Ad Signs by Day, Safety Signs by Night: Here’s how this car brand turned ads into life-saving signs!
| From the desk of Miles Everson: I’m excited to highlight another campaign in today’s edition of “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!” For those of you who may not know, guerrilla marketing is an out-of-the-box strategy that encourages marketers to use unconventional strategies when engaging with their target audience. I’m a fan of this strategy because it shows just how impactful such campaigns can be. For today, I’ll talk about a guerrilla marketing campaign that put a creative twist on an everyday object. Continue reading below. |
The Duarte Highway is one of the most important roads in the Dominican Republic. It connects Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s capital, with the country’s northern region and Central Cibao, one of its most important industrial, commercial, and logistical hubs. On a daily basis, over 150,000 vehicles pass through this major road.
During daytime, those who drive along the Duarte highway are greeted with the lush greenery surrounding it. At night, however, visibility drops, making it difficult for drivers to see the road clearly. Unfortunately, due to lack of signages and lighting, the Duarte Highway becomes a hotspot for road-related injuries and accidents. Clearly, this is a problem that needed solving—one that Chevrolet and Ogilvy Dominican Republic attempted to resolve in 2025. Roadside Ads by Day, Safety Signs by Night Chevrolet, Ogilvy Dominican Republic, National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (INTRANT), and the Ministry of Public Works (MOPC) banded together to make the roads in Duarte Highway a lot safer. How? Through a simple yet highly impactful design change! Chevrolet, together with Ogilvy, designed advertising billboards that turned into reflective traffic signs during nighttime. This way, drivers who traversed the Duarte Highway at night had better visibility and more awareness as they traveled.
According to Juan Manuel Gaitán, CCO of Ogilvy Dominican Republic, the rationale behind the “Night Signals” campaign: "Stems from giving a new meaning to our advertising billboards, which display Chevrolet campaigns during the day, but at night transform in traffic signs, by placing a reflective vinyl on them, which is imperceptible during the day, but at night lights up when it receives direct light from vehicle headlights, making it easier for drivers to identify the traffic sign." That said, was the campaign a success? The results speak for themselves:
What made this campaign remarkable wasn't just the results it delivered; it was the execution. By transforming an everyday object into something that served the public good, Chevrolet not only drew positive attention to its brand but also helped keep people safe. This story also shows just how powerful guerrilla marketing can be for brands and the audience it targets. When done right, campaigns of this type don’t just promote a brand or product; they also solve a problem, making business behind it all the more memorable in the eyes of a target audience. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to know how a simple cultural object in Thai temples and shrines sparked a zero-pollution movement? See it in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
