Selling Effectively With Illusion Illustrations

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Illusion illustrations are examples optical illusions that play with people’s perception on certain objects. These types of illusions distort the process involved in how our brains interpret what our eyes see. Optical illusions can be typically seen in activity books that test the brain. But nowadays, illusions illustrations are being utilized by advertising companies to promote certain products and services.

Where can illusion illustration be seen?

In the world of advertising, illusion illustrations can be seen in mediums that require visual stimulation. These include print ads and television commercials. But, like optical illusions, illusion illustrations are more effective in print form.

Billboards, newspaper advertisements, flyers, and sometimes, the graphic designs on the side of service trucks are the commonly used mediums for these kinds of illusions. This is because these forms of advertisements are cheaper and can be seen by a lot more people.

Also, since it takes people time to comprehend ...
... or analyze an optical illusion, print-form is more consumer-friendly as compared to a television commercial that only runs 30-seconds or shorter. In other words, people can spend as much time as they want staring at the print ad until they understand the illusion behind it.

What is the purpose of using illusion illustrations in advertisements?

The main purpose of using illusion illustrations as advertising tools is that they initially grab the attention of people. Although they are still images, they provide humor and entertainment to those looking at them. In some ads, illusion illustrations add a unique twist to ordinary objects.

They can also be considered as interactive because in a way, tricky illusion illustrations challenge the viewers to understand the message that they are trying to convey.

Another purpose of illusion illustrations is that it shows off the creativity of the advertising agency or the company that produced the advertisement. Since illusion illustrations are not yet considered traditional forms of advertising, it gives people a fresh perspective on looking at promotional materials.

All these lead to people remembering the brand or the product being advertized, which is of course, the main point of advertisements.

Another purpose of using illusion illustrations is to deliver a slightly hidden message in a unique and mind-boggling manner. Take for example the advertisements for the Brazilian magazine, Veja. The first add depicted an illustration of the former terrorist group leader, Osama Bin Laden. In the image, the ears and eyes of Osama are actually letters that spell out the word, “dead”. The letters used for his mouth and beard on the other hand, form the word “alive”.

The same concept was used in the magazine’s second add which featured an illustration of former President George Bush. The letters on the upper portion of his face spell “peace” while those on the lower half spell “war”.

The contrasting meanings of the two pairs of words, merged in two separate images, perfectly reflect the magazine’s tagline, which is “Get both sides”. It was of course, implying the magazine is unbiased and shows both sides of the story.

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