Category: Outrageous Outdoor
January 29th, 2007

Brand Management

Brand managers, see if you measure up. Take the Mortar360 quiz.

January 15th, 2007

Coming soon to an airport near you – ads in security trays.

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Nationwide travelers could soon see ads for laptops, expensive cars and other products in the trays that carry their shoes and cell phones through X-ray machines at airport security checkpoints. Full story at CNN.com.

December 11th, 2006

Opportunity knocks at a restroom near you.

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Shout out to the Wexley School for Girls. (Yup that’s an agency). Had to post this, seen on a recent visit to Wexley’s site. Click Download picture_22.png
to get the full effect.

December 11th, 2006

Milk promo soaks up the ire of the homeless.

Proving once again that San Francisco is nobody’s bitch, the city’s homeless and diabetics–the chemically challenged"–rose up last week to denounce the latest salvo in Goodby’s "Got Milk" campaign–cookie scented bus shelters.

In what was possibly the most impressive piece of general agency PR ever spawned by a buy of less than $5,000 and no more than 8 hours of daylight, Goodby secured nationwide headlines with its new outdoor program. Prompting a post in even this, the most august of blogs: "Scratch N’Sniff bus shelters".

Mind you, considering it took the good people of our fair city just 24 hours to get the program pulled I am not sure which lobby is the most effective. 

Our hearts go out to the creator, Louis Zafonte of Arcade Marketing, the company behind scent strips. He pretty much watched his entire business implode last week. Rumor has it he’s a little ticked too.
A little birdy tells MortarBlog that Goodby’s PR team went off half-cocked.

There’s an insight here ladies and gentleman: don’t test your wacky ideas in freaky San Francisco. 

December 5th, 2006

Scratch N’Sniff Bus Shelters

Cowsniff
Smell-o-rama fans rejoice: Scratch N’Sniff outdoor is finally here.

Local agency Goodby Silverstein snagged a generous amount of PR for long-time "Got Milk" client, the California Milk Board with five aromatic billboards in San Francisco.

"Vanilla-y,” one woman said as she walked past the shelter. 

"Cherry undertones  —  and waxy,” said another woman standing inside. 

"These don’t smell anything like cookies my mom baked,” said a teenager. 

"It smells like my kid’s lunch pail,” said one man. He walked away before
he could say whether that smell was pleasing or offensive.

Louis Zafonte, vice president of Arcade Marketing, the company that
manufactures the scent strips that are affixed to the bus shelters, speaks like
a mix of preacher, scientist, therapist and businessman when he talks about
scent.

"Scent is a primary driver of memory,” he said. "It can trigger wonderful
memories.” 

The strips, no larger than a typical adult’s hand, have been strategically
placed throughout five bus shelters in the Union Square, Financial District and
Nob Hill neighborhoods. The aroma is expected to last a week or two before it
will have to be replaced. Zafonte said the cost is about $25 per shelter. 

Read the full story on SF Gate here.