The 5 Best Outdoor Ads Ever

I love great Outdoor advertising. I grew up taking a lot of road trips and some of my earliest memories were sitting in traffic outside the Queens Midtown Tunnel and staring at the billboards on the side of the highway. The ads were absolutely gigantic, a sign that we were no longer in the suburbs and the good ones could make even a kid (with a Gameboy in hand) look up and pay attention. I also love Outdoor because of how hard it is to make something great. Being able to provoke an emotional response from just a few words and a visual is an epic challenge that most fail to deliver against. 

Outdoor is the world’s oldest advertising medium and continues to stay relevant because it doesn’t demand much of the viewer’s attention, is easy to recall and ultimately works to sell stuff. There have been so many amazing outdoor campaigns that it’s hard to pick favorites, but I wanted to share 5 ads that I absolutely love and offer up some rationale around what makes them great.

#1 Labour Isn’t Working

This ad was created by Saatchi for the Conservative Party in the run-up to the general election in 1979. It caused a massive reaction (on both sides) and the Conservative Party treasurer, Lord Thorneycroft claimed that it had “effectively won the election for the Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives.” Like some of the other all-time greats, this one falls into the exclusive “3-word headline club,” proving that there is power in brevity. The story around the creation of this ad is the stuff of legend and you can read more about it here: https://www.amazon.com/Chutzpah-Saatchi-Insiders-Stories-ebook/dp/B01MXY787X

#2 McDonald’s Golden Arches

The McDonald’s Golden Arches are one of the most ubiquitous and iconic design elements of our time. You can spot them from a mile away and I think it is pure marketing genius that Ray Kroc decided to post the total number of burgers sold on all of his signs back in 1955. After reaching 100 billion served in ‘94, the signs were changed to read “Billions and Billions Served.” This line serves as legit social proof that literally EVERYONE eats at McDonald's and reinforces they are the clear market leader. 

#3 “We Can Do It!”

 250 years from now when kids are studying 20th Century history, I have to believe that this image will be one a very select few that will make it onto whatever Nanorobot kids will have embedded in their brains. In 1942, J. Howard Miller was hired by the Westinghouse Company to create the poster to help motivate employees to help with the war effort. The image was used exclusively in the Westinghouse Factories and it wasn’t until 40 years later when the poster was rediscovered that the rendering began to be associated with “Rosie The Riveter” and women’s civil rights. This iconic image has appeared on all types of outdoor media including a US stamp, shower curtain and even on the human body as a tattoo.  

#4 iPod – “Dancing Silhouettes” 

These ads captured lightning in a bottle and helped propel the iPod (and Apple as a brand) into the stratosphere. The first ads were placed on billboards in LA back in 2003 and ultimately resulted in dozens of executions across a variety of different media. Everyone in advertising is always losing their minds about how awful it is to have “matching luggage” across media, but this campaign proved that you could literally make a moving version of the billboard for TV and it would sell a ridiculous amount of product. The silhouette image and white earphones became one of the most iconic advertising images of all-time and permeated all facets of pop culture (including this Conan sketch last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_wImaGRkNY). The campaign ran from 2003 – 2008 and it’s tough to deny the impact on the company - in March ’03 Apple’s share price was $7 and by July ‘08 it was $180. Great advertising works.  

#5 Samsung – “The Safety Truck” 

What does the future of Outdoor advertising look like? It’s a tough question to answer, but executions like this that show us what’s possible when we think outside the box. What I love about this ad is how hard it is to label - it’s definitely an Outdoor execution, but it’s also an online video that has been viewed 6 million times. In the end, it’s just a great idea that has the potential to save countless lives. The idea came from Leo Burnett Buenos Aires, won dozens of Cannes Lions and helped Samsung become “Marketer of the Year” in 2015. 

Click the link to watch the case study video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=80&v=ZetSRWchM4w

That’s my Top 5. Interested to hear what some of your favorites are. If you enjoyed this article, I would love for you to hit the share button so more people can see it. Thanks for the love :)