"No, I didn't"

I was on my way to the Chile Festival last week, walking down yet another street plagued with signs and advertisements. I habitually ignored as many as possible, but one finally caught my attention. It said, "You just proved signs work." My reaction, "No, I didn't."

Admittedly, these displays are a clever alternative to the typical "YOUR AD HERE" signs. They attempt to demonstrate the effectiveness of signs by making people think, "Wow, it's true! I looked at the sign so that must mean it's an outstanding marketing investment!" Interestingly enough, however, the creativity of these ads can be discredited with several other factors. First of all, these signs annoy people. There is actually a Facebook page entitled, "I hate those 'you just proved signs work' signs!" The statement alone sounds like someone is mocking you. It almost makes fun of people who said signs don't work by shoving another sign in their face. My own reaction to the ad was negative because I don't like the idea of advertisers telling me what my actions mean or indicate. It's just not okay.

Furthermore, I wouldn't assume a sign "works" just because someone looks at it. Take the example of the "You just proved signs work" sign. The purpose of that advertisement was to encourage me to purchase the space for my own promotional needs. Even if I did have something to advertise, I would deliberately go find a place marked with a "YOUR AD HERE" sign instead.