Quantity vs. Quality

March 10, 2009 • 6:22 pm • POSTED BY sriddle

 

So recently, I made an intense, strenuous voyage from Savannah, GA (where I went to school at SCAD) to endure the blistering cold of Philly (well, blistering to a southern girl like me.) After about 3 hours of driving, I was compelled to take a break, stopping at South of the Border in Dillon, SC. Keep in mind, I’m the type of person who will not pull over during a road trip unless the car needs fuel, nature has gone past the point of calling and has started screaming, or a catastrophic emergency takes place. This being said, why would such a determined, young voyager like myself interrupt my expedition (for at least an hour I might add) to stop at an almost abandoned tourist trap?

Could  it have been the clever lines promising that I have “never sausage a place?” Was it the fact that Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck stopped there in their film Forces of Nature? Was it my curiosity after hearing so many stories of the wonders that are S.O.B. that directed my pitstop? Well, maybe a little. But, the main reason for the detour is in fact due to the gazillion billboards that line I-95 starting as early as 2 hours prior to reaching the world renowned attraction. Now these outdoor boards aren’t exactly what you or I would call Award-winning creative. But, they got my attention. And in turn, I even forked out a little bit of my money, only a dollar, but still.

Oh, but wait, there’s more, the effects of their media placement has caused quite a bit of word-of-mouth advertising…gasp…by me. I have posted a selection of the nearly 100 photos I took during my tour of S.O.B. on Facebook, as well as on Flickr- which will accompany about 18,000 other photos that can be found posted by fellow Flickroonies. Not to mention the fact I’m writing a blog post about my experience with the brand. So my question is one that has often been debated, is any reaction, even if it is one of mockery, a good reaction? After all, it’s hard to forget the repetitive Head-On commercials. It sticks in your mind even if it does annoy the crap out of you. So, while I (the eager, young creative that I am) like all other designers, have made it a primary goal to make beautiful, intelligent advertising, am forced to come to terms with the fact that the sometimes cheesy, sometimes uncreative stuff becomes ingrained in our minds. It just doesn’t seem fair. That’s all I’m sayin. Either way, here’s some lovely S.O.B. memorabilia for y’all (sorry, just had to throw a y’all in there somewhere, after all, what kind of Southerner would I be if I didn’t.) Enjoy!

 

Example of the billboards that line I-95.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooo. Turn around.

So clever.

By far, one of my fav billboards.

The world famous South of the Border skyline.

Real World. South of the Border.

Some of the animals you can get your photo taken with.

Dino.

This was a happening spot. Everyone wanted a picture underneath the giant Pedro.

Yumm.

I purchased two dozen postcards for my friends from home. This is one of them.