-MAKING THE MOST MOBILE PUBLICITY.
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Gauging the Advertising Value. The Li
Rules. Types whic ;pect. Some Useful Pointers and asic Proved Successful.
MANY a user of motor vehicles employed in the course of trade does nor, by :try means, take full advantage of the remarkable publ;city value which can be afforded by the motor vehicle when it is dealt with in a suitable manner. Often hundreds and even thousands of pounds are expended in advertising in other ways and but little attention given to a means which, in the opinion of many experts on the subject, has a potential value substantially high when compared with others at a user's disposal. Much, of course, depends upon the type a vehicle, its body and the class of commodity transported, but in the majority of cases great advantage could be taken not only of the vehicle itself in respect of its cleanliness and general appearance, but of the large space afforded by its body. f1,000 or more may be paid for one day's use of a single page of an important daily paper, which would perhaps be seen by a million or so readers. A really' attractive motor vehicle usually attracts to itself the attention of almost everyone it passes on the road and, in the course of a year, where it is employed in busy centres, must appeal to many more of the public than would see a single adVertisement.
On this basis, such a vehicle should be looked upon as having a publicity value running into thousands of pounds, and this quite apart from its utility as a means for transport. There have been many doubts, expressed and otherwise, as to the legal aspect of the publicity vehicle, and we cannot do better in this connection than to refer to the attitude taken up by the police in the metropolitan' area. Some time ago we made an inquiry into this matter and interviewed the authorities concerned. Their view is that the user is entitled to use a reasonable amount of advertising .matter on his vehicle. Actually, the only mobile advertising which can legally he carried out in the streets of the Metropolis is effected by the sandwiclunan, but he appears nowadays to be almost conspicuous by his absence. •The increasing congestion of our thoroughfares has, naturally, drawn attention to this matter, and it is very likely that the vehicle employed solely for pubricity purposes would not be permitted to run. It must fulfil some useful function in life, and that is, practically always, the carriage of goods. Of course, an ordinary vehicle can be restricted from perambulating up and down a street or streets. Regulations are based upon the fact that the streets have been built for a useful purpose to which people and traffic using them must adhere. Fortunately, a fair amount of latitude appears to be given, but it is unwise to endeavour to take undue advantage of it.
Some vehicles have rapidly attracted police attention from various points of view, and it is interesting to give specific examples. In one case a very large and handsome model was equipped with flashing electric lights B32 of changing colour. This not only caused so much attention as to draw crowds, but was looked upon as being a cause of dazzle and a machine which might scare horses. Another type was built to look as if it were running backwards, the body being reversed so that the driver sat in it looking to what was apparently the rear. This had a disconcerting effect when it drew up in traffic, for other users of the road could not tell whether it was coming or going, and from our personal experience It was almost terrifying to see the vehicle tearing along, apparently backwards, at something over the legal limit.
Quite a number of chassis has been provided with bodies of most unusual shapes, generally representing some commodity or a container for it, and where these have been used in the ordinary course of trade seemingly no objection has been taken to them.
It is quite possible, however, that where there is apparently no loading space—and we say "apparently" because in some it is so concealed as not to be obvious —the owner may possibly be called upon to prove to the authorities that it is really being employed for transport purposes.
There are several fundamental rules in making use of a vehicle for advertising to which attention might well be given. Some are, of course, well realized, but it is obvious from an inspection of vehicles in service that this is not always so.
Perhaps the most important is (A) to avoid overcrowding of the lettering. Unless a vehicle be standing either by the roadside or in a traffic block, few of the public would be able to decipher the wording, and it is probable that still fewer of these would wish to do so. Large block letters look well and can be read easily.
(B) It is better always to endeavour to attain an artistic finish and not to rely upon something which is • blatant and perhaps merging on the vulgar.
(C) Colour contrasts look well, but it is advisable to avoid clashing.
(D) By all means excite public curiosity or pleasure, but endeavour not to irritate. The artistic eye must not be offended.
(E) Attract by beauty, novelty or cleanliness. Many a plain person can make himself or herself attractive, and this applies with equal force to publicity on a motor vehicle, which in itself may not appear to be a suitable subject.
(F) Whether advertising a firm or product, keep the name well to the fore. The public may look at a vehicle with interest, but it will not usually trouble to puzzle out what a particular sign is intended to convey or to whom the vehicle may belong. This, of course, does not apply with such full force when the publicity is in the nature of a campaign referring to a certain commodity or edible as a whole; for instance, a greengrocer or fruiterer might well be assisting in the "Eat More Tomatoes" campaign by showing representations of this fruit on the Fides or elsewhere on his vehicle. On the other hand, much valuable personal publicity may be lost by a user who shows merely, say, an illustration of a pair of shoes without drawing attention to their make, unless the name of the user is prominently displayed elsewhere on the vehicle.
(G) To be valuable as a publicity medium, the work B33
done on a vehicle or Its body must be first-class. Do not make the mistake of spoiling the ship for a ha'porth of tar, and nothing could be worse than an elaborately decorated and finished-vehicle which has been allowed to fall into a state of neglect.
(H) Much of the success of the vehicle from the point of view of attractiveness depends upon the chassis employed. Many users fit most ornate and expensive bodies on to chassis in a state of decrepitude —possibly bought second-hand, and it is always better to give first thought to the suitability of the chassis for such work. Where the body practically conceals the chassis, as it does in certain types of publicity vehicle, this matter is not of great importance provided the chassis be sound from the mechanical point of view.
(I) It should not be forgotten that the influence of the good appearance of a motor vehicle extends not only to pedestrians, but also to people in buildings alongside the roads and to travellers on the tops of buses. The roof of a van, for instance, provides a large space of -which full advantage is not often taken. It may not always be advisable to make an elaborate display on this, but at least it can be finished in nice colours.
(J) In the case of certain uses to which motor vehicles are put, it is of the utmost importance that any advertising on them should be carried out In a
dignified manner, and often should be allowed to depend more upon the actual artistic design of body and carefully toned colours than upon purely advertising matter. For instance, a vehicle used by a Westend costumier should be classified under this heading, and ample publicity would be afforded by the simple name, such as "Isobel," carried transversely across the side panels. This, in fact, is an actual instance.
Quite recently some really noteworthy publicity vehicles have been placed into service either for comparatively short periods or for general use. One of the most striking is the vehicle built in the form of a locomotive, which advertises "The Ghost Train" at the Garrick Theatre, and in connection with this vehicle the manager informed us that it was the best advertisement he had ever had.
Another successful type which, in this case, is built tc represent the product, is the Guy 1-tormer equippeq with a body in the shape of a Mullard wireless valve.
Another is the striking Electrolux publicity vehicle built in the form of a vacuum cleaner and utilizing the 1-ton Morris chassis.
One handsome type is built to represent a tube of Kolynos tooth paste. In this ease it is notable that even the wing lamps are built in the same form..
One of the enterprising wine merchants in Soho is utilizing two particularly unusual publicity vehicles, one having a body built to represent half• a dozen bottles of various types, the other being a miniature of an ordinary London bus complete with its conductor.
Some really artistic vehicles have been constructed in, aluminium and Duralumin. As an example of these, we may mention the Dainty Dinah design on an Albion chassis and used by Geo. W. Horner and Co., Ltd., the toffee manufacturers. This has raised cast-aluminium and coloured plaques -representing the head and shoulders of a country girl On the sides and carried above the canopy at the front. J. Lyons and Co., Ltd., is also running some very effective polished aluminium vans advertising their Milkal products.
A• striking example of mobile publicity was afforded during the Motorcycle and Motor Shows of last year, when a large-capacity Guy six-wheeled bus was used by two of our associated journals -in connection with the transport of packages of these journals between their offices and Olympia. Their names were placarded in huge letters around this bus which, being a doubledecker and the first of its type to be seen in the London area, created a tremendous amount of interest,