By Federico Fanti, chief creative officer, FP7 McCann
Before the birth of the internet, and before advertising turned digital, there were four traditional formats of advertising media: print, radio, TV and out-of-home (OOH). Although all four of these media formats are still being used by marketers today, there is a tangible evolution in just one. Out-of-home. But why OOH?
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Why is the good old OOH ageing slower and more elegantly than the other three traditional formats?
First of all, out-of-home is the only medium that successfully attempted to go beyond its physical dimension and become more like a playful experiential channel. More and more brands are transforming billboards into compelling urban art installations: a good example of the above is the ‘Explosive’ billboard by Marmite.
To launch Marmite Dynamite, a new limited edition of the spread with added chilli flavour, the brand created a series of dramatic billboards (pictured) where the lid of the Marmite jar is supposedly blown off by its powerful chilli flavouring. To make the explosive effect even more compelling for bystanders, a lid appeared to have exploded out of a poster site and into a nearby car windscreen.
Another great example of multi-dimensional OOH is Carlsberg’s ‘Probably the Best Poster in the World’. For one day only, the public were able to pour themselves a Carlsberg direct from the poster, which was embedded with a Carlsberg tap and a stack of glasses.
More and more, OOH is the media that can embrace better and deeper the biggest trend since the booming of the internet platforms: audience interaction. New technological advancements are on the rise and constantly evolving in order to engage and excite consumers to not only view an ad but to truly experience it. By integrating DOOH into a campaign and applying new trends such as programmatic ads and mobile integration, concepts such as facial recognition and augmented reality are now commonplace for this medium. Brands like Nike, Coca-Cola and Burger King are pioneering this new path.
Burger King in 2019 turned people’s phones into a lethal weapon that destroyed the ads of McDonald’s, its eternal competitor. With the ‘Burn That Ad’ campaign, anyone who launches the Burger King app in Brazil and points their smartphone at its main competitors’ ads can enjoy the sight of it being burned up instantly – in augmented reality – and turned into a BK ad. When the flames burn away, the consumer is left with a screen that tells them they’ve received a free Whopper to be savoured at their nearest restaurant.
But technology is nothing without a bright idea at the core of it. Tech is an incredibly useful tool that helps your message to come across in a very impactful way, but there are many other ways that can help your ad to break through the clutter. One of these ways is blending your ad with the surrounding environment, and turning your message and your design into a useful tool that can be meaningful for society. In 2021 Coca-Cola decided to educate people about recycling by using its most famous brand attribute, the ribbon. It created posters and billboards where the ribbons turned into a hand that literally pointed people to recycling stations where they could dispose of their litter with peace of mind.
Another disruptive and meaningful message that became famous worldwide in 2022 is the ‘Hope Reef’ billboard by Sheba. Mars Sustainable Solutions and the Sheba brand team marked the beginning of a sustainable programme for our oceans by blending the 35-metre-high word ‘Hope’ with a reef off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia’s Spermonde Archipelago. This ‘living billboard’ was built using innovative structures known as Reef Stars and its message puts the urgency of the issue and its potential solution, quite literally, on the map.
The most interesting aspect of the evolution of OOH is that this medium is more and more becoming an integral part of modern pop culture, by giving a chance to brands and advertisers to make ads that don’t look like ads, but more like immersive experiences.
So, dear consumer, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
