WMRC Print Ads Puzzle Patrons (Outtakes Opinion)

We weren’t very impressed by the first full-page Washington Regional Medical Center ad we saw that contained a large crossword puzzle.

But subsequent ads that contained other complicated mindbender puzzles, like a word-finder and a connect-the-dots, started to hit home. The headline reads: “If you’re driving to another hospital, you may need something to pass the time.” The obvious message is that WMRC is easy to get to — a different tack for a hospital campaign, which is usually concerned more with health matters.

In light of the constricting infrastructure in Northwest Arkansas, we think the campaign is pretty target-market oriented and fairly funny.

So far we’ve only seen the ads in The Morning News and not in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. We’re not sure if ad rates or a specific target audience is the reason for this.

A one-time full-page ad with spot color in the News cost $2,084 on Sundays, and $1,977 for weekdays. A comparable ad in the D-G costs $2,604 on Sundays, or $1,946 on Wednesdays. We’ve only seen the WMRC ads run on those days.