Bad Billboards Hurt the Brand
Posted by Jaci Russo
Yesterday, I highlighted some great outdoor advertising (Branding With Great Outdoor Ads) that really worked to improve the brands of various companies. They were creative, strategic and provided an emotional connection - sort of the trifecta of building a brand.
So, in the interest of fairness, I thought that today we should look at the other 99% of outdoor advertising.
These photos come from the website devoted to bad outdoor advertising, BadBillboardProject.com - a well named site. Much like our friends at MilkingGotMilk.com, BadBillboardProject.com is open for user generated content and encourages people to send pictures of what they find in their communities.
All too often parents pull up to a place of business and plan to "run in and leave the kids in the car for just a minute". This board has really good intentions to remind parents that you can't leave the kids in the car "not even for a minute". The only problem is that the purple on pink type would not be visible from a vehicle in motion. In addition, the logos are illegible. Worthy cause, but poorly executed.
Wow. I wonder if Butch Wax and Hollywoods' show is as busy as this board. There is a lot going on here. Way too much if they want anyone to actually read it. Can you even read the name of the sponsor in the bottom left?
Why should anyone call Hank? The beard? The glasses? Sure, it's easy to read but it is definitely not compelling.
Getting attention is one thing. Insulting two major religions with the same outdoor board is something else entirely. When they sat in the sales meeting at the car dealership and talked about this idea I just wondered if they all thought people would actually come in to buy the H2 Hummer when they saw this ad. Really?
Extensions on an outdoor board are of particular interest to me. When done well, they really make the whole message of the board come to life. When they are done badly, I wonder why the organization chose to spend extra money on something that hurts more than helps. In the case of the two boards above, neither of them needed the extension to help sell their message. Although the Brent Brown board on the right did get a little something extra from the Missionary Mall sign that was on the back.
Outdoor advertising has the power to get the attention of the tens of thousands of people that drive by the sign. When executed well, the boards can help to build a brand with the consumers. When done poorly, they end up on www.badbillboardproject.com
