What’s that in the sky?
Look up the Manila sky and what do you see? A bird? A plane? No… BILLBOARDS!
The traffic of Manila billboards rivals that of actual EDSA traffic. There’s always a huge sign asking for your attention. Some are distracting, some are interesting to look at. From larger than life photographs of food to skimpliy-clad celebrities, the billboards demand a commuter’s attention. They make it tough to keep our eyes on the road.
Do billboards work? From an advertiser’s perspective, I say, yes, they do but only if placed strategically and executed brilliantly. Admittedly, some of the billboards are just clutter. From a consumer’s perspective, I say sometimes they work. I learned about the new Sony Ericsson K800i because of the giant billboard near Guadalupe (and am now saving up for one), and that Polo Ravales has transformed himself in those Folded & Hung ads. But please spare me of billboards that have tiny font sizes and over-exposed celebrities.
The billboards just don’t stop sprouting. All I can say is keep your eyes on the road and drive safely, Manileños!
Note: Interestingly, Sidney Snoek is a photoblogger who amazingly captures everyday realities in the Philippines. He recently began a series of photographs featuring the Manila billboards. It is a very good series and I encourage you to take the time to check them out.
yes, there’s quite an overload of billboards all around metro manila esp in edsa.
i agree, drivers should always keep their eyes focused on the road. there have been isolated reports of drivers getting into accidents because of being adverted to billboards (quite specifically those with sexy content).
I’ve always wondered how lame an excuse it was for blaming billboards as a cause of an accident when I almost got into one because I was reading a billboard. Hope they finally get these billboards regulated.