Creating a Theater Ad That Pops!

One of my recent projects was to create a marketing ad to be displayed in a local theater for the vocational programs at Cerro Coso College. The ad entices viewers to visit a web page to sign up for more information about the programs. This web page collects requests for more information through a form and provides links to the various program sites. The page collects the number of hits received. There is a redirect page for each program page that also collects the clickthrough's so that we can capture the number of hits for each program through the site. The ad was created in Photoshop, saved as a jpeg, and the companion page was done in FrontPage.

With this ad I wanted to design something where the main tag line “What’s in YOUR future?” would really pop. Since the theater itself is usually dark when the slides are being displayed, I used the black environment and a reduced color palette to create a subtle design where the primary text jumps out against the expanse of black of the entire screen. Using monotone pictures helps the text to jump out, and keeps the visual collected. If all of the photos were in full color the pictures would be visually distracting and pull the attention away from the text, which is where we want our viewers to focus their attention. Since the ad is displayed for a considerable length there is time for the viewer to explore the visuals and review the list of programs after reading the initial text.

The companion page uses a very similar design, pulling from the same color palette as the ad, to bring continuity to the overall package. Using a thumbnail of the ad helps the viewer to clearly identify that this is where they want to be. Tying the designs together, instead of using the standard college website interface, brings a higher sense of professionalism and visual continuity to the entire package. Using the program visuals in the ad to serve as links to the program websites is a good way to make visual connections with the programs. These graphics, also used in other marketing materials related to occupational education, help to establish connections with the programs and the other materials that viewers may already be familiar with, helping to strengthen the branding. Overall, a pretty enjoyable and quick project.