JKR

One signifier of a great brand is that it can do away with pretty much all its iconography, and you still know who it is. Monopoly is not short of visual assets – from the silver boot to the chance cards and the odd little chap in the top hat. The board itself could be described as “iconic” with the addresses laid out like so many classic Penguin book covers.

These ads abstract all of this down to pure colour, while evoking the world behind the place names. I think they work precisely because they don’t use the well known assets of the game – at a certain level of fame it’s possible to bring people in on the idea in a way which is much more engaging. While they carry a logo for obvious reasons they could probably get by without it, in fact be stronger without it – the colour and place name would probably be enough. This all presupposes that we are familiar with the game, might even have owned a set.

My guess is the ads are intended to remind lapsed users of what fun Monopoly is, and probably nodding to the more experiential nature of Wii etc. while subtly making another point: the best games, like the best brands, live in the imagination.