It seems the adage of 'any publicity is good publicity' rings true: an advert portraying a
giant sheep staked out in a field is to be removed as a danger to motorists (it is alongside the busy M3 motorway in Hampshire, England). I would argue that any sign can be a danger to motorists: however I do know that there is a
wicker man (no, not
that one!) beside the M5, then there's the
Angel of the North ,
Stonehenge and any number of castles - and good views of stunning landscapes! - plus I seem to recall that every time a
Concorde flew out over the M4 you could see every single motorist staring up rubber-necking to watch that airbourne beauty glide majestically off into the wild blue yonder...no doubt there are hundreds more such distractions around the country...no doubt, of all the past distractions, you can guess which was among
my favourites!... I digress, back to the sheep: it seems to be baaaadly positioned or baaaadly written (apologies) and has caused motorists to slow down so they can read it (!!!) but apart from being a danger it is also a breach of the advertisement regulations - presumably they need planning permission for something on this scale.
It was placed there by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (
EBLE) and was meant to be part of a nationwide campaign to promote Quality Standard lamb. The huge (30m by 40m) advertisement was out to encourage more people to buy British lamb in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis and obviously the idea is to get sales moving again after an
export ban has left UK farmers with a 30 per cent surplus mainly because normally about one third of the lambs would be exported as carcasses.
Anyway, the point being re any publicity/good publicity is that despite being told to remove the advertising by close of business today the banned ad has probably got more attention now than it could ever have hope to get from a few thousand motorists! Also,
"Particularly in the light of the recent foot-and-mouth outbreak, it is crucial now more than ever that we get behind our famers and support them."
...said Mo Herd, spokesperson for EBLE...Mo Herd? NO WAY!!!
5 comments:
I can't see that being more distracting than the White Horse at Uffington or indeed Cerne Abbas giant!
What is the world coming to?
I thought ewe were joking with the name Mo Herd, but no, from the BBC link that is her name.
Up here in Scotland there are a couple of public art statues beside the M8, the busiest motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the 3 heids(heads) and a large steel Clydesdale horse...not caused any accidents I've heard about. The horse is by Glasgow artist Andy Scott who is well known for his public art statues usually made out of steel or bronze ....his website is worth googling to see some of his beautiful work. Not perhaps in the same vain as the model, Eva?, but still stunning.
I can't believe what all the fuss is about, if it's in your eyeline for at least a mile why would you suddenly turn and go "Wow, giant sheep,".
There used to be a giant billboard down the road from me that advertised Spearmint Rhino - now that was distracting as it was on the side of the road on a bridge approach so as you drove up onto the bridge you got closer to the woman's boobs.
The average motorist can’t cope with conventional driving including simultaneously reviewing signage, listening to the radio, conversation, rolling a fag (provided not in a business vehicle), enjoying oral sex, mobile phone call, chewing gum and ladies putting on their make up (Missbonnielass?). As for being distracted by sheep!
This reminded me of Jasper Carrott and his insurance claim explanation skits.
"I was thrown from the car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by some stray cows."
The claimant had collided with a cow. The questions and answers on the claim form were - Q: What warning was given by you? A: Horn. Q: What warning was given by the other party? A: Moo.
"I pulled into a lay-by with smoke coming from under the hood. I realised the car was on fire so took my dog and smothered it with a blanket."
And one for all of us who drive:
Q: Could either driver have done anything to avoid the accident?
A: Travelled by bus?
The attached link combines both sheep and cows with an amusing twist! Vive the Californian marketing machine. Who says the foot and mouth controls cannot work.
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/sheep-v-cows-p1.php
From the same web site reinforcement of what I thought about some antipodeans:
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/haka-origins-p1.php
And finally:
Tony Blair the commensurate politician who prided himself on understanding the common man, their trade and telling them how to do their business! Having already brought about world peace, has resigned as peace envoy role and gone into dairy trade.
He bought land and went to the local feed and livestock store and talked to the manager about how he was going to take up cattle farming. He then asked to buy 100 new born calves.
"That's a lot of calves," commented the manager. "I need to make an impact" said Tony.
A week later Tony was back again. "I need another 100 calves," he said.
"You are serious about farming," the man told him.
"Yeah," the Tony replied. "If I can iron out a few problems."
"Problems?" asked the manager.
"Yeah," replied the Tony, "I think I planted that last batch too close together."
Spearmint Rhino...that rings some bells! ..but you're right Paul, there are dozens more examples.
Kenji, you're going to have to satrt your own blog with all this info! I may even tell you how to get the hyperlinks in as words (see "hello boys" in my reply to missbonnielass).
good links btw - I always wondered why the Wales v NZ games were so good - it's because of all they have in common! :-)
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