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| May 1998
Image Have Ad, Will TravelThanks to a wave of on-the-move advertising, a traffic jam is now a marketing opportunity Advertisers who really want to drive their messages home have more ways to do it than ever. In some cities, mobile advertisements, affixed to all kinds of vehicles, are becoming as common as taxicabs. Everyone has seen the big commuter buses covered top to bottom – including the windows – with billboard-sized ads. But they're just the beginning. Now night-prowling pick-up trucks are beaming 60-by-100-ft. color images onto the sides of buildings, and vans with large scrolling displays are entertaining travelers with series of constantly changing advertising panels. The New York Timesreports the New York City Council is debating whether to allow taxis to cover their hoods with commercial messages. Even in-your-face bicycle messengers are towing advertising lines - on little signs attached to the backs of their bikes. Advertisers are flocking to this "ambient media," as it has been dubbed, not only because it gets attention, but also because it lets them target consumers geographically in the same way ZIP codes do. So if you want to get your message out to your town's big spenders, gear up and head for your town's silk-stocking district.
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