Rule of Thirds in Advertising

The rule of thirds is a composition rule used in advertising. An advert can be split into 9 equal squares and the concept is that when a person views the advert, they start looking at the top left square then make their way down the poster in a 'Z' shape until they reach the bottom right square which is known as the line of sight. The rule also states that the object you are trying to bring attention to should be positioned along a grid line or at an intersection of two lines to create more tension and interest rather than just centering the object. This can be seen in the example below.

 

As you can see in the example above, the rule of thirds includes the 'primary optical area' and also the 'terminal area' (bottom right square). The primary optical area is the most important part of the advertisement and so whatever is in this area should be the main topic or focus of the advert. In the example above, Nicholas Cage has been used to advertise a product and he is in the primary optical area because he is the unique selling point.

The terminal area is the last part of the poster that the audience look at. Although it is not as important as the primary optical area, it is still significant because it is the part of the advert that the audience will most likely remember as it's the last thing they see. In the example above, the type and brand of watch are shown so that the audience remember it and so are more likely to go and purchase it.