Non-Traditional Advertising

The following are a handful of creative ads that I found right away. Clicking the Image takes you to the subsequent blog or other source of the said advertisement.






I love this variety of advertisement. Quite simply, for a society where TV, internet, and print ads dominate the marketplace, anything else extra ordinary seems to be that much more powerful.

I would like to point out that it is a step further to experience these ads in person versus reading about them or seeing pictures of them. Being in the ad is what makes it so powerful.

Surprisingly, as soon as I read this assignment for our blog posts, this article for the smallest advertisement in the world came up on my feed. It is printed on a human hair.

The article goes on to say that it is still up for consideration by the Guiness Book of World Records.

The full article with a demonstration video can be found at Dvice.
It isn't hard to find creative ads on the internet. Not even remotely.

A quick google search or query on your news sites will pull up varieties of advertisements that will peak your interest and probably keep you occupied for hours. As soon as you get into circular loops reading websites of lists like Oddee.com (at least for me anyway) I can plan on not doing anything for the rest of the afternoon.

Some of the biggest advertising news to me lately is that a indestructible cellphone survived the most industrial commercial blender. Blendtech was a pioneer in the Youtube.com advertising scene, and have blended practically anything that would never have a practical use being blended. Rakes, neodymium magnets, cubic zirconium, iPods; nothing has escaped the wrath of this blender. Then behold one particular cellphone survives the test.

Another would be this edible advertisement by Volkswagon. It is a printed page for a magazine that can be eaten because it is composed of rice flour.

The slogan : "Eat the Road."

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The non-traditional advertisement I would like to talk the most about is this one from Superette - a clothing chain in New Zealand.


I think this advertisement is ingenious. Superette itself is more or less a boutique, that positions itself in a fashion dominated market. They sell designer clothes to both men and women - though from browsing their website, I would say they have more products for women than for men.

The best thing about this ad is that it isn't the ad itself, but how it is delivered. There is no real ad to speak of until someone sits on this particular park bench - where a metal plate etched with the advertisement presses against someone's leg. As a result, if it is bare skin, an image appears. Though whomever sat on the bench wouldn't be able to read the ad off of themselves, other people would definitely notice.

It is tough to pick a target audience with this advertisement for a couple reasons. Firstly, the ad itself reads "Short Shorts On Sale : Superette." Now, men would most likely read this ad because any girl who has this ad on them would have to be wearing short shorts to begin with and Men like that. However, it is directed to women who would be interested in buying the shorts. I am not sure how women check/size each other up when it comes to things like physique or fashion, but it is possible they would notice the ad as well. I doubt men are walking around in pants short enough to be printed on. It is just a hunch.

I believe that simply having something this creative - using the public as a vehicle for the advertisement - would simply entice people to go to Superette. I believe that it is not the ad itself that is doing the work, but the process, that would create awareness of the brand for men and women alike - though the physical context would suggest otherwise.

Apart from how upset it would make most people to realize they are the new billboard for a brand, it is extending a new boundary for what traditional advertising will be in the future. There are limits to what I want when being advertised to. For example, whenever something gets in my way of doing what I am trying to accomplish - pop ups, banner ads, mobile messaged ads, GPS ads, print ads in magazines - whether it be reading or browsing or transporting myself, really grinds my gears.

This new form of advertising is harmless and only temporary. It doesn't stop me from sitting on the bench or take time from my day to turn off. It just is part of the bench and is subtle enough to where I do not mind. Not that I want people to be walking billboards all the time - where you can tell where someone was because of the ad put on their thigh, or the space they sold on their forehead - but something can be said for trying it out.