It seems that people are always looking for new media outlets. Pizza Hut famously put their logo on the side of a rocket. I've seen ads emblazoned on urinals. And I've seen ads on baggage conveyor belts.
One has to wonder what the effectiveness is. I suspect the impact of these ads is not measurable, so advertisers are taking a "shot in the dark" when they "invest" in these non-traditional media.
Recently I was in a fairly nice coffee shop (certainly not a dive). They had flowers on the table and the decor was quite nice. When we ordered coffee ... it came in a mug with advertising on it. I have a hard time imagining that someone would look down at their coffee cup and say "by golly, I should use Joseph Perry plumbing." If I'm right, Joseph Perry wasted some money advertising in this medium. Honolulu is considering allowing advertising on the exterior of buses. Now, that's actually a proven medium in other cities, but Honolulu is a little different. Right now, there is an ordinance that prohibits any outdoor advertising, so there is a fear that bus ads will begin the "slippery slope" to allowing other outdoor ads. The other issue stems from the fact that the bus system is owned and operated by the city. So, by law, the city could not prohibit or put restrictions on ads appearing on the bus. So tasteless ads, political ads, and any other ads would be fair game. I was wondering what the mayor would think if a rival in a campaign bought bus ads that said "I'm going to restore the bus service that the current mayor cut."
I guess my point is that there are an infinite array of media opportunities if you think creatively about them ... I just don't know that they all make sense.
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