Billboards Are Fun

I just finished a story about the billboards that are signed, "God." You know the ones: "We need to talk," "One nation under me," etc.

The story took me to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. The Web site is interesting and has lots of information--a lot of stuff I didn't know.

As for the God billboards, I had always just assumed it was some religious organization footing the bill. But that's not correct. It's really a partnership among an anonymous donor, a PR firm and the OAAA's public service division. My story will run in a few days at EthicsDaily.com.

Those billboards aside, however, there's a lot to learn about billboards, which are a form of mass communication. Think about how many eyeballs see a billboard on any given day. At the site, you can learn about outdoor advertising companies, media they handle, costs of advertising and so much more.

We take billboards for granted a lot of the time; we often mindlessly process the messages they send. But it's a good idea to take a second and learn about the business behind the message.