MHS Art students design drunk driving billboards

MHS Art students design billboard ads

By Logan Watson

If you’ve driven through Milan or been caught by a train on South First Street in the last month, chances are pretty good that you’ve spotted the work of MHS Art students without even knowing it.

CHOOSE YOUR ENDING – This billboard, designed by MHS art students Destiny Edwards and Alura Bates, can be found at the intersection of Williamson and South First streets in Milan. The girls, along with MHS art teacher Allison Archie, designed the ad to resemble an Instagram post to encourage students not to drink and drive on prom night.

Destiny Edwards and Alura Bates, along with MHS Art teacher Allison Archie, designed the ad displayed on the billboard located next to the Milan Pawn Shop. The ad, which reads “What will YOUR comments say after prom? Choose your ending. Don’t drink and drive.”, was created by the ladies ahead of prom season to discourage teens from making bad choices.
The ad, which was designed to resemble two cell phone screens displaying a young couple’s prom photo on a social media site, offers two possible outcomes for the day after the dance.
One screen reads “GOALS!” The other displays a broken heart emoji with the comment, “You will be missed,” implying that they
The ladies designed the ad to help encourage their peers and other teens to make good decisions on prom night and during the rest of the year.
“A lot of people are familiar with Instagram and they are going to be posting prom photos,” Edwards said.
“We thought the design would get the attention of our target audience,” added Bates.
The ads were created through a partnership between the MHS Art Department and the Milan Prevention Coalition in the hope that the students could use their talents to better communicate the MPC’s message to their peers.
“Our goal is to prevent our young people from making bad decisions, like drinking and driving on prom night,” said MPC Director Mary Duncan. “A lot of people have seen this billboard. Not just Milan students, but people of all ages passing through town.”
“You girls will never know how many lives you may have saved,” Duncan told the young artists.
Duncan stated that the Milan Prevention Coalition plans to continue their partnership with the artists at MHS. Mrs. Archie delivered a new ad to the group last week, designed by herself and MHS student Harrison Hoke, which focuses on graduation night. Duncan stated that the new ad will be going up on the same billboard in the coming weeks.
Duncan and MPC representative Joe Albright presented Archie with a miniaturized version of the billboard, as well as a monetary donation to for the department.

ART IMITATES LIFE – Members of the Milan Prevention Coalition presented Allison Archie and the MHS Art Department with a miniature billboard depicting the ad created by art students Destiny Edwards and Alura Bates. The ad, which is still on display, can be found on the billboard next to the Milan Pawn Shop on South First Street. Pictured are (from left) Destiny Edwards, Principal Greg Scott, Alura Bates, Allison Archie, Joe Albright, Sgt. Nick Glenn and Mary Duncan. Photo by Logan Watson.