How Visual Communication Shapes Brands: 10 Iconic Ads Explained

Ever since the emergence of businesses and companies in the modern world, it has been an imperative measure to bring consumers’ attention to their brand. Several marketing techniques have been employed throughout the years for the same to establish a concept called ‘branding’ – associating a product name or image with the qualities of the product in the consumers’ minds.

The most effective marketing tool to establishes a brand, one that has stood the test of time, is ‘Advertising’. From print to digital to audio/video, advertisements have evolved with the flow of time. To establish the impact an advertisement makes on a brand’s image, here are the 10 most creative and iconic advertisements that have ever been created:

Top 10 Iconic Ads Showcasing Visual Communication in Branding

1. Raid (Insecticide)

Raid is a brand of insecticide products created under S.C. Johnson & Son MNC. It is an effective product to kill all kinds of insects and to further cement their efficiency, Raid came up with this brilliant ad which is equal part creative, humorous, and eye-catching.

In this ad, you can see the extended laid-down arm of Spiderman on the floor of presumably a kitchen, indicating that it’s lifeless. The image of a Raid spray is placed beside the arm. The brand takes a cue from the world of superheroes and denotes that its insecticide spray is potent enough to kill one of the strongest superheroes i.e. Spiderman.

Not only does it give the viewers a chuckle, but it subtly creates an image in their minds that lasts for a long time. Next time anyone wants to buy an insect spray; they might immediately remember one of the most popular superheroes in the world – Spiderman. This helps them create a brand image.

2. Tesla

Tesla is a relatively new company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2003. It manufactures a premium range of automobiles, one whose designs and mode of operation are often the topic of discussion. With already an iconic logo to go with it, Tesla created this ad that establishes their prowess of speed. The ad in itself reads, “It takes 3.1 seconds to read this ad. The same time it takes a Model S to go from 0 to 60 mph.”

It was enhanced by a blurry image of a Tesla Model S, showcasing that the car is in high-speed motion. The ad is self-explanatory and it’s bound to attract curious customers who love the idea of fast cars with high torque.

3. IKEA

The World-famous Swedish furniture company came up with this creative ad at the cost of poking fun at a luxury fashion house. Last year, Spanish luxury giant Balenciaga launched a Beige-colored towel that cost $925 i.e. 77,000 INR. It generated a strong response from the public, most of whom were baffled by its high price. Some also mocked them for failing to be appealing.

IKEA got a grasp of this ad and the subsequent reaction of people, and they used it brilliantly to promote their product. They made an ad, displaying the Balenciaga beige towel wrapped on someone, side-by-side with a VINARN towel skirt wrapped on a similarly dressed person. Except, the VINARN towel skirt cost 16 Euros (roughly INR 1,422), in comparison to the $925 Balenciaga towel. Also, IKEA cheekily placed a lot of furniture behind the person and made him look smarter.

This was IKEA’s way of saying that instead of spending $925 for just a towel, one can only spend 16 Euros and get a towel as well as a whole lot of their furniture. It is an ingenious way of marketing their product.

➡️ Click to apply: Visual Communcation Design Course

4. Nike

Nike has already established a stronghold in branding with their ubiquitous tagline “Just Do It”. To further boost their motivational impact, they came up with this ad which served the message, “Yesterday You Said Tomorrow.” This ad establishes why Nike stands for pushing their athletes beyond their limits and at all costs. It ties their brand image to their ideals.

5. Porsche

Porsche, the German automobile luxury brand, very slyly announced their near-perfect performance in this ad with a humblebrag. In the ad, one can see Porsche coming out with the common adage – “Nobody’s Perfect”. They post that only to contradict it with the results of the 1983 Le Mans, an endurance-focused sports race, below it. Interestingly enough, 9 out of the top 10 positions in that year’s competition were all won by contestants driving a Porsche car. From 1st to 8th position, the podium finishers were all Porsche with the 9th position being BMW Sauber. The 10th position was again Porsche.

This way, not only did Porsche establish their image in the customers’ minds about their precision and perfection, but also indicated how fast their cars are.

6. KFC

KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken is possibly one of the most spoofed and parodied fast food brands in the world. That in itself is a compliment to their branding and logo. The letters K, F, and C, placed together in that font with the caricature of Colonel Harland Sanders along with it, have created an irrevocable and indelible image in customers’ minds. It speaks to their strength of brand identity.

Therefore, if looked around, one can find innumerable rip-offs of the brand like AFC, MFC, LFC, OFC, RFC, etc. In each case, the first letter represents the place of origin of each of those brands a la Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Now, KFC got hold of all such rip-offs and clubbed them together into one billboard-like image. Below that, they wrote, “Guys, We’re Flattered”. While none of those rip-offs ever officially admitted to basing their branding on KFC, KFC didn’t take any offense to it. Instead, they cleverly turned it around and made its full use in solidifying their brand.

7. MasterCard

US-based payment card services company MasterCard came up with a simple ad to show why they should be the preferable choice. Their logo is that of two circles partially merging to create a common elliptical region. It looks like a Venn Diagram, something out of Set Theory from Mathematics.

Therefore, MasterCard took full use of its identity. In the red circle on the left, they wrote “Things money can buy”, and in the yellow circle on the right, they wrote “Happiness”. At the central common region, they wrote “MasterCard”. This indicates that MasterCard can provide you with happiness and all the stuff money can buy. It was the perfect and smart use of their Venn Diagram-esque logo.

➡️ Click to apply: Visual Communcation Design Course

8. Ryanair

Irish airline Ryanair boasts of being “the world’s cheapest airline”. That is exactly what they printed out in their ad. However, the fashion in which they did it was impressive enough to leave a mark on customers. They denoted that a pizza might cost $19.99, the same price at which one can take a Ryanair flight from London to Pisa. Since it appeals to the masses and not the luxury class, they did a fairly good job of establishing their image.

9. Timex

Timex came up with a simple yet effective message in their ad which was put up on the billboard. The ad showed a Timex watch at the center of the billboard with a white background and a line written below it that read, “Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails.”

This was quite simply a poke at checking the time on one’s mobile phone – a habit that has become ubiquitous among people and has drastically reduced the sales of wristwatches, since Timex was a large market provider for it. When their business may or may not have been affected by the advent of mobile phones, it was opportune for them to make this ad. It simply redirects customers’ focus toward the benefits of wristwatches over mobile phones.

10. Audi

Audi came up with a brilliant short and simple clip that masterfully displayed the many benefits of buying an Audi car. The clip starts with a question posed to everyone, “What do you want in a car?” Then, four key rings of different automobile companies are placed on the wall hooks. Each keyring belongs to a rival brand of Audi, and each of them stands for some desirable quality. Alfa Romeo stands for ‘Design’, Mercedes stands for ‘Comfort’, Volvo stands for ‘Safety’, and BMW stands for ‘Sportiness’.

The genius behind the ad was that each of those four circular key rings when placed adjacent to each other, formed the Audi logo. It formed the four interlocked rings. This way, Audi was announcing that all of those aspirational qualities, each of which was present in each automobile brand, were all together available in any of their cars.

➡️ Click to apply: Visual Communcation Design Course