Lewis Lazare: A vocal contingent of consumers who believe advertising is too omnipresent won’t be pleased to hear it’s also about to materialize on the outside doors of elevators at two area shopping malls.
The new elevator door ads for a Zippo multipurpose lighter were created by Blattner Brunner in Pittsburgh, and are believed to be the first of their kind in the world of outdoor advertising.
For the concept developed by Blattner Brunner creative directors Jay Giesen and Dave Kwasnick, the elevator-door format works quite effectively. On the left elevator door in each instance, we will see the Zippo lighter, and on the right side a visual pertaining to ways in which the lighter can be used.
For instance, when the doors close in one execution, the lighter connects with a steak, suggesting the lighter could be used with a charcoal grill.
Another right-door visual is of a tulip, which, in a bit of stretch, is intended to stand in for a dinner-table setting that might include candles.
The elevator-door ads go up Tuesday at the Fox Valley and Hawthorn malls at a cost of $8,000 per mall. Estimated combined mall traffic for December is 3.3 million people.