Hand Painted Billboards
The Polestar 3 is a high performance, battery powered, luxury SUV manufactured by Volvo Cars and sold under the Polestar brand.
How do I know this?
Wikipedia.
And also because of the giant hand painted billboard for Polestar 3 on Park Avenue around the corner from my apartment.
This spectacular commercial mural made a big impact on me and after seeing it, I went home and started reading Wikipedia articles.
Hand painted outdoor ads have always been part of the cityscape but they seem to be making a comeback lately.
Advertisers commission them because they deliver a unique, large-format visual statement, and when done correctly they add resonance to the place where they show.
"When done correctly" means matching the brand, the image, the audience to the location. To see what I mean, check out the work by leading hand paint media company Colossal at the link below. These are place-specific. Not painted versions of the same ads that run elsewhere.
Of course OOH advertising doesn't have a monopoly on high-impact units, and I think there is an of-the-moment driver behind the current interest - digital fatigue.
There is a feeling coming out of the pandemic when so many things are now virtualized and auto-generated, that people want to get out into their surroundings and take in IRL experiences.
There is also an added-layer of social engagement with hand painted media.
Most out-of-home advertising carries CTAs that encourage some type of interaction with the unit (for example, a QR link). And in the case of commercial murals, their production can be a form of performance art. Their creation can resemble a community event. Passers-by stop, observe, appreciate, take pictures.
As an ad form, hand painted billboards have a wide variety of applications, but marketers in the technology, fashion, and entertainment businesses seem to have embraced them first. Or at least, the most.
Next time you see one, stop and admire the artistry of this big, slow medium.
Read and see more here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/business/hand-painted-billboards-digital-ads.html
