Author Archive for Neal Spencer – Page 4

UGA Billboards Target Recruits

Pro bowl Georgia billboardsThe University of Georgia has changed their billboard designs this month to stay front and center with new recruits…they are highlighting their Pro Bowl alums in the NFL.  Todd Gurley with the St. Louis Rams, Justin Houston with the Kansas City Chiefs, Thomas Davis with the Carolina Panthers, A.J. Green and Geno Atkins with the Cincinnati Bengals are featured in the campaign.  Billboards all over the Atlanta area feature images of all of the Pro Bowlers, as well as each player having his own billboard.

On the roads leading to Athens, another billboard campaign is welcoming the new head coach…that design features a picture of Kirby Smart with the phrase, “Welcome Home.”  The campaigns want to keep UGA fresh in the minds of potential recruits.

Jackpot Exceeds Billboard Space

Lotto too big Atlanta billboards

It has been growing exponentially over the last week, and now the Powerball jackpot is too big to fit on the numeric billboard.  Currently, the jackpot stands at $1.4 billion, but is sure to grow even more as, against all odds, people continue to snap up the $2 tickets, in hopes of winning the record breaking payout.  This is the largest payout of any lotto game in U.S. history, beating 2013’s record amount of $590.5 million.  That jackpot was paid to a single winner in Florida.

Art Work to be Featured on Billboards

ArtPop Atlanta Billboard

 

Adams Outdoor Advertising has partnered with ArtPop to bring award winning art to billboards around Pennsylvania.  It’s part of their 2nd Annual ArtPop Billboard Competition.  A new feature was added this year, a scholastic competition, that allowed high school students to enter.  One winner was chosen from those entries, along with the 5 winners chosen by a jury from the 18 and older contestants.  Another winner was chosen by public vote on the ArtPop website.  Adams Outdoor will feature the winning art on 7 billboards around the Lehigh Valley area throughout the year.  Adams Outdoor General Manager, Tony Cioffi said he was excited for this year’s competition because last year’s was such a success. Cioffi said he was overwhelmed by the support not only from residents, but also community leaders.  Atlanta based Formetco is sponsoring the billboard production.

Digital Billboard to Out Prostitute’s Customers

prostitution billboards

Officials in one West Virginia town are taking a hard stand against anyone coming to their area to solicit a prostitute.  Huntington police chief Joe Ciccarelli says people come from neighboring states to pick up prostitutes and it’s fueling the drug culture there by “paying herion addicted prostitutes.”  A digital billboard on one of the town’s busiest streets will soon bear the faces of those caught picking up a prostitute.  Chief Ciccarelli says, “they are coming here so they don’t have to face scrutiny in their own neighborhoods, but we don’t want them here.”  Opponents say this is the wrong way to go about curbing the problem, but Huntington’s Mayor, Steve Williams, supports the idea.  Williams says, “sometimes it takes a little public shaming to catch somebody’s attention and we’ll start putting faces up there.”  Williams says the campaign sends a clear message, “don’t come to Huntington to solicit prostitution. Period.”  The digital billboard is being paid for with funds from drug seizures.  The photo above is what’s currently on the billboard, but officials say there will be faces on the board in as little as two weeks.

Billboards Aid in Search for Suspect

murder suspect atlanta billboards

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is using Atlanta billboards to get the word out about one of their most wanted suspects.  Damian Thomas is wanted in connection with the shooting death of 35 year old DeShannon Reid back in April in Delaware. Thomas fled the scene of the shooting and is believed to be in the Atlanta area…authorities say he has relatives in Atlanta and may also be travelling the I-85 and I-95 corridors in Georgia and Florida.   The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Thomas’ arrest.  If you have any information on Thomas’ whereabouts, call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324.

Billboard Campaign Honors Law Enforcement

blue lives matter Atlanta Billboards

A message from a Memphis based advertising agency wanting to honor local police officers has gone viral. Digital billboards around the U.S. are honoring police with the message, “Blue Lives Matter.”  The campaign started as a way to honor local blue, but spread when Lamar Advertising liked the idea and donated space on over 150 digital billboards nationwide.  The message will be seen in several states, including Michigan, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts and right here in Georgia.  A Lamar spokesman says they are proud to support law enforcement.  He says they are “using digital billboards to voice respect for officers across the country who put their lives ar risk every day to keep the public safe.  This is our way of saying thank you.”  Police say they support the message, but they want to stress that ALL lives matter.  The message can be seen on billboards through the end of the month.

Billboard Vandalism A Publicity Stunt

morgan tampa bay billboard

A couple of weeks ago, a well known law firm made headlines for having one of its billboards allegedly vandalized by some overzealous fans in Mississippi.  But apparently, that was not the case.  John Morgan, of the Morgan and Morgan Law Firm, was behind the “vandalism” and posted similar billboards in several markets around the Southeast.  Morgan said he was hoping the billboards would be his “purple cow” and become as well known and well publicized as billboards like Chick-fil-A’s 3D cows and Universal Studio’s catchy billboards in Orlando.  Morgan says the billboards did garner quite a bit of publicity…he says images were shared on social media, people were pulling over to take pictures of the billboards and media outlets did stories on the “vandalized” billboards.  He says although they are now replacing all “vandalized” billboards, he has more surprises up his sleeve that will hopefully bring as much attention to his billboards as the supposed vandalism did.

UGA Changes Billboards to Rally Fans

Bama Campaign on Atlanta billboardsTomorrow will be Showdown Saturday in the SEC for the University of Georgia as they take on their biggest rival, the University of Alabama.   In August, UGA began a digital billboard campaign on more than 40 boards around Atlanta to recruit prospects for the school.  This week, to rally their fan base, UGA has converted some of their Atlanta digital billboards to include a “Beat Bama” message.  The teams will meet for what is considered the biggest game of the season on Saturday.  UGA comes into the contest undefeated, while Bama has lost one.  Although the Bulldogs haven’t beaten the Crimson Tide since 2007, they are the favorite to win tomorrow.  Kick off is scheduled for 3:30 in Athens.

Advertiser Happy When Billboard Gets Vandalized

morgan miss billboard

Here’s an unusual story for you…a famous face had his billboard advertisement vandalized, and he said he was happy about it!  John Morgan, who advertises all over the southeast, had one of his Mississippi billboards painted with graffiti courtesy of some overzealous Mississippi State fans.  But Morgan wasn’t upset…he said he and his firm got some good laughs out of it and they love it.

As you can see from the photo, dog ears, teeth and a collar were sprayed on Morgan’s image, along with “Go MSU!”  Morgan said he would keep the ad up until the team lost.  Unfortunately, Mississippi State fell to LSU the following week, by a score of 19-21.  No word on whether Morgan made good on his promise and replaced the ad, or if it’s still up for everyone to see.

Billboards Show Photos of Missing Children

missing billboards atlanta billboards

It is a campaign starting in Washington D.C., but scheduled to spread to other parts of the nation…putting the photos of missing children on bus stop billboards, with the hope of bringing them home.  Dozens of digital billboards throughout the D.C. Metro area are displaying images and information on missing children from the area as well as those from Maryland and Northern Virginia.  The campaign is being called the “Summer of Hope” and ran for about a month, ending just as school was beginning.  Baltimore was also a part of the campaign, and it is expected to continue in Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles in the coming weeks.  The billboards are the result of a partnership between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas.