Paris is a notorious city that sees millions of tourists every year – including me! They have helpful signposts everywhere guiding visitors throughout the city. New black and gold signposts take you away from the big landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Instead, they take you into the suburbs of Paris so tourists can discover a ‘Greater Paris.’ People can view sites such as the landscapes depicted in Van Gogh’s paintings or lesser-known parks. Each signpost points to a place related to the location the signpost is at. For example, a sign pointing to the Parc de Sceaux is placed at the Jardin de Luxembourg. This is a campaign crafted by Agency BETC for the Enlarge Your Paris project sponsored by the Pavillon de l’Arsenal and the City of Paris.
Here’s the thing…
It’s only effective if people understand what it is. I, for one, did not. While the signposts differentiate themselves through their black and gold coloring, it’s hard to pick up on the distinction and understand there is significance behind that deviation. Also, these signs only cater to French-speaking people. As someone who very much does not know French, I looked for something I recognized: words, landmarks, anything. Nothing on the new signs caught my attention. There are no other explanations in a foreign language to detail what the signpost is for or where it’s pointing to.
So, let’s say the target audience is Parisians.
Are they really looking at signs that point to all the touristy landmarks they probably avoid? Say they go to the Eiffel Tower to watch the light show, don’t they already know where it is? They likely don’t need signs to guide them there.
To be fair…
It’s a cute campaign. I like the idea of sending people to spots that they wouldn’t think of visiting. The signs point to something the person is likely already interested in too. Oh, you’re at Musee d’Orsay? You should check out Van Gogh’s landscapes in real life. It’s smart. Even if they don’t visit, the campaign will hopefully encourage people to look up the sites which will create curiosity for the Parisian suburbs.
The signs will be up until October if you’re planning on visiting Paris any time soon.