These terrifying print ads have me questioning my existence

We've seen so many different styles of billboard advertising here at Creative Bloq, from beachside billboards to incontinence ads. So why not add these terrifying existential to the list of surprising (and harrowing) billboard designs?

Travel brand Plum Guide has launched an ad campaign that looks at the scary reality of how many holidays the average person has left in their life based on their age. The bright yellow print ads sport your predicted number of holidays left as well as the slogan, "No time for average stays" – pretty much scaring you into hopping on to the next possible plane. We can't decide whether to add these chilling designs to our roundup of the best examples of billboard advertising, or to just lie in a dark room and contemplate the meaning of existence for a little while. 

The Plum Guide ads

Anyone else slightly terrified? (Image credit: The Plum Guide/Stink Studios)

The existential ads were created by Stink Studio. Ali Lowry, chief brand officer for Plum Guide, explained, "60% of customers feel let down with their choice of holiday accommodation and 90% feel that they should have done better. Our new campaign is a punchy reminder to make every holiday count because who knows, it could be your last.” – I guess there's nothing quite like the ever-lingering fear of morality to make you book a holiday.

Plum Guide's aim is to get rid of holiday disappointment by ensuring that all their holiday homes are up to 'The Plum Test'. Each home is tested on its standards, host reliability and then guest feedback – so I suppose that at least you know if you have only have limited holidays left, then with Plum Guide you know you're getting a good one. 

Some examples of The Plum Guide's ads

Thanks for the reminder... (Image credit: The Plum Guide/Stink Studio)

These ads remind us of that horrifying infographic that shows you how many weeks you've lived, how many you have left on average and whereabouts you are in your life. And I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little, well, reflective shall we say? So if you want to refresh your mental palette, then check out the most surprising billboards.

That's enough pondering about life for today. Although, if you feel inspired to kickstart your design career after being reminded about how short life actually is, then why not sign up for our UX Design foundations course? Or of course, you could have a stab at creating your very own existential designs, just download Affinity Designer to get started.

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Amelia Bamsey
Staff Writer

Amelia is Creative Bloq’s Staff Writer. After completing a degree in Popular Music and a Master’s in Song Writing, Amelia began designing posters, logos, album covers and websites for musicians. She now enjoys covering a range of topics on Creative Bloq, including posters, optical illusions, logos (she's a particular fan of logo Easter eggs), gaming and illustration. In her free time, she relishes in the likes of art (especially the Pre-Raphaelites), photography and literature. Amelia prides herself on her unorthodox creative methods, her Animal Crossing island and her extensive music library.