As I was taking the bus to work this morning, I spotted this poster announcing a special promotion for students.
Bright coloured with black shadowy figures (inspired no less by Apple's famous iPod ads), they were clearly targeted at teens taking public buses. It had all the supposed ingredients of a youth marketing campaign, namely:
1) Cool handphones for prizes (though not exactly the latest models)
2) Mobile games that you can redeem with e-Tokens
3) A website where you can register and play
4) A hip sounding acronym - TITO
Upon closer inspection, I spotted something unusual in the copy of the ads.
Each and every step of the promo mechanics came with a word of advice. First, a clear warning that you should not eat or drink on public transport vehicles...
...followed by a gentle reminder to give up your seat to those who need them more...
...and ending with a note that you should still study hard even after downloading these awesome mobile games.
I was so stunned by this that I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Now, what would you make of the above efforts at advertising a promotion if you are a student taking public transport?Labels: advertising, posters, promotions, public transport, youth marketing