Outdoor advertising still works to this day. Although the digital marketing space is continually advancing, OOH (out-of-home) media grabs customers’ attention just as much. Do you know that 71 percent of Americans look at billboard ads while driving? If that statistic doesn’t compel you to create billboard ad designs for your brand, we don’t know what will. 

And if you need a little more persuading, we’ve compiled nine of the most successful and creative famous billboards worldwide. Also, we’ll give you insider tips on why creating unique billboards will favor your brand by leaps and bounds.

 

Why Your Billboard Ads Must Be Exceptionally Creative

Marketers and graphic designers must take the time to create an extraordinary billboard design that cuts through the noise. Imagine a person standing at a metropolitan’s busy intersection with a myriad of billboards on display. With all these blinking lights, bright colors, and a gaggle of people, how will you make them take a glimpse of your billboard advertisement?

After decades-long of being besieged with other types of marketing media, billboards have survived amidst technological evolution. In fact, billboards eat up 66 percent of the market today. And in 2018, it was deemed as the hottest advertising trend. 

With that said, you must unleash topnotch graphic design skills in your repertoire. Here are a few reasons why marketers, entrepreneurs, and graphic designers should be extra creative with billboard designs: 

• Billboards are attention-grabbing

  Due to the size and scope of billboards, brands can display a straightforward message that customers can digest quickly. 

• Advertisers get carte-blanch on graphics

  Billboards can be as big as 14 feet in height and 48 feet in width. Working with a huge canvas allows marketers to express their brand’s message through visuals with no holds barred. Unlike flyers, posters, and brochures, billboards are more design-centric. 

• It reaches a broader and more diverse audience

  With analytics staying at the forefront of digital advertising, billboards do the exact opposite at a relatively reasonable price. Billboards allow far-reaching exposure as they tap on a diversified audience, making the cost per impression relatively low.

• Billboards promote geographically targeted advertising

  Although advertisers won’t be able to monitor the number of people who viewed the billboard ads, they help in marketing your brand locally to the fullest.

• The Marketing Rule of 7

  Consumers might not immediately act after seeing an advertisement once. According to the Rule of 7, a prospect must come across your ad seven times before they take action. And guess what? Billboards live by this rule! 

With all these points in mind, grabbing passersby’s and motorists’ attention is crucial. Standing out in a sea of billboard ad designs can be challenging. So here are nine of them that caught the eyes of onlookers worldwide.

 

9 Famous Billboard Ad Designs From Companies

 

1. Samsonite 

Brands have been using imagery to convey their product’s longevity and quality. And this one from Samsonite fills the bill. By showing a shabby background with what seems like the outcome of normal wear-and-tear, Samsonite was able to showcase their product’s ability to “outlast.”

 

2. BIC Razor

Using surrounding elements is an excellent way of showing a brand’s creativity. In this billboard design example, grass resembles the stubble of hair that stubbornly grows perennially. BIC Razor somewhat demonstrated the sharpness of their razor by showing a seemingly mowed grass. The company banks on minimalism by displaying a plain, white background. However, the oversized razor was sufficient to instill brand recall.

 

3. Panasonic

Once again, taking advantage of apparent elements will gain you extra brownie points. Take this Panasonic billboard ad design for their nose hair trimmer, for example. What better way to represent a microscopic object than using static power lines? Although this needs careful planning, Panasonic has outdone itself in terms of outdoor advertising.

 

4. Chick-Fil-A

The Eat Mor Chikin Cow Campaign is the most successful Chick-Fil-A campaign. It centers on the idea that cows, which also play as the brand’s mascots, want people to eat more chicken. So they displayed a variety of cow-painting billboards and successfully, it worked to their advantage. Ultimately, storytelling always prevails in billboard ads as showcased in Chick-Fil-A’s brilliant marketing.

 

5. Max Factor

Max Factor’s billboard is one of the greatest billboards that’s simple but innovative. They have toyed with a natural element like rain to make their graphics more impactful. This rain-sensitive billboard advertisement showing a woman’s face with a runny mascara exemplifies how Max Factor’s mascara stays on amidst a torrential downpour.

 

6. Tyrolit

Here’s one that encourages the Marketing Rule of 7. Initially, Tyrolit showed a plain metal surface donning its logo only. After a few weeks, rust develops on the metal. Finally, Tyrolit’s Iceline Knife prevails, donning a flawless and unrusted surface. This billboard ad will undeniably impress passersby who have been exposed to this installation more than a handful of times.

 

7. McDonald’s Canada

McDonald’s golden arches represent the decades-long history of the top restaurant chain. Additionally, McDonald’s is a company that knows how to resonate with its audience. However, this particular billboard advertising using the golden arches is one for the books. The chain cleverly used different parts of the arch as directional billboards leading motorists to the nearest McDonald’s branch.

 

8. McDonald’s France

We can’t get enough of McDonald’s ingenuity when it comes to outdoor advertising. And this particular example pokes fun at one of McDonald’s top competitors Burger King. The former has turned its asset of over 1,000 McDrives as its main billboard’s selling proposition. It shows that the next McDrive is only a five-kilometer drive away compared to Burger King’s 258 km!

 

9. Coca-Cola

According to a recent plastic waste audit, Coca-Cola was called out for being the leading plastic pollutant in the world. To amplify more sustainable operations and production, Coca-Cola promises to produce 100 percent recyclable packaging by 2025. And by 2030, the soda juggernaut wants consumers to be able to return bottles and cans they use. Moreover, the brand starts with its promise by releasing this billboard, which centers on sustainability. It’s a minimalist design with a simple hand-like white strip that points to a recycling bin. The copy is straight to the point which says, “open, taste, recycle with us.”