A few years ago an ad agency in Germany sponsored a contest involving decorating truck trailers with clever ad artwork.
Here are seven mock-ups of European trucks whose trailers are decorated to look like the sides are missing and the products they are hauling are painted on the sides and back.
The first one is of a bottle of beer and looks so real, like it’s coming out the side of the trailer.
The second is of a canvas tote bag.
The third is of Pepsi cases and they are all stacked on the ceiling, and the bottom of the trailer is empty.
The fourth is of another truck with the windshield facing the back and there has been a driver painted in the driver’s seat looking back over his shoulder to appear like he is driving backwards.
The fifth one is of an aquarium with fish swimming in it.
The sixth one is of a bookshelf with books lined up in it and a post-it-note with an advertisement on it, probably for the company that sells the books.
The last one is for Pringles-Hot & Spicy. The ‘inside’ of the trailer has the appearance of having been through a fire.
I thought all of these are very clever–so clever that I might look too long and get in an accident. I love the aquarium truck, very clever, real and beautiful to look at.
- Do you like this concept of advertising?
- Do you think it works?
- Have you ever advertised on trucks?
- Which truck is your favorite?
I look forward to reading your comments.
jennifer says:
These are very creative, but I do not like this concept at all. If I saw that truck driving backwards, I would freak out and probably cause an accident.
Fee Sepahi says:
Wow, these are great art work!
This is like a coming out, memory lane, party….Having had a brief (8 year) career as a truck driver, I can appreciate the talent it takes to create one of these and I agree that driving down the road, they tend to be REALLY distracting, if too verbose or visual. The closest I came to having a custom trailer, was having race horses painted on the side and back of the trailer I was pulling. I used to ship horses and the trailer had windows and was limited to the area that could be painted, though I’m sure with enough talent and money, they could have been incorporated into the design.
Personally I like the Pringles truck as it’s really detailed, as are all the others, but provides a great visual story and one can almost palpate the spice!
I would hope that it is well illuminated at nights, so someone approaching from the sides doesn’t look into a black hole!!!
Thank you as always, Merrill.
Paul Kirch says:
I personally can’t get past the fact that it’s the same truck picture with different lighting and the ads photo-shopped on (yes, I realize you mentioned mock ups). In all seriousness, I like the concept. If these were real trucks on the road, I’d notice them. When I was a little boy (yes, I once was), I was in love with big rigs (like a lot of boys). To this day, I still notice the big trucks on the road, especially the ones with the great paint jobs.