Billboard and Outdoor Advertising

Frontline is comparing people to fleas with this advertisement for it’s flea and tick spray. Okay they’re not really comparing people to fleas, but the floor sticker creates the illusion of people as fleas on this itching dog when it’s looked down upon. As a dog owner, I know that having fleas is not a fun thing. No matter how much you use the customized pet kit, your dog can still itch. Before you pull out the pet embroidered calendar to make your dog an appointment for the vet, try out Frontline’s flea and tick spray. Your dog will like it way more than a customized flea collar.

Cingular’s add for dropped calls is drop dead hilarious! The gaping hole in the middle of this billboard was once filled by the word calls, which is now on the street. Everyone hates dropped calls and it seems as though all cell phone companies are vying for the position as the personalized first-aid kit for the customer suffering from such a syndrome. People walking down the street probably don’t understand the irony at first, but get the drift after seeing the dropped calls on the sidewalk (very fine wordplay if I may say so myself). Maybe other cell phone companies, that have a lot of dropped calls, should start handing out promotional calling cards to their customers. Hey, either that or hand them over to Cingular.

NYS Senator Eric Adams is out to fight the crusade against baggy pants! I guess the era of tripping over your pants as you walk down the street isn’t over, but who really cares enough to make billboards and a PSA (money he could have used on promotional buttons). Honestly, there are way more pressing issues happening in New York state, and the nation as a whole, for him to focus on. If this is a rally for votes from his community then I would suggest he spend his time thinking of a slogan for a customized t-shirt. Anyone care to talk about health care?

Everyone is aware of the dangers of driving in the rain. Accidents can happen when you least expect it and there could be some unlikely victims along the way as well. This ad for The Papakura District council in New Zealand uses a billboard that bleeds when wet by rain. I think the ad agencies who design these safety billboard use children as a scare tactic. Everyone loves children (mostly everyone) and it’s shocking to see blood coming from everywhere on the child’s face. Can someone grab him a promotional umbrella and some logoed tissues? Oh yeah, it’s not a real child, but it could be. Hopefully the residents of Papakura weren’t too taken aback by this ad to understand the seriousness of it’s message.

Luxury car maker BMW has one of the most fascinating, and largest, ads the world’s possibly ever seen. Their ad in Russia places life-size cars on a wall spanning one and a half acres. The cars light up in the evening, but can you imagine what drivers on the road are thinking? The first thought to come to my head would be to make sure I still have my promotional auto-kit in the trunk every time I pass the ad (just in case something falls from the ad). However, this is creative promotion at it’s finest so I would think to have my personalized digital camera on hand as well.

The vision of a man on a construction site usually doesn’t make me want to grab my promotional travel fitness kit and get to work. However, the vision of an extremely buff man on the side of a construction site does urge me to join a gym. Powerhouse Gym thought it would be smart (and it was) to hang drop ads on the sides of construction sites and garbage trucks to make it seem as though the men in the ad were doing all of the “heavy-duty” work. I know I’m not alone when I say I’d much rather start with something light (personal beginner’s pilates or customized jump rope) before I delve into lifting cranes and sheet rock. However, to each his own.

Many people are skeptical about playing lotto because the odds of winning are sometimes slim to none. The National Debt office in Sweden is out to capitalize on that by offering them a way to always win and never lose with lottery bonds. By using an adshel as a slot machine, passers by were able to insert a coin and win a branded chocolate coin. If you weren’t lucky enough to win the coin, you got a refund and another chance. The bonds are said to be guaranteed and with every bond purchased comes an entry into the Swedish lottery. Victory will be sweet either way it goes.

Well, there’s not much to explain here, is there? This sign’s appeal is pretty obvious, but still, IT’S ON A MOUNTAIN! I mean, besides adding comedic value to it by making it seem like your car is getting eaten, this ad makes good use in terms of its location. I’m guessing that this tunnel isn’t just outside of any major city and that whoever is driving through it is probably on a pretty long journey. And when you’re driving for hours, there’s nothing better than stopping somewhere to stretch your legs and get some food. Add a giant face advertising the perfect place for that and you’re more than likely going to end up there. You can kind of think of this sign as being the custom bumper sticker on the mountain. All I know is that I’d rather see a promotional food advertisement than some auto loan promotion!

A high incidence of driving accidents in Kuwait were attributed to drivers’ having been distracted by their cell phones. Wataniya Telecom, the second-largest mobile operator in the country, wanted to do their part to instill safe behaviors in mobile customers - using a hands-free headset, while still potentially distracting, is nowhere near as dangerous as actually holding or dialing a cellphone while in motion.

To communicate this message, Wataniya placed giant smashed mobile phone replicas near its billboards, where it would look at first like yet another car had gone off the road and only at second glance reveal itself to be a huge phone. The visual meaning was clear, even before drivers read the text on the billboard, and a law soon passed that made it mandatory to wear a headset while operating a motor vehicle.

[via DirectDaily]

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of ads like this one placed on revolving doors. It’s a good way to get the attention of commuters who are so set in their routines that changing billboards or other advertising surfaces like subway posters don’t reach them - someone walking through a revolving door has to look at it, or risk being mowed down by people on the other side!

This ad for Meiji milk suggests that with the help of the seemingly innocuous beverage, pushing a Sumo wrestler out of your way is as easy as pushing a revolving door. Meiji also used stickers featuring wrestlers, rugby players, and judo masters to represent those who could be conquered with a nice cold glass of milk. You have to give them credit for trying - no one’s really come up with a good advertising campaign for milk since the iconic “got milk?” ads of the ’90s.

[via IBelieveinAdvertising]