I am not in outdoor currently but this did remind me of a campaign we ran in Palm Springs when I was GM of Fairway.  A religious organization approached us about running a campaign against pornography.  The concept was to place on the billboard a message of a “Christian Porn Site” with a website below.  The goal was to get viewers who expected what it said and then, when they reached the site, got a Christian based message against pornography and avenues to find assistance.

As a side note, after arriving in my role, we made a regional policy to not accept sexually oriented business and followed through on that plan.  We/I felt a responsibility to be a good steward to our community and industry and accepting this business was hindering our ability to provide value to our audience.  That being said, I agreed to take the business since I knew that this was not what it appeared and the end goal was positive.  We chose a hard to sell location and posted the ad.

A few months later, I was in local conference and had a conversation with an acquaintance.  I mentioned that I was in outdoor advertising and they brought up the ad.  Their initial thought of it was disgust.  I then told them of the backstory and they thought it was a great idea and a clever way to reach their target audience.

The client had a lot of hits on their website and wanted to renew the business.  I declined.  My response was that I appreciated their business and I appreciated their goals.  The reason though was the unintended damage to our business and industry by posting this and the perception left with viewers who did not get drawn into the site.  (The second lesson is that every billboard, even the least marketable, can be productive if the artwork/message is strong.)

It is the same reason that our company took pride in making sure that any graffiti or damaged units were immediately removed, replaced, or repaired so it provides the best possible image of our medium and company to our audience.  It is our responsibility to our industry, our customers, our community, and our employees.

With Morgan & Morgan, I appreciate the idea and enjoyed the execution once I realized it was not graffiti.  They love outdoor and I would think any company would jump through all hoops to please them…justifiably so!  Just realize that for the viewer and potential customer, it might provide an unintended consequence that reflects poorly on the company and community.

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