Welcome back to A Creative Review with James Cooper. Today Coop tackles a phone kiosk advertisement for Frank Ocean’s new album Channel Orange.

The Opportunity To Surprise 

Whenever someone buys media space and commits pen to paper to produce an idea, there is an opportunity. An opportunity to do something amazing. Something that will stop people dead in their tracks and make them feel something. They might be shocked or amused, but hopefully, they just won’t be able to live another second without buying that product or service. It’s what us creatives live for - the opportunity to surprise. 

Often there is not much for us to go on, we have to dig deep to conjure up something that no one ever thought of. Often the product itself is boring and bland. Yet here we have Frank Ocean, one of the most interesting artists around right now. He’s part of the Odd Future guys and hanging out with Jay Z. Those guys know how to make you stop and think about shit - Jay Z’s Decoded outdoor campaign was rightly heralded as a masterpiece.

Photo credit: ADstruc

A Song With No Soul

I am not naive enough to believe that Frank Ocean had anything personally to do with this particular piece of artwork, but that’s the problem for me. He has an opportunity to do something so fresh and inspiring, he should be in control of every touch point a consumer has with him. 

This is just a boring list of quotes that are so small no one can read them. I guess you could argue that the QR code is supposed to stop and encourage you to get the album there and then, but most people will have already walked by without noticing anything. 

The music industry is in such an interesting place right now. Artists and labels that use media and technology in an innovative way are going to win. This is a missed opportunity, the equivalent of a Frank Ocean song with no soul.

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That’s all folks! Want to get involved? Send us the best or worst billboards you’ve seen and we’ll choose one every week. Just email coop@adstruc.com.