The main task of the billboard is attracting the attention of as many people as possible. Advertising should intrigue both pedestrians and those travelling by car. Its message will be all the more effective the greater impression it makes on the audience. Do you have no idea for a creative advert? Look for inspiration in our article. Here are solutions that may surprise you.
Advertising outside the box
Is there a proven way for creative advertising? Certainly it is to go beyond the scheme. The creators of surprising billboards often extend the advertising space outside the frame. A protruding graphic element attracts attention and becomes an integral part of the composition. An example might be the campaign prepared for HP, which aimed to highlight the brand's energy-saving appliances. The billboard was divided into two parts – the first, smaller contained the slogan, while the other, giving the impression of being cut out and dropping, visualized the percentage of savings. Nike advertised in a similar way. The narrow, black billboard hung on a hydraulic crane contained the slogan referring to the sporty philosophy of the brand. Its key element, however, was a huge silhouette of a sports personality, immortalized when pulling on a lever. The figure was arranged so that it seemed that the exercise was done on the arm of the crane.
Another interesting idea is advertising using a surprising third dimension, which is often used by real estate and interior design companies. In these cases, the advertising space holds shrunken rooms or apartments with three-dimensional furniture and appliances attached to the surface of the banner as if to the floor.
The potential of interactive elements
The 21st century is a time when it's difficult to grab the attention of the recipient. The answer to the challenges of these new times is interactive communication, which is increasingly also used for large format outdoor advertising. The billboard interacts with the customer by changing one of its elements when the viewer performs a given action. The simplest but at the same time truly spectacular idea was an idea used by "The Economist". The key element of the billboard, located a few metres above the pavement, was a light bulb that lit up when a pedestrian passed under it. Another example would be the Tropicana campaign, whose slogan is "Energie Naturelle". To visualize the slogan, the creators created a unique three-dimensional billboard holding thousands of real oranges. These fruit, with a suitable mechanism, were strengthened by a nearby street lamp.
A rain sensitive billboard
A creative idea used in commercial advertising and social campaigns are billboards that change under the influence of moisture. One of the most popular large-format messages of this type was a Calvin Klein campaign. The model photographed on the billboard was dressed on sunny days in a sexy shirt and in the rain turned into a Miss Wet T-shirt, effectively exposing the brand's underwear. A campaign using similar technology has been used by a cosmetic company. The photo shows the upper part of the face models with painted lashes. Under the influence of moisture only the mascara on the right side smeared, while the company's product remained intact. The rain effect is also used in social campaigns. A wide media response met billboards that encouraged greater caution on the roads in the case of bad weather conditions. Under the influence of rain, the boy placed on them began to bleed.
Using the landscape
A huge impression on the audience is made by campaigns where the billboard smoothly slots into elements of the environment. Several companies have decided to use tunnels with this feature. An example might be the advertising used in the Czech Republic for the vacuum cleaner brand Mile, in which the end of the device's pipe is integrated into the landscape so that it connects with the entrance to the tunnel. The whole is complemented by a slogan which in free translation is "It sucks up everything". Another example of media utilizing the potential of the environment was a billboard promoting the BIC disposable razor. It consisted of a large-format advertising in white, with a small brand logo in the corner. The key to the message was a huge razor leant on a billboard before which spread out a cleared strip of meadow, looking as if it had just been mowed down by the giant razor blade.