A cheeky Legal Sea Foods ad campaign captured a gold award at the Ninth Annual Out of Home Media Plan Awards in New York this week.
The ads ran throughout Boston on top of taxis and in trolley cars and buses and depicted fish with message bubbles containing playful insults. Legal is based in Boston and operates more than 30 East Coast seafood restaurants.
However, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in June pulled two ads from its trolley cars and buses that it deemed disparaging. One said, "This conductor has a face like a halibut," and the other said, "Bite me." The Carmen's Union was also offended and called for a boycott of Legal restaurants. But the campaign, dubbed "Really Fresh Fish," received a lot of press and brought a lot of attention to the 60-year-old Legal brand.
New York advertising agency DeVito/Verdi created the campaign.
The Media Plan Awards, organized by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, honor efficient and effective out-of-home media strategies.
"What a great honor to be selected among the best by the OAAA," says Ellis Verdi, president of DeVito/Verdi. "We had fun with the campaign, and I think it shows that the outdoor medium is one of the most effective vehicles to truly deliver a creative message."
