Billboard With No Logo and No Image Is Still Effective

Now this is some powerful iconography. If you know what this is about, I bet you feel proud like you just solved a riddle. I know I did. I felt cool for getting the joke. So simple. So iconic. So bold. And because it’s a little hard to get, it’s going to stick in our heads. Never underestimate the power of subtlety.

For those who aren’t getting it, the left image is the edge of a Butterfinger candy bar, and the right image is Bart Simpson’s hair. I don’t know if most people get this right away, but a lot of people do. Honestly, is the marketing link between Bart and Butterfinger even relevant anymore? I don’t think I’ve seen a Butterfinger ad use Bart Simpson since the mid-90′s. I’m glad to see they’ve targeted this billboard to only people that will “get it.” It’s much more powerful because of that.

What’s with the tiny copy in the corners though? One says “Sundays 5pm on Fox 11″ and the other is the URL of Butterfinger’s Facebook page. Clearly someone at one or both companies thought that viewers are dumb and need to be told what to do after reading this billboard. Sigh. Look, I might watch The Simpsons or I might buy a Butterfinger after seeing this. They’ve really given me know reason to go to the Facebook page though, so that was a waste of ink.

[via Daily Billboard]