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You've been 'ad - nothing's on sale

Rashid Razaq
15/ 3/2005

A MYSTERY poster campaign that left people guessing what was being advertised has been revealed as selling . . . nothing at all.

More than 150 billboards went up across Greater Manchester in the last month carrying sentences like "Sir Henry Addington was the 15th Prime Minister of Great Britain" and "Arthur Balfour was the 50th Prime Minster of Great Britain".

Bemused passers-by have been discussing what the bizarre "ads" were selling on internet message boards and radio talk-shows.

Elaborate

The most popular theory, that Boddingtons brewery could be behind them because they used the same trademark yellow and black colours, was quashed when owners Interbrew denied any involvement.

Now the M.E.N. can reveal that the posters were part of an elaborate ploy by the billboard site owners Clear Channel to study the impact of outdoor advertising.

The company was trying to assess how much notice people take of billboards alone, so decided on an obscure message not linked to a product and not found in magazines and newspapers or on radio, TV or cinema.

A spokeswoman said: "It was really an exercise for internal research. We wanted to see how powerful billboards could be when the adverts couldn't be seen on TV or cinema.

"We weren't planning any publicity, but it has provoked a lot of interest. Outdoor advertising is one of the most powerful mediums as you can't avoid them and you don't have to buy anything."

The spokeswoman added: "We decided to use prime ministers who were not all that well known.

"And we found that not everyone agrees which order they were in."

What do you think of the posters? Have your say.


| Submit CommentSubmit Comments | View CommentsView Comments(1)


Most recent 1 of 1 user comments

   With all the yellow and the idea of someone other than Blair as PM, I thought it was a Lib Dem advertising campaign. Certainly worked in getting people to discuss "what the heck's that about"!
Jen, Levenshulme, Manchester
18/03/2005 at 12:10

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