Billboard and Outdoor Advertising

With this relatively tame yet effective outdoor advertisement, Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste managed to capture the attention of motorists on a busy highway in India–a time when dentistry was no doubt far from their minds. The exploding “crystals” jutting out just beyond the edge of the standard square poster drew drivers’ eyes into the ad copy, which offered a free sample of the product if they sent a text message.

Funny how a good ad in India would draw shrieks of outrage in New York, where it’s illegal to even touch a cellphone while in the driver’s seat of a car…

To promote Lumix’s new “shake-proof” digital camera in Jakarta, Indonesia, an advertising agency wanted to appeal to locals and convince them to accept the new, foreign brand. They took inspiration from the three-wheeled rattling “death-trap” taxicabs that are a fixture of Indonesian cities–vehicles that are definitely not shake-proof. Sturdy posters featuring cutouts of the camera and the “shake-proof” tagline were added to cab roofs so that no matter how much the cabs shook, the cameras stayed put. Local audiences, seeing the ad-adorned cabs rattling through the streets, were entertained enough to do some photography of their own–some probably using their new Lumix cameras!

Panasonic’s latest outdoor promotion was meant to dramatize the fear of trimming “sensitive” nosehairs felt by the target demographic for their new personal care product–men with exceptionally hairy noses. Billboards were constructed around existing utility wires, featuring cartoonish graphics of horrified men regarding their electric nostril hairs. The trimmer’s “safety cutting system” would presumably release them from this engineering nightmare.

These billboards certainly grabbed the attention of anyone passing by, though the cartoons’ still-horrified faces (in spite of the “safety cutting” hair trimmer promised in their future) might have left some viewers a little squeamish despite their increased brand awareness.

To promote the disaster film 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, advertisers used the walls and floor of a major underground train station as a billboard. The walls were covered with an ocean-print poster running the length of the tunnel, featuring the film’s name in an unobtrusive text color. To grab the attention of commuters, the “ocean” in this case extended out onto the floor, with a meter or so of heavy decal material added to create the appearance of an actual flood in the station.

This is subtle, but good–people often look down when commuting via public transportation, whether to avoid other passengers or simply because they are in a rush. This way, they see the “ocean” and look up to find out what’s going on.

This clever promotion by Ikea turned an entire wall of Vienna’s South Station into a billboard advertising its most recent furniture catalog. The massive customized wall was seen by approximately 70000 passengers every day, as the station is one of Vienna’s largest transportation hubs.

I like how the ad doesn’t totally block the natural light entering the station. It’s also a great advertisement for Ikea’s EXPEDIT rack, which looks exactly like the architecture of the window frame itself. And it’s certainly impossible to miss, even for the most oblivious train passengers!

This smirking outdoor ad pokes fun at advertising executives who might be “bitter” over losing promotional poster space to the liquor brand. Also targeted, of course, are the leering pedestrians “bitter” over a missed chance to glimpse a scantily-clad woman on their commute. The bottle has a reason to gloat, as it’s full of bitters, too–Fernet-Branca bitters.

Before you start groaning, it’s worth noticing that puns seem to work better on billboards than anywhere else. They function as simple taglines, rather than inducing cringes in the middle of magazine articles that ramble on interminably with similar cheesy humor. There’s nothing very provocative about this billboard, but sometimes subtlety works best in a media-saturated city, where the loud, obnoxious contenders for people’s attention are summarily ignored. The only way to increase brand awareness can be to go against prevailing promotional trends.

[via Ads of the World]

To promote its new “grip” bottle, Coca-Cola printed promotional posters on Velcro and covered the sides of bus shelters in Paris. Unwary commuters leaned up against the ads and found themselves attached, quite literally, to the brand.

I’m not sure if Coca-Cola didn’t realize that Velcro mangles certain fabrics, or if they merely decided that their guerrilla genius was worth more than some Parisians’ expensive apparel. The people portrayed in the agency’s promotional photography look thrilled to have their jackets and scarves hooked to the beverage’s logo, but seriously, what’s next? Magnetic ads that erase people’s hard drives when they rest their laptop computers on benches?

[via IBelieveInAdvertising]

MaxFactor brings onlookers a realistic sob-story with this billboard, designed with moisture-sensitive ink technology. The horrors of inferior mascara are revealed with every rain storm as the woman’s right eye begins to drip black “makeup,” while the left, presumably secured with MaxFactor, remains spotless. The moisture sensitive ink actually dries when the billboard does, mercifully eliminating the need to have someone run out with a towel and clean it off after every shower.

I’m curious about more applications for this technology–aside from a particularly gruesome public service announcement about road safety awareness in New Zealand, I haven’t seen it in other promotions. Any ideas?

This outdoor promotion for Hasbro’s reinvention of the classic game of Clue hides a murderer behind an innocent-looking white curtain. When the unsuspecting commuter waiting for the bus opens the curtain, expecting to find a schedule or perhaps some innocent advertising poster, he’s greeted with this charming fellow and the question, “How does it feel to be involved in a crime?”

Other components of the company’s Italian guerrilla campaign have them placing bloodstained promotional utensils in restaurants and apparently hoping that diners find these intriguing instead of repulsive. It’ll be interesting to see how the new Clue fares in a mostly electronic entertainment climate…

[via ads of the world]