On http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/107/next-zag.html > page 51 of the current issue of FC, we talk about advertising that’s moved beyond traditional media and into the urinal, the airport and the parking lot.
Now we can add to that list. An article today from the AP says http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR200607... > US Airways is going to begin advertising on its barf bags. And CBS will start advertising its programs on eggshells using new laser technology.
I'm conflicted. On the one hand, this seems like a good idea. In our June http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/106/open-debate-extra.html > Open Debate, Brian Collins talks about how people respond “ever more powerfully to real experiences.” Surely, that’s what this unanticipated advertising is going for. Saturday morning, you’re making your omelet, and there are a dozen chances for you to see what CBS has lined up for the season. Or in the case of the airport advertising, where strips are placed vertically by electrical outlets, you’ll probably tilt your head to the side to read the ad as you’re plugging in your laptop.
On the other hand, it seems that these ideas presume that we’re paying close enough attention to everything around us so that we will be affected by these new advertising strategies. We’re bombarded with marketing and information of every kind all day. When do our minds simply shut down and label all incoming advertising messages spam? The egg shell article cheers for the intrusiveness of the new tactic. When do advertisers and their agencies cross the line from innovative to ill conceived or invasive?
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, advertising + PR, CBS Corporation, Air Transportation, Airlines, Passenger Air Transportation, Passenger Transportation |
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 6 Total
July 19, 2006 at 9:58pm by hal
Now if CBS and NY TIMES would advertise in the bottom of barf bags i would fly more offten.
July 20, 2006 at 2:48pm by Igor M. (BizMord Marketing Blog)
"barf bags" ? They have those? :-)
No surprise here. Every day we (marketers/advertisers) find places where a human eye might focus on for more than 5 seconds and we want to put our ad there. Is there something wrong with that? Absolutely not.
Will people get sick of all this advertising? They already are. But they are sick of "irrelevant" advertising. If an ad focuses on their concern, they will look and they will read. Keyword here is ... "relevant".
July 20, 2006 at 4:05pm by patmcgraw
I can't wait to see ads on the plane's toilet paper!! After all, we deserve a good read in the 'library'.
July 20, 2006 at 6:56pm by roger fulton
free enterprise run amok. At what point do we "switch off" all the barrage of messages? People are already making excuses for too much email, throwing cell phones in the drink.
Point being, I had a favorite bar, once that had porno films flashed on the wall in the john next to the urinal...great association, eh? A bit much. The barman lost too much business, the guys spent too much time in the john standing up.
When is enough, enough? Ads on eggs? You guys are spending too much time in the shower with the water running on your heads. Go to a movie or take a vacation.
July 25, 2006 at 3:06pm by Colin
I wish marketers/advertisers would get it that we have picked up on how desperate they are to get their messages seen. Eggs, barf bags? I mean really. How relevant can a message be on an egg or a barf bag?
What marketers and advertisers should wake up to is the fact that we are all a lot smarter today and "relevancy" in terms of what I am going to spend my money on next comes from family, friends and trusted recommendations, not the roof of a bus or some other stupid location.