Madrid – Design agency Point of Reference is using digital mock-ups of out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaigns to draw attention to how environmentally damaging this form of marketing can be. The campaign, which includes a short film, uses direct messaging, such as the fact that an advert posted for one month will take about 400 years to decompose, to incite viewers to act.
Such statements are placed within pastoral settings in the digital mock-ups, with billboards positioned amid green landscapes to highlight the fact that such long-term adverts can be damaging our natural world. In this way, Point of Reference forces businesses to confront the issues in advertising and communications and find creative alternatives that have less environmental impact. ‘It is time to rethink these billboards as short-term messaging devices and lean on other formats of advertisement or in more creative and conscious ways,’ says Point of Reference in a press release.
While we’ve previously explored the ways that brands have sacrificed marketing messages in line with the pandemic, this campaign references growing calls for brands to take a similar approach in relation to the environment.
Strategic opportunity
Brands across sectors must reconsider the strategies they’re using to promote products and services. Consider eco-friendly alternatives to OOH advertising, and actively encourage the wider industry to follow suit
