Leo Burnett Plants Lettuce Garden on McDonald's Billboard

Salad_board_2-1.jpg

For a medium that is nothing more than a giant board atop a metal structure, billboards continue to impress with their seemingly endless flexibility. Of course, none of that impressive flexibility would be possible were it not for inventive creativity. Leo Burnett pleases us by proving to us that, yes, there still are new ideas floating around the minds of agency creatives.

While we can't prove no one has ever before affixed a living thing to a billboard before, Leo Burnett's placement of actual, growing lettuce on a billboard in Wrigleyville for McDonald which spells "Fresh Salad" is refreshingly original and, at the same time, simplistically succinct in conveying the intended message.

It's unfortunate most agencies and marketers don't realize the billboard medium is at its most powerful when it's used for simple, direct messaging. Two to four words and a simple visual is about all the medium can take. Too many marketers and agencies try to cram the entire marketing plan onto a single 14 X 48 foot space which is usually seen for less than three seconds. For billboards, simplicity rules. In creating this McDonald's billboard, Leo Burnett clearly understands this.

Written by Steve Hall    Comments (8)     File: Best, Outdoor     Oct- 5-07  
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Comments

OMG!

Posted by: arthur on October 5, 2007 10:50 AM

OMG! Awesome!


www.LeoBurnett.com site rocks too!

Posted by: arthur on October 5, 2007 10:57 AM

It's cool. It's not that original. Goodby did it with HP like 3 years ago with "Change Happens" where the billboard had ivy grow out of it.

Posted by: Tom Tom on October 5, 2007 12:54 PM

That explains why the last salad I had at McDonalds tasted like it had been on the side of the road for a few weeks.

Posted by: CK on October 5, 2007 02:43 PM

Yep, I'll have a salad, by the way what is that small dirty spot bottom right? Is that a Mickey Mouse logo, or is that for some other reason? I can't tell.

Posted by: Old Redneck on October 5, 2007 10:22 PM

there's that whole building in france that has a garden -intentionally - growing on its exterior walls. and there's tons of castles in ireland that are covered in ivy and moss and stuff.

Posted by: veedub on October 7, 2007 11:47 PM

Um, veebud, we're those gardens encasing those buildings and castles advertising anything?

Posted by: Steve Hall on October 8, 2007 11:19 AM

steve

no they weren't advertising. all i'm saying is that there's plenty of precedent for sideways-growing vegetation.

Posted by: veedub on October 8, 2007 02:36 PM

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