03/06/2026
At Cardiff Advertising Co., we make a habit of questioning trends. Our latest advert for Top Deck Fish & Chips in Cardiff is a classic example. No spinning graphics. No hyperactive transitions. No visual noise competing with the message.
Why? Because fish and chips are an institution in this country. They're familiar, trusted and steeped in tradition. If you're trying to build trust into a brand, sometimes the smartest thing you can do is create advertising that feels equally grounded.
Many of us will remember when the latest VHS editing effects first appeared. They were exciting, innovative and looked impressive at the time. But years later, it's worth asking whether they actually added anything of value to the message at all.
Modern day social media often presents the same challenge. Endless motion, rapid cuts and attention-grabbing effects have become so commonplace that audiences are becoming increasingly conditioned to ignore them.
Of course, we're perfectly capable of producing highly dynamic content when the brief calls for it. We can adapt to just about anything thrown at us. But throughout every project, there's always a question sitting quietly in the back of our minds... "Is this fit for purpose?"
It's a simple question, but one that cuts through trends, fashions and industry habits. Sometimes the right answer is fast-paced, energetic slides and packed with motion. Other times, as with this Top Deck Fish & Chips ad, the strongest approach is to keep things clean and easy to digest by the visual consumer.
Not every project needs to be overthought. Not every advert needs a dozen visual effects, endless revisions or hours spent chasing eye-candy for the sake of it.
Sometimes the objective is simply to communicate clearly and effectively. Time is valuable, both for us and our clients, and we'd rather spend that time delivering meaningful results across multiple projects than exhausting it on unnecessary embellishments that add little to the overall message.
Good advertising isn't about using every tool available. It's about knowing when not to.
