SO HOW do you sell a big, bad oil company? Graham Fink, creative director at M&C Saatchi, says that “subtlety” is the key to making a successful advert for such a challenging client.

He advises that the first thing you need to do is to consider the typeface. “The typeface should not be too aggressive, and it is best to use lower-case and rounded letters,” he says.

Fink adds that the layout of a page is important and that strong art direction is crucial to making this work well. He says: “If you are trying to put across a message about the company’s environmental concerns, I would also use a lot of space and make the page look clean and crisp.”

However, Fink emphasises that the most important thing to concentrate on is the tone of the message. “A lot of large corporations tell you things in adverts, rather than ask your opinions,” he says. “Where they go wrong is they say: ‘You should think this,’ or, ‘you should do that’.

“I would pose a question in an advert for an oil company and allow viewers to think for themselves.

“I would also try to use a new approach to convey these ideas. People will quickly get fed up of hearing about green issues if they are not conveyed in an inventive way.”

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax