Ads on cars, vans, buses and trucks don’t really have a very long history. It’s a relatively recent phenomenon that has truly blossomed in the past few years. Unlike other forms of outdoor promotion, advertising on vehicles has the big advantage of being mobile.
Billboards are common in practically every country. They litter the highways and byways trying to sell you all kinds of things, or they may point the way to interesting local attractions, or announce a local café or restaurant, knowing that a driver needs regular sustenance.
However, billboards don’t move. You have to go to the billboard in order to know what the message is all about. This works fine on a motorway or major road where cars regularly roll past. It’s proven to be a highly effective form of advertising, and the high charge for putting an ad on a billboard that’s located in a prime spot reflects this.
Ads on cars changes all that. The car can move and take the message to the people, so to speak. No longer is the advert tied to the whim of the traveller, who may or may not choose to drive past. The car or van that has an advert painted on its side can now go wherever it likes.
The attraction of this situation is obvious. People use cars on a daily basis and businesses use vans and trucks on a daily basis too. It costs a lot to run a vehicle of any kind, and most vehicle owners would jump at the chance of getting paid to run their own car or van.
That’s where the advertiser can step in. He can offer to pay the car owner an agreed sum in exchange for the car carrying an advert on it. The system works and it’s very popular too. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Of course, not everyone would like to have an ad plastered all over their car, but for those who don’t mind it’s a great solution.
The earliest form of vehicle advertising was with company vans and trucks. Company owners started out by having the company name sign painted on the sides of their vehicles, and of course they still do. Contact details soon became a standard inclusion with a telephone number and address. Today you will also see email and web site addresses too.
It wasn’t long before ads on cars and vans started to be more creative and inventive. It became obvious that the general public were getting used to seeing the usual stuff, and they were largely shutting it out of their minds. That’s when the really good ads started to appear.
Now you can see camera manufacturers placing their model’s lens over the rear wheel arches of buses, doors have been utilised to make parts of the images move, and 3-D effects can make it all come alive in ways that no one dreamed of just a mere generation ago.
Ads on cars and vans are now big business. It may be for huge multi-national companies, or it may be for just a local shop, but either way there’s a place for both and the mobile adverts on cars, buses, vans and trucks are definitely here to stay.
David A Robinson
Get in touch for help and advice about all aspects of vehicle advertising, advans and mobile advertising.
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