There aren’t many things in everyday life more noticeable than construction cones. After all, being noticed is their one mission, warning people off from falling debris and other dangers at work sites.
So Air Canada thought, why not put an ad on one?
Through its agency Marketel, based in Montreal, the airline created about 40 custom construction cones, 20 to tout flights to Toronto and the others to tout fights to Montreal.
The bright yellow cones had arrows pointing straight up. Below were the words: “People working above.” At the base was the airline's logo and information on daily flights to that city.
The agency placed them around the two cities in November and December, then sent out teams with cameras to capture the reactions of passersby upon seeing them.
“We would leave them out for a few hours at certain times of day, and we’d send a team out to sit back and observe,” says David Yost, Marketel’s creative director. “We were trying to do something a little bit out of the norm.”
Yost says his teams would get permission from nearby building owners before placing the cones, usually for a few hours at a time. And the stunt ended once snow became too much of a factor.
“We didn’t want people slipping and killing themselves as they looked up in the sky,” Yost quips.
