Ministering at New Heights

Valerie A. Trusty

Ministering Reaches New Heights

"I am Second" Movement

January 12, 2012

I Am Second

The visual image above is one of many billboards strategically placed all around the world with the same simple and direct wording. Stanley Tongai photographed this billboard in 2010 which sets along a Dallas/Ft Worth Highway. (Stanley Tongai, 2010). This particular photographed advertisement can be viewed at assistnews.net.

The image on the billboard portrays a serious looking man, with the bold words "I Am Second", directly to the right of his image. Using only black and white colors on the billboard escalates intrigue and asserts a certain mysterious quality. This color scheme is uniform in all the billboards related to this campaign. Identifiable by some, but not many, is Brian Welch, former member of the rock group Korn. The short, printed message in bold, "I am Second", may be all that an observant passerby may catch as they commute to work or passing through to another destination. The absence of color indicates to me that glitz, glamour, or any personal stimuli resulting from a palette of color, is not what the advertiser wanted the readers to ponder or question. Instead, the short message is the intended focus of the billboard and is the heart of the campaign.

Billboards are a known tool for the advertisement of products, people, places, and businesses. The ultimate outcome desired by the use of such large advertisements is increased traffic in stores which normally results in the generation of a substantial increase in sales. Eye appealing, creative ideas and images are captured in this particular billboard. The first time I saw a billboard of this nature, I was immediately compelled to find out what "I am Second" was promoting, who the picture of the man was and his part in this campaign, if he played any at all. This advertisement sparked my curiosity so much that I made it a point to find out immediately the specifics of its origin and meaning. My research and analysis concluded it was the need to put God and Jesus back into our lives, to become more like them, and to achieve this, it would start by putting others before ourselves. I couldn't agree more.

No techno graphic or eye catching motion photography was used in correlation to the absence of bright or vibrant colors. What catches the reader is the lack of information on the billboard and its simplicity in nature. A picture, few words, web site address, and a phone number is all that appears. A mystery in the meaning of this advertisement is what the normal observer is left to ponder.

Founder of this advertising campaign idea is Norm Miller, chairman of Dallas based,