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

Besides targeting a specific audience according to location, billboard ads are also on 24 hours a day. Compare the 24 hours per day exposure of a billboard versus a TV commercial or an advertisement print in a newspaper. These ads have a useful life of 30 seconds at most. In addition to this great advantage is the fact that billboard advertising is very affordable.

Although some of the top billboards are alongside highways, there are many billboards on buildings in a city space where viewers can spend much more time reading the marketing campaign message. So it’s always important to take the context (where the ad appears) into consideration.

What’s interesting is that companies may try hard to reach a specific location based audience, but in the end, reach millions of people here on the Internet. Here are 33 incredibly creative billboard advertisement examples that managed to do that.

1. Berger: Natural Finish Colors

Advertising Agency: JWT Mumbai, India

2. TV3: Law And Order

Advertising Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland, New Zealand

3. The Economist

Advertising Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, UK

4. Colorado State Patrol: Billboard Collision

“Tailgating Isn’t Worth It. Give Trucks Room. It’s The Law.” (Advertising Agency: Amélie Company, Denver, Colorado, USA)

5. Calvin Klein Underwear

Advertising School: Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea

6. Penline Stationary: Strong Tape

Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

7. Science World

Vancouver’s Rethink glued 9,000 dazzling glass “diamonds” to a billboard to promote Science World’s Treasure! exhibit, and to dramatize this fact: compared to most other gems, diamonds aren’t all that rare. (Advertising Agency: Rethink, Canada)

8. CNN: Stories With the Full Background

Advertising Agency: DDB&CO., Istanbul, Turkey

9. Calgary International Film Festival

Only the best films make it. (Advertising Agency: WAX, Calgary AB, Canada)

10. BIC Razor

Advertising Agency: unknown

11. The Day After Tommorow

Advertising Agency: Contract, Mumbai, India

12. Max Factor

Billboard that will change once it rains to give the effect that the mascara is leaking. (Advertising Agency: unknown)

13. Woodland: Climbing Shoes

“Climbing Shoes” (Advertising Agency: unknown)

14. Martor Solingen: Extremely Sharp

Advertising Agency: unknown

15. Oltimer Restaurants: Tunnel

Special Poster for “Oldtimer”, a big Austrian chain for motorway rest stops. (Advertising Agency: Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann, Vienna, Austria)

16. Mammoth: Play Big

Advertising Agency: David&Goliath

17. Anando Milk – Superhuman Powers

Advertising Agency: McCANN ERICKSON, Mumbai, India

18. Road Safety: Bleeding Billboard

Rain changes everything. Please drive to the conditions. (Advertising Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland, New Zealand)

19. Panasonic Nose Hair Trimmer

Billboards built around actual electric wires and poles to amusingly yet convincingly dramatize the need for the Panasonic nose hair trimmer’s safety cutting system. (Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Indonesia)

20. Donatos Pizza: Steaming Pizza

Advertising Agency: Engauge, Columbus, USA

21. Kill Bill 2

Advertising Agency: unknown

22. Get Organized With Peter Walsh

Advertising Agency: unknown

23. Avera Health: Smoking Billboard

For two days, drivers who passed a smoking billboard in Sioux Falls, honked and cranked their necks to get a better look at the board everyone was talking about. It showed a woman sitting on a gurney in front of a terrible car crash, with one of the cars actually smoking behind her, that at least for two days, the smoke billowed off the photo into the sky, thanks to a hidden smoke machine behind the board. (Advertising Agency: BVK, USA)

24. Coop’s Paints (Insurance Ad)

Advertising Agency: TM Advertising , USA, Dallas

25. Koleston Naturals: Change

Koleston Naturals is a hair colorant from natural ingredients. (Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Beirut, Libanon)

26. Zhangbei Fitness

Advertising Agency: Guangdong Advertising, Beijing, China

27. Coca-Cola

Refresh on Coca-Cola side of life. (Advertising Agency: MacLaren McCann, Toronto, Canada)

28. Powerhouse Gym

Advertising School: Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, USA

29. YMCA: Basketball Billboard

Advertising Agency: TBWA Vancouver, Canada

30. Belt Up

Advertising Agency: unknown

31. Siemens Mixer

Advertising Agency: unknown

32. Silberman’s Fitness Center

Advertising Agency: unknown

Continue to PART II

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