Genre Research.

        I had a hard time finding “Print Advertisement 101” resources. Instead, I began looking for articles that had compiled some of the top print ads of recent times. I would notice the simplicity of some advertisements (Nivea Night), while some advertisements were impossible to look at once because of their powerful messages (Mom’s Demand Action).

        While the print’s actual strategy is extremely important in getting someone’s attention, I needed to look more into the groundwork of creating an ad. Fortunately, one of my mentors (an alum from The University of Michigan working as a creative in an advertising agency) was able to teach me the basics of developing a print ad.

        Here are the things I learned.

• -  There are a few general forms of advertising: media, digital, and print. Focusing on print, print ads are found in magazines, newspapers, flyers and posters, billboards, and direct mail.

• -  It is important to figure out whom an ad is targeted at, where an ad will be marketed, and why an ad is being created. These implications will affect what type of print advertising will be the most effective and impactful.

• -  Know the focus product, service, or firm well. At the end of the day, advertisements are created to influence the public to think, act, or purchase a certain way, and without extensive knowledge of the focal core, this task becomes more difficult.

• -  There are two ways print ads are created. 1 – an ad with a powerful, rememberable headline that is only accompanied by a graphic, or 2 – an ad with a manipulative graphic with a streamlined headline.

• -  Many print ads don’t end with the print ad. They often are built upon a larger campaign: whether that be a website, trend creation, or event.

        Here were two of my many favorite print ads I came across while researching. One of each of the types of print ad that I mentioned before.