Graphic designing has become an integral part of all businesses; irrespective of the industry. Creating fresh and quirky designs for advertising and marketing of brands can go a long way in establishing customer awareness and loyalty.

How you design graphics to display ads for your brand will decide the fate of your business. And, that is why it is important to have skilled and experienced resources working on your ad designs.

If you are one of those business owners who are struggling to find the right design for your brand’s advertising, we give you 20 inspiring & cool ads from several companies that will help you learn a few basic facts in order to create killer ads:

Be wise with the font style

When it comes to creating designs for banner ads, one of the first things you need to decide is the font style. 

As you can see in this example of Fanta’s banner ad, they all are clear, properly spaced and the fonts are not only readable but also playful and similar to their logo font.

You can always find letters for banners that look cool and those which leave an impact. In order to create successful ad designs, you need to mix these two concepts and create a message that is both cool and comprehensive.

And, this is why the choice of font style is decisive.

 

Be consistent with the background

One thing about creating designs for banner ads which many tend to neglect is the shade of the backdrop. Ensuring a reciprocating background style is as important as any other element of the banner ad design. 

A crowded background can very well have a negative impact on your banner as it will take the focus out of the logo and the message and confuse the audience. And, therefore, it’s important to take into account the fonts and especially the colors of the letters that form your message.

As can be seen from the ad example above of Lexus, they have used a darker background with white font color in order to make it readable and clear. 

 

Combine product picture with stylish text

Sometimes, all you need to get the audience’s attention on your brand’s ad is a great picture of your product coupled with some really stylish text. 

In this example, we can see Apple advertising the launch of their new product - iPhone X phone - with stylish and cool call to action messages.  

 

Illustrations can be very useful

For as long as you can recall, Red Bull has always advertised their brand using illustration imagery and graphics. So, applying the same to their banner ads helped them generate quick Top-of-the-Mind-Recall for their audience. 

So, it gets clear from this example that using Illustrations can be a great way to generate curiosity and make heads turn to your brand’s display ads. 

 

Communicate with your niche

Targeting your ad’s message exclusively to your audience niche is a great way to create successful ad designs. 

As we can see from this example of an ad campaign by Microsoft, they have created designs that are straightforward and simply targeted to a specific niche. The fact that it doesn’t resonate with everybody but only with the individuals that understand the message and may find it useful is what makes it a great way of communicating with the target audience through banner ad designs. 

 

Using the right mix

When it comes to creating the right kind of banner ad design for your brand, it all boils down to using the right mix of everything.

Take the above banner ads by Hilton for example. 

Both the banners reflect the right mix of all the factors we’ve discussed so far; font style, background shades, and product image. All of these elements are used in the right manner to ensure these ads grab the attention of their target audience and convince them to spend their money on Hilton’s services.

 

Give the ads a creative twist

Creativity is the main essence of successful ad design. It helps catch the viewer’s attention, reflect professionalism, and of course, communicate the brand message effectively. 

Using creativity to alter a few design details can go a long way in developing a sudden interest in the audience when they see your banner ads on display. 

Take, for example, Absolut Vodka and their beautiful banners that have everything they need to catch people’s attention. The message is readable, the fonts are chosen wisely, and their color matches the color of the button.

 

Go for simplicity

Sometimes, what we don’t realize is that to create something special and unique, all it takes is using simple elements of graphic design. 

In this example of JoineMe, we can clearly see that they have kept their banner ad designs very simple and to the point. All they have used is a monochromatic background, all caps letters, and at least one color from their logo. 

Even with simple design elements, they were able to create a successful ad campaign for their brand. 

 

Using visual metaphors can be really helpful

In the last few years, using visual metaphors has proven to be a very great technique in creating successful banner ad designs. Visual metaphors are just like the written metaphors, just that the message is conveyed by comparing visuals with the idea.  

Confused? Check out this example from Elter Drugs.

This ad warns the public about foodborne illnesses by comparing an unwashed artichoke to an explosive. By creating a visual metaphor, Elter Drugs is able to impart a strong message about food safety.

However, it is important to come up with visual metaphors that seem obvious enough for consumers to understand in an instance. There’s no worse feeling than showing someone your design and having them say “I don’t get it”. 

 

Using bright colors can help

Using bright colors to create banner ads can be really effective in promoting your brand, especially, if those bright colors are also your brand’s colors. The simple reason behind this is, using the same color as that of your brand can help your customers to recognize the banner ads easily. (Just like we discussed in Red Bull’s Ad)

However, it is essential to understand the right balance in the brightness of the colors that you are using for your banners. This means that they shouldn’t be too bright to annoy but colorful enough to appeal to your audience.

Take for example the banners from Kelloggs’ Eggo.

They use bright colors in their banner ads, but that’s actually their brand color. Thus, their customers will immediately associate the banner with the brand.

 

Make the best use of product images

Here’s another very great example of a successful banner ad campaign by Clorox. 

It is clear from the above banner examples that Clorox used professional product images and applied them appropriately in the banner designs, in such a manner that all the focus goes to the product’s photo. This creates a leeway for the text to be used in the banner. 

Make use of testimonials

Company reviews and testimonials are undoubtedly one of the most efficient ways of marketing content and establishing credibility. However, they can very well be used to create successful banner ad designs. 

Take the example of what Clarisonic did. They, very cleverly, used reviews to convey short yet impactful success stories of their already converted customers. This helped them in not only generating brand credibility but, also to attract more audience attention than ever.

Great copy works 

Being professional with your banner ad designs doesn’t imply that you cannot be funny. Using humor in your ad designs is, in fact, a great way to attract and engage an audience with your brand, and make them remember your ad for a longer period of time.

Take for example the Axe deo ads. They used some really funny copy for their ad campaign which worked in their favor and garnered them huge brand recognition. 

Scaling your design helps

Scaling is one of the key elements in graphic designing, and can very much be used as a highlighting factor to create attractive banner ad designs. In advertising, especially, scaling can prove to be a very helpful technique by focusing on the sizing of certain objects that can create attention-grabbing effects.

In this example, we see the banner ad created for Staedtler, a stationery company. Designers, here, have scaled up the size of a pencil to a good extent. However, the focus remains on the pencil tip that has been carved into a cathedral with insurmountable detail.

What worked for the brand in this banner ad design is the smart use of image scaling which not only invites the reader to look closer, but also conveys a strong message that ‘All big things start small’.

Let the image speak for itself

Just like visual metaphors, using self-explanatory images without using any text can prove to be a great way of creating attractive ad designs. In the field of creative designing, it is called the method of “Show, don’t tell!”

As you can see in the image example here, Curtis Tea has opted to show their product’s ingredients by visualizing the senses of smell and taste. They could have simply put some copy on the page that said “This tea tastes very strongly of orange and chocolate”, but instead they have shown how it tastes by rendering an orange into the shape of a teapot. 

Smart! Isn’t it?!

Make your design interactive

One of the main objectives for creating ad designs is establishing audience engagement. Creating banner ads that allow the audience to interact with the ads can be a great way to achieve success with your ad designs. 

Here we see a perfect example of interactive design created by the team of Berrge Tattoo. The brand’s recruitment ad grabs attention instantly by asking applicants to fill out the QR code to showcase the skills they’d be applying for in order to apply for the job.

Doing this, they not only filter out inexperienced hands but also help construct a detail-oriented attitude for Berrge Tattoo as a brand.

Use relative symbols

It won’t be an overstatement to say that symbols are a part of our daily life. We communicate and interact using a number of symbols every day; such as app icons, buttons, road signs, emojis, etc. In fact, the entire idea behind creating a brand logo is of creating a recognizable symbol for the brand.

So, using symbols creatively in your banner ad designs can work successfully for your brand. 

Check out how this example for Capacitate uses a customized version of the location pin symbol to symbolize putting a business on the map. Not only does this reinterpretation of the icon create a strong visual, it also helps this ad appeal to a certain market—more technologically-savvy people who use online maps and technology.

It’s really fascinating how a simple shape, like a circle with a pointed bottom, can immediately create an idea of location. So, use them appropriately!

Try a different way to say it

It is to be remembered always that you are not the only player in the market selling a product or a service (unless, of course, you’re selling the Elixir of Life). There are several other competitors selling the same product or service as you. 

For every McDonald’s, there’s a Burger King!

So, it becomes imperative to find unique ways to communicate your brand’s message through banner ad designs.  

And that’s exactly what helped Extra Gum in achieving major success with their dental care ad campaign.

As it can be seen in the image example, the brand uses the age-old message of chewing gum being good for your teeth, but it presents it in a clever, new way;  by presenting the gum as a toothbrush substitute.

The design team made clever use of specific shadows, alignment and composition to make a common statement but in a clever and new way.

If you’re trying to promote an idea that has been ‘done’ before, don’t simply follow in the footsteps of other brands, consider a new way of presenting the message, find relationships and forge a new path.

Leave it to the audience to fill in the blanks

So, we talked about using symbols as images in your designs, as well as using visual metaphors to create a unique impact. Adding to the list, there’s another creative way to design attractive and engaging ad designs. Creating clues and leaving it to the audiences to figure it out. 

A very successful example to explain this is the ad for Heinz Hot Ketchup that allows consumers to figure out what events lead up to the image, before revealing via the product name, what really went down. The trick here was to keep the focus on the image by placing the logo in the bottom right corner, so that the viewer would first see the image and try to figure out before seeing the product name. 

It is alright to be worried about “What if they don’t get it?”. But, have faith in your audience and try to avoid spoon-feeding them the message, let them infer certain things and let them fill in the blanks.

Let the text speak for itself

We have already explained the importance of the use of copy in designs throughout this article a few times and this point only makes this fact more prominent. 

Similar to what we explained in the Curtis Tea example, where we said that a cleverly designed image doesn’t need text to convey the message, this example of ad design for Seagram establishes the reverse of that; i.e., a strong piece of text or copy doesn’t need to be accompanied by any imagery. 

This design by Seagram uses simple typography, strong copywriting and a sharp palette to make an impactful and plain as day message that doesn’t require any added graphics or imagery to enhance its message.

To conclude…

Creating a successful and memorable brand ad designs requires a lot of brainstorming and out of the box thinking. 

There are no defined boundaries, rules, or methods when it comes to creating ad designs. However, everything boils down to what your brand stands for and what you want your audience to perceive your brand like. 

All you need to do is to figure out a new and fresh way to convey your brand’s message in order to stand out from the competition. 

We hope these 20 ad design examples were helpful for you in getting some idea about how you can go about creating your own successful ad designs. If not, you don’t really have to worry. GraphicsZoo has a team of skilled and experienced designers who not only understand the basics of design elements but, also know how to put in that creative angle to the designs to make them attractive and engaging. 

Connect with us today at support@graphicszoo.com and share your requirements.