Billboards Should Be Outlawed
In most states you see a commercial every mile. Or worse. How many more billboards can we tolerate? Lady Bird Johnson, where are you now that we need you?
Anyone up for a Ro-AD Trip?
Anyone up for a Ro-AD Trip?
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Of course, Alaska is more beautiful than anywhere else, right?
Here's a good synopsis of existing federal law from a scenic group in South Carolina.
The electronic ones are the most distracting of all. Could definitely do without.
There has been a real thinning of the herd down here at the Jersey shore and Pinelands. We used to have Burma Shave signs when I was a kid. Those were fun.
A thing that will never
Come to pass
Is a back seat driver
Out of gas
Burma Shave.
I spent my college years going up the Quickway (NY 17) thru the Catskills and enjoyed the signs for Borscht Belt attractions like Grossinger's and Kutscher's, not to mention those now iconic Burma Shave signs.. :shades:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Regulated how? One billboard per 1,000 feet instead of every 500 feet?
This billboard stuff is kind of like the smoking issue. Why deprive me my right to a clean unobstructed view just because you enjoy looking at Burma Shave signs? Can't you tear off a Burma Shave advertisement from a magazine and take it with you on your trips?
Billboards are only a form of free speech if you let whoever advertise on them that wants to. That's why you get plenty of "Joes Porn Shop 500 feet a head"... and "Trixies Gentlemens Club", with a large pair of breasts sillohetted in the background. :sick:
BOOO Billboards!!! BOOOOOOOOOO!
One of my favorite billboards: "ANNOY A LIBERAL"
I realize that living in New Hampshire as you do may preclude you from visiting Vermont on the principle of the thing...
I don't. Why on earth would I want to look at some ugly billboard? I watch t.v and read magazines... come here to Edmunds to catch all my advertising needs. It is a choice. Driving without having to look at these fugly monstrosities is not a reasonable choice. What I want to see is the unobstructed view that they are blocking.
Business profits from billboard advertising is minuscule. Like any other form of "clutter", billboards decreases the aesthetic value of the surrounding land. They aren't needed, nor wanted by the vast majority of people.
My favorite billboard would be the one stuck in your backyard.
The most valuable billboard is one standing alone without any others to compete with for your attention. I would not advertise in a forest of billboards.
Sales from billboards are not miniscule, but significant. Just ask McDonalds.
Don't know about you... but I buy products all the time that aren't advertised on billboards. Like I noted before, company profits from billboards advertisements are minuscule compared to those from t.v, newspapers and magazines etc. Companies that advertise on billboards would hardly miss out on the slimmest of profit margin they provide. I doubt McDonalds would go under if they couldn't advertise on billboards anymore.
Advertising including billboards is part of the American tradition and landscape.
Some traditions are bad. Tradition use to hold that you threw your trash out of your automobile as an acceptable means to dispose of garbage. People wised up and realized this "tradition" was an wasteful/ugly one. More and more states are looking to increase the "aesthetic value" of their highways and cities. Because they realize this helps with their bottom line (tourism and growth)... not McDonalds.
I realize that living in New Hampshire as you do may preclude you from visiting Vermont on the principle of the thing...
LOL-I enjoy visiting the People's Republic or Vermont.;)
I don't know if BBs are heavily regulated there or prohibited outright. I do know there aren't very many but that's also the case (to a lesser degree) in New Hamster.
I do know that boards are a critical component of advertising for tourist attractions and restaurants .
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The small directional signs on the side of highways are the way to go. i.e McDonalds in five miles. Rock City in 240 miles, Rock City in 239 miles etc etc, See Ruby Falls in 421 miles, See Ruby Falls in 420 miles, Oops, See Ruby City in 418 miles! This is a compromise that should meet everyones needs. Businesses and tourist attractions get their dirty capitalist profits, and us whining Liberals get the fugly billboards torn down.
I just want to know what road has Joe's Porn shop 500 feet from Trixie's Gentlemen's Club ?? LOL!
It is Capitalism that enabled you to have your "things" of life. Be reverent and thankful as whinning doesn't get respect.
I hate the electronic billboards, a big distraction for the average braindead driver around here, and they are usually for tacky casinos and shady car lots anyway. Luckily billboards are not so common in the northwest.
I think more billboards should be put where they can be visual blight for crony capitalists and the inheritance elite, who would be very NIMBY to such an idea.
So if you are a person who like lots of billboards, you must a closet pinko. :shades:
The spacious expanse of glass in my Mazda MPV and Buick Regal are for looking at the purple mountains majesty... not "Loco Joe's Fireworks 5 miles ahead" billboards.
If businesses can't turn a profit without billboards, then I would suggest they take another course in Capitalism 101... because they are surely doing something wrong.
But, to me this BB issue isn't about business advertising or profit. It's about respecting other human beings and their lifestyle. You don't pollute others water (laws for this), you don't pollute their air ( anti-smoking laws) and you don't pollute the roadways and cities with clutter, blight and unnecessary advertising... which is the billboard.
The big bad capatilist have had a history of running over the working man for extra profit. When unregulated.. their history of abuse of the land, water and human beings is appalling. One billboard is one too many. Just as one smoker in a room full of people is one to many. Whining may not get respect (could care less) , but when it comes to changing the laws that allow BB's to exist, it may get results. :shades:
The whole mess lingered in the courts for years until one judge finally gave the township the OK to cut the things down and no judge would step quickly enough to stop the chainsaws. No one has complained about that either. The bay is a much prettier sight than the ads.
Since billboards aren't on the ROW afaik, they are getting a free ride.
If the farmer wants to make an extra buck by providing a billboard or two on his property, the general public (who don't want their bucolic view disturbed) has no standing, position, or influence on the issue pertaining to land they don't own.
When you don't own the land, you don't own the view.
"Friends of The Gorge" is an organized group of asthetic enthusiasts who have been trying to control the management of the Columbia River Gorge via various legislative tricks because they don't own the properties, but still want their way
When you want to control real estate, buy it. Otherwise hush up! :mad:
I don't want to have a gravel pit move in next door and I don't want your sleazy billboards on your non-business property (and I'm not too crazy about anything bigger on your business property than a modest sign, like many communities designate).
My city, state, and federal income taxes pay for the roads, highways and interstates don't they? I should have a say on how such roads are used. I wish to use those roads without having to look at the blight and clutter that billboards create. If the farmer wants to put a billboard on his property fine, just put if back far enough on his property to where no one can see it. :P
The government via the people are the ones that built (paid for) the highways. They should be the ones who profit from them. That's why the smaller directional signs are the best way to go for all involved... even for you. The government gets the advertising dollars, instead of big land owners or billboard companies, and are able to use that money to improve and build new roads with less expense to us... the taxpayer.
So I say loudly, "BILLBOARDS SHOULD BE OUTLAWED!!!!!!" :shades:
A lot of zoning regs are written that way for ball fields or bus stops. Any permitted ads have to face inward so the general public isn't bombarded by them in passing.
However, a lot of zoning regs wouldn't permit non-farm uses (billboards) on rural zoned acreage in the first place. That's a good thing. Martha StewartTM
Boy what an old stick in the mud you are. Who couldn't love Burma Shave signs?
My favorite: Don't stick your arm
Out the window too far
It might go home
In another car.
Burma Shave
As for the rest of the billboards, do you really want me driving up and down your street looking for Joe's Porn Shop because they took the sign down?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Because they prevent the ball from rolling under the fence. They may be commies but stupid they ain't.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
A thing that will never
Come to Pass
Is a back seat driver
Out of gas
Burma Shave.
I was born too late. Writing Burma Shave signs would have been right up my alley.
The good thing about those were that they were small and unobtrusive - quite the opposite of today's billboards that are oversized LED TVs.
No charge for the ellipses, btw. :P
Being a property owner is of questionable relevance, the inheritance elite get away with too much as it is...so many small town slumlord land barons in their imagined little fiefdoms who answer to nobody.
That does remind me of a group around the country that's rather like a club - they go around and remove illegal signs off the right of way. All those Herbalife type signs you see plastered on metal stakes or stapled to telephone poles. The web link escapes me at the moment.
Some groups are sanctioned, but the one I read about was informal.
[edit] Found it - they call themselves sign sharks.
Citizens Against Ugly Street Spam
I think those who object to billboard proliferation are more afraid of bush league plutocrats making a mess and not cleaning it up.
There are a number of reasons for the recent surge in billboard advertising, not the least of which is cost efficiency. Compared to other forms of advertising, billboards are a relatively inexpensive way to get your point across to the general public.
Consider this: A newspaper ad is only good for a day and a television commercial only lasts about thirty seconds. But a billboard ad is working for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The cost of billboard advertising ranges from about $700 to $2,500 a month. At that rate, ten billboards could run as much as $25,000 per month. That sounds like a lot of money, until you realize that a full-page ad running for one day in a major newspaper costs about the same.
Advances in technology have also contributed to billboard advertising’s cost efficiency. In the past, billboards had to be hand-painted – a time-consuming and costly venture. But with today’s computer technology, billboards are designed on a computer screen, printed to vinyl or poster paper, and glued to the billboard structure. The result: Higher quality ads in less time for less money.
Before you jump into billboard advertising for your business, there are a few things you need to understand.
The amount of information contained in a billboard ad is limited. If you expect your billboard to convey as much information as a print ad – forget it. It’s just not possible. Keep your ads short and catchy. When it comes to billboards think more visuals, fewer words.
Billboards are effective, but they do have their limitations. For that reason, (and others), smart business owners view billboard advertising as one part of a balanced marketing strategy. An integrated marketing strategy involving print, broadcast media, and billboards is key for attracting and retaining new customers.
Know your market. Since the majority of people who own automobiles are typically more affluent and mobile, billboard ads tend to target middle- to upper-income demographics. It also pays to be aware of the traffic patterns of your target customer base. This will be invaluable in helping you find the right placement for your business’ billboard ads.
www.oaaa.org/outdoor/research/audience.asp
Then scroll down to Restaurants, McDonalds, & Spicy Chicken sandwich.
So what worked, the billboard or the stunt? Something tells me it was the stunt that got the buzz, not the boring billboard.
I'd be curious about multiple data points over a period of time, along with businesses who don't or can't use billboards those who can and do in areas with identical demographics, information of this type. This is the way to draw a conclusion.
I do have a degree in marketing, so one link of a publicity stunt as you mention doesn't fool me.
This supports what I wrote earlier. The U.S taxpayer is (has) paying for building trillions upon trillions of dollars worth of interstate and highways. Then Joe Billboard owner and land baron step in to milk the profit that should be going back to the state or federal government, since they are the ones who invested all the money. It sure is a good move that benefits the billboard company and land owner though. And a bonehead move by states not to outlaw these signs (blight/clutter/menace to society... take your pick) and pick up the profit themselves by renting out the smaller directional signs.
Since you have not made any attempt to argue the cons of directional sign advertisements, I would gather you must agree there are none. :P