When this ad popped up in my tumblr feed I nearly fell out of my chair. Black and white? Long(ish) copy? Posted without comment?
(Okay that last bit wasn't all that surprising.)
I eagerly launched into reading the ad—and its siblings—but was consistently left flat.
For starters, It lacks the finesse of the ads it harkens back to. In terms of writing and art direction.
One of the most significant breaks from the copy style imitated here is the lack of line breaks.
Had the copy been parted out into individual sections it would have been punchier.
But it wasn't.
The paragraphs are almost nonsensical and don't add anything to the overall aesthetic.
I'll admit that some of the writing did make me chuckle. It was certainly interesting enough to make me check out the website.
There's also the matter of the "Thoughtful Intelligent Canadian" tagline that just sits perched atop the logo.
We won't get into that.
The effort to do something that respects the audience is there. Had this been tinkered with a little more it could have been a great ad.
It's commendable that the agency didn't simply stick a walrus on the page (like so many would be tempted to).
In fact, "Avoid Walruses" is a pretty good reminder to NOT go after the easy solution.
So avoid walruses. And check out Neil French's Chivas campaign if you want to see some great copy ads.