Advertising on wheels

If you are in any way associated with the world of advertising, you will know that it is hard to stand out from the crowd and get your message noticed. With advances in imaging and printing technology, there is now the ability to wow your customers on the road. Here are some of our favourites:

1. Always first. 

FedEx is taking a not-so-subtle jab at its competitor, DHL with this mobile ad. The FedEx van has been painted so that it appears as if a DHL van is trying to catch up with it…except it never does. When you notice the FedEx tagline “always first”, then it doesn’t just make sense, it’s pretty darn clever too.

2. Beware wild animals!

This clever ‘3D’ wrap, with ‘shadows’ in all the right places, makes it look as if the bus is being crushed by a giant snake. Ah, but this is just an ad for the Copenhagen Zoo, the “wildest place in town”. We’re not sure that we would want to go to a zoo which is home to animals that can crush you, but it sure got our attention.

3. Sports car illusion.

Did you even notice the van? Yes, that’s how good the vehicle wrap is, which demonstrates how good the company is at what it does.

4. Giant gum. 

Honey, I blew up the kid…and his chewing gum! Alas, we’re still waiting for a Wayne Szalinski to invent a machine that can shrink or enlarge things at our will. One stripe of this giant gum and it would be bye bye halitosis for a long time. 

5. Feeling tired while driving? Take a break.

Wait a minute, if the driver is having a break and a Kit Kat, then who’s driving the truck?!

5. Defying gravity.

Wow, Pepsi Lite is so light that it floats! This should make transportation cost a lot cheaper, if only it was true.

6. Reaching for Mars.

If we saw this truck on the road, we would tail it. This larger than life (literally), ersatz chocolate-covered nougat and caramel bar would have us salivating for the real thing; so after tailing it for awhile, we would drive to the shops to buy one (or two).

7. JAWS!

We can imagine the apprehension and suspense if we saw the jaws of the shark ‘clamp down’ on the passenger. It's a common misconception that sharks eat people (they’d rather feast on fish and marine mammals) and the National Geographic Channel should be dispelling the myth, but maybe the ingenious ad will get more people to watch the documentary programme and learn more about the long misunderstood animal.

8. Potty time.

This one is hilarious and so well placed. It looks like the driver is driving while going potty at the same time (talk about multi-tasking). The jeep belongs to an electrical and plumbing service provider, and we love their chosen tagline: “comfortable living specialists”; there’s no denying that when your plumbing gets clogged (the one in your house AND inside you), it makes living a lot less comfortable.

9. Cool rider.

We don’t think that this is an actual ad, but maybe the driver can pick up some ladies with his ‘cool ride’. While the Smart car does not scream sexy, the car wrap shows that this could be a man of different facets –  smart and chic on the weekdays; wild and free on the weekends.

10. See-through car with lady.

This isn’t an ad but an acrylic car by TRW Automotive to show off its car safety systems. But we had an “ah-ha!” moment, and thought this car would make a great blank canvas for ads. How about filling up the door panels with ‘water’ and ‘fish’, dressing the model in a bikini, and promoting some beach holiday destination?

11. Weight watchers get into the act.

We’re sure that some would find this ad an insult and very politically incorrect, but you’ve got to admit that it’s creative. Just a tilt to the design, and the effect is the appearance of the bus leaning to the side where a hefty person is sitting. Using a simple idea to convey the message is most impressive.

12. Asparagus in a cement truck, not sure why though. 

We don’t know what a bunch of asparagus has to do with a cement truck - maybe it was just the right shape – but, why not? Eye-catching advertising doesn’t always have to make sense… 

13. Now we are getting serious...

The AC Cobra looked nothing like a cobra. The Dodge Viper looked a little bit more like its namesake. But there’s no mistaking that this car is supposed to depict some sort of snake - a python or an anaconda, probably. We Googled for companies with the names 'python' or 'anaconda', and found plenty. Wonder if any of them thought of this as an advertising gimmick yet.