LL Bean publishes outdoors ad only visible in the sunlight

NEW YORK – If you want to see L.L. Bean’s new ad, you’re going to have to step outdoors.

The company took its mission to get people outside to a new level Friday by publishing an ad in The New York Times in ink that can only be seen when the newspaper is taken outside and exposed to sunlight.

The advertising insert features L.L. Bean’s new “manifesto” that reiterates its commitment to the outdoors and underscores the Freeport, Maine-based company’s willingness to try new things to get shoppers’ attention.

L.L. Bean is positioning itself as an outdoor brand focused less on individual pursuits and more on family and friends enjoying the outdoors, whether it’s a remote lake or local park. The ad tells shoppers, “Just step outside your front door and you’ve arrived.”