… your outdoor advertisement is covered in graffiti as high as people can comfortably reach:

I worked at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus during a previous incarnation.

I often remember seeing this exact ad (located on the side of O’Grady’s Pub) when walking to meetings nearby or when having lunch (here or elsewhere).

That means this ad has had a life span of at least five years.

I don’t recall if the graffiti was there then, but it has been around long enough to get captured on Google Maps.

Has it been replaced over and over again in that time? I don’t know.

Maybe there is a pervasive problem with vandalism in this particular section of College Street. If so, I wonder why they haven’t moved the ad to another location.

I do know it looks like crap right now.

Pro Tip

If you advertise in a city where street views are available through Google Maps, do your brand a favour and check them periodically to make sure your ads don’t look like this one.

If you have a pervasive problem with grafitti, at least consider a layout that puts your tagline above human reach.

Better yet, consider incorporating street art into the ad.

Sidebar on CSR

We’ll leave the corporate social responsibility implications of running ads that personify alcohol in friendly terms (on the side of a bar, no less) for another time.

I did think this Tumblr post about their Jack Daniels Honey promotion was interesting in terms of its implications for advertising to minors.

The Twitter account mentioned for that sub-brand is here if you’re curious about what Jack Daniels is up to on social media.