Let me preface this entry by letting everyone know that this weekend Jason and I shall be posting a video on this blog from our trip to Chicago. We carried a camera around at all times and I believe we have truely captured the spirit of the trip. The video will be a montage of all the things we did during our stay, as well as a feature interview with a Chicago resident. I am sure you have all been eagerly anticipating the final result...
Video aside, I thought I would write about my impressions of advertising in Chicago. Having spent time in New York City the last three years, I have to say I was expecting a lot more. Everybody knows the gargantuan scale advertising takes on in Times Square, but it doesn't stop there. Anywhere I went in Manhattan I was bombarded by messages. There were billboards, murals, posters, ads painted on the sidewalks, anything you could think of. Anywhere a message could be placed, there was one.
Chicago has nearly 10 million people living in it. That is one-third of Canada. So when I walked down the Magnificent Mile, I was expecting to be hit in the face with piles of advertising. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was quite the opposite. I say pleasantly because while I may be a student of advertising, I still don't like being overrun by ads. I like being able to walk through a city, especially one with as much historical significance as Chicago, and appreciate it for its architectural beauty and culture, rather than be taken aback by the volume and scale of its advertising.
Of course it was still on a completely different scale than any Canadian city I've been too. The superboards were, well, super in size and impact. I saw many mobile ads by a company called "Target Mobile Advertising" I believe, where a truck pulled a huge LCD billboard behind it. Winnipeg has something similar where a small truck has ads that rotate on the box, but these were much brighter and more attractive. At night they would shine across the street and command attention to themselves.
What I am getting at is that I was surprised by the lack of large-scale advertising in a city that is itself large in scale. I have heard before that when a building is being constructed in Chicago, it has to pass an aesthetics panel. This panel ensures that any building being made in the city looks good. Obviously having a beautiful city is important to residents of Chicago. Buildings aside, the cleanliness of the city alone is a tell-tale sign that appearance matters. I am curious to know if Chicago has stricter rules governing outdoor advertising than other cities of similar size. I was not able to find any information on this online aside from limitations on tobacco and alcohol advertising. Does anyone know if this hunch has legs?
And on that note, did anyone else feel the same way as me?
In any case, Chicago is a beautiful city. I enjoyed visiting Critical Mass to learn how advertising works in a major American city. Working with a team of over one-hundred people on a campaign would be quite an experience. And to think I thought a group of ten was large!
In closing, keep checking back for the video. I'm sure you will all enjoy.
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2 comments:
People should know the sacrifice mark make for his amazing photography. He actually leaned waaaay out of the Ferris Wheel to take that. So much that he got yelled at by some all-seeing woman. Between him and Krahn moving all over the (Car? What do you call that thing?) Anyway, it made an otherwise boring ride not-so boring.
Awesome pic! Can't wait for the vid!
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