Creative Pesach ads that are pushing the frum design industry forward

What I (and probably plenty of other designers) love doing when browsing through magazines, is looking at the ads. Searching for who’s on the cutting edge of the frum design world. Who’s doing something different, edgy, wildly creative and unique. 

Because while most clients need something practical with emotive body copy and multiple points of contact, sometimes you need to stretch those creative muscles to get the itch out and feel fulfilled. 

Too much work and not enough play… 

Makes creativity dry up and my work become less inspired.

So take the time to browse the inspo, see what new ideas you can take inspiration from. And even if none of your current clients are looking for (or strategically need) something cutting edge, create something for yourself (and your portfolio:). 

You’ll be surprised at how energizing it can be to let loose on the restraints and create something amazing for no reason other than creative fulfillment. 

Here are some of the ads I spotted in the Pesach magazines that inspired me: 

***This is by no means an exhaustive list - I’m sure there are tons of amazing ads this year! For this list, I was specifically looking for ads that were not just great designs and clever concepts but also innovative, breaking the mold and treading new paths. These are just a few that caught my eye :)

1. Mir Yerushalayim

Their dinner designs are always unique and classy, and this year is no different. 

The black and white is a bold move - without color for accents, you limit the tools at your disposal with which you can create energy and emotion. 

The grid layout is also an interesting choice. It creates a pleasing, calming balance but is difficult to execute with large amounts of text at various hierarchical levels, especially if the copy is constantly in flux, requiring you to continuously redo the grid. The way it reflects the grids of sefarim shelves is a clever way to make it relevant and intentional, not just a random design choice.  

2. Wellpoint

This rather simplistic design might have just been due to a lack of time, but if it was intentional then I love it. 

When everyone else is going over the top with busy photoshopped images of open haggados and desert pyramids with camels and matzah, the simplicity of this stands out. 

The abstract shape could be interpreted as a speech bubble or an open haggadah or even a square location pin.   

I just wish the footer was more structured and minimalist to match… 

3. Kosher West

The design does the talking for you. 

No copy needed. 

Now, that’s design perfection. 

4. Home Etc.

First, a moment for such a fun name that’s basically them saying “we’re not even going to bother coming up with a name.” Such confidence 😂

I love a good typography-only design, and this one hits the mark. 

It says so little while saying so much. A common problem for businesses and non-profits is people not realizing how many products/services they have to offer. This solves that challenge, displaying their varied product range, without overwhelming the readers with too much information. 

The simple addition of the little white triangle/arrow turns it from a bubble into a dropdown visual everyone is familiar with - it’s the tiniest detail that has the biggest impact.  

And both taglines are clever twists on well-known phrases (not technically a design point, I know, but still greatly creative).

5. KJ Tiles

THIS is where frum designs are headed. I’ve seen this trend starting and this is a great case study. 

This ad combines a couple of trends - bento boxes (interlocking, rounded-edge shapes/grids), web/UX elements, and minimalist/monochromatic color palettes - to make something new and fresh.

My one complaint - the word spacing in the headline font is painfully too wide. Someone needed to CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+J that word spacing in InDesign (yes, I have the keyboard shortcut memorized, but don’t know the long version LOL) to tighten it up.  

The font, however, is perfectly selected for this brand. The bold, condensed, sans serif perfectly evokes a feeling of strength, confidence, and sturdiness that match what people are looking for (and will resonate with) in a bold, modern, luxury tile brand. 

6. Peppercrust

At first glance, I thought this was an article headline. Which is amazingly effective. Most people skip ads and just read the articles - hence why advertorials perform so well. 

There are so many things to love about this design: 

The headline font is so unique and elegant.

The subtle gold 2-sided border is trendy and adds a layer of depth by disappearing beneath the image making it pop.

The elegant gold-foil logos mercifully without a slew of contact information saying “we’re so cool we’re not chasing after you, if you want us you need to make the effort” - which incidentally is a great psychological tactic of getting customers to invest in that first step and once you start investing in something you don’t want to stop). 

The understated body copy that isn’t in-your-face. Show a little faith in your customers - they’re not dumb, they can put together the pieces of subtle messaging. 

I’ve never been to Uppercrust, but now I want to!

7. Marquis

Adding a game to your ad is such a great way to encourage people to spend more time on it, reinforcing your brand recognition and top-of-mind awareness. 

The mind-numbing Where is Waldo pattern is incredible. I can’t even imagine how difficult it might have been to design… Perhaps they created 2 patterns in Illustrator with the pattern tool and then placed them into InDesign within glass-shaped bounding boxes? 

I can see this concept working really well for many different industries and purposes. (Search for the Promo Code? Find the contact email for a job opening? Enter the shape you find online to enter a raffle?...)

8. Sprinkles

Another ad that doesn’t require text. 

Remove that headline and the ad would be even stronger. 

(And it’s good advice in general with copy - take away that paragraph or subhead and see if without it the copy is even stronger than before. Sometimes less is more. Or it means you need to make your copy contain a more necessary message...) 

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Honorable Mentions: 

9. Klein’s Nuts

Creating an illustrated scene of a product is not a new idea, but I wanted to dissect this ad. 

This has the feeling of the beginning of a series…? If so, I’m intrigued. I’m excited to see more of the behind the scenes of this mysterious nut factory (my brain is imagining something akin to the Coke Happiness Factory ad). 

There are a lot of small details and nuanced touches that really elevated this design to me: 

1. In the headline, the words “World” and “Klein’s” are in a fairly typical font, but they customized the capital W and K, making them more unique. 

2. The subtle texture in the background gives it the feeling of a canvas bag, adding a level of depth to the page. 

3. Adding the logo in a banner that makes it a natural part of the image creates a more cohesive and unique image. They could have just plopped the logo into the footer. Instead they went the extra mile to integrate it into the image, elevating the whole design.

4. The added sun glare on the right-hand machinery, behind the headline, helps to both keep the text legible and add warmth and realism throughout the image, pulling the various elements together. 

5. Interestingly, the image looks AI generated with some of the nuts and leaves, especially the foreground and floating ones, looking Photoshopped in, and the sunrise background added in afterward as well. You can tell that some of the nuts have a slightly different level of sharpness or focal range than the main barrels/machinery image, and there’s a harsh-ish edge between the cobbles and the trees, making me think they’re separate elements. That also explains the need to add sun rays to the machinery. It’s always interesting to me to pick apart and understand how people create such creative images…  

The part I don’t like as much - the copy. The line of “from our family to yours” is tired, overused, and meaningless here when they’re a nut “factory” (their words) and not a family. And I think they need to do some more research into how consumers differentiate between different nut brands and choose which ones to purchase, because I highly doubt that “tradition” and “quality” play a big role in it… (How many times have you opened a random brand of salted peanuts and been like “gosh these nuts are low quality”? Not often, I’d guess.) 

But hey, this is a design article, so moving on :)

10. & 11. No-Logo Ads

The tremendous bravery it takes to not putting a logo on the ad! I literally have no idea who these are for - but maybe IYKYK?

I especially love the tiny detail of the rounded corners where the lines intersect in the Avdus ad. 

The clever headline for the taxi service also deserves a mention - try to read it and not end up rereading it a few times afterwards 😂 

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Inspired? 

Go create something amazing!

PS. If you created any of these, let me know so I can give you credit!