All posts in Advertising

Most Recent Mobile Billboard Comes in a Much Smaller, Furrier Package

by DOmedia on February 19, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, Branding campaigns, Events, Trends with No comments

For many, last weekend marked the most romantic day of the year’€”Valentine’s Day. For others, however, the weekend of Friday the 13th held a day surrounded by superstition and fear’€”F.E.A.R. 2 to be exact.

‘€œF.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin,’€ the newest computer game from Warner Bros. with a horror theme, launched its new London promotion on Friday the 13th using the very symbol for bad luck’€”black cats. While most people avoid black cats crossing their paths, it was nearly impossible in the streets of London on the day known for its superstition. The little feline billboards were dressed in miniature clothing adorned with advertising for the game and then set loose to wreak havoc through the city. And according to Charlene Allen, a Warner Bros. spokesperson, Brits actually seek out signs of bad luck on Friday the 13th, making the promotion that much more effective.

The ‘€œF.E.A.R.’€ kitty clothes were being sold through Warner Bros. for fashionable cats across the country, but have unfortunately sold out.

Creative Outdoor Ad Contest Announced Using Creative Outdoor Ads

by DOmedia on February 13, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, News with No comments

Australia’s Outdoor Media Association has launched a creative outdoor campaign–for a contest rewarding creative outdoor campaigns. The newly created contest, called The Outdoor Awards, will judge the year’s best outdoor advertisements across 11 categories.

Every year, the best creative work will win a prize valued at $10,000. This year, however, the association is striving to show the effectiveness of outdoor advertising by producing the prize in the form of a billboard’€”covered in 10,000 $1 scratch-off lottery tickets! The billboard, which is heavily guarded 24 hours a day (so don’t even think about it!), is located on the side of a Sydney road where 100,000 cars pass every day.

The launch of The Outdoor Awards campaign actually began in October when OMA utilized yet another OOH medium. For 40 days, a mobile billboard truck was driven over 10,000 km in Australia. The message displayed on the truck was simple and to the point: ‘€œTHE OUTDOOR AWARDS ARE COMING’€.

With their lone billboard, OMA is raising national awareness of the contest, showing the effectiveness of a creative outdoor ad, and presenting the actual prize to a large-scale audience. Talk about killing two birds with one stone . . .

Oh, and good luck to the winner. May your incredible, award-winning creativity aid you in scratching off 10,000 individual lottery tickets before reaching insanity. I hope you have a lot of pennies . . .

T-Mobile Takes Over Train Station With Spontaneous Dance

by DOmedia on January 28, 2009 in Advertising, Agencies, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Events, People, Technology, Trends with No comments

Nothing else can put a smile on your face quite like a mob flash dance made of several hundred strangers when you’re least expecting it. On January 15th, London’s Liverpool Street Station was transformed into a massive dance floor thanks to T-Mobile.

The tagline, ‘€œLife’s for Sharing,’€ is exactly how you feel after watching the YouTube video that was shot with hidden cameras. What begins with a handful of people quickly molds into an entire train station gettin’ down (grandmas and mohawk rockers alike) to the upbeat music blaring overhead. Intrigued onlookers’€”no doubt questioning their sanity’€”filmed the whole event via cell phones to later share with family and friends.

Kudos to T-Mobile, and agency Saatchi & Saatchi, for giving us something to laugh at and talk about . . . which was probably the point. I also love that they thought outside the silos (is it online . . . guerrilla . . . out of home?) and instead focused on building a connection between the experience and the brand, using all the relevant tools at their disposal.

Although many people are criticizing T-Mobile and Saatchi & Saatchi for using regurgitated material, I say anything that brings huge numbers of people together in a way that makes us all feel good just by watching it is a success. After all, the very message here is that T-Mobile makes it possible for you to share any meaningful moment with the people that matter most.

Milk: A Great Source of Protein, Calcium, & . . . Trips to Italy?

by DOmedia on January 20, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Branding campaigns, Miscellaneous, Trends, Uncategorized with No comments

No use crying over spilt milk . . . except when it can cut you a deal on flights to Italy! Expedia, the online travel provider, has come up with a unique and somewhat subtle way to advertise its flight deals to Italy from Germany. By teaming up with coffee shop Deli Star, Expedia is targeting German travelers by utilizing cappuccino’€”which is, after all, Italian at its core. By holding stencils over the cappuccino milk foam and sprinkling chocolate powder, Deli Star workers created surprisingly legible’€”and effective’€”travel offers. Paper coasters placed under the cups gave further details on the travel deals and provided additional branding exposure for Expedia. Talk about ordering a coffee to go. . .

Out-of-Home Joins Inauguration Festivities with Messages of Optimism & Change

by DOmedia on January 20, 2009 in Advertising, Alternative advertising, Billboards, Branding campaigns, DOmedia, Events with No comments

January 20 marks the historical inauguration of our 44th president, making it the perfect environment for companies to reach millions of Americans with their own messages of change. GM has made this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity into a road trip, beginning in Detroit and ending in Washington, D.C. just in time for the inauguration. A caravan of Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrids, carrying the theme ‘€œThe Road to Change Starts in Your Driveway,’€ will stop at Ohio State University, Penn State University, and Howard University.

Mirroring Obama’s own message of hope and optimism, Pepsi plans to have a large presence at the inauguration with messages such as ‘€œYes You Can’€ and ‘€œAll for One’€ residing on the city’s billboards, buses, etc. In another out-of-home tactic, street teams will hand out commemorative buttons, hats, and scarves that flaunt those same messages of hope. To see what else Pepsi has planned, go to www.RefreshEverything.com.

American companies aren’t the only ones welcoming in the new President at our nation’s capital. As part of its ‘€œEmbrace Change 09’€ out-of-home campaign, Swedish-born Ikea has recreated the Oval Office (using their own Ikea furniture) in Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, one of the nation’s busiest train stations. According to a company release, ‘€œPresident-elect Obama’s notion of change and his commitment to fiscal responsibility match the Ikea philosophy of practical and affordable home furnishings for all.’€ For this reason, Ikea has offered to furnish any room in the White House the First Family wishes to redesign’€”for free! Go to www.embracechange09.com to learn more.