Wallboards are commonplace in the corridor between the Times Square and Port Authority subway stations, and at first glance this one looks just like any other.
The scene: A busy street where more than a dozen pedestrians are hurrying on their way.
But this wallboard is different than all the rest in one subtle but very clever way. Above each of the 15 people in the picture there's a small picture of a pair of headphones. Beneath each is an audio jack.
When you plug your iPod earbuds into the jack by that person's head, you suddenly can hear the person's thoughts.
Some of them are surprising.
"If my family knew I was looking at these magazines, oh my my," intones an innocuous-looking man hovering near a corner newsstand.
Nearby, a woman wonders if she can steal a co-worker's lunch from the communal refrigerator. An overweight man frets that someone will notice his girdle. A woman confesses that her new baby has ruined her life. And so on.
At the bottom of the poster is the tagline "Everyone has something to hide," printed right above the logo for HBO's drama "Big Love," about a man trying to hide the fact that he's a polygamist.
The campaign, which ran in New York and Los Angeles last year, was a big success, drawing loads of buzz at advertising sites the world over and media coverage from everyone from the New York Times to the trade papers.
Now it's earned another honor: It's up for an Obie, the awards from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America that recognize the best in outdoor advertising.
The OAAA released this year's Obie award nominees yesterday, and BBDO, which did the "Big Love" billboard, led all agencies with nine nods, including another for a separate HBO campaign.
BBDO has received four consecutive best in show awards at the Obies, and is in the running for one again this year.
TBWA\Chiat\Day received the second-most nominations of any agency with four, and five agencies received two nods apiece.
The Obie awards will be handed out on May 4 on the final night of the TAB/OAAA Out of Home Media Conference & Marketing Expo in Phoenix.
Here's a list of the nominees. Media Life has profiled several of the campaigns, links to which are provided below.
180LA – Boost Mobile
Adams Outdoor Advertising – Steve’s Liquor
Agency59 – Livegreen Toronto
Amalgamated – Ben & Jerry’s
Arteaga & Arteaga – X-Men Origins: Wolverine
BBDO New York – Gillette
BBDO New York – HBO
BBDO New York – Big Love
BBDO New York – Special Olympics
BBDO New York – Starbucks
BBDO New York – The Economist
BBDO West – Bank of America
BBDO West – California Lottery
BBDO West – ESET
Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners – Chipotle
Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners – MINI Cooper
Casanova Pendrill – UNICEF Tap Project
Colle+McVoy – Minnesota State Lottery
Cramer-Krasselt – Blue Man Group
Cramer-Krasselt – Johnsonville Sausages
Crew Creative – Sherlock Holmes
Crispin Porter + Bogusky – Best Buy
Crispin Porter + Bogusky – GAP
DeVito/Verdi – Appleton Estate Rum
Doe-Anderson – Maker’s Mark
Engine Company 1 – Monterey Bay Aquarium
Esparza Advertising – Sandia BMW/MINI
Everell Innovation & VeriFone Media Solutions – Criss Angel “Believe”
Euro RSCG Chicago – Off The Street Club
Extra Credit Projects/Gravity Six – Chemical Bank
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – Fancast.com
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – Quaker Foods
Ignition Print – District 9
Juniper Park – Lay’s Potato Chips
Lamar Advertising Company – Barstools Express
Masterminds – MGM Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
McGarrah Jessee – Shiner Beer
mcgarrybowen – Miracle Whip
Mother New York – Stella Artois
Pattison Outdoor – Shine Dental
Red Tettemer – International Spy Museum
Sukle Advertising & Design – Denver Water
TAXI Canada – MINI Canada
TBWA\Chiat\Day – Skittles
TBWA\Chiat\Day – Snickers
TBWA\Chiat\Day – Starburst
TBWA\Chiat\Day – Pepsi
TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris – The Zimbabwean Newspaper
TDA Advertising & Design – First Bank
The Richards Group – Chick-fil-A
The Richards Group – The Home Depot
The WOW Factor, Inc – Coca-Cola
twoxfour – Chicago Bears
Universal-McCann – Boys & Girls Club of America
Venables Bell & Partners – ConocoPhillips 76
Vladimir Jones – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Wieden + Kennedy – Monday Night Football
Wieden + Kennedy – Coraline
Woods Witt Dealy & Sons – Powermat USA
Zulu Alpha Kilo – Bell Canada
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