Capturing Pizza: A Photo-editing

Dilettantes Approach to
Successful Ad Implementation

By Neal J.

This is me.

(Camera Aversive, v.1)

This is also me.

(Slightly Less Camera Aversive, an Album Cover v.2)

This is also also me (ultimate-fist-kick distributor, left).

(!)
(Friendship)

This is an ad I made.

Before I dive in, let me start off by saying this: I am a psychology major, and
everything I do with advertising has to do with the why of why things work.
This ad that I made I made because I love MOD Pizza. The people are great
and so is the pizza.

Great people and great pizza are important, but what really sets them apart
is their message of inclusivity and acceptance. MOD Pizza is notorious for
hiring ex-cons (and therefore giving them a second chance), people of all
beliefs, orientations, cultures, and people with tattoos, even if its on their
face.
So I went downtown to document something that would capture what makes
MOD different: its people, and its pizza (and its tattoos).
And this why this ad works:

A
B

C
D

F
G

A. If MOD is all about inclusivity an acceptance, then it should encourage others

to be who they are, and be able to express what that looks like.
B. Those are tattoos (see: dilettante photo-editor). The placement of EXPRESS
and the tattoos arent coincidence: by having those two next to each other, it
reinforces the association of expression and tattoos. Psychology!
C. Pizza and people: MOD logo with the customers name (my friend Gregs
name) shows that the pizzas are individually made for each customer.
D. MOD logo is emphasized through contrast of lines (its on a different color
wood than the rest of the sentence) and of color (white vs. red). The MOD is
also directly next to the thing that it sells: pizza. MOD association with pizza.
E. Bomb-looking pizza.
F. Where am I going to get such bomb pizza? Dude, let me box off an easy-toread section of the ad so you can go get it!
G. MOD branding. Red leading lines lead the eye directly to the MOD logo, just
so we make sure everyone knows whos making what. Theyll also look for
the logo when they look for the store, which is located at the address you just
read.

(Wow)

Theres a difference between advertising and art, and a lot of people get
that twisted. People innately want to make things that are beautiful, and
thats awesome, but what separates advertisements from art, if done
correctly, is that advertisements should make the viewer feel called to do
something, whether thats donate to a campaign that resonates with
them or go eat awesome pizza and support a great message in the
process.
A big part of that call is to ensure that a message is salient and
interesting to the target audience. That is why the motivation behind
creation and the implementation of an advertisement is so critical. The
advertisement I made is not beautiful per se (beauty is in the eye of the
beholder?), but it suggests that viewer express who they are and to go
get pizza at the location provided.
If theres anything Ive learned from my major and my time in advertising
classes is that the deeper a message resonates with someone, the deeper
the connection they will have to something. In this case, expression and
inclusivity and acceptance are experiences that all humans seek.
You likely wouldnt hang an advertisement on your wall, but I would argue
that advertising can be a form of art, but with a clear direction of where
the viewer is suggested to go. What separates ads from art is a call to
action.
Psychology and advertising are similar because at the end of the day,
both in it to help people solve problems, and by working with Deutsch
through D-Prep, I hope that I too can be a part in creating change,
creatively.
Thanks for sticking through,
Neal J.