To repeat (for you youngsters): When I write “print”, I mean layout ads. I’m not going out and buying back issues of hundreds of magazines and clipping and scanning ads. (Though I used to, back in the day, every fucking day. What other ad critic did that? NONE.)
Social creatives: you know you don’t just have to make/steal memes, you can also create layout ads for your platforms. Just a thought.
PREVIOUSLY: Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , and Part 4 of this Best Prints Ads of the 21st Century Series. Part 6, if I can roundup enough not-bad ads, coming next week.
This article is dedicated to actor Slim Pickens, most famous for the riding the H-Bomb to his (and presumably, some Soviet citizens) death in Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove”. If you haven’t seen it Millennials, find it, watch it, now. One of the best dark comedies ever made.
As I have pushed deeper into this century, most of the best print executions have been PSA or non-profit ads. Those are much easier to create than for-profit brand ads (I know, I’ve created them), so I’m not including them in any of these roundups.
Five ads below, ranging from fantastic to OK+. These Best Print Ad articles are for paid subscribers only. Buy your subscription here.