Darby - Final Spoof Ad

Nastassia Darby - Spoof Ad Final

I completely changed my original idea for the spoof ad project. I originally wanted to break the interpretation and trust in Google as an "all knowing" entity. My approach was to create a google doodle and illustrate a shaman or witch doctor, changing the name to "Bamboozle". I completed some preliminary sketches, but after the second critique I no longer felt confident in my idea. I decided to spoof something that is more easily understood and I wanted something that I could make humorous. I stumbled upon the perfect product to spoof after a mishap when I bought another brand of coffee. After getting sick from Maxwell House coffee, I did some research and found other complaints. I immediately thought of "Bowel House" or "Maxwell Outhouse" as the title for my project and decided on the later. Maxwell House coffee brand with the logo "Good to the Last Drop!", became Maxwell Outhouse, "Good to the Last  Plop!".

Because my work is usually deconstructive and contains many elements, I challenged myself with this project to create a minimal ad. I was influenced by the minimal advertisements we viewed in class like the work from Apple and more specifically, the Faber-Castell colored pencil advertisements that feature morphs of the the colored pencils into objects. I took the same approach in seeing the aerial shape of a coffee mug as a toilet. I did not want to use photographs so I illustrated the coffee mug/toilet on a grid in illustrator. I feel my piece stands out because it is minimal and unusual. In the first ad example, the only two elements on the page is the mug and the product logo, and the product logo summarizes the image. I made the elements asymmetrical on a grid so that the viewers eyes can travel across the whole page and I believe the geometric shape of the blank space ads to visual intrest. The second ad example contains the text "Wake up and smell the..." and I added this for extra hilarity just in case viewers cannot make out the image right away.

The purpose of my Maxwell House spoof ad is to humorously warn viewers that Maxwell House coffee makes you sick. I believe this ad has appeal because of familiarity. In no way am I trying to be inappropriate, but getting the runs after a bad cup of coffee is an all too familiar occurrence for most coffee drinkers. My target audience is coffee-drinkers, but because the subject matter of my ad is rather crude, my most specific target group is young professional men who want to enjoy an unexpected laugh on their way to work. This group most likely enjoys GQ magazine so that is where I chose to campaign.

Overall, I am happy with my final project. I believe the aesthetics of the composition is successful because it is eye-catching despite being minimal. The weakness of my ads are in the logo. I was unable to find the logo type so I used an alternate font, but it stands out from the original logo.