The spotterOur lead series
Ace picks out the customers in the traffic. Each new board names a different one, so regulars get something new and a first timer still gets it in one look.
RunsAny time, a new one each day
Meet Ace.
Russell's dog is the new face of Ace of Advertising. He works the Range Gateway day and night, he spots your customers before you do, and whenever a position on the board isn't sold yet, he's the one up there.
- 22 boards
- 7 series
- 12 poses
- 22,000+ cars a day
I spot your customers before you do.
You head home. I'll be here till tomorrow, rounding up your next customers.
The same dog on every board
Ace is drawn in the style of the peace hand in the logo, with flat colour and a thick black outline. He's a grown working dog, determined rather than cute, in a brown Akubra with a plaited leather band and the logo's peace hand pinned on the side. We've fixed how he looks from every angle, so he never drifts from one board to the next.
The peace hand always sits above his right ear. It's the real logo, placed by us rather than drawn by the computer, so it's the same size and on the same side in every picture, and it's never flipped. It's also the only orange on his hat.
- Face. A dark mask over both eyes, split by a narrow white stripe from the top of his head to his nose.
- Ears. Tall and pointed, out sideways from under the brim, never through the hat.
- Hat. Flat brown felt, a crease down the middle, and a brim that dips front and back.
- Mood. Curious or determined, with his mouth mostly closed. Never cross.
His poses
12 poses built on the same face, ready for any board we write next.
22 boards in 7 series
Every board has the same layout, so a regular learns it after a day or two: Ace on white, the line on black, and the logo along the bottom. The boards that close a series carry Russell's number, set big enough to read from about 200 metres.
The regular
Ace starts to recognise the commuter, Monday to Friday, and by Friday he's asking them to come up on the board with him.
RunsWeekday mornings, inbound
Night shift
You head home and Ace keeps working through the night, rounding up your next customers.
Runs6pm outbound, 2am and 6am
The count
A number that grows every day, from 22,000 cars on day one to 660,000 by day thirty.
RunsDaily
Made you look
Two one offs about attention. If a driver looked at Ace, their customers will look at them.
RunsAny time
The gateway
One board for each screen. A welcome for drivers coming into Toowoomba and a goodbye for those heading down the range.
RunsAlways on, one on each screen
Good dog
Ace's character on his own: he never stops working, whatever the weather.
RunsAny time
On the board
The same boards on photos of both screens, roughly as a driver sees them.
How it runs
A paid ad shows for 10 seconds in every 100, so a commuter catches any one ad on maybe one trip in five. A story told day by day would be missed by most of the people it's meant for, unless Ace is on the board far more often than that.
While the board fills
Russell owns the board, so every position that isn't sold yet can run Ace. In the launch weeks that's most of the board, which is when the daily series land.
- The spotter, a new board each day
- The regular, on weekday mornings inbound
- Night shift, at 6pm, 2am and 6am
- The gateway, one on each screen
Once all 20 positions are sold
Ace drops back to a single position and the boards that work on their own do the job, because each one makes sense to someone who sees it once.
- The spotter, rotating through the five
- Made you look and Good dog
- The gateway, one on each screen
Why the spotter leads. It shows what the board does for a business in one picture, and every new "That ute needs..." board gives regulars something fresh while still making sense to anyone seeing it for the first time.
Ace is ready when you are.
Every board above is built at the board's exact size and can go up as soon as you've picked the series and said yes.