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Billboard Promotion 2003:
Billboards are designed to grab your attention, but
imagine what it would be like if the face catching your eye was your own.
For some select media folks in our town, it's a regular experience these days. Bay News 9
morning anchor Jen Holloway is enjoying it for the first time now that her photo is being splashed
on eight billboards around the Tampa Bay area. |
She knew the campaign was in the works, but still, it was surprising and humbling.
"drove by one three days after they went up and did a double-take," said Holloway, who said it was strange to see her nose the size of a car.
Holloway said she was pleased the marketing department chose her for the campaign, but with the selection comes some self-inflicted pressure.
"You know if they put your picture on billboards, you better be a dang good anchor," Holloway said. "But I've always been the kind of person who thrives on pressure and competition."
Competition is nothing new to MJ Kelli, and neither is appearing on billboards. The longtime morning host at WFLZ-FM 93.3 takes it all in stride, even though the latest billboard advertisements have him dolled up in drag.
"Fortunately, that's the body of a shapely female and not my body," Kelli said. "It's my head; I'm wearing a wig and I had the make-up artist put all kinds of lipstick on me."
Outdoor advertising is almost a requirement in the hotly-contested world of radio, but Kelli said if he had a choice, he would be heard and not seen. "I wish I could be 100 percent anonymous. I'm not looking for fame or stardom," Kelli said.
WTSP-Ch. 10 news anchor Reginald Roundtree says he has a standard reaction whenever he sees his 10-foot face on a billboard.
"I look the other way," Roundtree said. "I hurry up and try to get by it. It's a trip."
I think I would feel the same way. It was bad enough when the paper put my mug on a rack card a few years back. Luckily, the Times does not advertise on billboards.
St. Petersburg Times
By Ernest Hooper, Times Columnist
Published October 17, 2003
Source article copyright-
www.sptimes.com |
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