Read between the lines: Ads not what they seem

Smaller brands and companies are increasingly hijacking – or Brandjacking – logos and names of more established brands, often exploiting the connotations that consumers associate with them, in order to promote their own message, as we reported in our Symbiotic Branding macrotrend.

The Fight Against Illiteracy ads look like those for products such as cars, mascara and bikinis, with similarly attractive layouts and imagery. But the text reveals the real message, which is to draw attention to illiteracy rates in France by estimating the number of people who would believe the ads were about products because they are illiterate.