• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer, April 25, 2005

What do SpongeBob SquarePants and surrealist Salvador Dalí have in common? Aside from the abstract, chances are you've walked all over them, thanks to Stareways, a new ad medium that's being deployed everywhere from retail to art museums. Stareways markets adhesive ads that are placed on flights of stairs at malls, trade shows and conferences, sports venues, subway steps, sidewalks, and airports.

The company's latest campaign takes place on a set of famous outdoor steps. Barry Roberts, ceo of Stareways, asked me to think of some memorable and easily recognizable steps, and was confident I'd name the right set of stairs. I thought of the steps at the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and the "The Rocky Steps"  the stairs Sylvester Stallone ran up in "Rocky." My "Rocky" guess was right. The 72 stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, home to Stallone's famous run, now bear Salvador Dalí's likeness as the museum hosts a Dalí exhibition through May 15. Roberts hopes the Stareways campaign "will allow the museum to be known for more than its 'Rocky Steps.'" The Dalí campaign was placed in March after setbacks due to inclement weather. The temperature needs to be 50 degrees for more than two days in a row for the ads to adhere.

That's not a bad beginning for a roughly five-month-old company. Stareways debuted adStep, the vinyl adhesive ads place on stairs at trade show venues like the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. Stareways was able to expand its reach by partnering with the companies that owned the rights to advertising in airports, stadiums, and malls, such as Clear Channel and Viacom.

Stareways campaigns can be seen in most aaa baseball stadiums. Roberts says that while the company got off to a late start contacting Major League Baseball venues, it's currently pitching National League Football stadiums. Ads can also be found in movie theaters in New York and Los Angeles, at New York-area train stations and airports, and nascar.

Previous and current advertisers include The Children's Place apparel chain, Viacom's Nickelodeon, Ty, the marketer of Beanie Babies, Panasonic, Simon Malls, and British Columbia tourism. Advertiser categories range from travel to technology, though kids' entertainment remains a dominant segment.