Placement of billboards

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

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. 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.





Painted billboards

Advertising style
Advertising style
Inflatable and Digital billboards
Placement of billboards
Visual and environmental concerns
Road safety concerns