Advertising is all around us. It creeps into our subconscious without us even realizing — at least that’s the case with the cleverest of campaigns.  Branding images surround us at all times — on billboards when we’re driving, at the ball game, at movie theaters and even at bars (all those strategically placed signs for certain brands of beer!). In tough economic times, ad budgets are usually one of the first items to be reduced or completely cut.  I find this unfortunate and not always in the best interests of a company.  When people are spending less money, it is critical to ensure when consumers are actually buying, they are buying your product. Advertising keeps products at the forefront of the consumer mind. Of course, the trick is making sure consumers remember exactly what product they saw in the ad. I can think of two campaigns that make me remember the product — the HSBC Your Point of View ads (seen in airports around the world) and the Snickers campaign (seen all over the country). The HSBC ad is usually the first thing I see when boarding and disembarking airplanes. The ads are on the walls of many jet bridges. It is usually two images, such as a high-heel shoe and a hot pepper. “Pleasure” would be written all over the shoe; “pain” all over the pepper. The next ad is the same two images, with the wording reversed.  I do not yet have an HSBC account, but when the time comes for me to look into new banking options, HSBC will be the top of my list to research. The Snickers campaign is currently running on top of taxis in NYC. They are clever — characteristics of the Snickers bar are manipulated into words familiar to New York. For example, “Nougataboutit” or “Take a tour around Nougat York”. Every time I see them I laugh, and when I go into the convenience store craving chocolate, I am more inclined to buy a Snickers bar. What is your favorite ad? –Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher