One of the
harsh but very true statements I have heard from my university lecturers was
that it is easy to advertise for big, posh, aspirational brands. More money is
available for their advertising, they often embody strong emotional metaphors
and, because of their aspirational nature, people will pay attention to them.
A probably
more difficult challenge is to create a powerful message for boring products
which, by themselves, may not carry any meaning regarding a consumer’s status,
beliefs, or personality and may be very hard to distinguish from their
competitors. That being said, the product we’re going to try and redesign, from
an advertising perspective, is… Napolina!
Italy, as a
symbol, has many strong associations linked to it. With ambassadors like
fashion, cuisine and politics carrying those associations throughout the world,
they become embedded in the minds of consumers and serve to add to the
heuristic map by which they give meaning to the world around them. This offers
an incredible opportunity for Napolina, which hasn’t really taken enough
advantage of its Italian heritage to boost its profile and sales to full
potential.
1. The Italian boot
This ad uses
the strong colours of the Italian flag, together with a black background, to
create a strong and colourful contrast that serves to grab attention. The
colours of the Italian flag also resonate very well with the product. Green is
often used to suggest freshness, youth, health and natural while red, besides
being the colour of tomatoes, is also commonly associated with passion and sex
and serves to further draw the audience due to its common use as a cue to
indicate something of high importance.
The boot squashing
the tomato plays a dual role since, on the one hand, it reinforces the identity
of the product due to Italy being said to resemble a boot and, on the other
hand, the type of boot and the fact that it is squashing a tomato is suggestive
of bondage or S&M sexual practices and serves to tap into the viewer’s
inner impulses and desires. Furthermore,
the need for food and sex are deeply embedded in our nature, a fact which
creates a strong bond between the two.
The only copy
used is the slogan, which feeds on the elements described above and which is
self-explanatory.
2.
The stomping
You are
outside in the Italian countryside, surrounded by clear blue skies while the
warm, radiant sun caresses your face. All around you, the only things you can
see for miles are green-fielded hills with small villages and crops on top,
giving the whole scenery a strong, rural and cosy feeling of peacefulness and
joy. In front of you are two Italian women: dark hair, olive-tanned skin,
beautiful, with bare feet, jumping and stomping tomatoes in a large wooden vat.
For one split second, time seems to stop and you can see the women frozen in
the air, right before falling back down to stomp the tomatoes. Their hair
loose, their faces covered in radiating smiles and their hands holding.
That split second is then
captured and framed. In the bottom of the capture, the slogan and brand reveal
themselves: "Napolina – Feed your dreams…"
3. The
Mafioso
You are in a dark dead-end alley at night, with walls behind you, left
and right. The only distinguishable source of light is a neon Italian flag in
the window of a shop, far in the background. In front of you is an Italian mobster
with a cigar in his mouth. He grins at you while holding a gun in one hand and
a can of Napolina chopped tomatoes in the other.
The slogan states: "Napolina – I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse."
4. On
the catwalk
A stylish fashion event has drawn a large crowd around the catwalk.
Journalists, critics, designers and other industry VIPs are attending. Models
come and go, showing the newest and most outrageous collections to the delight of
the audience. Suddenly, something happens! Everybody rushes to get closer to
the catwalk, journalists flash their cameras to get a better shot, screams and
excitement fill the room. On the tip of the catwalk and in the middle of the
commotion, a tomato with a stylish large and a ribbon with the Italian flag
basks in all the attention.
The slogan: "Napolina – Never goes out of style"
5. Italy…
in a CAN!
The last idea attempts to target a different audience, looking to grab
the attention of the younger consumer.
A pizza, a bowl of pasta and a
serving of risotto are pictured together. The headline asking: “What do they
have in common?” In the bottom of the frame, the copy states: “They are
delicious, they are Italian, they are Napolina.“
Thank you for taking the time to check out my ideas. In the process of coming up with these ideas, many didn't make the cut because they did not maintain the USP. However, some of them might be quite good and will be posted later on, in a separate post.
Have a great day :)
