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Signs putting a positive spin on difficult times

Some residents doubt impact of billboards

Carrying her purchase from a convenience store, a woman and two children walk past a billboard with an uplifting message about the recession on Central Avenue at Clinton Street in Middletown last week. Area members of the Outdoor Advertising Association and Porter Advertising are participating in a public-service campaign to restore confidence in the economy.

Staff photo by Pat Auckerman Carrying her purchase from a convenience store, a woman and two children walk past a billboard with an uplifting message about the recession on Central Avenue at Clinton Street in Middletown last week. Area members of the Outdoor Advertising Association and Porter Advertising are participating in a public-service campaign to restore confidence in the economy.

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By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer 10:17 PM Thursday, July 2, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — If you’re looking for a sign to guide you through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, just take a ride or walk down Reinartz Boulevard or Central Avenue.

There you’ll find billboards that attempt to convey a positive message about the recession.

They read: “Recession 101: Interesting fact about recessions ... they end,” and “Recession 101: It’s a test, not a final.”

The advertisements are part of a national campaign funded by an anonymous donor and administered through Outdoor Advertising Association Inc., according to a spokesperson for the organization. Porter Advertising, LLC a local member of the OAA, donated billboard space in the area two weeks ago to promote the message and try to encourage the public.

“Because, based on statistics and past recessions, these are cyclical things,” said Richard Peterson, president of Porter Advertising. “I believe there will be an end to (the recession), and it will happen again.”

Originally an anonymous donor approached Charchin, a design firm in Florida, to create the taglines and look, said OAA spokesperson Jeff Golimowski. In turn, OAA printed the signs for members interested in donating space and posting the billboards, Golimowski said.

The national association is helping the campaign because it agrees with the sentiment, he said.

“I think the anonymous donor ... took a look at the environment as a whole right now, and they believed one of the things that is influencing the recession right now is a culture of fear,” Golimowski said.

The two “Recession 101” messages appear on six Porter billboards in Ohio and Indiana.

There are three billboards in Middletown, a city that currently has a 12 percent unemployment rate and has lost numerous jobs and businesses as a result of the economic downturn.

“By doing it in Middletown, it’s putting a positive spin on what’s happening economically,” Peterson said.

But not everyone agrees the signs are effective.

• “I think they’re discouraging people about the recession,” said Dewonia Brown of Fairmount Avenue. “They should say that we need jobs around town and insurance and stuff like that.”

• “I don’t think they bother me at all because the recession doesn’t bother us at all,” said Christina Buchanan of Main Street. “We’ve always lived like this.”

• “I think it’s supposed to be positive, but especially in the part of the neighborhood where everything is going downhill, especially right here (Clinton Street and Central Avenue), people are having trouble. Businesses, you know, families,” said Jason Hymer of Baltimore Street.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2507 or clevingston@coxohio.com.

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We get that downtown isn't the boom area that we need it to be.... If people tried to find solutions instead of only commenting on the problems - we would all be so much farther ahead. We talked ourselves into this recession and we will need to talk ourselves out of it. I think that the billboards are a good first step. Have any of you heard of a self fulfilling prophesy?? The more people say it's bad - the worse it gets. Maybe if we start saying that it's getting better - it will.

anonymous
5:18 PM, 7/3/2009

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A bit of news- Middletown's downtown area was dying BEFORE the recession started. LONG before. It was dead before the City Centre Mall was thought of in the 70's in an effort to try and bring it back to the days of the 50's/60's. When this recession ends, downtown will still be in recession mode. These billboards don't really apply here.

VietVet
9:23 AM, 7/3/2009

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Downtown Boom 101: They gotta start before they can end.

Daffy Duck
4:09 AM, 7/3/2009

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Boom 101: Interesting fact about booms ... they end.

Adam Smith
10:25 PM, 7/2/2009

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