Is Outdoor Advertising Having a Creative Renaissance?

If you live in a city, out-of-home (OOH) advertising is unavoidable. Done right, a billboard, poster, or even a bumper sticker has the potential not only to capture the attention and imagination of tens of thousands of commuters but also to offer a moment of art-like surprise, delight, or intrigue. Nils Eberhardt, Group Creative Director at Special, is on a mission to simplify OOH, one billboard at a time. Eberhardt talks to Marketing Mag about why this medium makes so much sense for brands in today’s online era.

The Rise of Creative OOH Advertising

At the moment, it’s hard to log in to LinkedIn without seeing great out-of-home ads coming from agencies like Uncommon, BBH, Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, or new startup Wieden + Kennedy.

But before diving deeper, I have a confession to make: I’ve always loved out-of-home ads.

Billboards, posters, bumper stickers—you name them, I love them. Because when done right, outdoor ads are a delightful surprise. They brighten up boring commutes with a little laugh when you’re least expecting it or surprise you with a beautiful image where there was previously nothing of interest. And if you’re a brand looking to stand out, those moments of attention are a powerful thing.

Why Billboards Are Having a Moment

So, why are billboards having a moment right now? I suspect it's a perfect storm of ad-related factors.

In a world of hyper-functional, hyper-targeted performance advertising, a simple, clever poster feels like a relief. It’s a break from the digital cacophony of discount ads chasing you around the internet after you decided not to purchase that linen bed sheet two weeks ago. Rather than being an annoying intrusion, great OOH feels like a quick and fair value exchange: a bit of entertainment for a little attention.

It’s also (almost) unmissable. Short of wearing a highly impractical blindfold, there’s no ad blocker for out-of-home. And while other forms of ad targeting have gotten smarter, people are working harder and paying more to avoid them all. Until we can pay $10 a month to live in a premium version of our cities with no ads, billboards remain a guaranteed way to get brands’ messages in front of people.

OOH Ads and Social Media: A Perfect Pair

On top of its real-world visibility, great OOH is also great for social media. Nike’s recent ads along marathon routes were not only insightful and charming but also designed for people to photograph and share their “I’m doing a marathon” posts. These ads were twofers—serving both as OOH and social content.

This OOH-to-social trajectory has been evident in campaigns that my creative partner Simon Gibson and I have worked on at Special. Local campaigns, such as the recent Kitchen Warehouse Black Friday Sale or our Pepsi ‘Tastes OK’ work, have garnered millions of impressions online, extending far beyond the initial media buy. This success is thanks, in large part, to fantastic clients who embraced out-of-the-box thinking and even allowed us to slice, blend, and blur their logos.

The Power of Simple and Graphic Ideas

Keeping things simple and graphic might be something I’ve picked up living in three different countries with very different languages. A simple, graphic idea that explains itself can sometimes overcome language barriers. This approach to OOH works well because it can travel across the globe with the speed of one social media post.

The Challenges of Great OOH

Despite the rise in great work, good outdoor advertising is still far from the norm. Out-of-home ads are deceptively hard to execute well. You have a split second to grab attention, and only a few more seconds to hold it. So, you have to say less and make it count. This takes confident clients and a sharp brief. When we worked on the Uber Eats ‘Get Almost Almost Anything’ No/Yes OOH campaign, it felt a bit like building a sports car—we kept shaving off superfluous parts to make it sharper and tighter. Now, it’s a brutally simple, very fun campaign running globally.

The Future of Outdoor Advertising

So yes, it seems that outdoor advertising is experiencing a creative renaissance. It’s big, in-your-face, and unavoidable. When done right, it spreads. This presents a huge opportunity for brands to reach people and a massive responsibility for creatives. We have to make it interesting; otherwise, we’re just creating visual pollution.

Conclusion

Outdoor advertising has certainly found its stride in a crowded digital landscape. With the potential to captivate audiences in a way that digital ads can’t, OOH is poised to be a major player in the advertising world for years to come. For creatives, this is both an opportunity and a challenge: to continue pushing boundaries and make OOH an experience worth engaging with.

Why choose BM Outdoor for your outdoor advertising?

• Consumer trust: Outdoor advertising is a trusted medium for many, standing the test of time.
• Direct and captivating messages: We deliver clear and compelling messages that effectively reach your audience.
• Affordable for all: We offer options that fit all budgets and types of businesses.
• Sales team at your service: Our passionate sales team is ready to help you achieve your goals.