Ad Review - An art of recruitment advertising

Having been an entrepreneur ever since I could stand on my own two feet, I cannot recall ever having to look through recruitment advertisements for the sole purpose of seeking employment. However, I will still religiously look through Saturday's Recruit section of The Straits Times. It is to me a perfect tool for keeping abreast of how the companies that are doing well in the market.

Over the years, it has impressed me on how traditional advertisements have changed from a mere call-for-action tool to a branding tool. With this new approach, human resources departments serve a critical role as a brand advocate for the organisation they represent. Apart from the obvious brand-building benefits, this approach works well in trying to find the right candidates.

One interesting trend that I have noticed over the years is how the noble act of working for the civil service has now taken the shape of a lifestyle choice. Based on the different flavours of the season, visual imagery or association is employed in various recruitment advertisements in order to attract the appropriate applicants. The various government agencies and statutory boards are now branding themselves as consciously hip and trendy.

The first thing that caught my attention with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA) advertisement was their avant-garde visual treatment. The traditional and boring monochrome canvas has evolved to one that is close to being an art. Set in a local context which helps the viewer to identify the relevance, the MRT is also used to build a mental imagery of transition and movement. This is further substantiated by the supporting content. In unison, they convey the key message or story of the organisation in order to reach out to their intended audiences. This visual-led advertisement is a fine blend with the copy and scores highly in the aesthetics department.

Employing a storytelling approach evokes emotions of passion to do something that really matters. As someone who strongly views employment to be more than just a vocation, I would have been compelled to answer this call for action in hope of serving the greater good. The layout is clear and concise while mandatory elements such as balancing form and functionality are distinctive.

For the Infocomm Development Authority's (IDA) advertisement, the main headline calls out to me at first glance. The strong, bold font of the advertisement's title against a red background makes a strong statement, but it does not support the rest of the copy body and visuals. A clear sense and understanding of the key messages of the organisation is missing, and not enough has been done to portray information technology as sexy and appealing to aspiring applicants. The visuals convey a fused message and the execution looks disjointed and busy. However, clear descriptions are given for the individual job vacancies which serve to educate the discerning reader on its requisites. Personally, more can be done to make the advertisement look sexy because as the saying goes, "Sex sells".