Super Bowl Campaign Births a New OOH Medium
On a San Francisco MUNI bus —"The biggest flop in soft drink history"
Super Bowl Campaign Births a New OOH Medium —
The Super Bowl is one of the most anticipated events of the year, not only for football fans but also for those in the advertising industry. The reviews on those Super Bowl commercials have already announced their wins and sorry losers, with each brand trying to outdo the other in creativity and effectiveness. However, the impact of advertising goes beyond the Super Bowl.
One of the most revolutionary moments in the history of Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising happened back in 1993 when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the 49ers. It was then that a promising new soft drink called Crystal Pepsi was launched in a 30-second commercial to the music of Van Halen’s “Right Now”. The nationwide campaign that followed this clear cola helped birth a new OOH medium that has remained a dominant player in thousands of campaigns and advertisers today.
As a sales rep selling transit ads for TDI, I had a front-row seat to witness the first of five wrapped buses that debuted on the hilly streets of San Francisco. Before this event, hand painting was the only way to cover an entire bus with advertising. However, a revolutionary self-adhesive material called Contra Vision allowed for the total wrapping of a municipal bus, including the passenger windows. These bulletin-sized ads on wheels demanded immediate attention with an eye-level “in your face” perspective. Variations of the wrapped bus soon developed along with new OOH terminology, full-backs, half wraps, Ultra Super Kings, USKs, and King Kongs. During my OOH sales career, I had the fortunate opportunity to sell dozens of wrapped buses all over the country.
But this may not have happened if Crystal Pepsi hadn’t stuck its neck out and tried this new “unknown and untried” medium. Unfortunately, Crystal Pepsi didn’t materialize with the public due to a variety of production and distribution issues and a misreading of America’s fascination with “clear products.” The cola was eventually dubbed “The biggest flop in soft drink history” in the annals of American advertising.
However, wrapped vehicles, including trucks and cars, did catch on with the public and are now found in every corner of America and the world. It all started with the granddaddy of wrapped vehicles born in 1993 with Crystal Pepsi on a San Francisco MUNI bus.
Who would have known back then the impact it would bring to the OOH industry?
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