Beauty in Advertising {reprised}

{sponsors at The Bright Side Project}

So, for quite a while, I was ripping out from my magazines all the gorgeous advertisements that made me pause for BIA.  And I still have stacks of ads laying around -- but silly technology, and our scanner breaking down, and wow, has it really been nearly 6 months since my last post in that installment?

Well, I still pause after the ads -- but lately, it's the blog-sponsors that have been catching my eye.  Has anyone else been intrigued by these gorgeous/fun buttons and clicked on over?  Above and below are compilations of just two of my faves (over at The Bright Side Project and at Mint).

{sponsors at Mint Design Blog}

And no, I'm not getting paid to do this ... but these are just... I want this.  A button, that is. Or something equivalent to a button. Something compact, yet so eyecatchingly lovely, you feel compelled to click.  Like, an excellent quote, almost, except a visual summary of Me.  Not that I'm sure where I'd put it, or really, what I'd do with it.  But doesn't it sound lovely?

And yes, sometimes, it's the moving gifs that are the ones that catch my eye (but not the super fast-moving ones, those give me a headache).  The moving lovelies are the ones who have maybe 3 good images (like Twig & Thistle, over at Bright Side), and sort of hover in the background until the image subtly shifts, and then your eye moves to the area, and then you think, "Oh, that is quite lovely, what else do they have.."

Or maybe I'm just that nuts.  Well, as I said before, I like to think that I appreciate beauty everywhere -- and hey, advertisers get to make a living out of that, so we might as well celebrate their eye and talent, yes :)?

PS: And speaking of Mint: I love Ellie's ad layout for her own store, and then right below that, a link to her line at Bella Figura -- just so simple, but yet the lovely images (key, I think) quietly, compellingly beckon.  And even better: aren't her designs just.lovely?

BIA: perfection

{Real Simple}

Seriously. Doesn't that look crazy comfy? And by comfy, I mean luxurious?

Chandelier? check.
Softness everywhere, though lighting + sinking into pillowtop + casually elegant bedding + bedclothes? check.
Simple and cute re-phrased reference/invocation of fairy-tale-imagery and weddings, thus tying into Vera's amazingness in the wedding world? check.

Brilliant.

Even in chopping off the gigantic VERA WANG across the middle still gets the picture across. Well, the emotion behind it anyway :D, since okay, now you no longer see the bed, thus nullifying the point of advertising for Serta :D

Gorgeous!

BIA: never say never

{Real Simple}

Hee hee hee hee hee -- can you imagine if taxicabs actually *did* look like this? How terrific!! But I have to admit -- I would totally settle for that cute oversized chair!

BIA: paint petals

{Glamour}

How incredible that Sherwin Williams totally got paints = flowers, right? Now, I'm not exactly sure where these colors would go, but they go *great* in this ad :)

BIA: hmm

{Real Simple}

I'll admit, I wasn't a huge fan of this ad at first. For some reason, it just made me so conscious (now watch out, I'm exposing my hyper-awareness-borderline-paranoia of gender stereotypes) -- but seriously, I could only think, "Why is Pam assuming a woman's doing the dishes + fighting this caked on crap?"

But, aren't I pausing because she's in construction gear? Which I generally associate with males? So maybe it's me that's terribly guilty of gender stereotypes?

Then I told myself to chill, it's an ad. And then it made me laugh out loud. Because I have *totally* felt this way, attacking dishes. (Sidenote: see, check out those white pants. What did I tell you!)

And is anyone else distracted by that yummy-looking banana bread? At least, that's what I assume that is :D

BIA: crops

I'm not sure why white watches on a rock are so appealing. But they are.

{Real Simple}

And I swear, this is one of those ads that I feel I could totally crop + frame. Like...

or...

BIA: this is why alcohol is great

This is an ad for wine. Isn't that nuts? I *love* it!

In full, it looks like:


And of course I totally dig that hoodie. Man.

BIA: Brilliant

via Real Simple

Literally, though. I love this lighting. And the whole ad totally makes me want to crawl into bed. *Genius.* Sidenote: can you imagine what kind of styling it took to get this look? Like, some romping around? Several shots of the pillows one way, then another? A little more turn down? I don't know if I have the patience for that :D But mmm, looks so posh + cozy + inviting, right?

BIA: Fun colors

via Glamour

Unfortunately, I can't remember for the life of me what this was an ad for. It's not the scooter (surprise!). Fashion, maybe? Or perfume. But isn't that what y'all would guess, too :)? Who knows -- I just love the hair + bright scarf + the outfit + how perfectly that scooter accessorizes the outfit too :)

BIA: unruly tulips any day

{Real Simple}

But um I would love to be taken over by unruly tulips. They seem like such a peace-loving flower, right? Who best to get taken over by? Roses have those killer thorns. Ranunculus (my current fave, more recently upstaging my 10+-year devotion to tulips) and peonies have all those gorgeous petals that could totally smother you. And daisies -- well, they've got that unfortunate association with death. (Don't they? Or am I totally not getting the idiom right?) Anyway. Sounds rockin to me.

BIA: Keep guessing

{Real Simple}

I bet you'll never guess what this one's for.


****************


Guess again.




***************

Armstrong flooring. Yup. THE FLOORING.

And even better?

It's FAUX wood. Like, laminate. !! Crazy, right? But the ad -- I just love all the colors. Okay, and the shapes. Okay, and yes, they pop amazingly against that floor. Good job, stylist.

BIA 4: that something

{via Glamour}

So, other than Gain, the best smell in the world to me (excluding food, also, because that doesn't quite apply here) is when you take down your hair after having it in a ponytail, and your delicious-smelling shampoo/conditioner wafts all around you. Tell me you know what I'm talking about. B/c it truly is the best: you know you smell good, so you feel good, and so you feel beautiful. Well, I do anyway :D And this ad *totally* makes me feel all that. Though maybe I'm a bit influenced by the phrase "Smell unforgettable." (And okay, again disclaimer: this is also not an ad but a Glamour tip. But still.)

And of course, I think this photo is just gorgeous on its own: lighting. capture of movement + fun. pause definitely pressed.

BIA 3: Making the un-glamourous glamourous

(via Glamour}

Yeah, I bet you've missed looking at ads with me. But, lucky you, BIA's back! (Gosh a whole month almost!!)

But seriously. This reminds me of those old vacuum commercials (or other cleaning products) where the woman is *all* dolled up (and wearing an insanely cute white outfit or something) -- I mean, hello, do you ladies dress like this when you shave? (egads, I think my hubs would be excited if I just slept in something like this, let alone shaved in it!) But man, that is a cute cami, yes? And I'm not even going to (seriously, in-depth) discuss that gorgeous bathroom. Or how much fun shaving apparently is. But hey, the ad totally made me stop and drool just a little :D (lace! bright white! clean! (implied) claw-footed tub! chandelier! man...)

BIA 2

{Glamour}

Okay, so technically this is not an ad, it's some beauty tips article. But still. Holy cow, right! I mean, of course the model is a good chunk of why this piece is so stunning, but the photographer, wow! I think I'm a photographer, but my attempts to shoot pieces for a gift album have been... let's say "less than stellar." Boo, I thought I was so artistic! Well, I do know how to convert the above into black & white -- even more gorgeous, right?

Beauty everywhere (even advertising)

I'm hoping I'm not the only one out there -- but sometimes, flipping through magazines, I am simply blown away with how beautiful the photography is. And I'm not talking super fancy magazines -- just Real Simple and Glamour. (Okay, and Bon Appetit, but the photography in that one is crazy stunning, no surprise: food photography is nuts. [hee hee])

But I'm not even talking about magazine photojournalists -- I'm talking about the print ads. Simply stunning. Some, I've framed -- three monochromatic pieces of nature, actually: closeups of a brilliantly green leaf, a stunning red flower of some sort, and... maybe something yellow? I can't recall at the moment. But others -- either they just make me sigh, or seriously want, or-- perhaps crazily--laugh out loud, it's such a genius advertisement.

So, here's to starting Tuesday mornings with beauty. I've got a good batch to start off with, so don't mind me post-dating a few (such genius of Blogger!). Some of these won't come out as well as in person, but we'll just make do.

Here's my first -- I decided to go easy, and pick one I didn't have to comment on, b/c of this lengthy intro. Except perhaps to say hubba hubba (hahaha). It's for contact lenses. CONTACT LENSES. Geniuses to place this in a women's magazine, no?

{glamour}

or, for those of you wanting a closeup: