Why Charlotte, North Carolina, is suddenly awash in mysterious beige billboards

Cryptic beige billboards have descended on Charlotte, North Carolina, this month as part of a grassroots effort to help the city’s art scene remain as un-beige as possible. The campaign began last week with teaser boards that simply read, “Beige.” This week came the reveal, with witty one-liners and a link to saveartfromdeath.com, which outlines the struggles of local nonprofits like ArtPop that are suffering from dwindling funds—and asks for support. A creative consultancy named Ghost—whose leaders wish to remain anonymous—developed the creative in partnership with ArtPop founder Wendy Hickey. Adams Outdoor Advertising donated the billboard spaces. The idea is that Charlotte will be blandly beige without a well-supported and vibrant art scene. “I’m hoping ‘Beige’ saves the day, not just for my own nonprofit but for the entire arts community,” said Hickey. “It’s Hail Mary time for ArtPop and other nonprofit art programs in the face of diminished funding.” “Beige is the antithesis of creativity, and we were proud to put our team and energies behind this bold concept,” said Jennifer Johnson, general manager of Adams Outdoor’s Charlotte region. The campaign runs through April. See more executions below. More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Why Charlotte, North Carolina, is suddenly awash in mysterious beige billboards

Featured Stories