Advertising is very different from comics in that it (in most cases) does not ask very much of us other than to understand what it is showcasing and hopefully want to buy it. This pairing of pictures and text is less of an intellectual stimulation, and more of a simple, straightforward passage of information. The main goal in an advertisement is to appeal to as many people as possible, and the combination of image and word is often how they do this. Take a film poster for example, such as this one for one of my personal favorites, "Garden State".
In this type of advertisement, the text primarily exists to display information to the viewer. It informs us that the movie being advertised is in fact called "Garden State". This may seem like a somewhat unimportant part of the advertisement in that it holds no appeal, but it may very well be the most important. No matter how visually appealing an advertisement is, it holds no worth unless the viewer walks away with the product in mind. That is the only way companies can hope that we will buy their product, the sign of a good advertisement. The image in this example adds to the appeal of the ad. Having already seen this movie I understand the scene that is shown in the context of the whole film, but I remember seeing this posting when this film first came out and the image really boggled my mind. "Who are they? Why are they standing on top of that? What is that? Why are they yelling? And why are they wearing trash bags??" The content of this image is very intriguing, and for a movie poster that is the perfect type of appeal. These posters serve primarily to produce an interest in the movie, to make the viewer so intrigued that he or she simply must come back and see the film to solve the mystery his or herself. The vibrancy of the colors are also part of what appealed to me with this poster. The combination of such fun, bright colors with seemingly angry, disheveled people intrigued me even further about the nature of this film.
Not all advertisements aim to cause a mystery for the viewer. Many times, the appeal comes from a sense of exclusiveness or luxury that the ad evokes. Take this Prada advertisement:
Like most Prada ads, it features a model who looks like she "just doesn't care" dressed in expensive-looking clothes, jewelry and the product being advertised, eyewear. It gives of a sense of luxury and allure, but the model's apparent attitude also makes it seem effortless. It seems the pictured woman has to do nothing more than lean against a wall, expressionless, to look rich and beautiful. The company might want us to think "If I have those glasses maybe I will be as effortlessly alluring as this woman is." The text is also very understated. The text in this ad is limited strictly to the company name and the product being advertised, no tagline or comment. It is as if the company is asserting that it is so good, it doesn't need anything more than its name to attract customers. This advertising tactic may seem pretentious to some people, but that probably doesn't matter; considering the price of Prada items, it is clear they are aiming for a very specific group of people.
So whether an ad aims to intrigue, or impress, the bottom line is always a need to be attractive and recognizable. This is almost always achieved by two staples of design, the word, and the image.
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