Octave Plateau Sequencer Plus "State of the art shouldn't create a state of confusion" advertisement, KCS 1986

Octave Plateau Sequencer Plus advertisement from page 17 in the February 1986 issue of Keyboards, Computers and Software (KCS) magazine. 

As you know - I'm a fan of illustrations in synth adverts. Ads like Sequential's Ear Force, Octave's Cat synth ad, or Vibronic's drawing of a Moog modular, all should be put on T-shirts as far as I'm concerned.  I even have an artwork tag that I've hopefully kept up to date that will help you find more. 

 

The illustration in this ad (which would also make a great t-shirt) shows a frustrated, overwhelmed man standing over a reel-to-reel machine with more complex recording tools including a mixer and various effects in the background. There is also an illustrator's name - "Stau '85", but some quick google searches didn't bring up any other illustrations but the person. Dang.  

The good... the ad title is large and bold, and it's a clever and memorable play on words that tee's up the key message that technology can be easy to use with OP's software. The subtitle below the image is also of a good size, and includes the product name - Sequencer Plus. It also supports the key message. The copy also includes a clear call-to-action - contact us to get a brochure. 

The bad... I find the ad to feel cramped - the title, subtitle and copy all seem to almost fall over each other as well as with the imagery. Another half inch of white space around everything would have made all the difference. 

My only other beef with the ad is the amount of ad copy. Probably could have cut a few lines with a bit more editing to make more room around everything, including the two paragraphs. 

BUT, if someone actually tries to cut down the text, DO NOT get rid of the Voyetra Eight name drop that occurs in that second paragraph. If readers get that far, its a great flex. 

I'm a little sad that one of the rack units in the illustration doesn't resemble a Voyetra Eight. :(