Vespa GTS 125

Recently scooter promotions and posters have been pretty uninspiring to say the least. I find there has been a distinct overuse of arrows, ink blots, circles and rainbow shapes to make these motorcycles 'funky' and appeal to younger people. Don't do that.
There has also been a reliance on imitating the MOD style of the 1960's with union jacks and targets. This isn't such a bad thing because it's probably one of the first things people associate with scooters and its a pretty natural link, so we'll forgive that for now.
I agree that retro is definitely the right direction for scooter endorsement, only it should be a different kind of retro. In fact, i'm talking vintage.

I'm talking the kind of sepia-toned class you'll see in a stella artois advert and the nonchalant suavity of Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can. Well that was my intention for this anyway. (If you need any more examples, look no further than my facebook profile).
I decided pretty early on to use cream and brown tones to achieve that old-timey feel and took inspiration from, amongst other styles, art-deco and film-noir movie posters.
The orange was a late addition as I thought the poster needed something bold to give it a bit of a visual punch. In the end I decided it would be most effectively used on the header and footer as its one of those colours that looks clear on both light and dark backgrounds.
Admittedly, this style isn't particularly original for scooters. Vespa, for one, have a rich heritage of advertisements that really do capture the spirit of riding these delightfully exciting machines. I didn't realise before I started this project just how beautiful some their classic adverts really are and I would recommend having a browse through the archive if you're into vintage posters. They would certainly be a great starting point for similar work in the future. I'm by no means an art expert, so wouldn't really know how to define some of these styles, but I can appreciate what they represent and the type of lifestyle they are trying to convey to onlookers.


As well as the above poster for the specific Vespa model, I used most of the graphics for another in-store sign (below). The only change was the background cityscape; The Eiffel tower is a clichéd but sound indicator of French sophistication. I think the relaxing, leisurely mood of the top image contrasts quite effectively with the fast pace and slickness of the sport section.

By chance, we found an old poster frame in the back of the shop which has an LED panel underneath. When we put this poster over it and plugged it in, it really enhanced the creams and whites and makes for an eye-catching promotion behind the scooters in the showroom.