Smile Campaign

 Smile Campaign 

The following Blog contains my response to the 'Smile Campaign' Brief.

The Client for this brief is Happy Foundations, which is a movement of

people trying to build a happier society by encouraging positive changes in people’s

personal lives, homes, workplace and communities. The brief itself is to produce a small creative

outcome that will make people smile. The target audience is my own community and therefore, I

am required to find out the mental health demographic of Sunderland.

As a non profit organisation income is largely generated by donations which means the budget is

limited. Therefore, what is required is a low cost print ad which generates an effective result.

 

New statistics show that there are now more people who are depressed in Sunderland than

anywhere else in the UK. According to a Mental Health profile of the city, one in five residents

who are over 18 in the area suffer from the condition. This is the highest result for the whole of

Britain.

 

A mental health charity in the area has also said that it now sees 350 people per month who

display a range of mental health problems. However, Dorothy Gardiner, project manager of

Sunderland Mind, says that despite seeing "more people coming through the doors than ever

before", the facility has seen funds cut by £12,000 in the last year.

 

Fifteen per cent of adults in the UK suffer with depression at some points in their life according to

londonhealth.co.uk. Symptoms of the condition include lack of concentration, tiredness, low energy

levels, anxiety and stress. Some sufferers benefit from attending counselling courses and/or being

prescribed antidepressants, which can help alleviate these effects.

 

Understanding the challenges of trying to make people smile is key to relating to the audience.

Sunderland’s depression rates are higher than anywhere in the UK. Financial and employment

issues are said to be the reason for this. Ms Gardiner of Sunderland Mind told

“SunderlandEcho.com” "We are already seeing more people coming in because they've been

made unemployed, we are getting referrals from the city's Job centre because it is affecting their

mental health." 

 

When you smile, your brain releases tiny molecules called neuropeptides to help fight off stress.

Then other neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins come into play too.

The endorphins act as a mild pain reliever, whereas the serotonin is an antidepressant.

Therefore if you smile, you’ll actually feel better. One study even suggests that smiling can help

us recover faster from stress and reduce our heart rate. In fact, it might even be worth your while

to fake a smile and see where it gets you.

There’s been some evidence that forcing a smile can still bring you a boost in your mood and

happiness level. That being said, if you’re suffering from depression or anxiety you should talk to

your physician immediately to find the best treatment for you. 

It turns out the benefits of smiling aren’t just limited to yourself,  it can also affect those around you

too. We’ve already talked about how our brains react when we smile, but we’re also rewarded

when we see someone else smile too. The reward center of our brain is activated and it makes

us feel a little better. Plus, one Swedish study suggests that we can’t help but react with a smile

of our own when we see someone smiling, so it’s an all-out infectious loop of happiness. 

Feel-good benefits aside, smiling and happiness can actually affect your job performance.

A team of economists performed a study and found that “human happiness has large and

positive causal effects on productivity. Positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings,

while negative emotions have the opposite effect." Another study linked decision-making,

processing and learning to the release of dopamine triggered by happiness, so smiling can also

make you a more creative and efficient worker.

Secondary research helped inform me for my project because it gave me lots of key information on

how smiling can reduce stress and improve your mental health as well as your life in various ways.

This information is very important as my brief is to produce a creative outcome that will help others

within my community smile. The secondary information that I have produced will aid me significantly

with this.

My Primary Research focuses on my target audience which are the people of Sunderland.

Here are the age demographics:

The most common age range is age 45 to 59, followed by Age 30 to 44.

Here are the gender demographics: There are currently 85,390 Males within Sunderland and 89,417

Females.

Here are some of the examples I gathered regarding what makes people smile:

• Someone offering an elderly person their seat on the bus/train

• Someone giving you their car parking ticket when you arrive in a car park

• Fitting in to a pair of jeans you thought were too small

• Finding a bargain in the sales

• Old people holding hands

• Someone telling you you’ve lost weight

• Bumping into someone you haven’t seen for ages

• Getting a quiet moment to myself

• Chocolate

• The smell of freshly baked bread

 

From this information I have gathered, I’ve learned more about the identity of my target audience and

what makes them smile.   

A similar business to Happy Foundations is Action for Happiness. “Action for Happiness is about

encouraging the shift to a happier society. That means a society where more people are leading happy,

balanced and fulfilling lives and fewer people are leading unhappy lives where they feel trapped, unloved

or unfulfilled.”

From this, I have learned  that other companies with similar motives to Happy Foundation exist and

therefore, this tells me that there is much more suffering in the world than I previously anticipated.

‘Action for happiness’ has also stated that “We have no religious, political or commercial affiliations

and welcome people of all faiths (or none) and all parts of society.” This is good because it shows that

the business is unbiased and therefore, is able to spread their message to more people.

d

The print advert draws the audience’s attention by including the headline ‘D_CK’ in large capital letters. As this word is clearly, easily mistakable for a specific vulgar term the audience is deceived by this. The ad is then followed by : “NOPE. IT’S JUST A DUCK” to inform the audience of their deception.

The last part of the ad includes the phrase “FEELING DIRTY? TAKE A SHOWER”, thus using a pun regarding the previous statement to promote their hygiene product.

From this Print Ad, I’ve learned that large, bold lettering is very effective to catch the viewer’s attention and promote the idea/product.

I also notice that this Print Ad includes no real illustrations unless you count the small duck. Following analysis, I have decided that I will create my print ad with the  focus on text rather than illustrations.

Best fonts for Print Ad:    

Using smaller text, I will focus on finding a font that pairs well with the headline typeface. I am

considering the following:

1. Helvetica: It’s a classic for print advertising. Created in 1957, this sans serif font is simple,

clean and easy to read. 

2. Verdana: Another sans serif font, Verdana was designed in 1996 specifically to be read as

small text on computer screens. 

3. Leitura News: This serif typeface was designed in 2007 with editorial use in mind, allowing it to

remain crisp in smaller sizes for body text. 

4. Electra: A typeface designed in 1935 and is clean and readable, with a bit more personality making

this font especially ideal for the body of a print ad.

HEADLINE TEXT I want a font that is easy to read, but allows me some freedom to pick a unique

typeface or two that stand out against sturdy body text. I am choosing between these four options:  

1. Chunk: This is reminiscent of old newspaper headlines and perfect for grabbing attention as a

headline.  

2. Lovelo: The lined version of this sans serif typeface is a lighter pick over a more classic, bold

headline font.  

3. Archive: A modern-day unfastened font that is similar to cona display built with robust geometric forms.

4. Mission Script: Script fonts can work for headlines so long as they remain thick enough to readMission Script used as a headline gives a casual spin on script typefaces.  

Colour Scheme:

I want to make my Print Ad as eye catching as possible to grasp the viewer’s attention, therefore it is

important that I make use of bright colours that stand out. 

These are some examples of effective colours

Red

Red is a great colour for marketing because it indicates passion, drive, and strength. It is a powerful

colour that can inspire confidence in my viewers.

Companies that use red in their marketing are often thought to be stronger than their competitors.

Red communicates intensity and drive to the human subconscious. The intensity of the colour is

what makes red one of the most eye-catching colours, but too much red can be overwhelming.

Blue

Blue is one of the most popular colours. In fact, in some studies, it has been found to be the

favourite among both men and women. 

Blue communicates a sense of peace and tranquility. Consumers feel safe when they see blue in

marketing materials. This comfort and security makes blue a great option.

The colour blue can reduce stress by inducing a calming response.

 Black

Black is bold. It creates a stark contrast against a bright colour, which helps the text to stand out.

Yellow

Yellow is an intense and positive colour that can imprint on people's minds a lot more easily than

others. Yellow is a vibrant colour that instantly draws the eye and demands attention.

IMAGES:

The images that I plan to include in my Print ad involve depictions of people smiling. Here are some

of the images I am considering 

TAGLINES: “Just Smile” “Fake it ‘till you make it”

Pre Production:

DATE TASK COMPLETED 11/20 Identify the client ✔ 11/20 Complete Secondary Research ✔ 12/20 Comment on how Secondary Research helped me ✔ 12/20 Conduct primary research into my audience ✔ 01/21 Identify similar businesses to Happy Foundations ✔ 01/21 Analyse a print advert ✔ 01/21 Idea generator ✔ 01/21 Pre-production ✔ 04/21 Production Diary/Log ✔ 04/21 How I’ve experimented with print ad ✔ 04/21 How I’ve manipulated images ✔ 04/21 Selection of Images ✔ 04/21 Evaluation ✔

I was confident that the image of Joker was the most suitable option for my print ad and I was

happy with the way it looked.

The other aspects of the ad I experimented with were the different fonts and background colours

using Photoshop.

In this version of my print ad I changed the background colour to a vibrant pink and changed the font to

MS Serif. I was not happy with the outcome as I feel as though the font appears too formal and the

colour is visually aggravating and does not match the tone of my ad.

To create my images for my print ad, I used Adobe Photoshop CS6. The impact of using Adobe

Photoshop CS6 was very positive because it allowed me to possess the necessary creative

freedom to customise my images perfectly to my liking. This let me manipulate my images with

complete control very easily. The tools I used consisted of the quick selection tool to select my

Joker image and then removed the background by pressing cut. I then used ctrl+T to resize the image.

After this, I selected by Background layer and then selected Edit>Fill and chose the colour that i wanted

with the colour picker.

Here is a selection of the images that I considered for my print ad:

 

I picked the final image shown because many viewers may find a character from a recently popular movie more eye-catching and appealing, opposed to a regular person. The image shown is also a lot more colourful than the others, which aids in the image’s ability to appear as eye catching and to draw the viewer’s attention. The character in the image is also wearing clown face paint. Not only does this connote happiness, laughter and joy but it also somewhat de- humanises the face, thus presenting them more as a symbol of happiness rather than an individual person. This is better suited to help to promote the message/goal of my print ad.

Evaluation for Just Smile

Product Testing

I shared my print ad with friends and family from different generations which generated various

responses. The feedback was positive and they found it amusing. My viewers all understood the

meaning of my print ad and felt more informed about the science behind smiling to reduce stress.

The audience understood my intentions and believed that my print ad’s message was clear and concise.

Analysis 

I feel my final design incorporating a striking image of a pop culture figure aids significantly in promoting

my print ad. This is because the image grabs the viewer’s attention, which is then diverted onto the

scientific statement on the benefits of smiling to improve mental health. A familiar face also gives more

depth to the message.

Reflection

The idea of making people smile has motivated me throughout this project. I have learned a lot

about the science behind the effects of smiling on mental health. It has also taught me much about

mental health issues within my community. The main reasons for my final choices are:

• Bold smiling image

• Bright eye catching colours

• Basic scientific information

• Direct communication

Overall Evaluation

I have developed my skills through researching, identifying effective images, knowing key terms,

knowing typical codes and conventions of a print ad. Understanding the use of colours and font and

how these are perceived by the audience and the effect on their mood. I have welcomed feedback

from my viewers and in future I feel  I need to widen my target audience.