As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of billboards, mostly because they are usually really bad. So it makes me doubly happy when someone gets it right. Case in point: the billboard shown above.

The billboard is just one element in a campaign by the San Antonio Goodwill. The goal of the campaign is to drive donations and to show people how those donations create a ripple effect: donated items are sold by the Goodwill stores, which provide jobs and opportunities for training and education assistance, all of which eventually helps change people's lives. Who would've ever thought Hanna Montana t-shirts and gold lamé hotpants could play such an important role?

Check out the short spot below that extends the billboard creative and this extended spot that tells the story of a life changed by the daisy chain of events that starts with a simple donation to Goodwill.

Via AdPulp.

I'm not a big fan of billboards for a couple of reasons. First, there are just so many of them, effectively becoming eye litter (the opposite eye candy). Second, so many of them are so bad. That isn't the case with this series of billboard ads.

Designed by Y&R Not Just Film for Interbest (an out of home advertising company in the Netherlands), this series won Gold at the 2011 Clios. The visuals and the call to action work in perfect tandem to drive home the message that it's really best for everybody that this ad space gets sold as soon as possible.

Thankfully, a radio station bought the board before Round 5 of the creative was unveiled.

Via Brand Flakes.

[caption id="attachment_3407" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Image via Foursquare"][/caption]

Old and new marketing techniques combine in this innovative out of home installation from German dog food manufacturer, GranataPet. Simply use foursquare to check-in to the billboard and a tasty treat is dispensed for your faithful four-legged friend. Instant gratification for both you and your pooch!

The installation was powered by a simple integration with the foursquare API. A check-in at the billboard signaled a small block box to dispense a treat into a bowl.

This a pretty ingenious way to do sampling. I can imagine installations like these dispensing samples of hand sanitizer on the other side of airport security or sunscreen samples near the beach. Think about it.