Beyond Billboards: 9 Noticeable Outdoor Ads
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Courtesy Inc.com
Eye-Grabbing Ads
The most effective ads make people stop in their tracks and do a double-take. The billboard ads you'll see in this gallery don't just sell a product -- they get people talking. Click forward to see how some creative entrepreneurs are getting the word out.
Next: Rainy Day Fun -
Courtesy Rethink Advertising
Rainy Day Fun
Turning its customers into walking billboards, Gloss, a Vancouver hair salon, offered clients transparent umbrellas bearing the slogan "Hair You Want to Show Off." Owner Ceanne Chow says the promo was far more effective than any traditional ad she has ever run. And the campaign was dreamed up for free by a local agency that wanted to enter a campaign in an advertising contest.
Next: The Jaws of Love -
Courtesy Rethink Advertising
The Jaws of Love
Executive Search Dating, which bills itself as a matchmaker for overworked professionals, placed jaw traps baited with faux Rolex watches and BMW key chains in Vancouver's financial district. "Leave the hunting to us," a nearby sign read. The three-month, $5,000 campaign boosted sales by 15 percent, founder Paddi Rice says.
Next: Wheels of Fortune -
Courtesy Wilkins' Truck Supply
Wheels of Fortune
"We wanted something different, I guess," says Cliff Wilkins of the upside down eight-ton semi he placed at mile 211 of Oklahoma's Interstate 35 to promote his truck repair shop. The truck is held erect by poured concrete buried 14 feet deep. Installing the truck cost about $9,000, and though Wilkins says he can't quantify its impact on sales, he gets a half dozen inquiries about the ad every week.
Next: Getting a Grip -
Courtesy Stop 'N Grow
Getting a Grip
"It's not really a campaign, it's just a bag," says David Mously, who designed this campaign for Stop 'n Grow, a nail-biting deterrent sold in Europe. Mously's design turns the bag's handle into a gaping mouth. Drugstores in Germany distributed 10,000 of the bags in late 2005. The campaign spread to several other countries last year.
Next: Pounding the Pavement -
Courtesy Satchi & Satchi
Pounding the Pavement
Last March, New York City manhole covers were reimagined as steaming cups of Folgers coffee. The New York Post called the ads "pretty realistic -- except for the unjava-like aroma." A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), which makes Folgers, says the company may devise outdoor stunts for some of its other well-known brands.
Next: Gone to the Web -
Courtesy Mortierbrigade
Gone to the Web
Vacant shop windows need no longer be depressing. EBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) recently posted "Moved to eBay" stickers in empty storefronts all over Belgium -- a campaign that "shows graphically" that small retailers can find a new lease on life online, Dartmouth's Keller says.
Next: Special Delivery -
Special Delivery
This ad for Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) sticks to a door at peephole-level. Though it won the Golden Lion award at the 2006 Cannes advertising festival, the pizza franchise halted what a spokesperson describes as a "very limited" rollout among its stores in Peru after receiving complaints.
Next: Soul of the New Machine -
Soul of the New Machine
"Life is too short for the wrong job," reads this ad for a German job hunting website, which depicts imaginary workers toiling inside vending machines, ATMs, and photo booths. The cleverness here is in the unexpectedness of the venue and the fact that the joke is both subtle and over the top. "Finding new spaces is the only option in a world filled with advertising junk," says designer Matthias Spaetgens, of the agency Jung von Matt.
Next: Builder's Envy -
Builder's Envy
Using giant-size posters to create a clever optical illusion, a toy distributor transformed five buildings in Santiago, Chile, making them look as if they'd been constructed entirely from Legos. The total cost was $5,000.
Next: Rainy Day Fun -
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Recent Comments
spiforge 06:17:43 PM Jul 24 2009
Great ads are here: www.igetpaidtodrinkcoffee.com/slimshape .... and www.nulegacyrxcard.com/yoursfree. Have a great day!
basstagger 10:17:17 AM Jul 24 2009
There's NO better advertisement than this one on youtube!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcvXbbUxoWk
falcodgservices 12:36:04 AM Jul 20 2009
I believe the Jupiter Jack ad on TV with the pitch man that recently died is disgusting! What people can do for money! IT IS SICK AND I hope people would not buy anything from infomercials
johnd2007 01:39:49 PM Jul 19 2009
I think the most 'noticable' Billboard ads are the ones that are popping up around America that ask the simple question "Where's the Birth Certificate?". Of course the lying crooked media is ignoring the ELIGIBILiTY issue of the USURPER who's illegally occupying the White House as he systematically DESTROYS AMERICA. Shame on the complicit Democrats, and the nutless gutless Repuklicans that are allowing this to happen. God save America from Liberalism.
ronaldds 12:58:59 AM Jul 13 2009
Barack Insane Obama spent about one million dollars to keep all his records from being discovered. This includes all school records which would declare him a foreign student. Would a man who had nothing to hide do this. I DON'T THINK SO. What about the democrats? If they were patriotic and sincere to keeping our country free and uphold the constitution, they also would demand proof. If nothing else to prove to the republicans they are barking up the wrong tree. Where are all these Senators that took an oath to protect the constitution? There is such a cloud over this administration, especially when they are doing their best to trash our freedoms and make us a second world country.
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