Background of The Invention Among the most pervasive forms of mobile advertising today are billboards on buses, and signs and other insignia on cars. Such billboards, signs, and other insignia typically range from small letters spelling out a business name to large intrusive signs that cover the entire length of a bus. Similar to a billboard on a bus, yet even larger, a mobile billboard generally consists of a billboard that is transported around town for the sole purpose of advertising. The obvious trend toward large advertisements is understandable given that larger advertisements typically have a larger advertising impact. Despite their sometimes very large size, mobile billboards can only be viewed effectively from certain angles, such as along-side the advertising vehicle.

In order to solve some of the problems associated with a limited view, exaggeratedly large objects began to be used for mobile advertisements. Examples of such advertisements include a five foot diameter donut on a donut delivery vehicle, a three foot long ice cream cone on an ice cream truck, and a Truly NolanTM vehicle having huge ears and a tail on a pest extermination vehicle. Again, the items are exaggerated in size in order to increase their visibility. It would hardly be effective to drive around a truck displaying an actual size donut or an actual size ice cream or mouse.

There are some mobile advertisements that display realistic size items, however only incidentally. An example of an incidental mobile ad is a truck transporting ten HondaTM cars from the dock to a Hondam dealership. The mere fact that people can see the vehicles provides at least some degree of advertisement, and the vehicles are in fact actual size. Still, incidental advertisements are not as effective as those advertisements that have an advertising purpose.

Parades, such as the Rose Bowl Parade, often have mobile advertisements in the form of floats. The floats are usually constructed over and around a vehicle and then driven on a parade

route. While this type of mobile advertisement may incorporate some realistic size items, they are limited because floats are only authorized to travel on a parade route. This is so because floats generally lack at least some of the requirements of a street legal vehicle such as turn signals, brake lights, side and rear view mirrors, and a size that fits within one lane on a road.

Moreover, these types of advertisements are typically so detailed that they cannot be readily removed and replaced.

Thus, there is a need for easily replaceable street legal mobile advertisements having life size objects.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a street legal mobile advertisement in which a removable and replaceable scene is mounted to the flat bed of a vehicle. The scene consists primarily of a life size three-dimensional object and a printed setting for the object, the printed setting relating to the three-dimensional object. The printed setting is preferably positioned longitudinally within the perimeter of a flat bed so that the advertisement can be transported legally on public roads. A scene is removably mounted to a flat bed and therefore can easily be removed and replaced.

In another aspect of the present invention, methods of advertising include the steps of providing a street legal scene, removably mounting the scene to a flat bed, and transporting the flat bed for the primary purpose of advertisement.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

Brief Description of The Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a street legal mobile advertisement on a flat bed truck.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a street legal mobile advertisement being towed.

Fig. 3a is a perspective view of a bolted scene being removed and replaced.

Fig. 3b is a perspective view of a scene that is mounted using a slot.

Detailed Description Referring first to Fig. 1, a street legal mobile advertisement 100 includes a flat bed vehicle 110, and a readily removable scene 120 having a life size three-dimensional object 130 and a printed setting 140 associated with the object 130.

The flat bed vehicle 110 is a truck having a flat bed, however many other vehicle configurations are suitable including a car, motorcycle, or other street legal vehicle pulling a flat bed trailer. Fig. 2 shows a vehicle 210 that pulls a trailer 220 upon which a scene 230 has been mounted. Any combination of wheels and axles will suffice so long as the combination of <BR> <BR> the vehicle and the scene is street legal. "Street legal"as defined herein means that no special permit has to be obtained for use, and no special route must be followed. Thus, a parade float is not street legal. It should be appreciated that in order to be street legal, a mobile advertisement must fit within certain size parameters typically established by a Department of Motor Vehicles.

The readily removable scene 120 is made up of the life size three-dimensional object 130 and the printed setting 140. A printed setting is associated with the three-dimensional object by providing an environment within which the three-dimensional object is displayed.

Preferably, a three-dimensional object and a printed setting are derived from a marketing design or marketing plan and thus together they fulfill a marketing purpose. The printed setting 140 depicted in Fig. 1 is a mountain range and the three dimensional object 130 is a sport utility vehicle. The setting 140 is"for"the object 130 or associated with the object 13. 0 in that it shows the SUV's ability to climb a mountainous terrain 132, also a three-dimensional object.

The printed setting 120 is a two sided billboard having mountains printed thereon.

While it is not required that a setting be two sided, it is contemplated that a two sided setting is likely more effective. Other embodiments include a setting that is at least partially transparent.

A partially transparent setting allows the three-dimensional object to be viewed from substantially any point around the scene. A printed setting is not three-dimensional in that it is generally flat and lacks relief. With regard to what is printed on a setting, the only requirement is that the printing have some relationship to the three-dimensional object. That relationship is preferably a marketing or advertising relationship. The printing typically includes graphics, text, images, or any combination thereof, and may also included a brand (e. g. a trademark).

A printed setting is preferably constructed of a backing and an overlay. The backing is preferred to be constructed from light weight materials such as a Styrofoam, light weight plastic, or a light weight sheet metal. Printing is usually done on the overlay although this is always necessary as printing can also be done on the backing or some other intermediate layer of material, in which case the overlay may be transparent. Additionally, an overlay may be comprised of a heavy paper, a vinyl, a cloth or any other material susceptible to being an outer layer of the setting. It is preferred that an overlay be at least somewhat weather resistant, and therefore, the overlay may be a plastic or comprise a weather resistant coating.

The printed setting 120 is positioned longitudinally on the bed 112 of the flat bed vehicle 110. A printed setting can surround some portion of the three-dimensional object as well as be a background or foreground. Longitudinal positioning of a printed setting is shown, however, other configurations may also suffice. Generally, a printed setting is sized and dimensioned to approximate the size and shape of a bed, however, a printed setting may be smaller or larger than the bed and shaped differently from the bed, so long as a printed setting does not exceed street legal size requirements. It is preferred that the entire scene fit within the perimeter of the flat bed.

A scene is removably mounted to a bed. It is contemplated that a printed setting and three-dimensional object will both be coupled to a base that is bolted to the flat bed. This allows for easy removal. Fig. 3a shows a scene 310 that has been bolted to a base 312 by bolts 315-319. The scene 310 is being removed by a small crane 320. A replacement scene 330 will be placed on the flat bed 340 once the scene 310 has been removed. Fig. 3b depicts a scene 350 that also has a base 360. The base 360 has an extruding member 362 that cooperates with a

slot 372 on the bed 370. These are just two of the many ways of removably coupling a scene to a base. By contrast, parade floats do not typically fall into the category of being readily removable because they may take several man hours to d-couple from the underlying carriage, and even more time to render the carriage suitable for street legal usage.

Focusing again on Fig. 1, a three-dimensional object 130 is life size. Life size means that the size depicted in the scene approximates the actual size of the object. In other words, the three-dimensional object is not made larger or smaller for advertisement purposes. Thus, a donut depicted in a scene would likely be under 8"in diameter and surely not more than double the actual size. By providing a life size three-dimensional object, a realistic element is introduced into the scene.

The three-dimensional object can be almost anything that has an actual size that does not exceed legal limits. The three-dimensional object may be a real object or a model of a real object. For example, the three-dimensional object can be a live dog or a plastic model of an dog. Among the larger three-dimensional objects that will be used in a scene is a Land Rover vehicle 130 and Fig 1 shows the Land Rover 130 on top of a series of hills 132, another three- dimensional object. A person (i. e. a human) or preferably a life size model of a person may be the three-dimensional object. It is best to construct a three-dimensional object from light weight materials such as plastic, foam, and cloth, however, a three-dimensional object can be made of almost any suitable material including wood, and metal. A weatherproof material and or coating over some or all of these objects can also be advantageously employed.

In another aspect, a street legal mobile advertisement can have sensory elements such as light, sound, and movement. Thus a street legal mobile advertisement can have electronic components including speakers, ports, and a microprocessor. Operations of the scene can be controlled from within the flat bed vehicle or even remotely programmed and controlled.

Thus, specific embodiments and applications of a life size mobile advertisement have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive

concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms"comprises"and"comprising"should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.