Join us Sept. 14-16 in Miami to connect with top publishing leaders
IBM is the latest brand to make advertising that is actually useful.
With the help of Ogilvy France, IBM made a series of outdoor ads that are functional and helpful to passersby. One is a poster that swoops out as a bench; another ad forms a canopy to provide shade and shelter; and one ad acts as a ramp over stairs.
The ads are part of IBM’s “People for Smarter Cities” campaign, which is an initiative and ideas sharing platform that encourages people to come up with and share their ideas about use technology to improve their cities.
These useful IBM ads are the latest in a small wave of ads recently that provide actual value and utility to the public. Scrabble recently brought free Wi-Fi to areas of Paris as part of an ad campaign, and Nivea created solar-powered phone-charger ads for people on the beaches of Brazil. Hopefully, this is a trend that continues. In the age of real-time marketing and branded content, beyond entertainment value, it’s nice to see ads that truly are functional, helpful and free.
More in Marketing
Inside toy brand Sticki Rolls’ YouTube strategy to win over Gen Alpha
Toy brand Sticki Rolls is hoping to turn its YouTube creator-generated buzz into a Gen Alpha collectible brand through pop-ups and retail expansion.
Walmart gets close to $3 billion in tariff refunds
Tariff refunds continue to bolster big retailers while consumers remain constrained by higher fuel prices and other macroeconomic factors.
Discord adds lower funnel with outcomes push
Discord is pushing its ad business further down the funnel, betting that its gaming communities can deliver more than impressions.