The greatest idea for a billboard has been realized: one made entirely of cake.
Actually, 13,360 cakes. British confectionery brand Mr. Kipling and agency JWT London are the geniuses responsible for this gift to the the world. Because they are benevolent leaders who understand how things should work, they let everyone lucky enough to be near the billboard, at a mall in London, also participate in the eating of the billboard.
That makes it even more perfect, because a billboard that disappears quickly is the best kind. It's also even more selfless, because making a billboard out of 13,360 cakes is a feat that takes grand vision and steely perseverance—approximately seven hours worth of grueling cake assembly alone, even with the help of a professional food artist like Michelle Wibowo, whose credentials also include making a portrait of Prince William and Prince George out of 16,074 triangle pieces of Toblerone chocolate.
Other, less-conservative estimates place the total commitment required to build a single giant ad out of many small cakes at three days, plus two months of presumably painstaking design. Also assisting were other fine marketing companies like Outside Line, Carat, and Cirkle. Regardless, it is an infinitely more courageous move than a bus shelter ad that hands out a measly 500 Mr. Kipling cakes.
Fortunately such Herculean efforts do not go unappreciated by passersby of strong character. "I really like the board because I love cake, and that motto quite fits me," says one woman in a video about the giant cake ad. "Life is better with cake," says the motto, which 72 percent of the U.K. population believes, according to Mr. Kipling's surely bulletproof research, and also according to common sense.
So, let it be known that for anyone who does make a billboard henceforth, moral imperative dictates it should be made of cakes—perhaps cakes more delicious than Mr. Kipling's cakes, which if they are anything like pre-packaged cakes in America, might not be the best cakes in the world. (These French pastries might be a good place to start.)
Some exceptions to the rule: A billboard that cleans the air is OK, because humans need breathable oxygen to eat cake; a billboard that condenses humidity into water, because humans might be thirsty after eating all that cake, even though milk would be a better companion; and billboards featuring exceptional art, in case someone needs something nice to look at while eating their cake, though such a student probably isn't focused enough on the task at hand.
But before anyone suggests making a billboard out of ice cream or pie, let's just all remember that we are practical folk who only engage in civil debate about reasonable ideas—and also do not give rise to false hope.
Via The Drum.
This article first appeared on the AdWeek website here.