ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF

VISUAL COMMUNICATION IN THE

CREATION OF PARITY PRODUCT
ADVERTISING

by
Azian Mohd Zain
InstitutTeknologiMARA, 1991

DISSERTATION
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Fine Arts in Advertising Design
in the Graduate School of Syracuse University, New York.
December 1996

ABSTRACT

The problem of this study was to identify the creative elements effectively
used to differentiate products in a parity product ad. The creative elements -

are the headline, the copy and the visual - are the tools of visual communica
tion and they work together to deliver a message. These elements may be
used as references and guides to educators and students who are interested
in deciphering the advertising design of parity product in the future. The
scope of this study focuses on the design aspect only.

In the advertising context, parity products are defined as products that

share similar features or attributes. Examples of parity products are cola

drinks such as Coca Cola versus Pepsi Cola, lemon drinks such as Sprite

versus 7-UP, laundry detergents such as Tide versus Cheer, and baby diapers such as Pamper Premium versus Huggies Supreme.

The parity products ads collected for the purpose of this study were com-

piled from a variety of consumer publications in the year 1996. They were
compiled in a chronological order from the same magazines or different

magazines. The ads were chosen from the same magazine not only to ensure
that they were intended to reach the same target market, but also to give the
consumer a chance to compare and weigh the facts in the ads.

The study analyzes the meaning and decode the advertisement. Then, it is
compared to the other advertisements in the same class to determine which
areas of the advertisement are the same or different from one another. This

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process is intended to identify the creative elements, the picture and the
words/ thereafter referred as the visual and word cues, that have been successfully employed to facilitate design differentiation in the parity product

advertisements. The analyses of the ads were tabulated into key design
guidelines for design comparison.

The study was supported by a survey instrument whose participants were

practicing professionals in the advertising design profession. The questionnaires were designed to collect responses from the participants in a
manner similar to a personal interview. The survey instrument was based

upon a 4 rating scale. 143 recipients were asked to respond to 35 questions.

Out of the 143 questionnaires that were sent out, only 40 questionnaires were
returned.

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Copyright 1997 Azian Mohd Zain

All rights Reserved

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

List of illustrative materials

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER 1

Objective
Purpose of Study
Scope and methodology

4
6
7

CHAPTER 2

Introduction

10

CHAPTER 3

Analysis
1)
Makeup foundation

16
17

2)

23

Wrist watches

Fashion watch group

Performance Oriented watch group

Jewelry Watch group

3)

Shampoo and conditioners

47

4)

Laundry detergents

52

5)

Stop-smoking aids

58

6)

Baby diapers

65

APPENDIX

71

Survey results

72

EXHIBITS

81

ENDNOTES

82

BIBLIOGRAPHY

83

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

85

IV

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIALS

1.

MAKEUP FOUNDATION
1.1
Max Factor

1.2
2.

WRIST WATCH

2.1a
2.1b
2.1c
2.1d

3.

Robert Lee Morris

2.2a
2.2b

Concord
Zales

2.2c
2.3a
2.3b

Piaget
Omega
Swiss Army

2.3c

Tag Heuer

SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONERS

6.

Salon Selectives
Pantene Pro-V

LAUNDRY DETERGENT

4.1
4.2

5.

Fendi
Guess
Cartier
Anne Klein

2.1e

3.1
3.2
4.

Cover Girl

Cheer Triple Color Guard

Tide Ultra 2

STOP-SMOKING AIDS
5.1
Nicoderm CQ
5.2
Nicorette
5.3
Nicotrol
BABY DIAPERS
6.1
6.2

Pampers Premium
Huggies Supreme

7.

JERGENS ADVANCED THERAPY LOTION

8.

OIL OF OLAY

9.

GUESS

10.

ANNE KLEIN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to record my thanks to MARA Institute of Technology for giving me

the financial support to pursue further studies in the field of Advertising
Design at Syracuse University.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my professor and advisor,
Toni Toland for the help and guidance she has given me in the course of my
study here at Syracuse University. I am also indebted to the other professors
who formally or informally contributed to my personal and professional
development.

My thanks to the chairman and committee members- Ludwig Stein, Bill

Baylis and John Adams.
Special thanks to Ben Suffian for his valuable inputs and insights.

My family for their support on my education.

Also, I want to express my appreciation to Syracuse University for its support of scholarly learning and its culturally diverse community that supports

the development of each member.

Finally, as always, I bear the responsibility of any error and mistakes either
in the analysis or in the interpretation of the findings. To quote a Publisher
of Advertising Age magazine...

"...Buckling down to the task of writing is a sort of horror, to be put

off until the last possible minute. An infinitely complicated and pointless ritual, much like the contortions a baseball pitcher frequently goes through

before he finally cocks his arm and actually starts the pitching motion, is
often involved. Paper must be stacked just so; the typewriter (or keyboard
computer, monitor, mouse) or the pencils must be fingered, caressed, carefully lined up. Coffee must be drunk, (by the potful) or not drunk. The window

must be opened, closed or adjusted. The chair must be raised, lowered,

moved in, moved out, or replaced. That new, funny looking spot on the
neck must be carefully inspected in the bathroom mirror; or the girl whose
profile shows in the window across the business canyon must be speculatively regarded. Time moves on, and so does the pointless ritual, until at last
the moment can no longer be postponed. It is time to start writing..."
S. R. Bernstein
Azian Mohd Zain

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CHAPTER 1
Objective
Purpose of Study
Scope and Methodology

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OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to analyze and investigate the meaning of concepts in parity product print advertisements and identify the creative elements within the group of advertisements that contribute to advertisement
differentiation. The investigation decodes the rationale underlying the image
and its association with the product. The analysis addresses the overall
design of the advertisements such as the headline, copy, visual, layout and
tagline. Then the advertisements are compared to the other advertisements
in that particular category in terms of approach, appeal, format and the execution used that affects the presentation of information in the print advertisement.
This study started off with the intention of investigating parity products ads

and identifying the creative elements that were used to differentiate the
product. As the investigation proceeded, the researcher found that the findings of a study in 1980 by the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency are still being
used in the 90s.1

The impetus of the study is driven by the author's fascination with the
avenues adopted by the advertisers of undifferentiated products in trying to
capture the attention and interests of the target audience. Largely, the offspring of a free market economy, the boom of parity products is largely the
result of industrialists and entrepreneurs taking advantage of successful and
accepted pioneer products. In a market-place that is continuously bombarded with undifferentiated, identical products, the burden of soliciting attention and purchase behavior falls on the advertiser. Herein lies the challenge,
for parity products are mostly physically identical, sharing identical benefits,
attributes and technical specifications. This presents a unique albeit problematic situation for the advertisers. The solution lies in the approach taken in
communicating the physical attributes and coupling them with different
kinds of cues with which the audience can somehow identify.
However, due to the intense similarity among parity products, it is almost
impossible to convey a differentiated image to the audience. Hence, a large
number of advertisements for parity products end up adopting the same
visual and conceptual approach. In addition, some ads convey the same cognitive appeal although paraphrased using different terminology. The result
of these numerous identical ads is a 'look-alike syndrome' that reflects the
very nature of the products itself - parity. This 'look-alike syndrome' can be
defined as ads for parity products that present the same appearance, mood,
appeal and 'sound'. Sound here does not mean sound as a result from stimulation of auditory nerves by vibration; sound is defined as the mental
impression produced (such as the sound of her letter is depressing or
delightful or serious...).

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In the sampling of marketplace observation (and the frequent appearance of

new advertising), the researcher has discovered that new brands entering a
pre-existing product category would generally possess the same physical
and psychological attributes of other brands in the group. This in turn would
usually result in the creation of advertising campaign that attempts to communicate the same message to the audience. While an idea may be illustrated by different images and words, the premise underlying the message
would remain undifferentiated. The crux of the study lies in discovering the

qualities needed to portray a brand's uniqueness to an audience who is well

aware of the physical similarity among products within the same category.

This study will examine examples of print advertisements selected on the

basis of their representation of parity products. These examples will be studied from the perspective of the approach being taken, the message being
communicated, its visual appearance and mood.
In the process of undertaking this research, the researcher has attempted to
obtain information on the authoritative classification of the various parity
products categories from the New York Federal Trade Commission and the
New York City Consumer Affairs. However, these agencies were unable to
provide the required information. Accordingly, the classifications used in this
study were constructed by the researcher on the basis of general market
observation and through consultations with the advisor.

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PURPOSE OF STUDY

The purpose of this study is to expand the researcher's knowledge on the

subject. Also, the results of this study will provide educators and students
with a list of possible solutions in solving the advertising design problems
for parity products.
The study of the advertisements assumes that the communication of the
message will be to elicit the desired behavioral response from the uninformed consumer; be it purchase behavior, change of attitude or simply
being aware of the message itself.

In the course of this research, the researcher has conducted the analysis
of the print advertisement sample from the perspective of copywriting and
art direction strategies. The topic presented some challenges as it was
researched through secondary data. In the process of making observations
and eliciting attributes of the print ads sample, the researcher is aware of the
pitfall of oversimplification and generalization. It is not the intention of the

researcher to ignore the extensive process required to create an ad campaign

and its implications.

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SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

The results of this study is limited to the range of ads covered in the subjective analysis and the responses obtained from the surveyed participants. The
guidelines derived from this study are useful for demonstrative purposes
only and are not guaranteed to explain examples that occur beyond the sampled data.
The study is conducted in three parts: analysis of the written survey instrument, qualitative analysis of the selected examples of print advertising for
parity products and the comparison and conclusions derived from analyzing
the two sources of information. On a fundamental level, this study seeks to
explore the rationale given by the designers in conceptualizing their message

and analyzing the actual examples of results as they appear to the target
audience. The underlying premise of this study is to uncover how the
designers' considerations of issues or factors surrounding a particular parity
product impacts the creation of its advertisement.
The survey instrument was designed to elicit responses on key design considerations, problem faced, alternative methods in dealing with, and emerging developments when communicating messages from producers of parity
products.
The qualitative analysis of examples that appeared in 1996 were obtained
from eight widely read magazines. The print ads are divided into six product groups consisting of basic consumer goods such as wrist watches, cosmetics (specifically makeup foundation), shampoo and conditioner, laundry
detergents, stop-smoking aids and baby diapers. The analysis of the print
ads is broken down according to the information provided in the ads. (see
tables) Where possible, the researcher will relate instances where items in
the ad converge or diverge from the responses obtained from the survey.
The ads' creative elements - the headline, the copy and the visual, are analyzed by the use of image and the use of words. For example, from the sample of the ads that used comparative advertising, the researcher concluded
that the visual is the most important creative element compared to the headline and copy. The visual will serve primarily as an eye-stopper while the
headline and copy will support the visual. Subsequently, the creative elements are compared to another product in that particular class, and then
were noted which areas are identical and different.

The third part of the study compares and cite instances when survey
responses coincide with the analysis of the ads. These findings will then be
synthesized and summarized in the form of guides that may be used in the

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ads for other parity products, if appropriate. The basis of accepting a practice
as a guideline would be target market acceptance of the message and the relative success of the product being advertised.
The researcher also acknowledges the marketing issues that may impact the
advertising and promotion of this product - areas such as brand equity,
image and perception amongst consumers. However, due to the limits
imposed on this paper, the researcher is focusing on design consideration
primarily, and to a lesser extent, the marketing aspects of the products.
Only one sample population was identified and it was chosen from the 1996
directory "The Agency Red Book'. The individuals are practicing professionals in the advertising design profession holding positions such as creative
director, art director and copywriter. There were no geographic limitations in
the distribution of the population sample.
Each member of the population received the survey instrument, an explanatory cover letter and a postage paid envelope. 143 surveys were mailed on
October 3,1996. The first survey came in one week later and more were
returned in the following weeks. A total of 40 surveys were returned, of
which 5 were returned because the persons had left the agency.

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CHAPTER 2
Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

Parity product, by definition in the advertising context, means products generally perceived as alike by consumers regardless of who manufactures them.
The problems in designing print advertisements for parity products mainly
lies in the fact that aside from marketing ploys, product is almost exactly
comparable with one another in the class. From this perspective, one could
make an assumption that parity products are distinguished from one another by psychological cues and subtle modifications of feature and benefits.

In the general area studied, there exist many product groups that are physically similar but differentiated by advertising. Due to the effective use of
demographic information, the marketing function will be able to reach most
target consumers by communicating the attributes that appeal to the desires
of that particular segment of the market. The task of creating these messages
falls on the heads of the designers.
Imagine the stress imposed on one's creativity when faced with an assignment that deals with making an ad for a parity product. In areas such as
laundry detergents which is literally flooded with varied collection of competitive brands, the task of the designer is made more difficult by decisions
of producers to impart different image of the same basic product to a different set of customers. This practice will generally be carried out until the

eventual death of the product or for as long as it will remain economically

viable.

The influx of new entrants on the heels of a successful pioneering product

would create an impact on the advertising scene. Latecomers, concerned
about narrowing the gap between themselves and the pioneer, would have
their advertising under the pressure of time constraints and the need to surpass consumer expectations. The practical use of this approach can be seen
by the extensive application of comparative advertising in an ad. This very
common mode of communication serves to highlight important attributes
about the new parity product versus the pioneer. Another use of comparative advertising is comparing an ad to another ad in its class. Ad samples
that come from the same publication will be easier for the consumer to make
comparison and weigh the facts.
Sometimes, a product can be compared to indirect competitors. For example,
body lotion is compared to a bath bar that has lotion in the lather, (see body
lotion ad for Jergens Advanced Therapy Lotion and bath bar ad for Oil of
Olay in Exhibit) Other products such as upscale watches do not use comparative advertising because watches are not a consumer oriented parity prod-

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11
uct, unlike laundry detergent.
When consumer-oriented parity products share the same attributes, the burden of differentiation falls on its delivery. Through the use of psychological
and visual cues, an ad would convey a unique aspect of the product to the
consumer. To illustrate this point further, we may turn to an example such as
the laundry detergent industry.
While the detergent industry is largely dominated by Proctor & Gamble and
Unilever, this fact is not readily apparent to the uninformed consumer.
Confronted by an array of over twenty different brands including store
brands, all of which are fundamentally similar and performs its intended
task with unsurprising regularity, the consumer is forced to rely on other
cues in order to make a purchase decision. The fact that six of the brands
(Cheer, Tide, Bold , Era, Bonus and Dash) are manufactured by Proctor &
Gamble and three others (Surf, Wisk and All) belong to Unilever is unimportant to most consumers. How does one make a choice? How can the design
of the ads help in differentiating these similar products in the eyes of the
consumer?

Creative Elements

What are the creative elements? The creative elements in an ad for a parity
product are just like the ones in the ads for other products - the headline, the
visual and the copy.2
In the ads for parity products which are consumer oriented, the visual
works harder than all of the creative elements because it will have to function not only as a tool to grab attention but also as a visual that says more
than the competitor's ad. The ad is usually structured with the visual and
the headline working together as the visual and word cue. But for parity
product ads, the visual and word cue must take one step further when
showing the product benefit in order to avoid the ad from looking and
sounding the same like the competitor's ad.
In the fashion watch group, visual cues do not need to work as hard as the
visual cues in ads for consumer oriented products. This is because the products themselves are less consumer oriented products and are generally executed through image advertising.

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12
The use of superiority claim

Both of the laundry detergent group of ads used comparative; the product is
compared to a leading regular detergent. Comparative advertising in the late
60s weren't a favorite execution with advertisers. 3 This has lead to the
overuse of referential terms such as 'compared to the leading regular detergent' because the advertiser do not want to give free advertising to the competition. This practice is seen in both of the ads in this group making the ad
sound the same (because the product attributes are the same). A NAD case
report on the Colgate Palmolive Co. showed that the Company had to make
changes to the product label and retract the claim because they could not
prove that their dishwashing liquids works better than the leading
detergent.4 The same consequences can befall on the laundry detergent manufacturer that makes this type of blanket statement if the manufacturer can
not substantiate its claim. However, if the leading regular detergent is specified and is comparable to the advertised product, the advertiser may get
away without having to prove its claim.

From the study, it was found that if a piece of information is missing from
one ad while the other ad specify that piece of information, the consumer is
able to make the rational choice. That is until the missing information is
made known, the ad with the specified information will claim the position
first in the consumer's mind.

The Principles of Design

In addition, principles of design can also contribute to ad differentiation for

parity products. It is important that the ad designers keep in mind the six
basic design principles to achieve an attractive and effective ad.
1.

Balance.
The condition in which the elements work together to
achieve visual equilibrium or stability.

2.

Dominance or Emphasis.
Within several elements (or illustrations), one should be larger than
the others. The dominance of one element helps draw attention to

the ad.
3.

Flow.
The arrangement of elements to lead the eye through the ad
sequentially. Once attention has been drawn to the ad, the reader

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13

is directed to other elements in it. Also called 'eye movement' or

'direction'.
4.

Proportion.
The size relationships of width to height of the ad itself, as well as its
elements. The width height ratio of the 'Golden Rectangle' is 2:3. The
size of each element should be proportionate to its importance.

5.

Visual Coherence.
The overall visual relationship among the elements in an ad. Every
element must cohere or harmonize with all the others.

6.

Unity.
When an ad is already visually coherent, unity is achieved by
connecting the elements borders, boxes, overlapping elements,
repeating shapes and background color. 5

To design an ad for parity products, the researcher would like to add to the
list.
7.

Visual marker/cue.
When a picture is included in the ad, not just to make an association
(or an ornament in the layout) but make the picture work for
immediate recognition of the product benefit.

The seventh principle

When one of the parity products employ the seventh principle in the ad,
the ad design will set itself apart from the competitor's ad. However, the
researcher would like to note that the seventh principle is effective only
in a short term because the competitor will likely follow suit just to be competitive. The seventh principle can be seen employed in the makeup foundation group of ads in this study.
If the seventh principle is used in the baby diapers group of ads, the ads will
have different visuals and words, making the ads look different than one
another. The visual marker can also be the attention-grabber and help the
consumer recognize the product benefit faster by looking at the visual than
finding it out about the product benefit by reading the copy.

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14

Parity products that are executed by comparative advertising can benefit

from the seventh principle. For ads that are not executed by comparative
advertising, such as the fashion watch ads, the seventh principle can only
work when the ads appear in the same publication because then the consumer is given the chance to compare facts, claims and counterclaims.

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CHAPTER 3
Analysis

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16

ANALYSIS

This chapter is structured by a brief explanation about the subject, followed

by the analysis, a comparison table and a conclusion.

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17

Makeup foundation
It is learned from the Cover Girl and Max Factor ads that stain-proof is an
important feature in makeup foundation. Both ads showed the similar product benefit but the creative elements can help in making the recognition
process of the product benefit faster than the competition.

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MAX FACTOR
Headline

'New lasting performance foundation' announce a new product and the

name 'Lasting performance' suggests that this brand has a lasting effect; the
ability to last in a longer period of time.

Visual and layout

The ad shows a movie director from a famous movie doing touch-ups on an
actress's face. The actress is not afraid to put her sleeve on her chin because

the foundation will not stain her sleeve.

Copy.
The sub-headline 'Made to stay on her face' (is said by the movie makeup
director) leads into the copy stating that the product has a touch proof system that makes his job easier and keeps the face stay beautiful easy.
It is implied that the makeup foundation he used before did not meet his
needs and expectations in a demanding work situation.
Tagline
'Makeup that performs' illustrates the product's ability to behave in a seri-

ous manner, it gets the job done when it is called for.

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