This scan from a German magazine is instantly recognisable to most Germans as advertising for the cigarette brand Lucky Strike.

What it demonstrates is that campaigns that stick consistently to the same format get remembered. The brand is almost no longer needed, it stands in the room like a ghost.

The ad was placed by the brand owners to congratulate the German “Brand Owners Association” on its 100th anniversary. But the agency has used similar ideas before, even on posters (wording: “This is proof that you have a photographic memory”):

Whether you agree with cigarette advertising or not, it shows how powerful branding is, and that branding is not just about brand names and packaging.