Think of Dracula and you're likely to feel a little creeped out straight away. But a recent marketing campaign sought to make the idea of the archetypal vampire even more hard-hitting, with a poster design devised to shock even the most lionhearted among us. All it took was a mirror, and a top-level understanding of angles.
Found exclusively in the toilets of selected theatres, the poster advertised the West Australian Ballet company's production of Dracula and, in order to shock you, needed to be situated right next to a mirror (hence, the toilets). It's a poster guaranteed to make you jump, and one that's worthy of our top poster design roundup. Check out how the design works in the below video.
No, your eyes don't deceive you. That poster, which seems totally standard (albeit already pretty terrifying) when on the wall, becomes something even more frightening when shifting your eyes to the mirror image. The reflection is totally Dracula-less. Imagine the moment when you look up from washing your hands and see the disappeared image, especially if you were by yourself.
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So how does it work? As we said, it's all down to angles. The design uses lenticular printing (a technology which allows lenticular lenses to flip or change the image when seen from different viewing angles), placed at an optimum angle next to a mirror. This means that looking into the mirror shows a totally different image to that on the wall. Creepy.
Guaranteed to make you jump (Image credit: West Australian Ballet/Wunderman Thompson)
Created by agency Wunderman Thompson, this campaign is innovative and memorable. If this is the sort of design created for the advertising campaign, we'd love to see what went into the actual production.
Unlike the incredibly confusing movie poster for Tesla, which left us with a bunch of questions, this poster tells you all you need to know about genre, with a clear message – if you want to be freaked out, come and see our blood-curdling ballet. And if we lived in Perth, we certainly would (but we might take some garlic into the loos).
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Georgia has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018, and has been the site's Editor since 2023. With a specialism in branding and design, Georgia is also Programme Director of CB's award scheme – the Brand Impact Awards. As well as immersing herself with the industry through attending events like Adobe Max and the D&AD Awards and steering the site's content streams, Georgia has an eye on new commercial opportunities and ensuring they reflect the needs and interests of creatives.
