big birds

On my drive to get a hamburger for lunch yesterday, I noticed a group of giant birds sitting on top of a double-sided billboard. The billboard was next to an expressway I was traveling. When I first noticed the birds, I couldn't believe how big and how many they were. Without really thinking, the image of giant eagles popped in my head. There are no eagles around Chicago, of course, so that image quickly fell away. Hawks? Must be, I thought.

As I neared the billboard, I realized that the birds were plastic fakes. I wondered why they were up there. I've seen fake owls sitting in gardens and at the tops of buildings to scare away other birds. But why scare birds away from a billboard? Was there a poop problem? I never noticed other billboards with that problem. Some old buildings have had it, from years and years of birds roosting and pooping. But a billboard? Never saw a messy one.

The giant advertising sign that was posted on the one side of the billboard was for a car dealer or something. Certainly nothing to do with birds, or poop. So I zoomed by the billboard, the novelty of the giant birds being lost already, continuing on my way to my destination.

On my return trip, all of a sudden that same billboard caught my eye. The fake birds were still perched on top. This time, however, the advertising on my side of the billboard was related to the birds. I can't say it was effective advertising, because I don't remember exactly what it was for, a CPA or financial firm or similar. The tag line was "We keep all your birds in order." Above that tag line were the names of the types of birds sitting on top. To the left it said "crows" and there were three fake crows sitting above it. In the middle it said "pigeons" and there were three fake pigeons above that. And on the right, there was another bird named, with three of those type sitting above.

As I think about it now, maybe it is effective advertising after all. I am remembering the birds. I am writing about the billboard. Although I can't remember exactly what the advertising is for, I am sure that the next time I travel the expressway I will be looking for the sign. I am sure that for the drivers who travel the expressway every day, the name of the company doing the advertising in ingrained in their minds by now.

I bet the workmen who had to put that sign up are glad that the birds aren't real. Think of the amount of poop they'd have to work around.