25 typographic advertisements to inspire your next design

Want to get creative with your advertising? In this article, we look at 25 typographic advertisement examples and discuss why they are so successful from a design perspective. We also provide design tips along the way to help get you started.

In this article, we’ve put together 25 typographic advertisements for you to use as reference and inspiration in your next ad design (or any design, really).

Let’s take a look.

This advertisement by Victors and Spoils is a fresh take on typography.

Instead of honing type on the computer, the letters were hand created out of the very material they’re promoting. The type is strong enough on its own that it doesn’t need any extra visuals, and it really makes a statement.

The Modern Minimalist Poster uses a photo and minimalist layout for a more real-life look.

This print ad for HBO by Patrick Tan creates the illusion of liquid gold.

It’s bright, luxurious, and eye-catching. It shows HBO (and the shows and movies it chooses to show) as a high-class, noteworthy brand. The deep contrast of the dark background helps to make the type pop and serves to increase the richness of the color.

Illustrations, like the ones used in this Career Expo School Poster template, look like flat paper sculptures.

This print ad by Peter Tarka and Mateusz Król of analog/digital depicts a nice scene with its type. The letters look worn and scary, exactly like a horror film. The type plays right into the ambiance of the rest of the page and really contributes to the overall feel of the ad.

The Palm Trees Photo Collage Poster template creates a tropical scene with the cluster of palm trees and cool pink background.

This Panasonic ad by Fischer America oozes sophistication. The careful crafting of each letter borrows patterning from Asian cultures, and really drives home “state-of-the-art sounds.” Had the patterning not been used and had a regular typeface been applied, the ad wouldn’t have the same impact.

The Orange and Purple Floral Festival Diversity World Culture Poster template has influences from various cultures.

Just because typography is often flat doesn’t mean it has to be. Take a look at this ad by TAXI Calgary that implements cardboard lettering.

The material relates to the message and the brand, a storage company, and has a nice, hand-made quality to it. It’s refreshing to see a more tangible type solution as opposed to seeing a more flat, standard typeface.

Try using drawings or fun fonts for your poster, like with this Illustrated Movie Poster template.

What’s a great way to make your type ‘pop’? Make it 3D, like Jackson Alves did in this Coke ad. The letters themselves are soft and intricate, yet the bright three-dimensional shadowing allows them to stand out and become a design element.

This ad goes to show that not only blocky text can utilize 3D shadows, but ornate typefaces as well. If you are interested in replicating this look, here are 50 vintage typefaces that you can apply this three-dimensional effect to.

Create a 3D effect using the Red Beach Lost Boy Hoodie Lonely Film Movie Poster as the base template. Copy the text, change it to a different color and move it back to become a shadow.

Ultimately, your typography needs to work well with all of the elements in your composition. In this ad for Evian water by Edvin Puzinkevich, it does just that.

The brand, Evian, is rendered in beautiful 3D typography and fits perfectly inside the bottle. The subtext lines right up along the road. It stands out, yet doesn’t intrude, and really brings everything together.

Adding relevant elements to your design makes its impact stronger, just like with the Colorful School Retail Store Sale Poster template.

An interesting take on 3D text, this ad by Suarez & Clavera takes its lettering and forms it into its product—a lollipop. The tagline, ‘impossible to take out of your mouth’ pairs perfectly with how delicious and sweet the candy looks. The 3D rendering of the type is much more successful than simply showing the product and having text alongside it.

Text becomes part of the illustration with the Watercolour Bird Romance Movie Teaser Poster template.

Including a subtle grain of texture in your type can really give it some extra edge. Brandon Rike added in texture to this ad, and it really makes it.

If the text was just simple flat color, it wouldn’t have incorporated as well into the background or paired as nicely with the illustration. It would have looked too placed, and not an actual part of the advertisement.

Images can act as texture, just like the basketball does with the Ball Texture Basketball Poster template.

Everything from the lettering right down to the patterning was created with food in this Sabra hummus ad by Becca Clason. It’s lively, vibrant, and full of flavor—indicative of how the product actually tastes.

Play with the different illustration elements or images relevant to your product or theme, like with the Backyard Grill Father's Day Poster template.

This ad spread by Jose Canales fills the space on the page perfectly. The text fills every corner of the page and is challenging to read. The varying thickness and weights of the handwritten type provide a strong contrast, and the lettering works right into the illustration.

You can fill space with text or with images, like with the Green Muted Vintage Suitcase Travel Fair Poster template.

Ben Didier took a more hands-on approach with this beer advertisement. He carefully crafted each element with chalk on a chalkboard, which gives the beer the appearance of being handcrafted as well.

Instead of having a perfectly crisp and clean board, some residual smudges provide a nice background texture and helps to incorporate everything together.

Apply the chalkboard effect to your design, just like with the Green Chalk Doodle Vintage Classroom Poster template.

This ad by Jon Deviny depicts a clear relationship between the type and the imagery.

The lettering winds around the man in the image, and you see him being embraced by the words ‘image’ and ‘opportunity’. It paints a hopeful picture and shows the promise of a more opportunistic environment for all.

Balancing text with an image is easy with the Grey Bordered Minimal Typography Poster template.

Layering elements of your typography in your ads is a great way to not only add dimension but another layer of design.

This print ad by Thomas Kohl combines two layers of text: the red text is still incredibly legible and the white text stands out without overshadowing the text underneath it. The two work together to create a design element but function separately as well.

Use text with other elements like shapes. You can also use the same font in a different color for emphasis or to create a different meaning, like with the Summer Workshop School Poster template.

Whether your text is physically grounded on the page or not, you should still give it weight, as designer Mike Campau has done in this ad.

The text isn’t sitting on the ground or jutting out of the wall behind it, but its perspective makes it feel as if it’s there for a purpose—it’s following the runner along on her journey and acting as a motivator.

Your text's weight can be done both by making it bigger and using a heavy font—or through the message it sends out. Check out the Red Photo Quote Typography Anti-War Poster template.

This print ad is very clever in the way it uses typography. At first glance or to the untrained eye, it may appear as just an ordinary high-heeled shoe. But when you look more closely, you can see that the gentle curves of the shoe form the word ‘sale’.

It’s a great solution to not only show that there is a sale but to depict exactly what is on sale in a unique and unexpected way.

Clever can be all about which element to highlight, what layout to use, or what color palette to apply. Find it all in the Lightbulbs Save Energy Campaign Poster template.

This print advertisement for Windex by Adison Reddy is perfectly imperfect. The words are clearly hand-lettered, yet while they’re clean and neat, they still have a handcrafted, welcoming feel to them.

Had each letter been carefully edited on the computer, it wouldn’t have the same character. The small imperfections gives a more personal touch to this ad.

The Colorful Pointe Shoes Vector Dance Poster may look like an incomplete drawing, but it has a charm on its own.

This print ad for Worldpride created by Bryan Canning,Amber Thompson, and Steve Garwood utilizes an ambigram at its center. An ambigram is an image whose elements retain meaning when viewed or interpreted at different perspectives.

This ambigram reads ‘pride’ both forwards and upside down and backwards. It shows that the poster is legible from any direction, and it takes on a new appearance when it’s switched around.

Interested in other designs that have hidden messages or meanings? Check out the hidden meanings behind these logos.

Start with a base template like this Dark Blue Prom Poster, then change the text with your own ambigram.

This Ikea print ad created by TBWA Instanbul is full of typographic elements.

At first glance, it just looks like a bunch of ties strewn across the page, but things start making sense upon closer inspection. You start to see letter forms throughout, and eventually, you piece together the words ‘where is my favorite tie?’.

A play on words or a reference to other things can work as a puzzle too. Check out the Yellow Illustrated English Classroom Poster template.

If you’re going to execute an advertisement that utilizes typography, lend it visual meaning, like in this ad by Voskhod. This ad is promoting a language school, and it shows the visualization of refreshing a language you used to be familiar with, yet are learning it again.

Familiar elements with a language that's new to you are what the Red and Cream Ornaments and Decorations Chinese New Year Poster expresses.

Illustrating your type is always a good choice for more detail-heavy ads, like this Pedigree ad completed by BBDO. All of the imagery is illustrated, yet the shoes stand out nicely.

The type is a playful message of the thoughts of the dog, who’s considering chewing the undoubtedly smelly sneakers. The careful curves and shadows in the lettering give form to the shoes, yet the type is still completely legible.

Using illustration in your design can bring a different feel to it. Add sophistication, just like with the Illustrated Blue White French Wine Poster template.

This advertisement by Steve Simpson is jam-packed full of typography goodness.

There are little sections of text throughout the page, and they all have their own unique style and flair. It’s fun to go through and discover each section, and the careful attention to details gives the overall look an ornate, yet friendly appearance.

Play up the contrast of large letters with smaller text. See the Contrast Pattern Concert Poster template for inspiration.

If you’re able to use your product to create typography, do it. This print ad for Arnott’s biscuits by Lisa Dino uses biscuit crumbs to carefully spell out the message. It’s a fun and unique approach to advertising a product, and it keeps the imagery rooted in the brand’s overall feel.

You can also use your brand as a background photo for your design, just like with the White and Red Photo Farmers Market Postertemplate.

Whip out some scissors and paper the next time you want to tackle a typographic ad, like Danielle Evans did in this advertisement for SAA.

The lettering has a wonderful dimension to it that is hard to craft by computer. The curves and shadowing of the paper adds in a nice touch, and the tangible lettering pairs perfectly alongside the multitude of art supplies surrounding it.

Use images of handmade things as background, or photos of cleverly laid out materials like with the Book Photo Community Poster template.

This powerful ad created by Publicis Mojo Auckland paints a meaningful picture. The carefully placed lettering fills in the missing areas of the leg, and the child-like quality of the writing makes you feel as though the child standing in front of you is speaking directly to you. It sends its message loud and clear, and you can’t help but feel as though you need to help in some way.

In the Red Grungy World Day Against Child Labour Poster template, the yellow hand graphic looks incomplete, but on a close look, it's empty shape gives a different meaning.