To Be The Center Of Attention

" Today I am riding on my first cog rail. In case those reading this don't know, a cog rail is basically a train that runs across gears, which help pull it up steep slopes. Today we flew into Geneva, Switzerland, and now we are headed to a resort town that my cousin has done a lot of advertising for. The town we are visiting is only home to 1300 people, and is situated right under the Jungfrau. Crazy, huh? The town is called Wengen, and even though it is spelled with a "w", you pronounce it as if the "w" was a "v." I'll write more once we arrive, but I can't pass up an opportunity to get some pictures of the beautiful scenery......."

" I feel like I spent today walking across the front of a postcard. Wengen is gorgeous. Now I can see why people would pay so much money to stay at the resort here. It's no wonder that the people here are doing well. My first thought was that the resort here must make enough money to support everyone here a few times over. However, when I commented on this, I was quickly corrected by my cousin. "There's a reason the people here do so well, and while the resort factors into it, the people can't directly profit from the resort. That's not how it works. The true goldmine in this town is the local art. That's why I like advertising here so much. I bring in a modern, updated kind of art and combine it with the art that has flourished here for so long. Here's an example (see photo above). I used the local art, which is part of an art movement inspired by cubism called "purism." I combine "purism" with a simple color pallette and the beautiful scenery here, and magic is made." And I understand exactly what he is saying. I think that the advertisements here might be my favorite so far."


In actuality, Wengen taught me yet another important lesson about what makes advertising powerful. Like my cousin told me, he combined the local purist art with a modern pallette and stylings. Purism itself was actually a branch of the cubist movement, initiated by Amedee Ozenfant in the late 1800's. Purism advocated a return to purer, less jagged shapes, like the ones in the photo above. While the style was still similar to Cubism, Amedee wanted this style to reflect the changes going on in America at the time. He began to draw humans and places with a more machine like quality, which made them appear smooth and very shapely.

I got to see this style firsthand in the posters of Wengen. The poster above obviously advocates Wengen in the winter season, which is when the town receives its highest influx of tourists, many of whom are looking to ski in the infamous Swiss Alps. By using local art and presenting the main tourist attraction front and center, this ad is designed to draw the attention of anyone who walks by. Even if it is not winter, summer tourists seeing this image might be enticed to return in the winter. For an ad to be successful, you must draw in your target audience by prominently placing it in a public place, like a train station. Then, you must do something to capture their attention. In this case, the use of local art enhances the appreciation of art as a community, and also makes incoming tourists feel more at home the minute they step off the train. It draws them in, and then they are hooked. It benefits the town and the people equally, by marketing the recreation opportunities and promoting the local art at the same time. Perhaps there is an art to art itself, and I think I learned that firsthand in the mountains of Wengen.