By Brent Baer, Publisher, OOH Today
Advertisers don’t buy the Super Bowl because they forgot about OOH. They buy it because they want the world — especially investors, media, and competitors — to see them flex. Our job isn’t to talk them out of that moment. It’s to make sure that when the spotlight hits… OOH turns a 30-second flex into a citywide declaration. But remember: The spotlight attracts attention. The creative determines whether that attention turns into authority.
Every January, the out-of-home industry pulls out its most predictable party trick: “For the cost of ONE Super Bowl ad… you could dominate America with OOH!” (I can not disagree more with that shallow thinking as to why Super Bowl advertisers should be spending their budgets on OOH. That is NOT a reason to buy OOH. I admit was part of that simple thinking for the better part of my OOH career as a youngster. But its time to grow up!)
The predictable party trick: “For the cost of ONE Super Bowl ad… you could dominate America with OOH!” Maps appear. Reach curves soar. CPMs strut confidently across PowerPoint slides.
And every major advertiser responds internally with the same polite thought:
“Yes… we know.”
Let’s stop pretending Fortune 100 brands are accidentally wiring $7 million because nobody introduced them to a spreadsheet. These companies model media like hedge funds model risk. They employ economists, strategists, procurement hawks, and consultants whose hourly fees could fund a small transit takeover.
Let’s stop pretending Fortune 100 brands are accidentally wiring $7 million because nobody introduced them to a spreadsheet. These companies model media like hedge funds model risk. They employ economists, strategists, procurement hawks, and consultants whose hourly fees could fund a small transit takeover.
The issue has never been knowledge.
The issue is intent.
The part we still whisper about: brands want to be seen winning
The Super Bowl isn’t just media.
It’s corporate theater.
Brands buy it because they want:
- Investors to notice
- Wall Street to interpret it as confidence
- Competitors to feel a chill
- Employees to puff their chests
- The press writing headlines before kickoff
And yes — let’s drop the industry politeness — ego is absolutely involved.
Not reckless ego.
Strategic ego.
Market-leader ego.
“Look how strong we are” ego.
Because nothing signals dominance quite like lighting seven figures on fire in 30 seconds and smiling while it burns.
You are not competing with efficiency.
You are competing with symbolism.
Because nothing signals dominance quite like lighting seven figures on fire in 30 seconds and smiling while it burns.
No serious CMO is asking: “Should we do the Super Bowl… or billboards?” That’s an OOH fairy tale we tell ourselves.
But here’s where the industry gets the story completely backward
No serious CMO is asking:
“Should we do the Super Bowl… or billboards?”
That’s an OOH fairy tale we tell ourselves.
The real strategy looks like this:
- Super Bowl → the orgasm
- OOH → the sustained glow
- Digital → harvest demand
- Social → stretch the moment
The Super Bowl creates the spike.
OOH creates the memory.
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth about cultural explosions:
They fade fast.
Thirty seconds of fame without physical reinforcement becomes trivia by Thursday.
OOH is what tells the world:
“This wasn’t a stunt. This is market presence.”
Now investors don’t just see ambition — they see commitment.
Now competitors stop scrolling and start sweating.
Now the PR story has legs instead of a half-life.
OOH isn’t the alternative.
It’s the proof.
However… this is exactly where brands can blow millions
Creative execution.
Nothing — and I mean nothing — destroys the afterglow faster than lazy outdoor.
You’ve seen the crimes:
- TV screenshots awkwardly stapled onto a billboard
- Paragraph copy screaming into highway wind
- Logos the size of postage stamps
- QR codes pretending to be strategy
If a brand is signaling market leadership…
…and the board looks like it was resized during a layover…
the entire dominance narrative collapses.
OOH is brutally binary:
Great creative = authority.
Bad creative = very expensive wallpaper.
There is no middle lane at 65 mph.
What sophisticated advertisers actually want from OOH
They already understand the efficiency.
What they want is physical amplification.
They want analysts landing at LaGuardia to see it.
They want journalists surrounded by it.
They want competitors trapped next to it in traffic.
They want consumers thinking:
“Wow… they are everywhere.”
That feeling doesn’t come from math.
It comes from creative that respects the scale of the medium.
Big.
Bold.
Immediate.
Unignorable.
OOH is not a banner.
It is architecture.
Treat it accordingly.
Let’s retire the timid industry pitch
Enough with:
“Look what you could buy instead.”
Start saying:
“If you’re going to create a national climax — OOH makes sure the glow lasts.”
Now we’re not selling cost.
We’re selling power.
We’re selling permanence.
We’re selling presence.
“If you’re going to create a national climax — OOH makes sure the glow lasts.”
Here is my final thought
Brands don’t buy the Super Bowl because they forgot about OOH.
They buy it because they want the world — especially investors, media, and competitors — to watch them flex.
Our job is not to talk them out of that moment.
Our job is to make sure the morning after still feels electric.
Because the spotlight creates attention…
OOH is what turns that flash into lasting authority
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