Whether walking, driving, or riding a bike, people tend to be in motion when they see Billboards, which means these marketing tools have to get the message across quick. It’s lucky for us most advertises thrive under pressure, using this short time frame as motivation to create some of the punchiest ads out there.
Let’s have a look at four of our favorites:
BMW: Santa Monica to A4
This is like when your friend sets you up for the perfect zinger, and you take it. Except in the case of BMW, it’s not so much a friend as an arch rival. After Audi installed the rather obnoxious “Your move, BMW” ad, the latter car company embraced the chess motif—and physical location—to create the perfect comeback: “Checkmate.”
Mini Storage Shop of Horrors
Manhattan Mini Storage always has clever billboard and subway ads, and this is no exception. Even though hardly anyone reading the ad owns—or would admit to owning, anyway—a creepy doll collection, you know this ad made them think of their ceramic unicorn figurines, authentic Star Wars dioramas, or what have you… all great candidates for storage.
The Competitors are Dropping Like Flies
Some of the most memorable ad campaigns have involved in your face marketing, like this two-piece billboard by Cingular, which takes dropped calls to a literal and creative level. Also, the abrupt lost feeling you get when you see the gaping hole beneath “dropped”—before you realize it’s part of the ad—is pretty much how it feels to get disconnected.
Yo Momma’s So Fat…
Like the Cingular ad, this spot for Silberman’s Fitness Center takes full advantage of its medium to make those thirty minutes on the treadmill seem at least slightly more appealing. Or in any event, the cars that pass by probably won’t be pulling into McDonald’s.