On average, Americans spend 10 hours and 50 minutes per week in their car, the 2019 Daily Ride Index suggests. That means we’ve all got plenty of time on our hands to look through the window and let our eyes rest on the landscape… until they settle on a billboard.
Zoom in, zoom out, these two seconds are where brands get the opportunity to convince you that you can’t live without trying a new bacon whopper. But while most of these so-called ‘out of home’ ads are tacky, way too bright, and plain boring to get us thinking about the thing they’re selling, a few of them are the exact opposite.
So, this time we are off to a walk in the smart, creative, and ‘this is just brilliant’ billboard park where ads are like artworks themselves. Mind-bending, interactive, dimensional, reactive to weather, light or darkness, they totally mess with our senses. Let’s give a big round of applause to all the creatives drained from brainstorming benders and advertising agencies who managed to pitch their ideas to the clients, thanks to whom billboard advertising has now been made great again.
Psst! After you’re done, don’t forget to check out Bored Panda‘s previous post with 50 excellent examples of ingenious bus advertising and some more creative billboard ads at part 1.
#1 Women’s Aid – Look At Me
In a world first for digital out of home Women’s Aid created an interactive ad which shows how we can all make tangible changes in the fight against domestic violence. The creative employs a unique use of facial recognition technology which allows the interactive screens to recognise when people actively pay attention to an image of a bruised woman. Those who look at the screen get feedback via a live video feed that runs along the bottom of the ad as a visual ticker-tape, registering an increasing number of viewers. As more people notice the image of the women her bruises slowly heal, demonstrating to passers-by that by taking notice they can help confront domestic violence by not turning a blind eye.
Image source: WCRS
#2 These McDonald’s Billboards Double As Bee Hotels To Support Biodiversity
Image source: McDonald's Sverige
#3 Excellent Billboard
Image source: Tottenheimer
#4 BBC’s Dracula Billboard Confuses People During The Daytime But Grabs Attention At Night
Image source: bbccreative
#5 This Tiny Ant-Man Billboard At A Bus Stop
Image source: camusfearna
#6 BBC World – See Both Sides O The Story
Image source: BBDO New York
#7 Corona Oceans Week Billboard With Wave Made From Plastic Gathered In UK And Chris Hemsworth On The Surfboard
Image source: Wieden & Kennedy
#8 Coca-Cola Hand Knitted Billboards In Serbia Using Traditional Knitting Techniques
Image source: McCann Serbia
#9 Sick Legend Of Zelda Street Art
Image source: jakebrotrill
#10 LEGO 3D Billboard
Image source: Pascal Gagnon, Carle Coppens
#11 Capsico Sauce: Burning Hot. Dabur, India
Image source: Inter Publicity
#12 Denver Water Billboard
#13 3m – Tape Holds Billboard
Image source: 3M
#14 Save Some Money And Save The Environment
Image source: atomicprops
#15 Clever Weather Billboard
Image source: DRTsorak
#16 Red Hat – People-Powered Billboard
Image source: Baldwin&
#17 Hotwheels Loop
Image source: Daniel Andrés Mora Lugo
#18 The Billboards That Came From Nature And Went Back To Nature For Toyota Prius Ad Campaign
Image source: adsoftheworldvideos
#19 Sea Shepherd Switzerland
Image source: serviceplan
#20 Haste Passes, Consequences Remain
Brazil is one of the recordist countries in motorcycle accidents in the world. Therefore, the importance of producing creative, impactful and efficient advertising campaigns have the goal of raising awareness, to educate bikers about traffic growing. After all, a thousandth of a second can have consequences for the rest of your life.
Image source: Executiva Propaganda
#21 An Ad In Warsaw, Poland
Image source: Cikago
#22 “See, I Can Draw The Sky…”
Image source: Archy Sinatrya
#23 Saw This Sign Advertising A Black Hole Planetarium At The Liberty Science Centre. Definitely The Best Billboard I’ve Ever Seen
Image source: clear channel creative team
#24 Coke Billboards That Point You To The Nearest Recycling Bin
Image source: Publicis Italia
#25 The Milwaukee Brewers Have An Opening Day Billboard That Unravels A Little Each Day As The Season Approaches
Image source: PM_ME_YOUR_MOMS_NAME
#26 Billboard In Houston
Image source: signad
#27 The Most Incredible Billboard Collaboration I’ve Ever Seen
Image source: Jonnyspringfield
#28 Ad For Panasonic’s Nose Trimmer
Image source: Saatchi & Saatchi
#29 No Caption Needed
Image source: atomicprops
#30 Ipod Billboard Ad
#31 Designers Used McDonald’s Arches As Direction Markers To The Restaurants
Image source: Cossette
#32 The Way This Billboard Uses Its Pole To Make A Really Big Straw
Image source: moonpies4everyone
#33 Double Grill & Bar Creative Billboard Advertising
Image source: RA Voskhod
#34 Brilliant Ad
Image source: Colgate
#35 Coca-Cola – Refresh
Image source: Moroch USA
#36 KitKat Break Slogan
Image source: Jeremy Carr
#37 TV Rain (Russian TV Channel) – Rain Will Wash Away The Lie
Dozhd means rain in Russian. That’s why we placed this simple message on a billboard: Dozhd washes away the lie.
We just had to wait for the lie to be washed off – literally.
For one month a web camera was streaming a video of the billboard on the main page of the channel’s website. When it rained, everyone would get a 50% discount on a subscription.
Not a single national news media outlet mentioned the billboard.
Image source: Voskhod
#38 Naval Museum Billboard
Image source: Trigger, Calgary
#39 Earth Day’s 2019 Theme Is “Protect Our Species”. Even The Ones We Are Afraid Of! How Are You Respecting The Planet Today?
Image source: atomicprops
#40 This Companies Campaign Utilizing Only Half A Billboard To Get Their Point Across
Image source: Nemothe1st
#41 Funnel Campaign
Image source: Grip Limited
#42 When Leaving Early For Happy Hour Doesn’t Go As Planned
Image source: atomicprops
#43 Carnival – Current Temperature – This Billboard Ran In NYC From January To March
Image source: Arnold Worldwide, USA
#44 Pond’s Facial Wash
Image source: Ogilvy & Mather
#45 The New Mini Incredibly Safe Billboard
Image source: Times OOH
#46 Rust Free Knife Ad In Vienna, Austria
Image source: Heimat
#47 Calgary Stampede 3D Ad
Image source: frog3d
#48 Chilled Mars Billboard
Image source: BBDO
#49 Bojangles’ Flour
For a brand-building idea that would create some online buzz and engagement during last week’s NBA All-Star Weekend, LGA created an eye-catching billboard for Charlotte-based Bojangles’ Famous Chicken n’ Biscuits that simulates one of basketball’s most popular pregame rituals and the famous biscuits’ most important ingredient. The billboard celebrates the chain’s stars of breakfast – Master Biscuit Makers – by showcasing the dramatic image of a real biscuit maker tossing flour in the air like an athlete. To add to the action, the billboard periodically shoots simulated flour, using a fog machine, to signify that Bojangles’ bakes its made-from-scratch biscuits every 20 minutes.
Image source: quantzphoto
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