Stock photos? They have most likely been seen hundreds of times. Generic visuals? They fade into the background. But illustration? Now that grabs attention. Whether it’s a playful character or a beautifully crafted scene, advertising illustration brings personality, storytelling, and a whole lot of charm. It helps brands stand out, connect emotionally, and create something unforgettable. So, why should you be using illustration in advertising? Let’s get into it.
What is the purpose of an illustration in an advert?
Illustration in advertising isn’t just about making things look pretty. It’s a powerful tool for building awareness, grabbing attention, and creating an emotional response with the audience. Unlike stock images, illustrations can be tailored to the brand’s personality and can make an advert stick in people’s minds.
Creates awareness
Using illustration in advertising is a great way to help create brand awareness – the advertising landscape is overflowing with content, so creating awareness is a great way to cut through the noise. Using illustrations on social media platforms for example, can really help a page look more coherent, helping a business stand out from any competition.
Grabs attention
Advertising is meant to attract the attention of potential customers and is created in a way that grabs their attention before the message of the advertisement can actually sink in. The main benefit of advertising illustration is that it connects more with a customer’s emotions than a basic photo, especially when it involves lots of colour and humour. You can get a message across effectively, as advertising illustrations are a great way of conveying a story without text.
Avoids stock images
Although stock images are an important part of creating an advert, it’s very likely that a particular image has been used multiple times by multiple different businesses. An overused stock image is something you want to try and avoid. Whereas with an advertising illustration, you’ll get a custom-made design, helping you stand out from the crowd and giving you a higher chance of your advert making a lasting impression.
Supports written content
Words can be essential to the success of an advert, but they need backup to effectively deliver a message. By using an appropriate advertising illustration alongside text, your message can get across to audiences a lot easier, as the advert is more likely to stay in their minds. With visual advertising illustrations, adverts have a higher chance of delivering better results than when they’re just a wall of text with a basic image. As well as this, illustrations can be moulded around text, rather than simply sitting next to or behind it. This helps the advert appear more holistic and cohesive!
Offers customisation
With advertising illustrations, advertisers can use unique illustration styles and any colour scheme they want to suit their promotional campaigns. As well as this, it’s a lot easier to customise illustrations than it is to modify photographs e.g. moving, deleting or adding elements can be done more easily.
Cost effective approach
Using illustration in advertising is one of the best ways of saving on the costs of advertising. It’s normally a lot easier and cheaper to deal with illustrations than it is to produce photo-based ads. For example, a professional advert photograph will need models, a location, props, a photographer and post photoshoot modifications. This can add up to be quite expensive. However, with illustration, all of these things are out of the picture. Advertisers will spend less to communicate the same message.
A stronger brand identity
The consistent use of advertising illustrations can help build a strong brand identity that is easily recognisable. For example, brands like Oatly and Mailchimp use playful illustrations to differentiate themselves in crowded markets. These visual illustrations become an important part of a brand’s identity, making them more memorable to an audience. Consistent illustration in advertising reinforces brand recognition as well as loyalty.
Looking to have an illustration in your next project?
Well you’re in the right place! At Luddington Creative, we have a diverse roster of talented illustrators, each bringing their own unique style and flair to the table for all of your advertising needs. Whether you need an advertising illustration that includes a bold design or charming characters, we’ve got you covered. Check out our range of artists or get in touch today to commission.
