How do I create attractive ads?

[Guest LoungeLover]

I'm having a challenge making attractive and stylish ads for new products I am releasing.  Any advice and suggestions are welcome! 

My products are wall (and some sign) vinyl.  I have walls, yes, but my walls are plain white all over and my home is not decorated like those on the cover of Luxury magazine.    Using only white walls to display my products will quickly get boring.  I would like pictures of attractive, varied rooms (residential and commercial) in which to display my products. 

Now that you know my challenge, how can I overcome it? 

I looked at sites like Fathead that offer all kinds of wall products, from sports, to home decor, to kid-designed and more.  Once I sell products to individuals or businesses, I can always ask if they would like to send a high quality photo of my product displayed in their (attractive) rooms and allow me to advertise it.  But until that time, what do you suggest?

Thanks all.

[mikerob2334 2]

As far as the wall words, I would make some samples and check around with some of the home furnishing stores that have the fake "room" displays. See if they would trade with you. They get free wall decorations and you get your advertising pictures. May pick up some paying sign business in the process

[bamafan2277 50]

Mike has a good point! Offer to put your vinyl up for them for free in exhange for them letting you photograph it and to pass out your business card if anyone ask about it.

[Guest fivestar]

Go to google and search for some good high quality pics of walls and take the picture into your design software and put your design over then wall and size it to fit onto the wall, save it and then you're done.

[Guest fivestar]

Took me about a minute to do this.

[Guest LoungeLover]

Thanks Mike and BF, those are options I had not considered!

Five, are you saying go the Photoshop route?  I've actually contemplated doing this, as long as I am able to mesh my products well to the existing picture.  I actually think that Fathead has done a bit of this, as there is one picture I found on their site tonight of a room that I've seen on photo sites (minus their product of course).    Because it's not a close-up picture, it looks natural.

[Guest fivestar]

Thanks Mike and BF, those are options I had not considered!

Five, are you saying go the Photoshop route?  I've actually contemplated doing this, as long as I am able to mesh my products well to the existing picture.  I actually think that Fathead has done a bit of this, as there is one picture I found on their site tonight of a room that I've seen on photo sites (minus their product of course).    Because it's not a close-up picture, it looks natural.

I did it in Corel Draw.

[Guest LoungeLover]

Took me about a minute to do this.

NICE!  This option will allow more versatility for me to use various room designs from existing photos. 

With this sample you've made, did you have to do anything special to tone down the text from looking 'Shop-ped?  I have seen another wall vinyl site where the text over the background picture is clearly shopped, as the text nearly jumps off screen. 

This, coupled with the other suggestions, would work very well.

[midwaste 4]

Took me about a minute to do this.

+1 

Also, If you go to http://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/, you can bring up different interior rooms in several styles, paint them any color you want, and then save them as .jpgs.  Pshop your words on them, you're done.

[Guest fivestar]

Took me about a minute to do this.

NICE!  This option will allow more versatility for me to use various room designs from existing photos. 

With this sample you've made, did you have to do anything special to tone down the text from looking 'Shop-ped?  I have seen another wall vinyl site where the text over the background picture is clearly shopped, as the text nearly jumps off screen. 

This, coupled with the other suggestions, would work very well.

Nope nothing special. I just typed the text over the picture and exported it as a jpeg.

[Guest LoungeLover]

Took me about a minute to do this.

+1 

Also, If you go to http://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/, you can bring up different interior rooms in several styles, paint them any color you want, and then save them as .jpgs.  Pshop your words on them, you're done.

Hmmm...In looking at the Sherwin site, they do offer really nice room pictures to color and shop!  I would be reluctant to do this though, as these pictures do not appear to be royalty free.

[midwaste 4]

Took me about a minute to do this.

+1 

Also, If you go to http://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/, you can bring up different interior rooms in several styles, paint them any color you want, and then save them as .jpgs.  Pshop your words on them, you're done.

Hmmm...In looking at the Sherwin site, they do offer really nice room pictures to color and shop!  I would be reluctant to do this though, as these pictures do not appear to be royalty free.

And random pics off Google image search are royalty-free?

Your options for royalty-free are to take the photos yourself, or buy each one from a stock photo website like istockphoto.com.

[Guest LoungeLover]

Took me about a minute to do this.

+1 

Also, If you go to http://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/, you can bring up different interior rooms in several styles, paint them any color you want, and then save them as .jpgs.  Pshop your words on them, you're done.

Hmmm...In looking at the Sherwin site, they do offer really nice room pictures to color and shop!  I would be reluctant to do this though, as these pictures do not appear to be royalty free.

And random pics off Google image search are royalty-free?

Your options for royalty-free are to take the photos yourself, or buy each one from a stock photo website like istockphoto.com.

I never said I would make use of photos I have no rights to use. Hopefully that was not assumed. 

[NukleoN 34]

Yep, photos are copywritten too, but Fivestar is thinking out of the box here. You can always hire a 3D-artist to make a few custom room that you can use over and over if you want something that's yours for life. Nothing fancy..just a basic room with some minimalist furniture...or just photograph a room (then it's your copyright) and re-use it.

[rjfox 0]

You can always get free and legal to use stock photos.  Most arent the best quality, but if you spend some time searching you can find some good stuff.

[mikerob2334 2]

Yep, photos are copywritten too, but Fivestar is thinking out of the box here. You can always hire a 3D-artist to make a few custom room that you can use over and over if you want something that's yours for life. Nothing fancy..just a basic room with some minimalist furniture...or just photograph a room (then it's your copyright) and re-use it.

wonder if anyone knows a good artist that can do this. think i might have seen someone on here like that