The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (September 2008)

"world's tallest billboard" – One Times Square, New York

Billboards on Times Square, New York

A billboard (sometimes also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically showing large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible in the top designated market areas. Bulletins are the largest, most impactful standard-size billboards. Located primarily on major highways, expressways or principal arterials, they command high-density consumer exposure (mostly to vehicular traffic). Bulletins afford greatest visibility due not only to their size, but because they allow creative "customizing" through extensions and embellishments.

Posters are the other common form of billboard advertising, located chiefly in commercial and industrial areas on primary and secondary arterial roads. Posters are a smaller format than bulletins and are viewed principally by residents and commuter traffic, with some pedestrian exposure.

Painted billboards[link]

Almost all these billboards were painted in large studios. The image was projected on the series of panels that made up the billboard, then "pounced" on the board, marking the outlines of the figures or objects. Then, using oil paints, the artists would actually use large brushes to paint the image. Once the panels were installed using large hydraulic booms on trucks, the artists would go up on the installed billboard and touch up the edges between the panels. These large, painted billboards were especially popular in Los Angeles where historic firms such as Foster & Kleiser and Pacific Outdoor Advertising dominated the industry. Eventually, these painted billboards gave way to graphic reproduction, but hand-painted billboards are still in use in some areas where only a single board or two is required. The "Sunset Strip" in Los Angeles is one area where hand-painted billboards can still be found, usually to advertise upcoming films or albums in the heart of the entertainment industry.

Advertising style[link]

Billboard advertisements are designed to catch a person's attention and create a memorable impression very quickly, leaving the reader thinking about the advertisement after they have driven past it. They have to be readable in a very short time because they are usually read while being passed at high speeds. Thus there are usually only a few words, in large print, and a humorous or arresting image in brilliant color.

Some billboard designs spill outside the actual space given to them by the billboard, with parts of figures hanging off the billboard edges or jutting out of the billboard in three dimensions. An example in the United States around the turn of the 21st century were the Chick-fil-A billboards (a chicken sandwich fast food chain), which had three-dimensional cow figures in the act of painting the billboards with misspelled anti-beef slogans such as "frendz don't let frendz eat beef."

The first "scented billboard," an outdoor sign emitting the odors of black pepper and charcoal to suggest a grilled steak, was erected on NC 150 near Mooresville, North Carolina by the Bloom grocery chain. The sign depicted a giant cube of beef being pierced by a large fork that extended to the ground. The scents were emitted between 7–10 a.m. and 4– to 7 pm from May 28, 2010 through June 18, 2010.^[1]

Digital billboards[link]

Digital billboard with changing images, Ypsilanti, MI

Billboard at the closed Forum Hotel in Kraków, Poland. It is the biggest billboard in Europe. It displays a new advertisement every month.

A digital billboard is a billboard that is created from computer programs and software. Digital billboards can be designed to display running text, display several different displays from the same company, and even exist to provide several companies a certain slot of time during the day. Because of the versatility and increased potential revenue for these signs, they are likely to become the standard for the future.

Some companies that create the intelligence behind digital billboards are Four Winds Interactive, Scala, and Helius.

Inflatable billboards[link]

Inflatable billboard in front of a sports stadium

A multi-purpose billboard that works as advertising board, lightning structure and telecommunication antenna

Fast food billboards in Bowling Green, Kentucky

1940s 3AW billboard advertising For the Term of his Natural Life in Melbourne

An inflatable billboard is an inflatable framework with an attached banner ad. Most of them famously appear near sports events or exhibitions. Inflatable billboards can be installed nearly everywhere standing free. They are secured with counter weights and tensioning ropes.^{[citation needed]}

Multi-purpose billboards[link]

Some billboards are not used only for advertising ends; they can be multi-purpose, meaning that they can have more than one function. So, an advertising sign can integrate its main purpose with telecommunications antenna and/or public lighting support. Usually the structure has a steel pole with a coupling flange on the above-fitted advertising billboard structure that can contain telecommunications antennas. The lighting power supply cables and any possible antennas are placed inside of the structure and fastened on appropriate steel wires.

Other types of billboards[link]

Other types of billboards include the Billboard bicycle, which is a billboard attached to the back of a bicycle or the largest mobile billboard, a special advertising trailer to hoist big banners. Mechanical billboards are billboards that display three different billboards at diffent times, because the three advertisements are attached to a conveyor that rolls around inside the billboard. There is also such thing as a three-dimensional billboard, such as the ones at Piccadilly Circus, London, although this type of billboard is arguably mistaken for a simple advertising sign.

Placement of billboards[link]

Some of the most prominent billboards are alongside highways; since passing drivers typically have little to occupy their attention, the impact of the billboard is greater. Billboards are often drivers' primary method of finding lodging, food, and fuel on unfamiliar highways. There were approximately 450,000 billboards on United States highways as of 1991^{[citation needed]}. Somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 are erected each year. In Europe billboards are a major component and source of income in urban street furniture concepts.

An interesting use of billboards unique to highways was the Burma-Shave advertisements between 1925 and 1963, which had 4- or 5-part messages stretched across multiple signs, keeping the reader hooked by the promise of a punchline at the end. This example is in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution:

Shaving brushes

You'll soon see 'em

On a shelf

In some museum

Burma-Shave

These sort of multi-sign advertisements are no longer common, though they are not extinct. One example, advertising for the NCAA, depicts a basketball player aiming a shot on one billboard; on the next one, 90 yards (82 meters) away, is the basket. Another example is the numerous billboards advertising the roadside attraction South of the Border near Dillon, SC, stretching along I-95 for many states.

Many cities have high densities of billboards, especially in places where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic—Times Square in New York City is a good example. Because of the lack of space in cities, these billboards are painted or hung on the sides of buildings and sometimes are free-standing billboards hanging above buildings. Billboards on the sides of buildings create different stylistic opportunities, with artwork that incorporates features of the building into the design, such as using windows as eyes, or for gigantic frescoes that adorn the entire building.

Visual and environmental concerns[link]

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The Animal Liberation Front vandalized this Chick-fil-A billboard to support its vegan aims.

Many groups such as Scenic America have complained that billboards on highways cause excessive clearing of trees and intrude on the surrounding landscape, with billboards' bright colors, lights and large fonts making it difficult to focus on anything else, making them a form of visual pollution. Other groups believe that billboards and advertising in general contribute negatively to the mental climate of a culture by promoting products as providing feelings of completeness, wellness and popularity to motivate purchase. One focal point for this sentiment would be the magazine AdBusters, which will often showcase politically motivated billboard and other advertising vandalism, called culture jamming.

In 2000, rooftops in Athens had grown so thick with billboards that it was difficult to see its famous architecture. In preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympics, the city embarked on a successful four-year project demolishing the majority of rooftop billboards to beautify the city for the tourists the games will bring, overcoming resistance from advertisers and building owners. Most of these billboards were illegal, but had been ignored up to then.

In 2007, São Paulo, Brazil instituted a billboard ban because there were no viable regulations of the billboard industry. Today, São Paulo, Brazil, is working with outdoor companies in the region to rebuild the outdoor infrastructure in a way that will reflect the vibrant business climate of the city while adopting good regulations to control growth.

Road safety concerns[link]

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In the United States, many cities tried to put laws into effect to ban billboards as early as 1909 (California Supreme Court, Varney & Green vs. Williams) but the First Amendment has made these attempts difficult. A San Diego law championed by Pete Wilson in 1971 cited traffic safety and driver distraction as the reason for the billboard ban, but was narrowly overturned by the Supreme Court in 1981, in part because it banned non-commercial as well as commercial billboards.

Billboards have long been accused of being distracting to drivers and causing accidents. However, this may not necessarily be true, as a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina showed. Released in June 2001, the researchers prepared a thorough report on driver distraction for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. This study said: "The search appears to suggest that some items—such as CB radios, billboards, and temperature controls—are not significant distractions."

Traffic safety experts have studied the relationship between outdoor advertising and traffic accidents since the 1950s, finding no authoritative or scientific evidence that billboards are linked to traffic accidents. However, many of these studies were funded by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, which has led to accusations of bias. The methodology used in certain studies is also questionable.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, State Department of Transportation and property/casualty insurance companies statistics on fatal accidents indicate no correlation between billboards and traffic accidents. A broad sampling of law enforcement agencies across the country found no evidence to suggest that motor vehicle accidents were caused by billboards. Property and casualty insurance companies have conducted detailed studies of traffic accident records and conclude no correlation between billboards and traffic accidents.

However, studies based on correlations between traffic accidents and billboards face the problem of under-reporting: drivers are unwilling to admit responsibility for a crash, so will not admit to being distracted at a crucial moment. Even given this limitation, some studies have found higher crash rates in the vicinity of advertising using variable message signs^[2] or electronic billboards.^[3]

It is possible that advertising signs in rural areas reduce driver boredom, which many believe is a contribution to highway safety. On the other hand, drivers may fixate on a billboard which unexpectedly appears in a monotonous landscape, and drive straight into it (a phenomenon known as "highway hypnosis").^[4]

Surveys of drivers and road users show that the lighting provided by billboards provide security and visibility to many motorists. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) went on record (Federal Register, March 5, 1999) stating that the agency agrees that appropriately regulated billboards do not compromise highway safety. It should be noted that this statement was made before the release of the FHWA report Research review of potential safety effects of electronic billboards on driver attention and distraction^[3] in 2001. What level of regulation is appropriate for billboards in different areas is still under discussion by road safety experts around the world.

Laws limiting billboards[link]

In 1964, the negative impact of the over-proliferation of signage was abundantly evident in Houston, Texas, and it motivated Lady Bird Johnson to ask her husband to create a law. At the same time the outdoor advertising industry was becoming aware that excessive signs, some literally one in front of the other, was bad for business.

In 1965, the Highway Beautification Act was signed into law. The act applied only to "Federal Aid Primary" and "Defense" highways and limited billboards to commercial and industrial zones created by states and municipalities. It required each state to set standards based on "customary use" for the size, lighting and spacing of billboards, and prohibited city and state governments from removing billboards without paying compensation to the owner. The act requires states to maintain "effective control" of billboards or lose 5% of their federal highway dollars.

The act also required the screening of junk yards adjacent to regulated highways.

Around major holidays, volunteer groups erected highway signs offering free coffee at the next rest stop. These were specifically exempted from the limits in the act.

Currently, four states—Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine—have prohibited billboards. Vermont's law went into effect in 1968,^[5] Hawaii's law went into effect in 1927,^[6] Maine's law went into effect in 1979,^[7] and Alaska's law went into effect upon its achievement of statehood in 1959.

In the UK, billboards are controlled as adverts as part of the planning system. To display an illegal advert (that is, without planning permission) is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £2500 per offence (per poster). All of the large UK outdoor advertisers such as CBS Outdoor, JCDecaux, Clear Channel, Titan and Primesight have numerous convictions for such crimes.^[8][9]

In Toronto, Canada, a municipal tax on billboards was implemented in April 2010. A portion of the tax will go to help fund arts programs in the city.^[10]

Usages[link]

Highway[link]

Many signs advertise local restaurants and shops in the coming miles, and are crucial to drawing business in small towns. One example is Wall Drug, which in 1931 erected billboards advertising "free ice water" and the town of Wall, South Dakota was essentially built around the 20,000 customers per day those billboards brought in (as of 1981). Some signs were placed at great distances, with slogans such as "only 827 miles to Wall Drug, with FREE ice water." In some areas the signs were so dense that one almost immediately followed the last. This situation changed after the Highway Beautification Act was passed; the proliferation of Wall Drug billboards is sometimes cited as one of the reasons the bill was passed. After the passage of the act, other states (such as Oregon^[11]) embarked on highway beautification efforts.

Railway[link]

Billoard advertising in underground stations, especially, is perhaps a place where they find a greater degree of acceptability and may assist in maintaining a neat, vibrant and safe atmosphere if not too distracting. Museum Station, Sydney has mounted restored 1940's billboard panels along the platforms that are in keeping with its heritage listing.

Big name advertisers[link]

Billboards are also used to advertise national or global brands, particularly in more densely populated urban areas. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the top three companies advertising on billboards as of 2009 were McDonald's, Verizon Long Distance and Pepsi. A large number of wireless phone companies, movie companies, car manufacturers and banks are high on the list as well.

Tobacco advertising[link]

Mail Pouch Barn advertisement: A bit of Americana in southern Ohio. Mail Pouch painted the barns for free.

Prior to 1999, billboards were a major venue of cigarette advertising; 10% of Michigan billboards advertise alcohol and tobacco, according to the Detroit Free Press.^[12] This is particularly true in countries where tobacco advertisements are not allowed in other media. For example, in the US, tobacco advertising was banned on radio and television in 1971, leaving billboards and magazines as some of the last places tobacco could be advertised. Billboards made the news in America when, in the tobacco settlement of 1999, all cigarette billboards were replaced with anti-smoking messages.^{[citation needed]} In a parody of the Marlboro Man, some billboards depicted cowboys riding on ranches with slogans like "Bob, I miss my lung."

Likely the best-known of the tobacco advertising boards were those for "Mail Pouch" chewing tobacco in the United States during the first half of the 20th century (pictured above). The company agreed to paint two or three sides of a farmer's barn any color he chose in exchange for painting their advertisement on the one or two sides of the structure facing the road. The company has long since abandoned this form of advertising, and none of these advertisements have been painted in many years, but some remain visible on rural highways.

Non-commercial use[link]

Non-commercial advertisement is used around the world by governments and non-profit organisations to obtain donations, volunteer support or change consumer behavior.^[13]

Not all billboards are used for advertising products and services—non-profit groups and government agencies use them to communicate with the public. In 1999 an anonymous person created the God Speaks billboard campaign in Florida "to get people thinking about God", with witty statements signed by God. "Don't make me come down there", "We need to talk" and "Tell the children that I love them" were parts of the campaign, which was picked up by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and continues today on billboards across the country.

South of Olympia, Washington is the privately owned Uncle Sam billboard. It features conservative, sometimes inflammatory messages, changed on a regular basis. Chehalis farmer Al Hamilton first started the board during the Johnson era, when the government was trying to make him remove his billboards along Interstate 5. He had erected the signs after he lost a legal battle to prevent the building of the freeway across his land. Numerous legal and illegal attempts to remove the Uncle Sam billboard have failed, and it is now in its third location.^[14] One message, attacking a nearby liberal arts college, was photographed, made into a postcard and is sold in the College Bookstore.

Governance[link]

The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement Inc. (TAB) was established in 1933 as a non-profit organization whose historical mission has been to audit the circulation of out-of-home media in the United States. TAB's role has expanded to lead and/or support other major out of home industry research initiatives. Governed by a tripartite board composed of advertisers, agencies and media companies, the TAB acts as an independent auditor for traffic circulation in accordance to guidelines established by its Board of Directors.

Similarly, in Canada, the Canadian Outdoor Measurement Bureau (COMB) was formed in 1965 as a non-profit organization independently operated by representatives composed of advertisers, advertising agencies and members of the Canadian out-of-home advertising industry. COMB is charged with the verification of traffic circulation for the benefit of the industry and its users.

History[link]

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Early billboards were basically large posters on the sides of buildings, with limited but still appreciable commercial value. As roads and highways multiplied, the billboard business thrived.

• 1794 – Lithography was invented, making real posters possible
• 1835 – Jared Bell was making 9 × 6 posters for the circus in the U.S.
• 1867 – Earliest known billboard rentals (source: OAAA)
• 1872 – International Bill Posters Association of North America was established (now known as the Outdoor Advertising Association of America) as a billboard lobbying group.
• 1889 - The world's first 24 sheet billboard was displayed at the Paris Exposition and later at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The format was quickly adopted for various types of advertising, especially for circuses, traveling shows, and movies
• 1908 – The Model T automobile is introduced in the U.S., increasing the number of people using highways and therefore the reach of roadside billboards.
• 1919 - Japanese candy company Glico introduces its building-spanning billboard, the Glico Man
• 1925 – Burma-Shave makes its billboards lining the highways
• 1931 – The Wall Drug billboards start to go up nationwide
• 1960 - The mechanized Kani Doraku billboard is built in Dotonbori, Osaka
• 1965 – The Highway Beautification Act is passed after much campaigning by Lady Bird Johnson
• 1971 – The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act bans cigarette ads in television and radio, moving that business into billboards
• 1981 – The Supreme Court overturns a San Diego billboard ban, but leaves room open for other cities to ban commercial billboards
• 1986 - Non-television advertising becomes restricted – as now, non-television adverts could not show people smoking. This meant that Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut, amongst other brands – advertised their cigarettes through increasingly indirect and obscure campaigns to a point where they became recognizable.
• 1997 – Tobacco advertising is no longer allowed on outdoor billboards in America
• 2007 – Industry adopts one sheet plastic poster replacement for paper poster billboards and begins phase-out of PVC flexible vinyl, replacing it with eco-plastics such as polyethylene
• 2010 – The first "scented billboard," emitting odors similar to charcoal and black pepper to suggest a steak grilling, was erected in Mooresville, North Carolina by the Bloom grocery chain to promote the sale of beef
• 2010 - Augmented Billboards were introduced in the Transmediale Festival 2010 in Berlin using Artvertiser^[15]

Billboard owners[link]

• Adams Outdoor
• CBS Outdoor
• Airship Ventures
• Clear Channel
• JCDecaux
• Lamar Advertising Company
• Primesight
• Olympus Media

Billboard manufacturers[link]

• The AIRSCREEN Company GmbH & Co. KG
• Daktronics
• YESCO

Notable billboards[link]

• The Citgo Sign, Kenmore Square, Boston
• Cartel Coca-Cola
• Coca Cola Billboard, Kings Cross
• Coca-Cola sign
• Paddy Power Cleeve Hill Sign
• Piccadilly Circus illuminated signs

See also[link]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Marketing

• Advertising board
• Billboard bicycle
• Digital billboard
• Ghost sign
• Human billboard
• Marquee (sign)
• Mediascape
• Neon sign
• Poster
• Publicity
• Sales promotion
• Street furniture
• Truckside advertisement

People

• Joel Wachs, Los Angeles City Council member who wrote tough legislation against billboards

References[link]

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