Billboard (advertising)

A billboard or hoarding is a large outdoor signboard, usually wooden, found in places with high traffic such as cities, roads, motorways and highways. Billboards show large advertisements aimed at passing pedestrians and drivers. The vast majority of billboards are rented to advertisers rather than owned by them.

History

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.

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• 1795 ? Lithography was invented, making real posters possible
• 1835 ? Jared Bell was making 9x6 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 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The format was quickly adopted for various types of advertising, especially for circuses, traveling shows, and movies
• 1907 ? The Model T automobile is introduced in the U.S., increasing the number of people using highways and therefore the reach of roadside billboards.
• 1925 ? Burma-Shave makes its billboards lining the highways
• 1931 ? The Wall Drug billboards start to go up nationwide
• 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
• 1999 ? Tobacco advertising is no longer allowed on outdoor
• 2000 ? Athens clears billboards off rooftops in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympics