November 23, 2009

What is pareidolia?

It's the psychological phenomenon of perceiving random stimulus as significant. The term is also used to describe the knack we have for seeing faces in inanimate objects.

I didn't like this American Express ad the first time I saw it, because it's just borrowed interest from Faces In Places.
(On a side note, shouldn't they work out an online promotion with the guy behind that blog?)
But after seeing the spot on air a few dozen more times, I stopped thinking like a cynical creative and realized that every time it came on I started smiling.
And this print ad I saw in the New York Times magazine does a much better job tying the visual to the product benefit.

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