Imagine driving along the 10 freeway in the middle of the afternoon. There is slight traffic, but nothing as bad as the traffic jams that can occur at these times. Glancing to your right, you see a billboard. You’re interest is piqued by what you were able to see, so you steal a few more glances in that direction in order to see what kind of advertisement is there.
Often, one is only able to see a billboard in passing. This results in slogans that happen to be quick, clever, and to the point. Visuals are eye catching in order to make the recipients want to view the advertisement for more than just a glimpse. These characteristics make up for the fact that billboards are advertisements that one voluntarily looks at. Objectively, billboards seem ineffective because they aren’t as “in-your-face” as commercials or magazine advertisements. However, creating advertisements that are short and sweet as well as clever and witty make billboards an effective way to reach consumers.
There are also a few different genres within billboard advertising, each of which have different audiences and different goals that distinguish them from one another.
Fast Food Billboards
- Visuals of appetizing foods or drinks are very characteristic of these types of billboards, in order to evoke a desire for food.
- The company logo is always displayed, usually very noticeably. This is due to the fact that those viewing the advertisement already associate these fast food restaurants with hunger as well as satisfaction, established from previous experience.
PSA Billboards
- There is always a serious tone established with PSAs. This is important in order to let the audience know that issues addressed in these advertisements are serious and any help is needed and welcomed.
- Manipulation of one’s emotions is also an important factor. In examples below, you are able to see pictures of animals and young children. This evokes guilt in recipients, increasing the chances for help and creating a greater impact.
- PSAs such as these are targeted toward adults, who are able to understand the context of the issue and take action toward supporting the issue.
Movie Billboards
- Movie displays create clever visuals, often breaking the fourth wall. Due to these visuals, the audience is led to believe that the movie will be clever and witty as well. Advertisers want to establish that though the billboard is interesting, the billboard is only a glimpse of what is to come.
As someone who encounters billboards frequently without putting a thought into them, your post has made me more aware about advertising. I realized that these people who work on the billboards don’t just effortlessly put whatever they think will sell. They go through a science and dig down inside the minds of people, trying to break down people’s tastes as a novelty. You had a good use of pictures that clearly showed the point you're trying to make in your post. Looking at the ads, I personally got sucked into them as well. It shows how powerful advertisements can be, which is pretty scary. The next time a billboard catches my eye, I’ll actually digest it and think of the advertisers’ true intentions.
ReplyDeleteChia,
ReplyDeleteAwesome work here, sister! Billboards are most certainly their own unique genre. You acknowledged plenty of conventions that exist in this genre: company logos, slogans, larger-than-life pictures of the product, through-the-rectangle imagery. Your analysis of PSA billboards shows how billboards aren’t all fun’n’games, though: their more serious tone and family friendly-pitches reflect their purposes in a much different way than the fast food or entertainment billboards.
Thanks for adding in these pics—it makes your blog look great in my opinion. One little suggestion: include some direct textual evidence to support your claims. Tell me which words or phrases help support whatever it is that you’re saying. Again, though: nice work. ☺
Z
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've seen about a million billboards in my lifetime and I can agree with you that they have their very own genre. I thought your analysis was insightful and refreshing especially how movie billboards "break the fourth wall." I would have never seen or thought about ads or billboards in that way. Like Chris, I will be more conscious of my surroundings when it comes to billboards.
Again, really good stuff!