The South African Police Services' (SAPS) attempts to use outdoor media as a tool to fight crime has started poorly. A missing digit in the advertised phone number has reportedly cost SAPS R740 000. The amount of wasted public funds is sure to grow as corrective de-flighting, re-printing and re-flighting costs (and possible increased media rental costs) are incurred. Additonal corrective measures include using radio and posters to make sure the public know the correct number.

The poor execution of this plan doesn't stop there. From what we can tell from the only image currently available! (Surely people might want to forward or share these images to assist with the campaign?) 4 Faces, small text, too much copy and a confusing background image are also used. How is this campaign expected to be successful if the medium i.e. signage or outdoor media is not respected!?

This is also a good instance where an established network of digital signs would be more appropriate to use - quick to update and easier to target areas not to mention cheaper, faster and easier to fix similar mistakes.