Couple Looking to Adopt a Baby Advertise on New Jersey Billboard

Couple Looking to Adopt a Baby Advertise on New Jersey Billboard

Advertising on a billboard is a simple idea: Connect with consumers using a large, prominent design on a busy road or the side of a building. But one Maryland couple bought space on a very visible billboard, hoping the outcome will bring an enormous change to their family. They hope their ad will help them adopt a child.

Orna, a doctor, and Jay, a marketing executive, who asked Yahoo! Shine to not reveal their real names, are desperate for their adopted 2-year-old son, Ben, to have a sibling. Since they've been having a difficult time grabbing the attention of birth parents, they took out a billboard on the busy New Jersey Turnpike, hoping their campaign will catch the eye of someone looking to find a good home for a child.

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The neon yellow billboard features the words "Loving Couple Looking to Adopt," a picture of Orna and Jay, their phone number, and website, Adopt213.com. Their ad, which costs $2,000 per month, will be seen by thousands of people each day.

"How do I get our message out there and make sure we’re getting the most exposure? The New Jersey Turnpike has 150,000 impressions a day. It's a numbers game," Jay told Yahoo! Shine.

While they haven’t received any calls yet from potential birth parents, they're staying positive about their unconventional approach after trying other marketing methods from pay-per-click ads on Google to Facebook and newspaper ads. "We know we're looking for a needle in a haystack," Jay said.

The couple, who live in Maryland, chose to buy ad space in New Jersey, where birth mothers have just 72 hours to change their minds about an adoption. Maryland allows 30 days. It took the couple two years to adopt Ben, and they said it's more difficult this time around because birth parents often look for childless couples, thinking the child will receive more attention.

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Jay and Orna both come from large families and said they knew as soon as they met that they wanted a family of their own. They're still exploring private and agency adoption possibilities. Jay explained that they know putting a child up for adoption is "ultimately a personal decision" and that they're not giving up hope.

"The foundation of life is family," he said. "We're just looking for one phone call."

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How Much Does Adoption Really Cost?