These ads for Career Builder, a job search portal, show people who look like they are about to die or get their asses kicked at work thanks to some clever photography.
By shooting the models from calculated angles, an innocent and normal object is used to communicate a bad situation. For example, an decorative axe on the wall is shot to look like it’s about to strike the head of the employee. Another print ad shot behind a waster cooler makes the employee look as if he is drowning.
The ad copy sarcastically declares, “Maybe it’s time to move on.”
I love the ads. We’ve seen job search ads before that use gory scarevertising techniques, so it’s nice to have something with a bit of humor along with the sarcasm.
What's Driving This Trend
- Humorous Recruitment Ads
- Opportunity for companies to create recruitment ads that use humor to stand out in a saturated job market.
- Visual Storytelling in Recruitment
- Opportunity for companies to use creative visual storytelling in recruitment ads to communicate company culture and values.
- Negativity Bias in Job Search
- Opportunity for companies to empathize with job seekers' negative experiences and use it as a platform to communicate their company's positive work culture.
Who This Affects Most
- Human Resources
- HR departments can use creative recruitment ads and storytelling to attract unique candidates.
- Marketing and Advertising
- Marketing agencies can use this approach to help companies create disruptive recruitment ads.
- Psychology and Behavioral Science
- Experts in psychology and behavioral science can study the impact of negativity bias on job seekers and how companies can use it to create effective recruitment strategies.
