Outdoor advertising powerhouse, Lamar recently released an iPhone app called Road Ninja. (Android version coming soon I hope.) The app helps travelers find nearby restaurants, lodging and attractions. So of course Lamar did some stellar outdoor advertising to help promote it.

From creative director Mendi LeBlanc Robinson:

With over 1,000 RoadNinja boards up in our national campaign, this was one was embellished with (2) 5 foot tall 3-dimensional ninja throwing stars.  The board was designed by Casey Anderson, art director at Lamar Graphics, and posted in his hometown of Baton Rouge.  We feel this campaign is unique because it’s the first of it’s size used to launch an iPhone app.  The nation-wide OOH campaign is proven to be successful thus far.  The app, RoadNinja, launched October 13th has over 60,000 downloads to date and has remained in the TOP FREE TRAVEL APPS since it’s launch.

Conceptually, it’s a little lacking because there’s no real selling point or intrigue developed, but the 3D throwing stars help make up for that. In the end, it’s fun and gets the app name out there. The more interesting story here is the fact that an outdoor company has broken their traditional media space and ventured into mobile app development. Time will tell if Lamar can make Road Ninja profitable or if it’s just a way to better position the Lamar brand with traveling.