Image via WikipediaThere's an interesting image in today's soaraway Gulf News that isn't posted up on its website (well, I couldn't find it anyway). It's on page 36 at the bottom and it's captioned 'Moving Boards'. Under the headline is a night-time picture of four unhappy-looking people walking past a busy street café with big, flat digital advertising boards strapped to their backs. The first in line certainly looks as if the thing is weighing him down - his half-lidded eyes and listless demeanour don't speak of a man having fun. But then how many of us think our idea of fun is being made to parade around the streets with large digital advertising screens strapped to our backs?I first saw this idea applied in Jordan a couple of years back and was appalled by it then. I though the sandwich board man was an image of recession, or a nutter proclaiming the end of the world is nigh. But to find people being used like this to tout advertising messages simply strikes me as abusive.
According to Gulf News' well thought-out caption, "The moving boards with its (sic) mobility, visibility and human interaction has big potential to increase public awareness." What? Human interaction? Where's the interaction between the disinterested diners and the four shambling men being made to parade Etisalat's advertising messages around on their backs all night? They're not interacting, they're merely beasts of digital burden.
Or am I being a silly, mealy-mouthed, do-gooding, pinko commie liberal?
6 comments:
Completely dehumanizing...but what do you expect from a country that has such a brilliant human/labour rights record...
I remember seeing examples of these at GITEX - university students with LCDs towering over their heads wobbling up and down the aisles.
I think it's about as effective as those trucks that they used to park on the side of SZR with the driver sleeping in it while the stupid advert rotated in the back for 3 hours!
er, yes you ARE.
Must be a continuing worldwide trend. Even 10,000 miles away in oz we are still getting people running around near your car at traffic lights scaring the shit out of you with handheld signs waved violently stating that pizza's can still be purchased for $5.95!! I hate this sort of crap!!
I was amused that GN called it "A new concept of advertising" - twice in fact. The good old sandwich board man has been around for hundreds of years so it's hardly a new concept is it.
Well, GN didn't call it that, they just printed the press release exactly as it arrived I'm sure.
Where can i see? couldn't find it.
while the world has already moved to digital advertising and to a more mature ways even if not digital, you still see such kind of.. (first word came to mind, stupidity)
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