Screenshots to Street Corners
The New OOH Trend We Can’t Ignore and the rise of text-forward Advertising
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Nowadays, we are all used to seeing ads. In fact, they follow us everywhere: when we browse online, whether we are watching a video on YouTube or whether we scroll down a website. When strolling down the street to the corner shop or commuting to work, let it be by public transport or by car, we see OOH everywhere, when we listen to a podcast when grocery shopping. When we watch TV…
So much so that we are all subjected to ad fatigue, which can be best summed up as a numbing perception mechanism when an ad enters our field of perception. Oh! it’s an ad. I’m tuning out! This, in turn, can translate into decreased engagement, reduced conversion, and increased ad spending.
As a result, brands became more and more competitive in the race for attention. How can the creative stand out more? How to compete in a sea of colors, shapes, typologies, imageries, and enticing visuals? Let’s make the logo bigger! Let’s make the red more… red! Let’s use a font that can pop more over this. Let’s use just one word, but let’s make it provocative”.
Just look at Times Square to understand how much attention span rivalries can be between brands. Where to look?!
In a research, Hubspot presented some interesting numbers
91% of respondents expressed that ads are more intrusive today compared to the past couple of years
77% decided they prefer to ad filter rather than completely ad block
While one could think who wants to see ads? it does not quite look like this.
It is interesting to see that there is another side of the spectrum.
Sometimes to stand out, you need to do the exact opposite of what everybody else is doing.
Sometimes less is more.
In today’s stack, I want to talk about specific ads, the ones you did not expect to see. But you looked at them anyway because they looked and felt like no OOH or billboard.
Here are some of my favorites.
The copy/paste message ad
Some brands just take screenshots of a message or email, resize it for the billboard format, and boom, done.
The Friars: Music Night show poster
In this genius ad, the designer took an iMessage screenshot of a thread between the owner of The Friars pub in Bridgnorth and himself. The ad contains all the info needed about the show: what time the band is playing and who the other bands are part of the lineup. Halo effect: the designer Tom Wysocki tweeted it, this went viral and garnered 20,000 retweets and 47,000 likes🤯.
Channel 4 and Joe Lycett: could have been an email
No time for a creative? No problem! Channel 4 reached out to Joe Lycett, expecting to see his creative for his upcoming show. Joe answered he was not going to make the deadline and just sent this email to the printers. And this was the campaign:
NotMilk: We didn't write this campaign
My favorite deserves a longer part. And really illustrates work smarter, not harder.
Chilean Farmers Milk Union accused the dairy alternative NotMilk of playing dirty. NotMilk, a product designed by the Chile-based company NotCo, aims to be a non-dairy alternative to milk. Their carton boldly features a cow with a large black line crossing it out, emphasizing that there’s no cow involved. However, this clever design caught the attention of the Chilean milk farmers union, who accused NotCo of vilifying traditional cow’s milk. Matias Muchnick, NotCo’s chief executive, shrugged it off, saying, “These things always happen.” But behind the scenes, it’s a battle for market supremacy.
NotMilk turned the courtroom drama into a brilliant marketing opportunity with their cheeky OOH campaign titled “We Did Not Write This.” Giant billboards popped up in major cities, featuring excerpts from court documents, stating the obvious: NotMilk is not milk. But in this context, these dry extracts were turned comical. Too often OOH campaigns can be designed by the brand, but for the brand, and lose its intended purpose: explaining in straightforward terms what the product is and what it does. This is the difference between what the brand wants and what it needs.
This, as dry as it might first sound, did it perfectly the latter. In a fantastic tour de force, with the tagline “We didn’t write this, big dairy industry lawyers did”, NotMilk gave the spotlight to its archenemy and was able to get the best social proof: third-party testimony. Passersby couldn’t help but chuckle at the audacity while having a clear understanding of the product. Even if they were exposed to the brand for the first time.
Cherry on the top🍒: We didn't write this campaign won gold at the 2024 Clios.
Here is a video summing up the campaign:
Why is it working?
To conclude, here is why it is working:
Authenticity Resonates: Screenshots of emails or texts as OOH ads feel more genuine, creating a sense of personal connection with the audience.
Simplicity Cuts Through Noise: In a world cluttered with complex visuals, the stark simplicity of a text-based ad captures attention.
Cost-Effective Creativity: Bypassing the elaborate design process saves time and resources, allowing for rapid deployment and iteration.
Viral Potential: The relatability of everyday communication can spark conversations and shares, amplifying the campaign organically.
NotMilk’s Success Story: The “We didn’t write this” campaign’s use of real legal court excerpts showcased transparency and leveraged user-generated content.
Direct Messaging: A screenshot ad delivers the message without filters or embellishments, ensuring clarity and directness.
It does not mean you should make all your next campaigns an email. But sometimes being bold and standing out requires taking a risk at the expense of being slightly off-brand. Creativity and originality can strike when you least expect it.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading!
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