Billboard Clutter

Every day when we step out we see hundreds of billboards everywhere we look with the same format but only different products and designs. Yes a change has been seen in the recent billboards in Pakistan where 3D advertisements were put up but they too nonetheless were displayed on the same billboards that previously some other campaign used for its products.

What I mean to say here is that if we consider ourselves and actually think about it there comes a point when we say at the back of the mind because there are so many billboards dressed the same way which one to look and which one should be left out. Certainly we cannot see all of them as after a time they all seem to grow unanimous. The fault here is not with the billboards themselves but the way advertisers have taken them while advertising.

Whenever a product is launched it is a necessity to flood the city with billboards along with other advertising elements. This is when I realized that billboards and pole signs are becoming a problem because there is too much of it out there. I feel that so many advertisements on the typical sizes of billboards makes them look like one, and not making every campaign stand out from another. I do not, however, say that outdoor advertising does not have its magic. Though TVCs are more cluttered yet they do not loose their appeal because they are living pictures with jingles, delivering messages personally while a person sits back and relaxes at home with all the time in the world, which is not the case of billboards as those we view on our way.

I believe that there can be numerous solutions to this problem that at least I feel exists. For instance the recent introduction of mobile vans has gotten a lot of attention as it was something different and totally new that did catch many people’s attention. I myself can recall Omore, Dalda Olive oil, Javed Sheikh’s film, Wi tribe and lots more. However when it comes to me recalling the exact billboards I cannot maybe with a few exceptions of the Cadbury ad that was put up at Boat basin and only because it looked as if it had real men standing on it! Mobile vans do come with a solution in the way as they managed to divert and also capture the attention of the people by giving them something new and exciting to look at.