Rate This Ad allows a billboard designer to rate a random piece of billboard artwork using the following scale: 1 (not good), 2 (below average), 3 (average), 4 (very good), 5 (great). Then the designer talks about what they may have done differently for outdoor advertising. This week’s rating is provided by Greg Callaham www.gregcallaham.com) who has over 30 years of experience in outdoor advertising design. Insider has used and endorses Callaham’s services.

Tennessee Adidas

Rating: 1 (not good)

• The purpose of this billboard is to announce that the University of Tennessee’s new apparel provider is Adidas. Good luck figuring that out.
• There is a teeny tiny Adidas logo and a teeny tiny Tennessee logo in the upper left. Both are far too small to notice, let alone read. That’s it for messaging.
• There is no contrast for legibility. The orange jerseys blend into the orange background as might be predicted, negating the visual’s effectiveness.
• There is no clear call to action, and college sports fans buy a lot of gameday gear. It’s just an orange mess that is too much work for the target audience to decipher and understand as they drive past.
• This ad earns a 1 (not good).

As always, I do not know the details of the art request or components of the campaign this ad may or may not have been part of. But looking at this challenge with the eye of an OOH graphic designer and through the lens of the target audience, I would have urged the advertiser to run the ad pictured below to promote the same message:

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