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Wednesday, May 2, 2007
This report card brought to you by Equifax?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was grabbing a bite at a popular Loganville lunch spot the other day.
While waiting for my cabbage, corn and biscuit, my eyes wandered, checking the place out since I hadn’t visited in a while.
Soon, my attention rose to the ceiling, where I couldn’t help but notice that the removable ceiling panels had been turned into mini billboards.
Advertising for real estate agents and other services loomed over the diners.
The next night I went to a Braves game. They lost. But the outing was not a total waste. I experienced the Piedmont Hospital Injury Report, the Delta seat upgrade, the Holiday Inn Look Again rerun, the AFLAC Trivia Question, the NAPA Cap Shuffle, the Delta Dental Smile Cam, the Termidor (termite defense) Defensive Play of the Game, the Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters’ “Who’s Hot?” and the Mastercard “What’s the Charge?”
On the way home, I heard the Coolray heating and air traffic report.
The encroachment is not new. Advertising is everywhere — in college bowl names, on downtown buses, at high school football games and on the fences at youth sports.
It got me thinking. There are few remnants of life untouched by commercial advertising. And maybe those that do remain could benefit by giving in.
Take schools. School systems need more money to meet growing demands. Instead of looking to taxpayers, maybe they could persuade Equifax or Experian to sponsor “The Report Card Moment.” The credit agencies could pay for their name to appear on student report cards carried to thousands of homes throughout Gwinnett.
If nothing’s sacred anymore, perhaps churches needing more than offering plates provide could open up advertising opportunities — think a Decca Records Doxology or NoDoz Pews.
Kleenex could weigh in at weddings and funerals, helping to dab up the huge expenses those emotional events bring.
In Gwinnett County, Morton salt could chip in for our stormwater runoff costs, in return for use of its slogan, “When it rains, it pours.” Home Depot and Lowe’s could sponsor a Code Enforcement Officer of the Week program. The county could give Kodak exposure through its red light camera program.
The opportunities are endless. Reality can’t be far behind.
What do you think? Will there ever be a saturation point for advertising? Is its growing presence effective?
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