Smoking Facts

Seemed odd to me that the ad would not only mention that they've got "a patent on flavor," but also give the patent number (3828800). So I had to look it up. Turned out to be a fairly boring patent for "an improved cigarette filter material... formed from the porous, granular salt of a weakly basic anion exchange resin."

Sports Illustrated - Nov 14, 1977

Coos Bay World - Nov 4, 1978

Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 13, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Advertising, Patents, Smoking and Tobacco, 1970s, Billboards

Welcome To Gila Bend

I've driven through the small town of Gila Bend many times, because it's on the road between Phoenix and San Diego which I drive fairly often. But I only recently realized that it has a weird welcome sign: "Gila Bend welcomes you. Home of 1917 friendly people and 5 old crabs."

The 5 old crabs are listed: Earl Carpenter, Clyde Kreeger, Scott Smith, Peggy Perry, and Pat Lauderdale.

From Wikipedia:

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 12, 2023 - Comments (4)
Category: Signage, Billboards

Oakland Ballet Battles Virginity

1995: In an effort to attract new customers, "including singles, sports-minded men and female shopping-mall patrons," the Oakland Ballet put up billboards that displayed the message, "Go ahead, take another date to miniature golf, and die a virgin. Oakland Ballet. You just might like it."

I can understand that the ads were meant to be controversial, but what was with the weird dig at miniature golf?

More info: LA Times

Sacramento Bee - Nov 23, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 29, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: 1990s, Billboards

Stinker Station Signs

Stinker Stations were (and still are) a chain of gas stations in Idaho. Their corporate symbol was a skunk. During the 1950s they adopted an oddball advertising campaign which involved posting yellow signs with strange messages along the side of roads. Most of the signs were removed after the passage of the Highway Beautification Act in 1965.

More info: Vintage Everyday

Posted By: Alex - Mon Mar 08, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Signage, Billboards, Advertising, 1950s, 1960s

Spaghetti Jesus

May 1991: many motorists claimed they could see the face of Jesus in a Pizza Hut billboard outside of Atlanta.

I do see a face, but it doesn't look anything like a Jesus face to me.

Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer - May 26, 1991

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 12, 2020 - Comments (4)
Category: Religion, 1990s, Billboards, Pareidolia

Every body needs milk

In 1969, the dairy industry launched an advertising campaign with the slogan, "Every body needs milk."

In Oregon, the marketing team decided to conduct an experiment to find out whether showing more skin on a billboard would attract more attention. To do this, they created two different versions of an image. Both showed an attractive young woman lying down, feeding milk to a kitten. But in one version she was wearing slacks and a long-sleeved blouse. In the other, she was wearing a bikini.

It took me a lot of searching, and I wasn't able to find very good-quality copies, but I believe these are the two different billboard scenes:

Source: Flickr

Minneapolis Star - Feb 20, 1970

So, did one billboard attract more attention than the other? The marketers surveyed 231 teenagers and concluded that there was "no indication that the amount of clothing made any difference in the awareness."

Salem Capital Journal - May 6, 1970

That was their conclusion, but I'm not sure I believe them, because the rest of the marketing campaign focused heavily on bikini-clad models. Two examples below.





They even made it possible to buy the bikini-themed images as a poster and towel. Which suggests the bikini billboards did attract more attention.

Oakland Tribune - May 24, 1970

The Capital Journal - June 3, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 22, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, 1970s, Billboards

Your wife is hot

A controversial billboard for air conditioning recently appeared in Nottingham. It declared, "Your wife is hot." According to the BBC:


This made me wonder, which 1950s-era ad exactly was it like? Perhaps the "recipe for boiled wife" ad that we recently posted about.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 31, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Gender, Billboards

Billboards in space

If Russian company StartRocket has their way, there will soon be no escaping ads. They plan to display them in the sky, from satellites. They hope to have them up and running by 2021.

More details

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 09, 2019 - Comments (8)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Advertising, Billboards

When Billboards Become Visible

If you're in the billboard business you'd probably want to know exactly when a billboard becomes visible to drivers. So in 1953 research was conducted at the Iowa State College Experiment Station to get an answer to this question. The study involved having subjects watch miniature billboards slowly approach on a conveyor belt.

Source: Duke University Libraries - Archives of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

The Duke University blog also notes that in 1958 "The OAAA commissioned Jack Prince, a professor of ophthalmology at Ohio State University, to study the visual dynamics of outdoor advertising, resulting in the first legibility studies of ad copy." I'm not sure how these two studies related to each other. They sound suspiciously similar. And the 1958 studies obviously weren't the first given that the pictures below show research labeled as happening in 1953.









Update: The researcher in the photos is probably Dr. A.R. Lauer of Iowa State's Department of Psychology, and he may have been studying the phenomenon of "Highway Hypnosis."

In the early 1950s there was increasing criticism of the proliferation of billboards along the side of roads. People complained that they were ugly and possibly distracted drivers. So the OAAA sponsored Dr. Lauer to research the safety benefits of billboards, and specifically whether billboards distracted drivers.

Lauer came up with the result that the billboards did distract drivers, but that this was a good thing because it saved them from Highway Hypnosis —entering a trance-like state as they stared at endless, monotonous roads.

The OAAA then took out ads in newspapers promoting Lauer's research and the safety benefits of billboards.

The Des Moines Register - Mar 23, 1958

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 20, 2017 - Comments (9)
Category: Advertising, Experiments, 1950s, Billboards

Don’t Get Too Close

My favorite part of this 1950s billboard is the small sign at the bottom left: "DANGER ELECTRIC FENCE." Evidently needed to keep away the looky-loos trying to peek up the woman's skirt.


(via Dull Tool Dim Bulb)

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 15, 2012 - Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, 1950s, Billboards