Images speak with Miguel Ferre

Mumbai: "People aren't stupid, advertising shouldn't be either…86 per cent of advertising goes unnoticed…" The advertisement for advertisements. Miguel Angel Furones Ferre's presentation ended with a big round of applause. He is Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide and Chairman of Virtuvio Leo Burnett, and was at the Crystal Room, Taj Mahal Hotel, on February 10, 2004, to make a presentation on "Images that talk".

Once the presentation began, Ferre stepped back and let the images take over. The audience sat riveted to the screen for an hour — the images spoke volumes that night.

He believes that images "have the capacity to tell a story in a single, universal language" and the advertisements he presented did just that. They were highly illustrative non-English ads, but all in the room understood every nuance of what they conveyed.

Creative talent is what makes the difference, according to Ferre. Talent alone will not do, it will not succeed in reaching out. Let the creativity flow. Don't confine it to one form or another, instead mix and match. He explains that text is like solid form, image is liquid and music gaseous. Just like liquid expands more than the solid when heated, when an image talks, it expands more than the text. And images that talk favour a "globalisation of feelings". So cut down on the text and channel your creativity into creating the perfect image, for people aren't stupid. Advertising shouldn't be either….