OTW Blog

Recycling old billboard skins is an idea we love – and we’ve done it once or twice before, making bags from interesting old skins.

Sony just took this idea to a whole new level in Japan, and then completed the circle by turning the jeans made from billboard fabric into a giant billboard advertising the project.

There’s a short video from the Behind the Work blog post which explains the process (you can ignore the popup request to subscribe to their site which comes up first – just click the x and proceed to the video):

The politicians and the outdoor advertising industry are once more falling out of love in Sydney, this time over the billboard campaign for Cocaine energy drink.

The product was launched in June, surrounded by plenty of controversy over its name, and the fact the drink’s recipe had to be altered to comply with Australian food regulations (it had way too much caffeine to get past the FSA).

Now, in a world where all publicity is good publicity, the canny drink-maker has been getting more column inches (above from Fairfax’s Age newspaper today). And note it was the outdoor campaign that got noticed and subsequently copped the wrath of the pollies? Go billboards!

OTW has the solution – let the Aussie government buy all the stock and give it to the hard-working doctors they’ve advised to drink more coffee to get them through their 30 hour shifts.

When a marketing guru like Seth Godin says he’s found the best billboard in New York city, it’s probably worth a look. But hold on, it’s a grungy, type-heavy 12 x 6 piece of junk! Or is it?

Here’s Seth’s logic:

The rules of a great billboard (great = cost effective) are as follows:

1. “Next exit”
2. EZ off and on
3. Free parking
4. Major thoroughfare
5. Take action now
6. Credible promise

Billboards are useful for building brand trust, but only if you run them for a very long time and over a wide area. In other words, it’s an act of faith.

This billboard, on the other hand, probably started paying for itself before they finished painting it.

If you’re in advertising and not subscribing to Seth’s blog, we recommend it. The new economy gurus among you would do well to read MeatBall Sundae as well. But that’s another post topic.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

A quick look at a few great sites from around the regions.

After a strong last quarter and with the election sites coming down we have some great sites available. We would prefer them to be full rather than empty so if you have any cool ideas and not much money give us a call and we will see what we can do.

N2 Wellington
This spectacular Wellington site has just undergone a complete rebuild this site is now as brand new as it gets.

W1 Whangarei
One of the sites used by the Green Party in the recent election campaign and not one to be ignored if you are looking for something in Whangarei – gateway to Northland.

N16 Lower Hutt
An outstanding site in Lower Hutt sitting up high and waiting to be picked.

D1 Dargaville
A great site in the main street of Dargaville. Unquestionably the best one in town. Nothing else in Dargaville comes close to this one.

C11 Christchurch
I think this is the top 6 x 3 in Christchurch – uncluttered part of State Highway system and still central CHCH – impossible to ignore.

It seems the credit crunch is affecting everyone at the moment. In the last month we have had two cheques intercepted, washed and rewritten for some fairly large amounts, but the good news is the culprit got caught and is due in court some time soon.

And last month some cheeky bugger stole some lighting transformers off a central city site. Unfortunately for him surveillance cameras managed to snap a couple of pictures of the culprit in the act – see the picture above.

In an effort to prove that crime against the ad industry doesn’t pay and in the interests of keeping our record of catching crims intact we are running a billboard campaign featuring the photos and offering a reward for anyone who can identify him.

He is wearing a high visibility vest from the Springhill correction facility all of which were issued to the workers who built the new prison in the Waikato. With a bit of luck we will soon know his identity and perhaps he might be a guest at Springhill.

The story has hit the internet with a vengeance – running in dozens of countries, and then spreading to mainstream media like the Sydney Morning Herald.

Thanks to Paul Taylor for the creative and thanks also to the great folks at www.omnigraphics.co.nz for printing the skins for us.

We will keep you posted ….!

Each month we will highlight what we see as great use of the medium by showcasing the best in outdoor whether it be a great idea for a single billboard, brilliant creative, or a great campaign.

The first great idea must go to OMD creative team and media buyer Beena Unka, for the Sky TV soccer campaign which featured two 6 x 3 billboards – one after the other – in Newton Road.

We liked the new way of looking at outdoor (two billboards are always better than one), how the idea incorporated action, and the element of surprise. We think it also worked exceptionally well! It was a strong idea executed beautifully.

Often the best creative ideas seem to get watered down somewhere between concept and the final output, and having a brave client certainly helped in this case.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Like most, we think the best political billboard campaign has to go to the Greens who clearly managed to capture the moment and convey imagery and emotion in a captivating manner. It was a great use of billboards, and nice to see the media used with such effective simplicity. I expect this played a big hand in the lifting of their profile and a strong result for the party.