Some time back, while enjoying a rare glass of beer with a friend of mine who runs a very creative consumer advertising agency, he let slip the comment: "There's no good design in pharma advertising".
With an ND, HND, BA (Hons) degree under my belt and having come from a consumer-based background into 15 years of pharma advertising myself, it has always been my goal to ensure everything we create is grounded in good design principles. But does this apply across the board? I thought I would take a look at the campaigns that got a mention at the recent PM Society Awards to see if any 'good design' had made it into the selection. Taking into account the concept as a whole, use of photography, typography, fonts, logo positions and overall design, does the final piece deliver its key messages clearly using good original creativity and, ultimately, is it a great piece of design?
Being an old school kung fu fan, I thought it might be nice to score the creative design content on the 'POW' factor!
![]() | I love the time and money that was quite clearly spent on crafting such a clever piece of art direction and photography to deliver such an impactful visual. The old ‘pi design problem' has been addressed nicely by creating the letterbox effect and shifting the pi out of any focus of the main concept. Overall, it delivers a nice tie-in to the old campaign, executed beautifully with some really nice typography to boot.
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![]() | Bruce Lee at his best! Straight in there with a kick-ass 'POW POW POW' and a big thumbs up for good design in pharma ads |
| Did the designer lose control of the bevelled box tool when creating this? Or has the layout been controlled by the branding police? Did they create some handy guidelines to work within? Bevelled box for the image in position 1. Bevelled purple box for the headline to be in position 2. White bevelled box for the logo in position 3 to help it stand out.
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| A Chuck Norris, in your face with some 'POW' for a nice concept, but my thoughts are with the poor designer who had to work within these guidelines. I feel for you | ![]() |
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| Unfortunately I fear this concept might have come up against the 'challenge wall' of a brief which said "show the product being used". How can you make a giant blow up blue bed, a nurse of correct ethnicity and a patient type look good? I would suggest convincing the client to invest in some real-life situation photography rather than opting for the more cost-effective studio shoot. This may have helped the design of this concept, but unfortunately this execution falls flat on its face and does not deliver good design. |
![]() | Another Chuck Norris, probably a box office smash for cost effectiveness and potential RoI, but not a piece of design work to take home and show your mum |
| Although the concept itself has been done a few times before (shadow of main character transforming into something else) the really clean and white set helps the photography to highlight the colour in the baby's face and hands. A simple, clear headline with a nice logo position and body copy help to finish off an ad, which is nice overall and calming to look at.
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| An enjoyable Jackie Chan 'POW, POW'. Pleasing to watch, but the concept has been used before |
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A kick-ass Bruce Lee 'POW, POW, POW' and proof that there is good design in some pharma advertising. |
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A kick-ass Bruce Lee 'POW, POW, POW' and proof that there is good design in some pharma advertising |
The Author
Design director at Life Healthcare Communications - Ben Blackmore - goes in search of the 'pow' factor.
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Ad Lib is a creative critique of healthcare ads and does not take into account the marketing objectives behind the campaigns reviewed.
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Published: 29/04/2010
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