Through the hard work of the CFN graphics wunderkind Niko, the advice of adman Greg Wood, generous support of our donors, and heaps of legwork by the tireless team at Generation Zero the CFN is getting a whole lot of additional exposure over the next couple of months. The first billboard is up in Kingsland. Let us know what you think:
On the subject of advertising and billboards they do sometimes betray or society’s values more than they intend to. Very fond of this juxtaposition [Hat Tip to Chris Harris]:
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Congrats for getting things underway, but I really can’t see a partial schematic wowing people in the few seconds they have to take it it. Especially when a key part of it is low-contrast yellow with light grey text.
That APN is hosting this sort of campaign must be upsetting certain editorial staff at the Herald! Hope the upset continues; and congratulations and thanks for organising some corrective publicity.
The schematic nicely shows the rough sort of idea you’re proposing, but I don’t know if people have time to read four lines of text (though I guess they do if they’re stuck in traffic!). I also couldn’t read “make it happen faster” or the URL at all, because the text was too small. Most people’s view of the billboard is going to be about as small as photo #2. Anyway, congratulations on launching the media blitz!
uninspiring compared to the great idea we are trying to promote awareness of. almost something AT would come up with. If I were of the uninformed masses I wouldn’t give this board a second glance unless I were stuck in traffic. nevermind trying to read the smallish font or to try and remember the website to visit. I would think a curiosity invoking image and the website in large letters would be more effective, but I’m not in advertising so what do I know.
what you’re saying is “we need boobs!” isn’t it 🙂
Maybe a shot of beautiful happy people on a train or similar. That’s how car ads work. Beautiful people, scenery nudity. I know it’s tacky, horrible and wrong but it works. Kind of what they did in that Danish bus ad.
Great idea, but the follow through fails a little,
The landing page for congestionfree.co.nz renders a huge image banner for “congestionfree.co.nz” (at least on Chrome and IE) and forces you to scroll down an click to actually learn anything,
I would had the “quick intro” as the landing page, along with the “petition” as the obvious next step,
Having the billboards is great but if all they generate is a few tens of thousands of website visits then I would class them as a failure.
What is the end game,?
Needs to be said “WELL DONE SO FAR!”!
Yeah, I think simple billboards are effective often. May need a little work this one but not a full “Picture & People” car ad.
Also agree with “Greenwelly’: I would had the “quick intro” as the landing page, along with the “petition” as the obvious next step,
Having the billboards is great but if all they generate is a few tens of thousands of website visits then I would class them as a failure.”
Need a little more follow through but “needs to be said “WELL DONE SO FAR!”!
“On the subject of advertising and billboards they do sometimes betray or society’s values more than they intend to. Very fond of this juxtaposition”
I would actually argue the opposite – the reality under that billboard shows that we value our cars and our lazy convenience much more than the outdoors.
Of course we can change that – our current transport environment reinforces that lazieness rather than encouraging us to more active pursuits – but the reality is that Aucklanders DO drive, and do love their cars. Of course our politician’s prescription to that problem is like a doctor encouraging an obese patient to hang out more in fast-food restaurants.
This “people love their cars” business may be true, but I think that Auckland is getting to the point where we hate other people’s cars more than we love our own.
Well put Steve…. yeah driving is the best possible mode until everyone is doing it. And cities can’t work with everyone doing it.
“the reality under that billboard shows that we value our cars and our lazy convenience much more than the outdoors.”
Errr…? Exactly my point: That the context of the billboard betrays society’s values more accurately that the fantasy of the image.
I would also add the idea freighted by the image is the standard roadhead’s idea of cycling; driving for hours in vast SUV in order to ride a bike. Also NZ, and what we love about it is always rural, never urban. Loving NZ is strictly a weekend thing.
With a bit of effort and investment this same byline could be on an image of people cycling on the streets in Auckland…. Then people could be loving NZ everyday and not just on holidays…..
May I suggest that the website copy is rewritten to be more focused on those that arrive with no previous knowledge of the CFN. At the moment it looks like much of it comes directly from this website, where there is an assumed previous knowledge about related matters.
“this same byline could be on an image of people cycling on the streets in Auckland…. Then people could be loving NZ everyday”
Now there’s an idea
Radicals 😉
Congratulations! These are absolutely excellent and absolutely necessary.
One thing I would add though, is that if you’re doing a second iteration, make the subtext and web address larger. Likewise the logos at the bottom. What looks sufficient on a page is often much too small in the open environment. I think that’s a danger here, and I think it’s worth compromising clean design to achieve a clearer message. I’d have the web address the size of the lower case upper text. Otherwise, entirely excellent.
And thank you to everyone who made this possible. You’re doing great.
I like the clean white space (background) to reinforce the message, but above all the message MUST communicate. Depending on the viewing point this may need to change a little in different locations. So I agree with George D the web address may need to come up to the size of the lower case upper text.
That billboard could have used “From” at the beginning.
Love the billboard! Even though, as others have pointed out, it’s not perfect, it is great to see the CFN being advertised in full public view.
Really excellent to see this happening. Congratulations guys.
I like the billboard and in no way wish to express a negative sentiment by noting that if you want to really pare things down in the interest of legibility for a possible second round of billboards, the words ‘make it happen, faster’ could be removed without losing much.
I noticed this yesterday from a bus on New North Rd – so it is legible and caught my eye as the London Underground map is so distinctive. Not sure if I am your average punter though..
How about alongside a motorway onramp signal next time?
Excellent work everyone involved.
Excellent work, i cycle past it every day and it gives me hope.
Agree with the comments about the font size. Sitting at the lights on bond st waiting to cross new north onto sandringham, i can’t really read ‘make it happen faster’ and URL bit. My eye sight ain’t perfect but i’m not the only one like that.
Being almost all white, they would appear to be very easy to miss…. And I think there is too much writing – what about a zoomed in view of the colourful diagramatic network and just one word – Auckland
Not exactly on topic but must be said -front page news this week: 5 more cyclists hit by car, and , earlier in the week assault of a female train passenger walking home from the Sunnyvale station and the negligible punishment given to her attacker. More needs to be done for the safety of people walking and cycling and on public transport. Not sure what the answer is…but…not good. A blow for alternative transport as well as\the havoc created on these individuals lives.
I saw it today, it looks great, and the text is very readable when you’re in a car at the stoplight.