Billboards are a staple of the American highways. You cannot go on a road trip without seeing dozens of ads. Most of them can be ignored but sometimes they can spark up a conversation throughout the car as you look at empty miles of highway before you. They are so ingrained in the American culture that only four states prohibit all uses of billboards – Maine, Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii.
I wish more states would focus more on highlighting the beautification of their state instead of slamming us with ads but somehow, someway these ads must make money or they wouldn’t be there. With that, I have never been personally swayed by a billboard to purchase anything but maybe I’m just not their target audience . For the most part, the best you can get out of me is maybe a google if your ad is truly bazaar.
It wasn’t until I was on one of my road trips that I began to take in and appreciate the billboards that lined the high way of Illinois I-80. One might even say it is the main viewing feature of this interstate.
As I began to pass ads upon ads, at a cool 65 mph, the thought occurred to me that this particular set of billboards capture a display that will only exist for a set moment of time. One of the billboards could easily be replaced the next day or multiple billboards in the following weeks and it would be a completely different display for millions of people to zip on through. Does this way of thinking romanticize billboards? Sure. But that didn’t that stop me from whipping out my camera and doing some speedy shots along the way!
Any who, here’s my homage-of-an-article to the weird world of billboard advertising and just a few of the billboards that caught my eye as I traveled through the state of Illinois. And for the next time, I’m thoroughly sure it will be completely different!
