Marketing that embodies a brand promise, rather than just communicating it, is always a delight. L.L.Bean gives us the latest example of this, with the outdoorsy retailer publishing a full-page newspaper ad you can only read outdoors.
The ad, from The VIA Agency in Portland, Maine, appears in today’s New York Times. At first glance—if you’re reading it indoors—it appears almost blank, with text scattered across the page that reads, “Just bring this outside.”
The brand’s new tagline, “Be an Outsider,” appears in large lettering below, along with an additional entreaty: “No, seriously. Take this outside.” Readers who do just that will see the page come to life, with more text filling in the blank spaces, eventually revealing a whole “Be an Outsider” manifesto.