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Billboard Swallows Car!

Sometimes the best ideas are when old meets new. The French have a term for tricking and fooling they eye: trompe l’oeil. There are some great examples at the website: http://www.creativebloq.com/art/trompe-loeil-12121498. The idea has been around for centuries, going back to Roman times. Visitors to Nashville’s Tulip Grove Mansion, completed in 1836, can see a “marbleized” entry, which is a version of trompe l’oeil.

Drivers in Austria can see tunnel made to look like the road is driving right into a woman’s mouth.

Picture of Tunnel in Austria with the Tunnel opening looking like a mouth

The image even goes so far as to make the very top look like a banner for the advertiser, which is Oldtimer, a chain of roadway cafes and hotels that promotes an all-you-can-eat menu. Incidentally, that type of menu has been known in Sweden as a smorgasbord,since at least the 1912, Olympic Games.

Customer Loyalty through Advertising

Most of us over the age of 5 are at least aware that advertising contains efforts that will potentially fool us into thinking the product or service is better than it might actually be. However, Most of us also appreciate brands with a sense of humor and a willingness to play games and end up rewarding those companies with a little extra business.

Creative advertising like this Austrian example can certainly be one tool to create a truly beneficial long term relationship with a customer.