I saw this billboard today and had to take a picture of it. The advertiser is an established cemetery in the area. It's very well respected and a lovely place with signature horse sculptures as seen on the sign above. There are many things that could be said about this place. Beautiful. Serene. Pastoral. Historic. Peaceful. Instead of any of these, they chose "Convenient".
I wish I was in that creative meeting when either agency or client decided that cemetery plot purchasers (and that's all of us, if you think about it) wanted convenience from their cemetery. I can imagine the client saying, "We see ourselves as the most convenient choice for people in the area," they might say. Fair point. The location is centrally located and I'm sure that if you call a friendly person will pick up and help you immediately.
However, this is a cemetery we're talking about. "Convenient" reminds me of the old, prank answering machine message, "Bill's mortuary and delicatessen... you stab 'em we slab 'em." Convenient is a drive through. Convenient is a one-hour cleaners.
No matter what word you slap on the billboard, cemeteries evoke a single concept... death. And isn't death the ultimate inconvenience? Nothing can ruin a schedule like death. You don't hear someone say, "I've got to run in for my funeral on the way to work." People don't beam, "We'll have his ashes back in an hour... we can still make is to the game!"
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