To be effective, ads have to break through the clutter and information glut. That's especially true for ads pitching new components, tools, or materials to design engineers. Working on 18 projects a year, engineers have little time and inclination to linger on ads. Yet, they need the information in those ads in order to do their jobs.
To find out what makes them stop and look at an ad, Design News asked readers to pick the best ads they saw in the January 5 and January 19 issues of the magazine. Specifically, we asked them to tell us which were most helpful, most informative, and most interesting in each of six size categories: two-pages, single-page, half-page, two-thirds page, one-third page, and one-quarter page. The winning ads are on these pages.
The ads weren't the only winners. Yvonne Simms, principal engineer at Boeing, (Madison, AL), chose the greatest number of ads that drew the most votes. She will receive an Edmund Scientific telescope for her efforts.
JANUARY 5
Turck Inc.:Most interesting, 1 page
Dell: Most helpful, 2 pages
Dell: Most informative, 2 pages
Anorad: Most informative,1/2 or 2/3 page
Thomas Products Ltd.:Most helpful, 1/3 page
Arrow Gear Co.: Most interesting, 1/3 page
Banbach/Bansbach:Most interesting, 1/4 page
Algor Inc.: Most helpful, 1 page
Litton:Most informative, 1 page
Rimmetics Inc.:Most helpful, 1/4 page
Ormec:Most informative, 1/3 page
Ruland Mfg. Co. Inc.: Most informative, 1/4 page
JANUARY 19
Amoco Chemical Polymers: Most interesting, 2 pages
Ansys Inc.: Most interesting,1/2 or 2/3 page
Micro Mo Electronics: Most helpful, 1/2 or 2/3 page
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