Super Billboards Steal the Show

Before the first punt of Super Bowl LIII, the advertising getting the most chatter and earned media isn't the uploaded TV commercials ahead of the game (yes it has become a customary tactic to upload the Super Bowl TVCs before the game), it is something else. Namely the use of billboards surrounding the stadium where the game will take place in Atlanta. 

Pepsi has invaded Coca Cola's hometown with a series of humorous and eye catching boards around Mercedes-Benz Stadium where you will see a lot of blue. Pepsi blue. Not Coca Cola red. Headlines like: 'Look who's in town for Super Bowl.' And 'Pepsi in Atlanta, How Refreshing.' These boards are capturing the town.

Other billboards capturing the attention of the national US media include SunTrust Bank's 'Confidence Starts Here' boards and bus wraps across the city, which made it onto Good Morning America this week, for example.

Perhaps the most contentious billboards are the ones put up by the fans of the New Orleans Saints all around Atlanta. In the last playoff game before the Super Bowl they were eliminated due to a sketchy call by an official and as a result the fans took to the streets to let their feelings be known. 

While TV commercials traditionally make the headlines leading up to Super Bowl, this year it seems to be the power of the Billboard. They're generating the most buzz and earned media so far.