Advertisers
are always looking for new ways to get and keep your attention. They are pushed
to go past limits to always come up with creative, “never done before” ways to
break through the clutter. Ambient advertising is one of those ways. By placing
unusual ads in places where you would not normally find an ad, it captures our
attention and makes us think about the product/message and/or its environment,
in a different way.
There
are no boundaries when it comes to ambient advertising and we all have our own
ideas as to what is considered tasteful. It is important to do your research on
your target audience and their culture to best reach them. What can be humorous
in one culture, can be offensive in another. But not only do you need to
research to best reach your target, but you also need to take into account who
else among the audience will be exposed to your message.
We need to be aware of all the different types of people that will be exposed
to your message, including children.
A
couple years back, Amnesty International pulled a stunt which involved putting
a woman in a transparent suitcase which ended up attracting PR attention. This
stunt marked the 60th Anniversary of Human Rights and it aimed in
producing awareness of illegal human trafficking being amongst us. Stunts like
these get your attention and make you want to find out more of what is
happening. While attracting thousands of eyes and success, this suitcase
campaign overlooks the fact that not just adults are at the baggage claims at
the airports. There may be families with little children who see this stunt and
it is not something that they should be seeing at such a young age.
Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he_psMwSjcw
One
thing that may be of concern is the future of ambient advertising. For now it
seems to break out easily from the clutter to stand out, but if we saw it
everywhere, wouldn’t we consider it part of the clutter?
No comments:
Post a Comment