Signs of the Times - July 2012 - (Page 6)

ST UPDATE The newest crop of OBIE Winners By Steve Aus t News for a broader perspective Bigger is Better, Version 70.0 For 70 years, the Outdoor Adv. Assn. of America (OAAA) has celebrated the best of outdoor advertising with the OBIE Awards. Every year’s award winners underscore new trends and project possibilities, whether they’re creative floor coverings or compelling electronic-digital graphics. Although the out-of-home industry has somewhat diverged from the conventional sign market over the years, these boards and displays provide a powerful reminder that both share a bond of providing information and entertainment – and, most importantly, a brand-building investment. Among the 438 campaigns surveyed by the panel of judges, these projects stood out among the Gold Winners (the OBIEs’ top honorees). Maker’s Mark, a whiskey distillery located in Loretto, KY, along that state’s Bourbon Trail, has long been celebrated as a top bourbon. Although the topflight product is the “steak,” the hand-dipped, red-wax seal (each coating is unique) that covers the bottles provides Maker’s Mark’s advertising “sizzle.” Maker’s Mark’s parent company, Brown-Forman USA, has long implemented billboards as part of its advertising campaigns (particularly during Christmas season), and the OAAA rewarded the effort with induction into the OBIE Hall of Fame. People’s growing tendency to cocoon inside their homes for entertainment, shopping and other facets of daily life has seemingly created a counterbalancing need to get outside and explore the world. The trend has benefited such premium outdoor-clothing vendors as L.L. Bean, which won the OBIEs Best of Show Award. The company enlisted GSD&M, an Austin, TX-based, full-service agency, to design the multi-faceted campaign, which includes broad floor and window graphics, as well as small posters with face-sized cutouts installed on subway-interior windows. For the subwaywindow campaign, passengers were encouraged to take photos and display them via social-media outlets. Metromedia Technologies (NYC) printed the graphics for the all-encompassing campaign. The Colorado State Patrol hired The Amélie Co., a Denver-based agency, to create this 3-D billboard, which provides an in-your-face reminder of the perils of tailgating when driving. Paul Suggett and Gordy Hirsch worked as the job’s creative directors; Eye Candy Props devised the 3-D model for the crunched trailer, and Mando-Matic retouched the images to provide maximum impact. MINI USA might be known as a purveyor of diminutive cars, but this Times Square campaign for its Cooper S Countryman “crossover” car/SUV hybrid makes a gargantuan pitch. Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, a Sausalito, CA-based agency, developed the concept. According to Steve Mapp, who served as creative co-director for the project, billboards represent approximately 5% of the firm’s portfolio. 6 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / JULY 2012 / www.signweb.com http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - July 2012

Signs of the Times - June 2012
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Commercial
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review
Technology Review
Vehicle Graphics Contest Extension
New Products
The American Sign Museum Opens!
An Electric-Sign Company Snapshot
By Print or by Paint
Extreme Installs
Lessons for the Boss
The Value of Signs
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking

Signs of the Times - July 2012