A new way to sell your stuff

Now I've seen it all. This morning, I saw a rolling billboard. Well, it wasn't actually the first one that I have seen. But this one had style - it was one of those rotating triangular thingys (technical term), so that more than one advertisement could be shown on each side of the truck. And not just on the sides, but also above the cab on the front. Talk about advertising in style! Or not.

Got me to thinking about a couple of things:

1. Pollution - What kind of message is it sending to advertise on a pollution machine. "Come eat at our restaurant - we don't care if we pollute or not! Heck, we even dump our used grease in the alley out back!" Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. Maybe they use propane fuel instead of your typical unleaded or diesel. Either way, there are still emissions coming from the truck. More business for your company at the cost of the environment? I don't think so.

2. Traffic congestion - That's right, all we need is one more vehicle on the roads during rush hour. Maybe that advertising message is, "Stuck in traffic? It's all our fault. So come on in and shop at our store. Our cashiers are as rude as our truck drivers!" I'm running late for work, and there's some stupid truck in my way. Yeah, I'm going to want to support their advertisers.

If you haven't guessed it by now, here's another clue: I don't think this mobile advertising is a good idea. I can live with signs on the side of a public transportation bus, because it's main purpose is still moving people around. That's no different than ads on a website. Maybe not always the most attractive, but an accepted part of the experience.

But then I'm not really a fan of static billboards, either. Eyesores that clutter up an otherwise beautiful landscape. And don't tell the advertisers, but I usually use my TiVo to skip through commercials on television.

To be quite honest, I don't know what was being advertised on the truck that I saw this morning. I didn't take the time to look. I didn't really want to know, in case it was some place that I generally liked!

Advertising makes the world go round. Unless it ties up rush hour traffic!