The Billboard That Missed the Mark, On Purpose
Some ads tell you what they mean. Great ads show you.
And Specsavers have built an empire doing exactly that.
Take this billboard. Half-placed on the wall, cut off mid-frame, leaving a chunk of blank space where the rest of the creative “should” be. It’s not a mistake from the installer, it’s the joke. And it works brilliantly.
Hook: The Joke is in the Execution
The magic here is that the humour lives in the placement. You can’t help but notice something’s wrong. Then, the tagline “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” lands, and the penny drops.
Visuals: The Environment is the Creative
Real-world imperfection: This isn’t Photoshop trickery, it’s a physical stunt you could walk past on your lunch break.
Minimal design: White background, clean green logo, and a single line of copy.
Built for shareability: The surrounding brickwork, shop signs, and street lamps give it context, making the “error” feel even more authentic.
Copy: The Tagline That Writes Itself
Specsavers’ iconic line has been running for over 20 years, and here it’s doing what it does best — turning an everyday blunder into a brand moment. Because the audience sees the error first, the copy feels like a knowing wink rather than an explanation.
Why It Works
Instant comprehension: You get the joke in a single glance.
Universal humour: Everyone’s seen a badly placed sign or crooked picture frame.
Brand consistency: It’s on-brand without being repetitive — the humour feels fresh each time.
Social currency: Stunts like this beg to be photographed and shared.
How This Translates to Digital
You might not be installing billboards, but the principle works online too:
Play with the format: Break the “frame” of your ad or post — e.g. a TikTok video that looks like it’s accidentally filmed sideways, then reveals the gag.
Let the platform be part of the joke: Use a platform quirk (e.g. a fake Instagram carousel that seems out of order, then resolves to a punchline).
Engineer shareability: Specsavers’ stunt was built for bystander photos. In digital, that means creating moments your audience wants to screenshot and share.
The common thread? Make the environment, whether that’s a street corner or a TikTok feed, part of the creative idea, not just the delivery method.
Takeaway
Use your environment: Think about the context where your ad or post appears and play with it.
Design for curiosity: Let people notice the “mistake” before you deliver the punchline.
Be platform-native: Whether offline or online, tailor your creative so it feels like it belongs, but with a twist.
💡 Bottom line: Great creative doesn’t just tell people what you do, it makes them feel it. Specsavers didn’t need a sales pitch here. They just set up a situation where their tagline was the perfect punchline, a tactic you can carry straight into your digital strategy.
