Posted on: October 19th, 2009 by Jeremy Jackson Sytner

Someone, a lot more brilliant than I, once said that if you want to look anonymous in a crowd put on a Hi-viz fluorescent vest.

Hang on, so the very thing that’s been designed to make you stand out like a wart on the end of Cheryl Cole’s nose, apparently doesn’t work?

A robber/bomber/assassin, if brave enough, could wear one of these vests to a crime. Afterwards, people would easily verify to that person’s presence but fail to put forward any other details: colour of hair, eyes, distinguishing features, etc. Not much use for the Identikit then.

Truth is people only see the jacket, not the person.

It’s that powerful.

(Next time you see someone in a Hi-viz jacket, think about it.)

Dangerous, eh?

Well the same thing happens in our business.

Countless campaigns out there are so desperate for attention that all we see is the attention. Often to the detriment of the all important details.

Of course the opposite is just as bad: being totally invisible. (And a lot of campaigns are guilty of that.)

Another very bright person once said, ‘when everybody around you is shouting, talk.’

Those Meerkats ring a bell, don’t they?

Can you remember any of the rest?

One Response to “Not standing out”

1. reuben says:

   October 25, 2009 at 10:59 am

   I’m reliably informed that shoplifters often don a high-viz vest and a hard hat, so that they simply don’t register as a potential shoplifter.