I found the attached ad while looking through ads on google. I found myself very interested in this specific ad. I think the people who created this ad were asking themselves what it was that hard rock cafe represents. The designers realized that their restaurant sold two major things: rock and food. They seemed to know exactly how to portray their concept and they decided to remove words completely except for their logo in the bottom right hand corner.
It’s a soft selling ad. The designers didn’t think it was necessary to put numbers or figures in the ad. Instead they tried to make the audience come by telling them that their food rocks as hard as their music, and they were able to say that without any words. It’s a unique idea and surprisingly very simple and some of the most effective ads are those that are simple and not overthought.
I also like the balance of the ad. I like the fork taking up the whole frame and your focus being on that. They could have blown up their logo a lot more if they wanted, but instead they decided to keep it small in the lower right almost as a side thought. It almost seems so out of the way that it’s like subliminal messaging. The colors they chose were strong and bold. The red compliments the silver for really well, and the radial gradient they put on the photo also makes it pop even more.
While creative, it’s hard to say if this ad is effective or not. I imagine myself driving down the road and seeing this image on a billboard. I can’t say for sure that it would immediately make me crave hard rock and make me desire their food for the next week. There’s something very appealing about seeing the food itself on billboards, but that’s probably just because I love food too much. However I like the fact that they decided to do the opposite of what all other food places are doing. Most food places just do the classic “look at this burger,” but hard rock knew they had a little more to market to consumers. With all that said, I do realize that this ad is mainly trying to let people know that a new hard rock cafe restaurant is opening as seen by the “Opening September 1,” and it’s possible they would get rid of this ad altogether once the restaurant actually opened. Regardless it’s a creative ad and one that wasn’t overthought.
https://ideasgohere.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/hard_rock_cafe___the_fork_2_by_raduolteanu.jpg
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