative morgue, keeping only the very best, because this direct mailer was filed so deep that I’d forgotten all about it.

This brown paper bag has a message on one side and the address label, return address and postal indicia printed and glued to the other side. It serves as a visual aid and complements a concept designed to tug at the heart strings and loosen the purse strings of it’s recipient. It’s a keeper!

Today is Day 11 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.

This is one of my all-time favorite ads. I’ve had it for 10 to 15 years and from the looks of the holes in it, it’s even been push pinned to my wall at some time. The photo itself speaks volumes. Both ladies are school students wearing dresses and carrying metal lunch boxes. Gertrude is the Senior Adult Student of the Year and is 105 years old. What a touching human interest story and what a powerful photo. There’s minimal copy and lots of white space too, wonderful!!

This touching concept is just crying to be used in a banking, hospital or insurance ad. I’ll be filing this under “inspirational concepts” in my creative morgue.

Today is Day 10 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge. If you’d like to participate, please send me links to download or printed samples of creative work that you find inspiring. If it inspires me too, I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website. Or you could just post a comment.

This business card from Neenah Paper does it all! It represents the account manager, the company and the paper that it’s printed on. It shows how the paper performs with metallic ink and when die-cut, perforated and folded. It’s two-sided and uses the back to promote the paper and other papers that this company sells. It does all this while still keeping the design clean and airy.

This is Day 9 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge and I’m keeping this card to remind me that business cards can be mini brochures too!

I found this ad from 2008 filed under “type treatments” and will be keeping it but throwing out everything else in that old folder. Why am I keeping this one? The headline is a great example of how to take a strong message and make it even stronger. To a reader quickly glancing at the headline they read “learn.” and “lead.” and that gets directly to the point in just two words doesn’t it? Be sure to select the correct words that emphasize your point when using this technique.

Does anyone else find the writing behind the headline distracting or is it just me?

Join me in my 28-Day Creative Challenge. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my selections or if you can you provide a better example. I’d love to hear from you!

I love simplicity, don’t you? That’s why I’ve selected this piece for Day 8 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge. It seems to be a fairly simple concept but ask any designer or copywriter — it’s not easy to be simple.

One of the most common advertising mistakes made today is too much copy/text. For advertising to be effective, you must use as few words as possible in both print and web. This creative 6-panel piece for a NE Ohio hospital system does just that.

Be part of my 28-Day Creative Challenge by sending me links to download or printed samples of creative work that you find inspiring. If it inspires me too I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website.

Have a great weekend!

This Lord & Taylor ad may be old but it’s not outdated. I love the whimsical, hand-drawn, black and white artwork that I see so little of today. I’m keeping this ad to remind me that in this digital world of computer graphics and photos, smart hand-drawn artwork will always stand out from the crowd.

See how the headline becomes part of the fun and helps to turn this ad into a real eye-catcher? I can almost hear those yappy dogs now!

If this is the first you’ve heard of my 28-Day Creative Challenge, you may want to learn what it’s all about by reading: My Challenge: 28 Days To Clean Up My Creative Morgue. It’s a short post, only one paragraph – I promise.

I tore this ad from a magazine ages ago and am keeping it because a lot of thought went into this concept. It’s a concept that can be used in ads for just about anything visual – from eye surgery to optics to anti-drunk driving campaigns.

Make this creative ad concept your own by selecting a different subject for comparison. The Northern Cardinal and rosebud work well for binoculars. What would you suggest for an anti-drunk driving campaign?

You can be part of my 28-Day Creative Challenge by sending me links to download or printed samples of creative work that you find inspiring. If it inspires me too I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website.

Technorati.com seems to be having trouble finding me and my claim token number: CZDYB8SCUJBT. Can you find me now?

By showing a single row of shoes falling off the edge of an unusually narrow postcard, the designer has implied that DSW has plenty of these stylish heels to choose from. They’ve also used copper ink as an accent color which gives this piece an air of quality that translates to the merchandise.

The barcode at the bottom almost hides the text “Unleash your passion for shoes.” I wonder if the United States Postal Service charged DSW extra for this postal infraction? Always leave room for that barcode and if you’re not sure, check with the USPS Mailpiece Design Analyst assigned to your area.

I’m keeping this cleverly designed postcard in my creative morgue. This completes Day 5 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge.