From the Creepy Inside Jokes Department
Mini, the BMW subset devoted to mini-coopers, has gone a bit 1984. Much of advertising deals with the fine line between personalizing advertising (usually to a specific demographic), losing your audience by being boring or irrelevant, and losing your audience by being downright creepy. Billboards that talk specifically to you are kinda cute in an "L.A. Story" sort of way (as the blog I linked mentions), but not having a billboard identify me personally by name while I'm driving down the highway wouldn't make me feel like I was "missing out." It's basically just another form of spam, only this one allows someone to read your name, stalk you to wherever you're going, and pretend that they've known you for years.
Not to mention it's distracting.
Labels: advertising
2 Comments:
But is it spam if you opt into it? I gather from the article that these MINI drivers have agreed to have their names up in lights every time they drive by one of the signs. I guess driving a MINI is all about ego...
You're right, though - I can't see how this is really going to sell more MINIs. Maybe it fosters some brand loyalty. But hey, so would building a better (or cheaper) car.
Yeah, I agree. I think this is just more of a novelty...like getting a free pair of sunglasses with a fancy sports car. It's not going to make or break your decision to buy one, it just sort of adds to the sense that you're getting a bunch of extras. Seems as though people who drive Minis are attention seekers so why not highten that and put their names up on a billboard!
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