PNC Turns a Misprint Into a 'Brilliantly Boring' Activation

The orange traffic cone has become an unlikely symbol of Pittsburgh Pirates fandom, born from a misprinted shirt that read "Hoist the Cone" instead of "Hoist the Colors." Pirates fans embraced it, and the slogan took hold. Real traffic cones then started disappearing from Pittsburgh streets as fans hunted for props to hoist at games.

PNC Bank and Arnold saw the moment and moved. The bank, which is both the naming rights partner of PNC Park and the home of the Brilliantly Boring brand platform, responded with a collectible traffic cone waffle cone holder, available free with every waffle cone purchase at PNC Park on August 16, September 6, and September 20 while supplies last. The creative logic is clean: a brand that positions itself around avoiding unnecessary risks stepped in to give fans a safer, smarter, and considerably more edible way to participate in a movement that was literally stripping infrastructure from city streets.

The activation sits alongside PNC's Brilliantly Boring Since 1865 campaign work from earlier this year, which included a Caleb Downs NFL Draft film and the Boring Over Time hero spot directed by Craig Gillespie. Each execution finds a different way to make the same argument: that steady, sensible behaviour is not a limitation but a competitive advantage. A free ice cream cone at a baseball game is the smallest possible version of that idea, and probably the most fun.

Press release: PNC Bank

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