Prince tribute on billboards nationwide has Michigan connection

PrinceTribute_RIP.jpg

Grand Rapids ad agency, Extra Credit Projects, created this billboard tribute to Prince, who died Thursday, April 21. (Courtesy photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Grand Rapids ad agency's tribute to Prince made its way to more a dozen digital billboards in West Michigan, and more throughout the country, within hours of the music legend's death on Thursday.

Rob Jackson's Extra Credit Projects created a striking yet simple image using yellow letters RIP, featuring a guitar as the "I," against a deep purple background, a nod to Purple Rain, the title of one of his most popular songs and his 1984 semi-autobiographical film. The "R" and "P" are reminiscent of the Purple Rain branding typography elements.

Jackson says the image didn't need anything more and the result is both iconic and immediate, just like Prince.

"It's not about us, it's about honoring him," said Jackson, an award-winning advertising designer who has produced images to remember other icons including President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford after their deaths.

Jackson and his company got the call and request from Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Inc. to create an image that could go up on members' electronic billboards immediately, he said.

Extra Credit Projects created the image in a few hours.

"We have to quickly juggle schedules when something like this comes up," Jackson said. "We went for the simplest expression we could in the shortest amount of time. Part of the creativity is the responsiveness in these cases."

By Thursday evening, the image was on billboards in Indiana, and in other states by Friday.

Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.

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