Simplicity: Land Rover Defender

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These days, simplicity is far from the norm, both in advertising and in life. A new product or campaign launch often contains an advergame or two, viral easter eggs, shot codes, fake viralesque videos, blogs, and on and on and on. We live in a world where multitasking is the norm and our brains are expected to do the filtering. That’s why it’s such a surprise when an ad is simple and makes a quick point without any hidden messages/games/web interaction/etc.
The print ad above, from RKCR Y&R in London for the Land Rover Defender is so simplistically perfect, it hurts. It’s not the greatest art direction ever and the copy isn’t earth-shattering, but it communicates a message well and quickly, without tumultuous effort. It can be done. And is worth remembering every now and then.