| Title | Sit |
| Agency |
AMV BBDO
|
| Campaign |
White Out Of Red - The Economist
|
| Advertiser |
The Economist
|
| Brand |
The Economist
|
| Date of First Broadcast/Publication |
1988 / 1
|
| Business Sector | Newspapers, Magazines, Books
|
| Story | This white out of red poster campaign, originally inspired by the magazines masthead, uses wit and wordplay to demonstrate that The Economist is a publication read by successful and intelligent individuals. The price of admission to this unique club of successful people is the price of the magazine. |
| Philosophy | Qualitative research revealed that there was a huge cachet attached to being seen to read The Economist, it was a badge of success. By dramatizing this emotional benefit of reading The Economist, i.e. it symbolizes you are successful, rather than focusing on rational messages about the content of the publication, the advertising established a role for the brand in peoples lives, positioning the magazine as an essential weekly read for our target audience of busy, ambitious professionals. Over time, the definition of success has evolved from competitive business success in the late 1980s to more inwardly focused personal success by the late 1990s. |
| Problem | In 1988 The Economist, with its traditional positioning as a weekly newspaper, was competing for share in a highly aggressive marketplace. Peoples choice of media was expanding and as a publication with a rather worthy and intellectual image it could easily have been forced out of readers repertoires. |
| Media Type |
Poster
|
| Market | United Kingdom |
| Creative Director |
Peter Souter
|
| Copywriter |
Matthew Abbott
|
| Art Director |
Martin Casson
|
| Advertising Manager |
Jacqui Kean
|
