Tiny Billboards, Big Ideas: Graduate Students Launch "Ads for Rats" in New York City
For decades, the persistent presence of rats has plagued New York City, defying traditional control methods employed by government officials and public health experts. Yet, a fresh perspective has emerged, diverting from conventional approaches like contraception or improved waste management to explore the intriguing realm of advertising. A group of five ambitious graduate students from VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, Virginia, are the creative minds behind "Ads for Rats," an innovative project that marries marketing ingenuity with public art, placing miniature billboards strategically throughout the city to capture the attention of its rodent population.
This unique marketing campaign, which debuted in late February, has garnered considerable attention on social media, sparking discussions about advertising, urban environments, and even our perception of the city’s ubiquitous rat population. The billboards, standing at a diminutive 13 inches tall, are meticulously crafted to appeal to their intended audience, not just in size but also in content. These miniature masterpieces cleverly repurpose familiar products, portraying Band-Aids as sleep masks, Staples rubber bands as workout equipment, and Kraft macaroni and cheese noodles as tiny lifeboats navigating urban streams.
The "Ads for Rats" project operates independently, without direct collaboration or endorsement from the brands featured. Instead, it serves as a commentary on the pervasiveness and sophistication of modern marketing strategies. As Henry Coffey, the writer for the "Ads for Rats" team, explained to USA TODAY, "We see how sophisticated brands are when they talk to people and how massive the scale of that communication has become. What started as a joke became also this sort of academic pursuit of − Can something really small break through?" Coffey collaborates with a talented team comprised of Callum Leitenberg, Boyan Zlatarski, strategist Emma Kerencheva, and art director Alex Ward.
This dynamic quintet has a history of working together on innovative projects. Their previous endeavor, Adobe’s "Scan to Revolt" campaign, challenged Gen Z to utilize Adobe software to create unconventional advertisements for industries often characterized by uniformity. This campaign earned them the prestigious Design and Art Directions 2024 New Blood Black and Yellow Pencil Awards, showcasing their creative talent and collaborative spirit.
The genesis of "Ads for Rats" can be traced back to a summer 2024 visit to New York City, where some of the group members observed a rat disappearing into a tree hole. This seemingly mundane observation sparked an insightful connection. As Zlatarski explained, "There’s a lot of expensive New York real estate, and this rat has, at his disposal, a very prime real estate in Brooklyn. And we were thought, They are prime citizens, in fact, the natives of New York, so we should include them in this consumer economy." The initial joke evolved into a thought-provoking question: In a city saturated with colossal, multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns, could a tiny, rat-sized ad stand out through sheer contrast?
This question propelled the team to transform a whimsical idea into a tangible reality. Ward emphasized the dedication required to bring the project to fruition, stating, "In order to make this idea feel really strong and real, we kind of made it a mission to be as serious about it as possible." Before embarking on the creative process of writing copy, designing art, and constructing billboards, the team conducted thorough research. This included studying rat habitats and human perceptions of rats, as well as identifying brands and products that could be creatively reinterpreted for a rodent audience.
After careful consideration, the team selected ten recognizable brands, including Staples, Kraft, Calvin Klein, Nerf, Tech Deck, Samsung, Band Aid, and Airstream. With the brands chosen, the focus shifted to the physical construction of the billboards. The team acquired miniature billboard structures online, printed their meticulously designed advertisements, and engaged in a hands-on assembly process. As Ward noted, "It was a really fun process to get physical with it too because a lot of times what we do here is usually digital. So taking this opportunity to make something real and then actually go put it and showcase it in a real place was also a part of the excitement of this project."
The placement of the "Ads for Rats" billboards throughout New York City was a strategic decision, with some positioned outside the stores they promote, and others strategically placed in areas renowned for their abundance of large-scale advertisements, such as Times Square. This deliberate placement ensured maximum visibility and impact, further highlighting the contrast between the miniature billboards and the overwhelming scale of traditional advertising.
New York City, often recognized as one of the "rattiest" cities in the United States, has been actively searching for solutions to manage its rat population. In 2022, the New York City Council established "rat-mitigation zones" to prioritize efforts in neighborhoods with high rat densities. Furthermore, in 2023, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city’s inaugural "rat czar," entrusting her with the task of curbing the rodent population.
The "Ads for Rats" team is acutely aware of the seriousness and severity of rats as a public health concern in New York City. However, they maintain that their project is not intended to diminish the importance of these concerns. Instead, it offers a unique and thought-provoking perspective. Zlatarski playfully suggested, "New York, known for its hustle, should know better than to look at it as a rat problem, rather than a rat opportunity."
Having successfully completed their graduate studies at VCU Brandcenter in May, Coffey, Leitenberg, Kerencheva, Ward, and Zlatarski are eager to continue their collaborative journey. While the future of "Ads for Rats" remains uncertain, the team is enthusiastic about exploring potential opportunities and has already received inquiries from several brands interested in commissioning their own rat-themed billboards. Zlatarski hinted at the possibility of a small, private art exhibition showcasing the billboards, providing an intimate setting for appreciating their intricate details and conceptual depth.
Coffey expressed the team’s satisfaction with the reception the project has received, both on the streets of New York City and online. He noted, "We’ve been very impressed by the reaction that it received from the moment we set them down on the streets of New York City in person, and then just as impressed by the reaction we’ve seen online. I think overall, we maybe even have found there’s more here than we expected in terms of making a really, really small creative statement and standing out." "Ads for Rats" serves as a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and the ability to find inspiration in the most unexpected places, even in the heart of a bustling metropolis.
