Worn Wear is Patagonia’s own thrift store. They buy back old used Patagonia gear and resell it for a discounted price according to the products condition. This allows for gear to continue to be used extending its life allowing people who otherwise could not afford their clothing to be able to enjoy it.
Patagonia has a popular subculture surrounding their used and repaired clothing. This is brought on from Patagonia’s lifetime repair warranty where they will repair any damaged Patagonia gear, for free or for a small fee, in very unique and colorful ways. Find more at WornWear.patagonia.com
Common Threads Concept.
The Concept for this Patagonia “Worn Wear” advertisement is to minimize distractions and direct the person reading it to the main message of the ad. The first thing they do is use contrast to get your attention. The Contrast helps to answer the questions raised from the initial glimpse of the ad. The first things you see is the title in a large bold font which reads “Better than new”. Followed by a photo of shorts. The next largest text explains what you are looking at; surf shorts from 1994. The bulk of the text is directly underneath in a small font broken up into three columns. The contrast of the text directs the readers gaze to the important information by giving them bits of information as they go so that they understand the message by the time they reach the end of the ad.
In designing the “Better Than New” advertisement Patagonia kept it simple and effective by using the same font throughout the add. This keeps readers focused on the message, while they also repeat their Patagonia signature font to remind you what it is your looking at. Along with their font they also repeated the centrally located theme. They centered all the information, and broke up the paragraphs at the bottom to maintain the central flow of the advertisement.
The ad uses a centered alignment. This directs The readers view easily through the information. This ad is very directional in the way it is supposed to be read. This helps the reader to understand the information quickly and in small chunks leading to the conclusion of the ad and why the old shorts are better than new. Also going back to the repetition in the ad it is important to notice that the top part of the ad with the hook and body are in the same pyramidal shape as the bottom contact portion of the ad. This ads emphasis to the alignment and is easy on the viewers eyes.
Proximity creates visual tension in this Patagonia ad. By having very narrow borders it makes the reader anxious to know what is so important about the information being displayed. The caption to the photo’s proximity to the body of the ad is important because it shows why the old shorts are important and what they stand for. The marketing play in this ad is due to proximity of the title with the last bold word on the page “Patagonia.” What is better than new? Patagonia. It leaves their brand at the front of your mind.
Contrast, Repetition, alignment, and proximity create a simplistic, moving, and appealing ad. It creates a clear purpose and convincingly invites to action. These elements creating the steps for the reader follow in understanding the ad.
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