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The Bigger the Bolder: Outdoor Advertising

One of the first billboard images promoting P.T. Barnum’s Circus

by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor

 

One of the first billboard images promoting P.T. Barnum’s Circus
One of the first billboard images promoting P.T. Barnum’s Circus

Ever since man formed a written language, there have been outdoor signs and billboards. Even the ancient world had billboards–or something a lot like them. A group of archaeologists from Yale University and the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels recently discovered while exploring the archeological remains of the ancient Egyptian city of Elkab. There, they uncovered a series of large hieroglyphics that are an estimated 5,200 years old. The researchers believe that the symbols refer to the solar cycle and may express the royal family’s dominion over the world. These hieroglyphics may have acted like giant signs declaring the power of the ruling family to travelers and passersby – a statement that has now lasted over five millennia.

These hieroglyphics may have acted like giant signs declaring the power of the ruling family to travelers and passersby – a statement that has now lasted over five millennia.
These hieroglyphics may have acted like giant signs declaring the power of the ruling family to travelers and passersby – a statement that has now lasted over five millennia.

Mass Communications

1436, 1796, and 1819 are just a few of the key dates that brought about massive improvements in printing, and introduced color to printed materials. In the beginning of the 19th century, print shops were popping up wherever large groups of people settled – like New York City. Broadsides were the biggest type of printed material displayed before the public on buildings and inside popular establishments. If some were washed away, others would soon be posted to take their place.

New York City: Go Big

1835 is the year assigned to the arrival of the first billboard, and is attributed to Jared Bell, a prolific and sometimes political printer in the heart of the city. While many different stories have shown up across several information resources, the bottom line here is that Bell was indeed the maker of a large “billboard-sized” advertisement for the Zoological Association in 1835. This endeavor was created using a high-cloth content paper that could withstand being outdoors (99.4% flax and .6% cotton) and last for a long period of time. This may be the very first billboard, given that it measured six feet wide by eight feet high, and billboards measure at least 50 square feet. An example of this “billboard” is currently being restored at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

 

Reassembled fragments of a circus poster, printed by Jared Bell, New York, 1830.
Reassembled fragments of a circus poster, printed by Jared Bell, New York, 1830.

It is rumored to be that P.T. Barnum saw one of the circus posters produced by Bell and was inspired to advertise larger than ever before. While Barnum did not invent the billboard, he certainly believed in it and used the format to advertise across the country.

Billboards Gain Steam

mid-1800s to Early 1900s is when the first wave of billboard popularity really took off. The railroad industry was putting more and more people, industries, and circuses on the move. All modes of moving public transportation were taking on outdoor advertising to announce what was arriving on the train, promote an event, and even bring President Lincoln’s corpse around the country allowing the people to publicly mourn as a nation in 1865.

With the turn of the 20th century, billboards were being used for national campaigns for ever-growing companies like Coca-Cola, Camel cigarettes, and eventually, War Bonds.

The Golden Era from the 1920s onward

As the U.S. continued to settle the country from coast to coast, the railroad, the automobile, the airplane, and inner-city transportation all became areas where advertisers wanted to show their stuff. Outdoor advertising associations had been forming since the mid-1800s, but were now flexing more muscle to keep regulations realistic and continue to be of decent quality. And by the mid-1950s, revenue was at $100
million annually. According to dashtwo.com, “Three years later, the first round of federal legislation incentivizing state control of billboards
along interstate highways passed. It was the start of what would become a decades-long tug-of-war between anti-billboard groups and the
industry. It still rears up occasionally, and four states have outright banned billboards.”

All modes of moving public transportation were taking on outdoor advertising to announce what was arriving on the train, promote an event,
All modes of moving public transportation were taking on outdoor advertising to announce what was arriving on the train, promote an event,

Great Investment: $32.22 Billion.

Grabbing the attention of travelers is now digital, with moving images and colors that keep pace with technology.
Grabbing the attention of travelers is now digital, with moving images and colors that keep pace with technology.

That is the size of the U.S. billboard business for 2022. It is projected to increase by almost 9% over the next six years. Grabbing the attention of travelers is now digital, with moving images and colors that keep pace with technology. Bigger is Better.