RooM Trend Reports come freshly produced on a weekly basis: they focus on the big issues that help define our creative and visual futures.

Our specially tailored Reports cover subjects from business and advertising, to entertainment and the arts and much more. From the thought provoking to the downright bizarre our researchers will find it, package it and post it for free – if it’s trending of course.
Each week day, starting Monday, we post through our social media channels, daily teasers on that week’s Trend Report, then on Friday we package up the whole Report and post it here along with a very useful summary and a handy downloadable PDF. Enjoy.






13

SEP
2013

Child's Play

Telling a story from a child’s viewpoint or using observations of a child’s life that resonate with our own memories of childhood, can be an effective and powerfully persuasive way to sell a product or service to us adults.

From Fiat’s obvious message to the more subtle and emotional approach of the Home Depot, here are five recent examples of advertisers using elements of childhood in their adverts.

So it makes good sense to feature a small business in your ad and hope some of that positivity rubs off on your brand.




1

Home Depot says thank you


Agency: Lucky Post The Richards Group, Dallas

Home Depot: Thank You.

By letting the children talk about something they want to talk about (mom and dad), in a place they feel comfortable in, such as their own bedroom, and then giving them the space to run around, play or hold their favorite doll, the Home Depot’s TV ad is able to capture genuinely relaxed, expressive and touching footage of the children of Home Depot employees.

See the AD: YouTube





2



Mabe eco friendly toy box TV ad


Agency: Maruri Grey, Ecuador

Mabe turn sustainability into something fun for kids and make the grown up's aware that they share the same concerns about the environment as they do.


This TV ad is also a good example of how using the products of a child’s imagination such as the cardboard castle, the pretend car and building a cardboard rocket, can illustrate grown up ideas such as home ownership, car insurance and manufacturing.

See the AD: adsoftheworld.com





3

Fiat’s cool safety TV ad


Advertising Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, USA

Fiat: Hero Hug.

Fiat pulls off a two-pronged attack with this ad, children will want them and parents will see it as a great way to make sure their kids wear their seat belts.

Superheroes aside, this ad goes to show how important the idea of protection and safety, especially of children, is to consumers.

In this case it’s enough to get you to buy one brand of car over another.

See the video: YouTube






4

Windows gives us the kids view




Advertising Agency: Jam, London, UK


Windows Phone: Things Kids Say.

A funny ad that will ring true with many parents of young inquisitive children.

Although there is only one main subject, the boy, this ad is a great example of how to add interest and variety to a shoot, by changing the scene, the angle and the lighting of each shot.

It goes to show you don’t need lots of people in your shoot to produce a lot of great stand-alone images.

See the video: YouTube







5

Snap shots of childhood from the Milk Alliance.

Advertising Agency: DDB, Vancouver, Canada


This ad features some great childhood moments that will strike a chord with many adults (drinking milk by the glass being one of them).

This ad is also a great example of how rich a source material childhood can be for photography and how getting the best shots of children is often a result of the shoot being a fun experience for everyone involved.

See the website: adsoftheworld.com


Summary


Shooting tips from this week's trend:

  • When taking pictures of children its good to get them doing something they like to do.
  • The different games children play are often great visual metaphors for grown up, real world situations and advertising concepts.
  • Your car can provide the perfect setting for protection and safety concepts.
  • To add interest and variety when you are shooting with one model, make sure to change all of the other elements of your shot.



Download PDF