Interview w/ "The Billboard Boys" Producer Frank Petka
During the 1980s recession, unemployment and mortgage rates were at a high. Billboard Boys, directed by Pat Taggart, is a documentary based on the radio contest turned international phenomenon in Allentown, PA. Three men were selected to live and outlast each other on a billboard in the hopes of winning a mobile home.
On this episode of OOH Insider, Frank Petka, Producer of Billboard Boys, shares the story of three men’s determination to earn a home by living on a billboard.
Takeaways
- The creativity of the billboard these men stayed on promoted the radio station’s switch from country to big band music. Unfortunately, the creative and target audience did not bode well.
- This story went viral before viral was a thing. It began as a regional contest and quickly gained national, and even international, traction. For four months straight the media covered this story on every major tv station, radio station, and newspaper.
- If you have “lightning in a bottle” put a cap on it. The contest gained national media attention every day. This was a huge opportunity for brands to advertise in OOH, but no one could fast enough.
- “Billboards are timeless; the ultimate medium.” ~Frank Petka
Links
Special thanks to OneScreen.so for making this show possible. Check out OneScreen.ai and learn How to Beat Facebook with Billboards at www.onescreen.ai
Join OOH Insider and Placer.ai at The Premier Leadership Conference for those Building the Future with Location Analytics, December 10th, 2024 at Pier Sixty. Use discount code OOHInsider70 to save 70% at registration. Learn more here.
