How to Design a Billboard That Actually Works

Ten years ago, your brain needed 2.5 seconds to remember an ad. Out on the street today, a billboard gets about one second. So what can you possibly fit in one second, six words, a brand, a sale, or nothing at all? This is Ads in the Wild, powered by The Science of Advertising. We pull a dozen real billboards straight off the streets, count the words, hunt for the brand, and at least one of them is going to fail. HOSTED BY: Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUEST: Josh Gurgiel, who runs creative for the biggest outdoor network in the country, and has spent years on what makes a billboard stop you or slip past you. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-gurgiel-54538347/ In this episode we get into the real rules of outdoor. The one second rule, and why six words or less is the difference between remembered and invisible. Why the best move is almost always to subtract, not add. How the greats use a single hero image instead of overselling, from Uber Eats to Specsavers. Why irreverence and contextual placement, Koala, IKEA, and the famous look up billboards, turn a static poster into something people photograph and share. And why the sharpest outdoor work is really just public art, sponsored by a brand. CHAPTERS 00:00 The one second rule 00:54 From lawyer to outdoor 02:54 Why dwell time changes everything 06:35 Uber Eats: one idea, many executions 14:01 The urge to overcomplicate 18:49 Six words or less 21:18 What grabs attention in the wild 23:41 Use the hero, don't oversell 26:52 Specsavers: stopping you in your tracks 29:23 Koala: irreverence in public space 34:39 IKEA and contextual placement 45:48 The rules worth breaking 53:39 Public art Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #outdoor #billboards #scienceofadvertising