It’s been a long time since we had our last post on clever ads, so it’s a perfect time to look into the world of bus stop ads. However, before jumping to the real-world examples of outdoor advertising, let’s talk about it first.

Bus shelter ads also known as “transit shelter displays” are highly effective, sometimes more so than larger hoardings, claims research sponsored by Right Angle Media.[1] Moreover, some areas do not have billboards as an advertising option, so transit shelter poster designs will often be an excellent alternative to larger billboard advertising.[2]

In addition to that [3]:

• Bus Shelter Ads Are Always On. They work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Bus Shelter Advertising Offers Great Visibility. Drivers, pedestrians and bus riders all will see your ads.
• Bus Shelter Ads Provide Multiple Impressions Per Prospective Customer. People passing by on a regular basis are bound to notice your ad.
• Bus Shelter Ads Give Precise Geographic Targeting. If you do business locally and want to target local consumers, there’s no better advertising vehicle.

On the other hand, plain bus stop advertising cannot get consumer’s attention effectively because of one-way communication. But this is where advertisers’ creativity comes into play creating cool ads that can do two-way communication.[4] Interactive marketing and the consumer’s involvement are the keys to ad campaign success here. Usually, people are bored to death waiting for a bus, so everyone would thank advertisers for giving a little game to play by the interactive advert, and eventually maybe even buy the product later. Another fun way to advertise like this is by turning the bus stop into a mini art installation. Catching people’s attention where they least expect it is the essence of ambient advertising, and this type of viral marketing is sure to get people talking about your product too.

To sum up, the bus shelter is a wonderful medium for advertising, but it takes clever design to make the best of it. Without further ado, let’s see the 33 creative ads from bus stops and share our thoughts afterward! Whether it’s product advertising or awareness campaigns for social issues, these adverts really think outside the box!

1. IKEA: Bus Stop

Advertising Agency: unknown

2. Guarana Antarctica: Net

Art Directors: Marcelo Maia, Bruno Brasil, Rodrigo Rodrigues

Actual size goal posts were placed in bus shelters around Sao Paulo for the Soccer World Cup.

3. Fisch Franke: Filled with Water and Real Fish

Advertising Agency: Publicis, Frankfurt, Germany

4. Le Lait: Milk Carton

Advertising Agency:  Nolin BBDO, Canada

5. Fiji Travel – Throw Away Your Clothes

Advertising Agency: TBWAOSLO, Oslo, Norway

6. Real Hip Hop: Black Power

“Black music all the way.” Cannes Lions Outdoor finalist. Advertising Agency: Dentsu, São Paulo, Brazil

7.Je*s Jeans – No Need to Bend Anymore

Advertising Agency: Bruketa@Zinic, Zagreb, Croatia

8.Fitness First (International Chain of Health Clubs)

Advertising Agency: N=5, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

9. Wonderbra: I Broke the Glass

Advertising Agency: Publicis Frankfurt, Germany

10. Movie up: Balloons

Advertising Agency: unknown

11. Free Coffee From April 20th till May 3rd

Advertising Agency: Cossette West, Canada

12. Asian Weeks till 24th August

Advertising Agency: DDB Helsinki, Finland

13. McDonald’s: Night

Advertising Agency: DDB Sydney, Australia

14. Norwegian Airline’s New Destinations: The Kilt

Advertising Agency: Volt AB, Stockholm, Sweden

15. Norwegian Airline’s New Destinations: The Sauna

Advertising Agency: Volt AB, Stockholm, Sweden

16. Apple Macbook Air: Swing

By Bruno Taylor

17. Calgary Zoo: Dinosaurs Alive!

“More real. More scary.” Advertising Agency: Trigger, Calgary, Canada

18. Australia Post: Personalize Your Post

Advertising Agency: M&C Saatchi, Melbourne, Australia

19. Coca-Cola Refrigerator Bus Shelter

“Open Happiness.” Real Coke bottles settled to the mock-up cold refrigerator. Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson Istanbul, Turkey

20. Hasbro Cluedo: How Does It Feels To Be Involved..?

“How does it feel to be involved in a crime.” Advertising Agency: DDB, Italy

21. Playstation Bus stop

This bus station in Malaysia features boards with bubble wrap. I would probably miss the bus here! Advertising Agency: unknown

22. Victoria Bug Zoo

This TSA, made from a plastic sheet with hundreds of small magnifying lenses, allowed passersby to see through a bug’s eyes. Advertising Agency: Rethink, Vancouver, Canada

23. Osram – Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Only use electricity when you need it. Advertising Agency: Saatchi&Saatchi, Cape Town, South Africa

24. Alfa Romeo Helps Other People Sell Their Cars

Within days the poster sites were completely full. Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume, Antwerp, Belgium

25. Coca-Cola: New Grip Bottle

Challenge: Let people know about how the new Coca-Cola Grip Bottle has a better grip for holding.

Solution: Posters printed on Velcro were placed in bus shelters in Paris to make people interact with the grip.Results: People literally hooked to the campaign. On the whole, a 3.8% brand volume growth in France compared to 2007. Advertising Agency: Marcel, Paris, France

26. Livegreen Toronto: Switch

“Hello, have you heard about livegreentoronto.ca?” Advertising Agency: Agency59, Toronto, Canada

27. First Poster That Responds To People Looking At It

“It happens when nobody is watching” Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt, Hamburg, Germany

28. Etv: Football World Cup

30. 3M Security Glass

Break it and you can take $3 million in cash! The truth is, that there were actually only $500 put on the top of the fake bills, and people were only allowed to use their feet to break it. In case, someone actually breaks it – there was a guard to assure that nobody kept the fake money from the glass.

31. Rubbish Since Monday

Advertising Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland

32. Star Wars: Lightsabers

Advertising Agency: enVision, Aarhus, Denmark

Advertising Agency: unknown

33. Quiksilver: Ramp

A real skateboard ramp was mounted on the side of a typical danish bus shed providing pass time activities for the waiting passengers. (Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark)

If you liked these, you might want to check out new post: Creative Uses of Handles in Transit Advertising, or 30 Clever and Creative Bus Ads on demilked.

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