The medium is the message – Ambient Advertising – By @elisaczerwenka

The medium is the message – Ambient Advertising

Yesterday Marc gave us a great class about advertising media channels. Oftentimes the effectiveness of an ad is not determined by WHAT we say but HOW we say it. In other words “The Medium is the Message”. Marshall McLuhan made this thought mainstream with his book with the same title. Often called ambient advertising or guerrilla advertising, anything can become a medium. Today we live in a world where the competition to be seen is bigger than ever. The number of channels has grown exponentially (see below).

So how can we still make sure our ads get seen?

In the way we always do. We get creative. There are endless possibilities to use the world around us as a canvas and to explore interesting and surprising ways of communicating.

Below are some of my personal favourites of creative media uses of the past years.

Have a look:

One recurring theme that can be found in ambient advertising is scale: small things become huge or large things are made tiny. Whenever we see something familiar we become curious and can’t look away. Fed Ex is a good example:

FedEx: Oversized Objects (Marks on a Sidewalk.) (source: http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-ads-using-oversized-objects/)

Here are some more examples of great ambient advertising.

IBM: Creative Solutions. A very popular example, making the city smarter (source: https://dekorationcity.com/ibm-turns-its-ads-into-useful-urban-furniture/)

McDonalds: Using space beyond the poster. (source: http://trademagazin.hu/en/legjobb-fmcg-outdoor-reklamok-v-nap-kepe/)

American Disability Organization. Staircase

(source: http://airows.com/lifestyle/40-impossibly-creative-advertisements-part-2)

Milwaukee Health Department. Mattress on the street.

(source: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/67/3a/92/673a92fcb4972f46928f0f9054cd2661.jpg)

Schweppes: How about a water fountain? (source:http://koikoikoi.com/2008/12/environmental-advertising-inspiration/)

Amnesty International: Billboards aren’t see through, but what if they were? Great idea from AI. (source: http://dekorationshaus.com/41-wirkungsvolle-bespiele-fur-eine-soziale-bilder-kampagne/)

VIJAY Sales: Interesting use of media. (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AdPorn/comments/5tjpek/barbecue_ad_513564/?utm_source=ifttt)

Audi: Cinema Chairs. (source: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/audi_chairs)

Bigelow: Flower Pots.

(source:https://blumen.garden-design.site/guerrillamarketing-guerrillamarketing-werbung.html)

Ikea: Street Light

(source: https://twitter.com/albertommoral/status/1096729196641034240 and https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/ikea_more)

Amnesty International: Inside of lockers. (source:https://osocio.org/message/eingesperrt/)

And finally, one of my favourites.

Polo Mints: Using snow as a medium. Depending on where you live, it might not visible for that long. But in the mean time, it is a great way to get the message across. Brilliant.

These are just some of many examples out there in the real world. When we had to do an exercise (advertise a library to parents children or students using free media space in Lambeth) we sat on the computer for a couple minutes without really finding any interesting routes. It was when we left, walked around and explored the area that the ideas started to come. So, keep looking up at the spaces around you and look for opportunities. Everything can be a medium.

If you have any more examples of great ambient advertising, I would love to see them. Find me on twitter @elisaczerwenka.