Ads the size of 3 football fields may greet you at LAX

[question everything]

The Daily Breeze

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Ads the size of 3 football fields may greet you at LAX
The mega-signs on private property would sit along flight paths, and one company hopes they will grab the attention of affluent passengers.
By Art Marroquin
Staff Writer

With the glut of advertisements hitting airline passengers everywhere from terminal walkways to in-flight magazines, companies will soon reach new heights in hawking their wares. Signs the size of three football fields are expected to appear along the flight paths of Los Angeles International Airport and other hubs across the country as part of a marketing blitz crafted by Ad-Air, a London-based advertising agency. The signs would lie flat on the ground and are expected to be spotted by passengers aboard flights coming in and out of LAX as soon as next year, according to Kate Rosser, an Ad-Air spokeswoman.

The company plans to unveil the first ads in the United Arab Emirates, beginning with Dubai next month, and eventually moving to some of the world's busiest airports - London's Heathrow, Chicago's O'Hare, Tokyo's Narita, Paris' Charles de Gaulle and LAX... Ad-Air executives said they hope to cash in on grabbing the attention of affluent passengers during take-off and landing, a time when table trays are turned up, personal electronic equipment must be turned off and there's not much left to do - except maybe look out the window.

However, the content of such mega-size advertisements may actually turn off some passengers, who tend to be more educated and earn more money than the average consumer, according to Ira Weinstein, president of Airport Interviewing and Research, based in White Plains, N.Y.

(snip)

Officials at LAX said they have not heard about the proposal, saying that it will likely be met with skepticism by the airport and those living in the surrounding communities. The supersized signs will be posted on private property, but Ad-Air executives declined to say which sites they are negotiating with. The giant ads will be printed on a fabric mesh-type material and suspended on low-level scaffolds to ensure that the signs are displayed flat and evenly. It could cost companies about $160,000 or more a month to post the large ads, with contracts lasting six months to a year, according to Rosser.



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[Az]

1. Marketers will never be satisfied until

they are able to spray paint ads on our eyeballs and broadcast them into our dreams.

Money, power, corruption... all of them pail next to marketing. Marketing is the single most evil thing we face. Armed with modern psychology and a better understanding of our own mind than we have ourselves marketing changes the world in ways we don't quite see and in ways we think are based on our own freewill. Don't you believe it. Marketing twists the people around Corporations little finger.

[mark414]

2. that's gross..."and by the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself.

Thank you, thank you. Just a little thought. I'm just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day they'll take root. I don't know. You try. You do what you can. Kill yourselves. Seriously though, if you are, do. No really, there's no rationalization for what you do, and you are Satan's little helpers, OK? Kill yourselves, seriously. You're the ruiner of all things good. Seriously, no, this is not a joke. "There's gonna be a joke coming..." There's no fucking joke coming, you are Satan's spawn, filling the world with bile and garbage, you are fucked and you are fucking us, kill yourselves, it's the only way to save your fucking soul. Kill yourself, kill yourself, kill yourself now. Now, back to the show.

"You know what Bill's doing now, he's going for the righteous indignation dollar, that's a big dollar, a lot of people are feeling that indignation, we've done research, huge market. He's doing a good thing." Godammit, I'm not doing that, you scumbags, quit putting a godamn dollar sign on every fucking thing on this planet!"

[silverojo]

5. That's in pretty poor taste

Having a political view is one thing, but telling people to kill themselves is just plain sick.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. I'm sure Bill Hicks would be crushed by your righteous indignation, if he wasn't already dead.

Hell, I've got good friends who are in Marketing, and I still think Bill Hicks was a genius.

On the plus side, this reminded me that it was time to change my avatar again.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. And this is more objectionable than other ads because?

:shrug:

It's capitalism, baby. In for a penny, in for a pound.

[On the Road]

4. This Reminds Me of the Domino's Sugar Sign in Baltimore

It's as large as one football field, although it's usually seen from a distance and appears smaller. I think there would be a revolt if any attempt were made to remove it.

[kurth]

7. Many if not most frequent flyers prefer aisle seats

and won't ever see them anyway.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Throwing Money Out The Window

When flights are about to land, most people are gathering their stuff and just hoping they hear the plane wheels come down.

I live near O'hare and I am sure the local NIMBY groups around the airport would raise a shitstorm about this proposal...whomever would attempt to push this stupid idea would draw tons of negative publicity.

I for sure would note such ads and avoid doing business with a company or corporation that squanders so much money as surely they're jacked up prices or cut down on quality to feed their vanity.

Also, it'd be a total waste at night or on cloudy days as most people don't see the ground until your moments from touching down. I've flown into LAX and the usual approach is over the ocean...they gonna paint their logos on whales?

This sounds like another "great idea" by some Ad Exec looking to sucker a client for some nice commissions.