I spend time in Vermont, and there's something so inspiring about the broad valley and mountain views, the stretches of green... I thought I knew all the reasons for Vermont's beauty, and then I read one of the information center signs the state kindly provides for tourists.
Oh. No billboards.
Vermont, it appears, does not permit these bastions of outdoor advertising.
I've been involved in many a billboard design project, I think billboards can be very effective and I often enjoy reading (okay, critiquing) them. And yet. A mostly rural state without billboards is uninterruptedly beautiful.
Which brings me to my point. The Web is a wonderful thing, because it allows us to communicate and market efficiently, without cluttering the landscape (or your mailbox) and it's even environmentally advantageous by comparison. It won't wipe out billboards, direct mail or newspapers. But the Web looks smarter as a key marketing tool every day.
Here's to green mountains.
My parents' car had one of those I LOVERMONT stickers on it, and I spent nearly every vacation up there. As much fun as it is to squint myopically at billboards (and bumper stickers), I definitely appreciate the uninterrupted green. I wasn't aware that was a state mandate, though - interesting!
ReplyDeleteThat said, the web might be taking a few too many billboards for the team. Talk about clutter. There are certain pages so overwhelmed with advertising widgetry - video! blinking text! click the monkey and win a prize!! - that I can't bear to look at them (and I'm amazed that anyone spends their money to advertise amidst such a sloppy din). Balance is key.