TIME | Understanding comes with TIME.

One of the things you learn to annoy yourself with while working in advertising is the similarity between ad campaigns through the years. I recall loving this TIME magazine campaign only to encounter some who thought it bore a striking resemblance to another iconic campaign for The History Channel.

Now, I’m here to tell you both are great. Who cares which came first. Besides, it’s my blog. I do what I want. And, this one has writing on it.

The writing here is so utterly unnecessary, but it’s also breathtakingly good. I don’t need it, but I’m glad it’s there. Funny enough, that tension makes the campaign that much better.

In each execution, the copy interacts differently with the photograph in the ad. Sometimes, the words act as an explanation to what you’re seeing or a commentary on it, and then sometimes the copy is part of the conversation going on in the image. Really beautiful stuff. Seriously.

You can’t just write lines like this on a blank page. You don’t even need lines like this on a page with an appropriate image. But, I’ll say again…I’m so happy the words are here.