Chado-Design.com

In previous posts I have featured new innovative billboards that take advantage of new technology to engage viewers and breathe life into an aging advertising medium. These new technologies have added functionality to the otherwise inoperative ads. The newest and quite possibly strangest billboard advertisement created was recently erected in Charlotte, North Carolina. The billboard is for The Bloom, a regional grocery store chain that is promoting a new brand of beef. Not only does the ad display a gigantic piece of steak on a massive fork but it actually pumps out the smell of hickory barbecue to entice passing motorists. It also has copy boasting that the “flavor is actual size”. The scent technology was developed by ScentAir, a company that develops custom fragrances for casinos and hotels, and is powered by an oversize fan that blow the scent thirty to fifty yards into the roadway. The billboard is otherwise unavoidable as the scent jumps into the audience’s car for a multisensory experience. This billboard is the first of its kind and it could possibly be the last based on the public’s reaction. It certainly raises a lot of questions about ethics; what do people who live nearby think about the billboard? Do they enjoy living with the constant smell of barbecue? Does it really smell like steak? What about vegetarians who claim to be appalled by the smell of meat? Regardless of local opinion, the ad has caught nationwide attention possibly making it one of the farthest-reaching billboards in advertising history.

In previous posts I have praised innovative campaigns that have taken traditional mediums and fused them with new technology to do create something new and unique. This new billboard created by DDB Stockholm is a great example of how this can be taken a step further and promote interaction with the audience. The billboard features a simple yet clever interactive game for McDonalds. The billboard shows menu items that move about the screen and if viewers are fast enough to capture one of the food items with their cell phone camera they can go to the nearby McDonalds to pick up the item for free. This billboard does an excellent job capturing the audience’s attention and actually engages the potential customer. As more billboards are equipped with the capability to display video it will be interesting to see how brands take advantage of the improved technology to communicate with their target markets.