Reed

“I think image is the first thing that to grab my attention. A clever phrase also gets me to stop and think. The old Coppertone ad is classic with the little dog exposing today’s ‘politically incorrect’ tan. Says everything it needs to say in a glance.

Here’s a little experiment I use when trying to come up with a name for a new show [which also needs to catch a consumer’s attention, much like an ad]. I get 3 by 5 [inch index] cards and write down several names of a show that I want to produce. One would say ‘MC theater,’ one would be ‘Encore,’ one would be ‘Mind over Magic,’ etc. You give the five names on cards to people and ask them, ‘If you were to see a show based on one of these names alone and don’t know anything about it, which show would you go to, by the name alone?’ Encore, in this case, was picked more often than the others.

I have used this method many times with success.”

— Anthony Reed, master magician, Encore!

Rosario

“Maybe it’s because I am in the printing and advertising market; I stop at any advertisements that are catchy. Too crowded — yuck. I love an ad that speaks to me and is clean and to the point. I also love very creative billboard ones.

I have lots of favorites. While travelling to New Mexico, there was a billboard that had a child looking out a car window and pointing out to the beautiful clouds in the sky (the clouds, however, were formed by a powerplant’s smoke pollution).

Some of my favorites that I have seen — guerilla marketing is my absolute favorite thing to see — [are Tabasco’s Steamy ad, the U.S. Army’s Uncle Sam ad and Apple’s Endless Apps ad].”

— Jessie Rosario, vice president of sales and marketing, Graphic Center Inc.

Schmidt

“What makes me stop and read an ad is how the picture makes me feel and if I determine that it is relevant to me, like something I want or need or is a curiosity. If it is too wordy or busy, I won’t read it.”

— Paula Schmidt, director/owner, Paradise Weddings Guam