I'd like to talk about some positive advertising examples -- techniques and materials that just plain work.
Here's a perfect example: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand." With one catchy phrase, the Mars Corporation succinctly conveyed a benefit that's associated with their product, M&MS. What's more, they did so through an entertaining ad campaign.
Then there's the Energizer bunny commercials. Funny and memorable without being frivolous. What's more, they once again conveyed the benefits of Energizer batteries and ensured that consumers would remember this product.
The Geico ads have been tremendous hits. I especially liked their fake commercials such as their Old Navy and reality TV parodies. Their approach was to lead off with some eye-catching lead, then wrap up with the reminder that Geico can help you save money on car insurance. In other words, they managed to entertain without sacrificing their message. They ensured that people would remember them, and their message did not sound like it had been cheapened.
How about this young lady? She doesn't go on and on about her qualifications, and since she's selling herself as an actor, the whole "benefits, not features" guideline does not strongly apply. However, her website is very well done and it's extremely easy to navigate. A great marketing effort. (Here's hoping that this translates into some more high-profile roles. She had a TV appearance, but I wish her well and hope that she'll land some more.)
Oh, and check out some of the downloadable flyers here. Some of the documents on that page are very much academic and purely informational, but some of them are designed as ad material as well. The "Why ELISPOT?" flyer is very well designed, as is the flyer that describes the applications of their bioassay analysis systems.