The McDonald Group Real Estate "Moving to Canada? I'll sell your house!" campaign
Our client wanted to run a tongue in cheek politically themed ad, playing off of the public's general lack of enthusiasm for the two front-runners for the presidency and politics in general. He suggested playing off of the "I'm moving to Canada if so and so is elected" line/joke, and originally wanted to use a photo of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the ad. I shortened his suggested headline, and recommend using a caricature of the two candidates - being that we didn't have the rights to use their photo, and I thought we could make it funnier with a caricature. I'm a caricaturist and illustrator and I wanted to add a few additional site gags in the drawing for people to catch the second or third time they saw the design. Things like Donald Trumps cuff links, and Hillary dropping her smoking Blackberry. Here's a link to an article that talks about the genesis of the campaign.
The McDonalds Group Real Estate measurable results
The campaign ran at the end of June 2016 in Champaign, IL. Within days of posting it was covered by the local news, various newspapers and blogs, Reddit and Imgur, and quickly received national attention. The campaign continues to be shared on social media and imitated by realtors across the country.
The campaign went viral within days of posing - which is an interesting experience. I’ve creative a log of the social media explosion below.
• Imgur: https://m.imgur.com/nhK73xc
• Facebook:
It’s been shared on so many Facebook pages that’s impractical to link to all of them, though, one notable share is below -https://www.facebook.com/lightersideofrealestate/photos/a.634125469980574.1073741828.634109189982202/1135429446516838/?type=3&theater
Articles and news coverage in more traditional media:
To find additional links on websites, blogs and social media aggregators, Google "A new billboard just went up in my town"
Unconfirmed coverage on CNN:
On July 3rd we started hearing from various sources that the billboard was shown on CNN under the trending category on the HLN Morning Express Show. We were unable to find the clip – so these reports are unconfirmed.
Imitators:
Within weeks of its social media explosion realtors across the country imitated the design, with slight variations. We were even contacted by realtors wanting to use the same illustration – though we declined to share it. Additionally, a few other Adams Outdoor Advertising and Fairway Outdoor Advertising markets did creative variations of this campaign idea in their markets as well. One realtor, Jeff Cook in Charleston, SCused photos, two other realtors, Mike Mandanat, Peoria, IL and Andy Mulholland, Rochester, MN used caricatures drawn by other artists in our organization.
Summary:
This campaign received worldwide attention in just a matter of days.
This campaign was a 2017 OBIE Finalist as well, and appeared in the OAAA 2017 OBIE awards book.
NuMed Urbana
A billboard for a medical cannabis provider in Urbana, IL. This ad was shared by Brilliant Ads.
Raine Center for Plastic Surgery
A campaign created for Rain Center for Plastic Surgery that generated conversation in the community and media coverage as well.
217 Heating & Cooling backlit
Vertical backlit bulletins created for 217 Heating & Cooling in Champaign, Il. The designs change from day to night.
Vertical backlit bulletins created for 217 Heating & Cooling in Champaign, Il. The designs change from day to night.
Freedom Roofing And Construction backlit
Horizontal backlit bulletin created for Freedom Roofing in Champaign, Il. The design change from day to night.
Horizontal backlit bulletin created for Freedom Roofing in Champaign, Il. The design change from day to night.
Spiros Law
A campaign created for Spiros Law. Alternate executions produce include Justice For All, Focused, Resourceful, Unstoppable and Respected.
A backlit created for Spiros Law. During the day it showed the skyline of Champaign, ILL. and at night it shows the Spiros Law Bat-symbol.
Stefanie Pratt, The Realtor That Rocks!
A digitally painted caricature of Stefanie Pratt, The Realtor That Rocks.
2017 Pens to Lens Campaign
I designed and illustrated this campaign for Pens to Lens. Visit their website here.
Court Appointed Special Advocates
A PSA campaign created for CASA of Champaign County that I designed and wrote the copy for. Check out their website at www.casa4kids.org to learn more about this organization.
A PSA campaign created for CASA of Champaign County that I designed and wrote the copy for. Check out their website at www.casa4kids.org to learn more about this organization.
