Thursday 18 September 2008

Quirky Korea part 3: Metro Advertising

Seoul is a commercial paradise- it's an advertisers dream! You can't escape from advertising wherever you go. In the metro stations alone, you're bombarded with different types of media.

There's TV screens on the tracks playing ads...


...while at the same time, there's different ads being shown on the platform screens. And they're not silent either, so you'll be listening to one while the other's playing a different jingle. Someone obviously didn't think that one through very well.

On the trains themselves, there's your typical posters, plus TV ads on loop...

...and walking through the stations there's adverts winking at you everywhere you look.

And when you think you can't face any more messages, you discover a tranquil framed painting to lift your spirits. How pleasant! Then you look up close and realise it's an advert for a holiday company. Ha!
Although I'm someone who's fascinated by advertising, overkill can defeat the point as all the communication becomes one big blur. It's not until you come across a fresh idea like the one above that your attention is really captured.

No comments: