A few days ago, I got a copy of TIME Magazine in the mail with an advertisement that really struck me as near-perfect. I thought I’d write a quick post about it since I haven’t heard mention of it on any of my usual tech blogs (or Hacker News).

Please excuse the poor photo quality that follows, I took these with my Galaxy Nexus which uses 2011’s potato-camera technology.

Here is the front of the magazine:

And here is the back:

What is so great about this ad? I’ll keep it short. For the record, I’m a huge Android fan so it takes a lot for me to write a blog post about something impressive by Apple.

It immediately displays how I can use the device in real life. I just got done reading that issue of TIME and as I turn to the back cover, I see how I could have spent the same time reading on an iPad mini. This is a call to action if I’ve ever seen one. It emphasizes the high screen-to-device-size ratio without words, making it accessible to non-techies. It uses the current issue of TIME and displays the full cover. This is critical. Rather than showing me how some super-optimized digital magazine would look on my iPad, it demonstrates that I can have a full TIME magazine experience with no compromises on quality or content (so it seems).

This ad, without any words whatsoever, clearly conveys the best qualities and uses of the device in a manner that is relevant to the reader by default. I give it a 10/10. What do you think? Follow the discussion on Hacker News.