House ad as portfolio

The pattern

This still is filed under House ad as portfolio.

Define

The firm advertises itself by showing the work, not by describing the work.

Mechanism

Proof by exhibit. The portfolio is the claim. Captions stay short. The pieces carry the argument.

Verdict

We sell craft and the buyer can judge from examples.

Why it works

This is a reminder ad running on accumulated reputation rather than persuasion, and the design is the argument - the enormous white space signals that no case needs to be made. The single word 'Another' does all the selling, implying a series the reader is expected to already know, which is a claim of pattern rather than of one result. Product-in-use photography at the top answers the only real question a trade reader has, what the work actually looks like, without the agency having to describe it.

The big idea

One word, 'Another', turns a single Cutex win into one of a series of toilet goods successes the agency expects readers to know already.

The offer

J. Walter Thompson Co.'s advertising service. No terms or request.

The proof

The Cutex name and a strip of Cutex artwork showing the box, the bottle and a manicure in progress.

Lines from the ad

CUTEX

Another toilet goods success

J. WALTER THOMPSON CO.

Steal this when

Use this when your name and track record are already known to the audience and a long argument would look like you need one. One product image, the client's name, and a single line claiming a pattern.

The emotion

Written to Admiration. It makes the Avoid mistake.

The single word 'Another' and a strip of Cutex artwork claim a series of wins, but the page gives no step or figure behind the success, only the client's name and the result.