Butz's moth: the symbolic imagery that nobody understands

Here’s the idea: Traffic signs use a symbolic image to explain what they’re about in the blink of an eye. It usually works perfectly. People have quickly learned and internalized this kind of language. This method is ideal for conveying an idea quickly. That’s why advertising has always made use of this visual language.

But now a problem arises. If the visual language is incorrect and incomprehensible, it has the opposite effect. In that case, it is unproductive—even negative. The celebrities featured in *Schweizer Illustrierte* on the milk crates are a prime example of this.

My theory: SI’s advertising message has long been that it’s “closer to the action.” The celebrities photographed in the bathtub or in their marital beds are proof of that. Now you’ll find these celebrities crammed into your milk crate. The images aren’t just fake because a Swiss wrestling champion wouldn’t fit in a box like that, but because all the images are fakes—they don’t actually show the celebrities SI is trying to imply.

In reality, this campaign is a scam. If these celebrities had actually been shown, the campaign would have been much better. No one understands the visual concept of depicting a 120-kg wrestler in a 50×30 cm box, and as a result, the message takes on a negative connotation. Or do SI readers see it differently? If they had found a visual language that symbolized the celebrities but also realistically fit them into that box from a milk-crate perspective—such as Wawrinka’s smashed racket or the Miss contestant’s crown—then people would have understood that visual language. But it still wouldn’t be a good advertising campaign. The photographer from an older SI campaign, who is flying through the air while taking a photo with the goalkeeper, demonstrated a much clearer visual language. But as the saying goes: The friend of the good is the worse.

In the past, commissions from publishing houses were a great opportunity to win a gold medal at the ADC. Urs Zeier, the Tagi-Magi marketing executive, briefed me back then to win one of those gold medals. Mission accomplished. But the SI ad won’t even make it onto the shortlist. And rightly so. There are other advertising campaigns that don’t understand the rules of visual language: UBS has placed a giant poster covering the entire facade of its building at Bellevue in Zurich. It reads, «Give your mortgage a new foothold,» and the image shows a wall anchor with a screw. An unattractive symbol—and, to make matters worse, doubly misleading. Especially when we’re hearing that the banks want to tighten the screws in the mortgage interest rate business. I wouldn’t even have allowed a single-column filler ad for a campaign like that.

It is also a mistake for opponents of the SVP’s immigration initiative to use Hodler’s *The Woodcutter*—a visual motif featuring an apple tree and roots—to represent their “No” vote, assuming that every voter will understand it immediately. A basic rule of advertising is: Never use your opponent’s symbolism to draw attention to yourself.

The highlight of the week at the ADC Gala was President Frank Bodin’s laudatory speech in my honor, during which I was presented with an 8,000-gram ADC Gold Cube for my service to the ADC, as well as the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The atmosphere was festive, and Franz and Oli (Franzoli) served a superb 18-course meal.

Theophil Butz, graphic designer, advertising agency owner, source of inspiration, and—for the past three years—also a complainer for *Werbewoche* readers. Please send relevant information to [email protected].

There's a person stuck in a box. On closer inspection, he's actually stuck in a mailbox or milk crate. That's just not right. He's supposed to be a celebrity. Yeah, but a really tiny one. SI deserves better advertising.