Unique Medium Much

Creative Commons: Jonathan Koren

Because what else is there to do…?

I don’t know about you but sometimes when I’m doing my business in a public stall I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m not really into listening to the person next to me do their business, and sometimes I’m not brave enough to bring my phone into the stall with me. Therefore here I am, staring into space, trying not to think about all the germs living around me in that moment. (ahhhhh!!)

            Well thank goodness for those people who decided to advertise to me on the backside of that stall door.

Like come on, how smart! When I’m driving along the road I don’t have time to look at a billboard, nor is that safe. Also I’m not flipping through a magazine to look at the ads, so this is fantastic. Also, what am I supposed to be doing while I’m in there? All my problems are honestly solved.

            The best part might be that there is a nice array of mostly local advertising that isn’t really relevant to my life. I’m not usually really into what they are selling, which from my personal experience has been local concerts or comedy shows.

            I think this is unique because it’s a great use of space, like just in general. We aren’t to the point where every surface we look at is an advertisement, we’re getting close as a society, but not quite there. Also what else are you going to do in there, when I’m at home I’m all about checking my twitter feed or texting my friends, that’s just not what I’m doing when I’m at dinner with my parents, or the bar with my friends (who I’d be texting).

            As I was researching this I found out guys get to experience this as well, which is great! I don’t know much about the community bathroom experience but I don’t imagine much chitchat happening so this is a prime spot for guys to read and be exposed to advertising because again… what else are they looking at?

            I think that this advertising idea should be more prevalent; it’s a good use of space and a good place to advertise because it is sort of a forced advertisement, I think it’s money well spent. I know that it is more of a medium used for local advertising and I think that it is good; a lot of bigger advertising can afford to use bigger mediums such as billboards and TV commercials and that may price the little guy out of the market. Having a space that is relatively low cost and draws a lot of eyeballs is great for these smaller businesses.

            The only downside I can think of for this innovative marketing environment is that for some people it may create some negative associations with the brand. When you see a television commercial for a business you may later see that business and remember that you saw their commercial during your favorite show. If you see an advertisement for a business while you’re on a toilet your mind may go back to that experience, which for many people may not exactly be a pleasant memory.