It's been a while since I flipped through the employment pages of The Straits Times (yes, I'm one of the lucky ones), but it really didn't look much different from what I remembered the newspaper section to be. I was overwhelmed by the visual clutter and started to curse at myself for taking up this review assignment. Which recruitment ads can I compare? One page looked just like the other!
As I flipped through the sheets again, an ad by OCBC bank caught my eye. I hesitated and questioned whether I thought the ad was good or bad. I really couldn't decide at the moment but its starkness and simplicity stood it apart from the other ads on the page. Written in bold were the words, "We're banking on your talent." reversed against a stark black block. The headline stared at me. I can only stare back because there was nothing else in the ad that was more captivating for me to look at.
My first thought was that the witty headline, although some may find it corny, reinforced the nature of the business. Despite the diminutive body copy, the text was clear and readable and overall, the ad caught my attention. But my positive reaction to the ad ended there. I have nothing against ads which are simple and employ typography as a tool. In fact, I like them. The issue here is that typography wasn't engaged as a tool. The artist in me was left unfulfilled. It appeared that OCBC bank paid for the copywriter but left out the designer.
In recent years, OCBC's branding and advertising campaigns have grown from "strength to strength", even overtaking some of her counterparts, so I was disappointed when their recruitment ad couldn't deliver. Were they short on budget? Could they have done a little more to maintain consistent branding? Perhaps. But in this case, they seem to be measuring effectiveness against design and creativity, treating it as a mere recruitment ad.
I turned the pages to further compare OCBC's ad to other financial institution ones. As I glanced at HSBC's ad, it was bland and seemed to say nothing (even if it is trying to be creative, you couldn't tell). Citigroup's recruitment ad was almost creative but even that was nothing to rave about. The image of two men behind a camera (likely from the stock library) was not only confusing, but further added to the clutter of the page. The headline attempted to tie in the visual but was, unfortunately, somewhat lost in the page of heavy text. By this time, I wished recruitment ads could be more interesting.
On hindsight, I really should not have been so critical. For a jobseeker, all the above is really unimportant, usually it's the logo that really matters.
Jason Chen
Creative Consultant
Egg Creatives
