AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: Pete from Boston on March 05, 2014, 11:55:31 PM

Title: Roads in ads
Post by: Pete from Boston on March 05, 2014, 11:55:31 PM
On one of the old-folks channels I watch there's an ad playing for HDVision sunglasses that has several road shots -- a wide BGS, and a toll plaza with many EZ-Pass signs over lanes.  I only got a quick, distant look, and don't have a DVR.  Anyone seen this and recognize the roads?
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: SteveG1988 on March 06, 2014, 10:37:41 AM
Here are a few roads for ya, in an advert campaign from 1993/1994, it is interesting what has and hasn't really happened, or it has happened in a different way
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: hotdogPi on March 06, 2014, 02:21:39 PM
I saw a car commercial with a sign saying "Mass Ave" with a 2A sign and an arrow. The 2A shield was smaller than normal (although a few of those do exist in real life).
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: golden eagle on July 09, 2014, 12:55:09 PM
There was a car ad Peyton Manning did a while back, and the ad showed a BGS with a US 2 shield pointing to Greenwood. While there is a Greenwood south of Indianapolis, there's no US 2 there.
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: Henry on July 09, 2014, 02:46:58 PM
Speaking of car commercials, I remember one from the mid-90s that had two men traveling on H3, and the question of why there are Interstates in HI.
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: formulanone on July 09, 2014, 03:04:21 PM
Quote from: SteveG1988 on March 06, 2014, 10:37:41 AM
Here are a few roads for ya, in an advert campaign from 1993/1994, it is interesting what has and hasn't really happened, or it has happened in a different way


It looks like he's driving a W124 E-Class Mercedes (http://automagnate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/A7DAE670-09EB-4066-A8DD-AB99A38E0D64_7.jpg) in that ad. Mercedes-Benz was one of the first automakers with in-dash navigation units available, but not commercially available for a few years. Amazing that nearly everything (save the phone booths and that nearly everything looked like it was an out-take from Blade Runner) came true in some way, although the videophone premise exists. Looking back, the link between booths and the phone card - both a common sight in 1993/94 - had to be preserved because it was their current business model, and people could relate to it tangibly in some way.

Somewhere, TV road/car ads which gloss over every realistic scenario:

- The rain-slicked road on a sunny day
- The large city which has no traffic during daytime
- The parking spot right in front of the building in downtown
- Construction zones performing the most hazardous types of jobs just inches away from your windshield
- Windshields without glare
- People who can carry on a conversation in a moving convertible
- Curvy rural roads with no large vehicle traffic upon them
- Garages that are entirely white or black and have just the right lighting
Title: Re: Roads in ads
Post by: Laura on July 10, 2014, 09:13:32 PM
I feel like the majority of roads in ads are non-descript so that the ad can be played nationwide and not be tied to any region. It honestly makes the commercials kind of blah and flavorless.