Bank “steals” famous logos in genius ad campaign

When it comes to advertising, using another brand's logo is usually a complete no-go, but not for finance brand, TD Bank. Coming up with an ingenious solution to avoid copyright complications, the brand has cleverly 'borrowed' legendary logos in its latest billboard campaign in promotion of its fractional investing services.

Some of the best billboard ads shine in their simplicity, something that TD Bank's clever campaign embodies. With bold colour, minimalist design and perfectly calculated composition, each unique ad is a subtle masterpiece that demonstrates the power of thoughtful marketing.

The Own A Piece of It campaign was created by Ogilvy Canada, featuring seemingly innocuous green billboards with square cutouts. With the help of perfectly lined-up photography by Martin Girard of Shoot Studio, the ads capture a snippet of iconic brands' logos, framing their street signs to cheekily 'steal' their iconic identities.

With huge names such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike, Apple and Google, the ads showcase how everyday investors can own a slice of the brands, while cleverly avoiding trademark laws that typically prohibit the commercial use of a brand’s logo without permission. Not only is the visual pun a genius use of OOH advertising, but also a playful demonstration of the recognisability of iconic logo design.

For more inspiring OOH campaigns, check out Tesco's logo-free billboards that break all of the rules or take a look at Lynx's bizarre scratch-and-sniff billboards that made me physically recoil.