Zach Wardlaw Pretzl Spoof ad Final

This spoof ad is for Petzl climbing gear and is titled Pretzl Facts. Materials from the web, as well as personal images were edited in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Petzl is credited for their logo. Final piece submitted April 30, 2012. 

These ads were designed for print advertising. The images of a man climbing a pretzel could possibly be replicated for television or other video media, but less easily. The advertisement focuses on the replacement of rock with pretzels and showing a climber on the pretzel wall. The imagery works well because a typical climbing wall has spots of white from chalk that are replicated by the salt. The ad I was spoofing was for a rope, and the text gave facts about the rope. In my spoof, I changed the text to give facts about the pretzel in a similar fashion. Since the ad is not focused on a specific Petzl product, the objective is simply a brand reminder. 

The ad is roughly based on a grid that aligns most of the text and several of the mountains. The grid was used to make the original design, then elements were deconstructed to make the image feel less stable, as rock climbing is. This piece is relevant to me because I rock climb and use Petzl gear. I also work at Moosejaw Mountaineering and sell Petzl gear. I find it humorous that a well respected climbing gear company would be spoofed with food. The ad campaign that I can compare this to in class is the Covergrill spoof. Both campaigns take a company that is well respected in their field and replace the scenario with food. 

Petzl ads tend to use a very dramatic and simple approach that focuses on a single image. Often a single climber is seen on an extraordinary climb or a product’s benefit is showcased. They often use print advertising to advertise headlamps, making the entire page black except a beam of light from one of their lamps. There is often very little text and almost never an invitation to buy the product or prices. Most ads focus and building awareness and brand image. I spoofed these ads in a style that I felt was similar. The single climber and minimal text are reminiscent of a Petzl print advertisement. 

The purpose of this campaign would be to build brand awareness and image. They are not focused on a single product or product benefit, so the images should only seek to change or reinforce the way a viewer thinks about the Pretzl brand. Petzl ads typically seek to make the viewer see Petzl as a quality brand that can help you accomplish amazing things. I would hope the Pretzl ads convey a similar feeling. 

I think that the final product was successful. It conveyed the image of the brand that I wanted and showed the “pretzel” theme very well. I liked that the final image used almost exclusively pretzels to build the landscape, which only helped to reinforce the spoofed brand name.