Hosting the 2010 Obie Awards: Consummating my love affair with posters!
May 5, 2010
As some of you know, I’m hosting the Obie Awards for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. The Obies celebrate the best outdoor advertising in the Nation. What some of you may not know is that the Obies are the oldest advertising awards show in the world, predating the Clios, One Show and even Cannes.
(Video of my presentation is located in “About Me” section in header.)
Since creating the “curiously strong” mints campaign for Altoids over 15 years ago, I’ve appreciated the out-of-home medium and all it can do for a brand… not to mention a career!
With Altoids, we took a tiny, virtually unknown confection and turned it into the number one selling mint in North America, all without making one single television commercial.
Outdoor advertising took Altoids places it had never gone before. And visa versa. It was truly a match made in heaven. And one for which I am eternally grateful.
Below are my opening remarks at the Obie awards, posted here several hours before making them…
Right now everyone is talking about social media. And rightly so. New media is a game changer. At its core, social media is about establishing personal connections. But guess what? So is out-of-home.
Frankly, the closer a message is to the street the more “social” it becomes…and the stronger its connectivity with a consumer. Guerilla marketing, street theater, wild posters, if done well, are riveting propaganda and among the strongest weapons in all of marketing. This is why, even as mass media fades in its importance to advertisers, OOH remains relevant, even breakthrough.
Unlike other media, out of home has existed since the beginning of time. From day one, nature provided Earth with numerous signs. The creatures of the Earth read these signs and acted accordingly. The leaves turned color. That meant it was time to build a nest, accumulate stores…mate. The sun itself was a moving billboard, motivating animal migration, feeding habits and other rituals.
It was no different for Man. Signs governed his every move, heralding good tidings and bad. With man’s growing inquisitiveness, signs took on greater and greater meaning, shaping his belief systems and laws. He needed only to look up and the messages were there.
As soon as man began making his own signs, creativity was born. Though primitive, man’s need to create signs was intuitive. It still is. We want others to know who we are. What we want. To believe what we believe. To do things our way. Or else! For centuries, out of home advertising has provided humankind a means to achieve its agenda. For better or for worse.
In 1958, Lady Bird Johnson tried to ban outdoor advertising in the United States. Called the Highway Beautification Act, her aim was to eliminate out of home advertising altogether. Despite her good intentions, the law failed. Your forefathers were too good at lobbying! Frankly, Lady Bird couldn’t stop signs from going up anymore than we could stop making them. Creating signs is ritual, ingrained in our humanity. It is who we are.
Like Mrs. Johnson, I too dream of a beautiful America. But without signs? That’s not possible. Or necessary. I believe signs can be compelling, provocative and beautiful. Frankly, they better be. For what they are covering up often times is.
The Happy Soul Industry
The Last Generation
Gods of Advertising 
As usual – thoughtful and sincere post. And, also usual, I couldn’t agree with you more violently. Keep ’em coming and enjoy AZ.
Thanks, Scott.
I hope the 700 plus attending the show tonite feel the same way…
agree with lady bird–the world would be better off without most of the junk that’s out there. for every good board or poster there are a thousand bad ones. and no matter how many awards are given to the good ones that ratio never changes. i drive into chicago each morning and on my way to the city i pass dozens of boards. how many are good? usually one or two at most. the rest are mindless drivel that serve as nothing more than visual pollution.
Steffan, enjoyed this post. I’ve always been a fan of outdoor advertising, especially those that are creating engagement and interaction with viewers. Thought you’d also enjoy this post I came across, http://ht.ly/1HiES, from http://Trendplanner.com, by Matt Saunders. It’s how McDonald’s is engaging interaction from street viewers of their outdoor billboards in France.
I agree. I’d even say a board is one of the best ways to get someone to eyeball a message. I did a 3D board a couple of years ago that was the centerpiece of a campaign that generated $ millions in business for the client. No TV or radio involved.
OOH is where it’s at … if it’s good. There’s nothing better than beautifully set type that’s bigger than most semi trucks.
yeah, i love those big remy-martin headlines i see on every corner in the city. they’re great.
I was at the show and Steffan was a superstar!
Ashanti was the only superstar in the room. I just did my job and had a good time doing it.
-Steffan
I attended the Obies as well, and you did a great job! Some clarification on Lady Bird Johnson:
1. The Beautification Act was about “Just Compensation”. When the interstate system was implemented TONS of local highways were bypassed and thus the advertising was not maintained. This act provided billboard owners a way to get paid to remove their “unsightly” billboards.
2. Lady Bird was the largest independent sign owner in Texas.
Steve-
Thank you for the context on Lady Bird!
I love seeing great examples of this advertising.
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