Sunday, November 22, 2009

Meet A Giraffe

Advertisements are everywhere. In my sociology class, Professor John Hall posed a question to the class: could you operate in society without encountering advertisements? The answer for most is no. It is nearly impossible since advertisements are all over our world. From bus sides to billboards to computer pop-ups to banners flying off of airplanes, almost anywhere we go, advertisements will find us. We see so many that we often glaze over the ones that don’t catch our attention. That is why it is so great when an innovatively designed ad pops up right in front of you. That is what happened to me when I came across a giraffe on a side street in San Francisco a few months ago. Not a real giraffe, just a pole painted to look like one. It is an advertisement for the new arrivals of giraffes at the San Francisco Zoo. This creative ad, designed by BBDO West advertising agency, featured a street-lamp pole painted with a giraffe pattern topped by a flag with a giraffe face on it. This graphic design took an object that most people don’t notice and made it extraordinary. BBDO West turned a simple form into a design that interacts with the public. It is common for advertisements to be placed on banners high on street poles, but much more unexpected to use the pole itself as a design feature. It was a humorous and innovative way to accentuate the height of a giraffe to sell the giraffe experience to passerby.
(picture courtesy of ibelieveinadv.com)

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