Before screens ruled our eyes and thumbs, there was a thrill in looking out the car window- not to check traffic, but to catch a glimpse of what the city had to say through its billboards. Towering above streets, drenched in bold colors and louder than the chaos below, these weren’t just ads. They were landmarks. Punchlines. Moments in motionless form.
Billboards weren’t content with selling – they wanted to be remembered. Whether it was Fevicol’s hilarious visuals or the Amul girl’s weekly dose of wit, these ads often earned more eyeballs than primetime television. They didn’t just occupy space; they claimed it, and with it, a place in our pop culture memory.
So let’s roll down the windows of nostalgia and cruise through time, from hand-painted walls to digital masterpieces, to see how billboards went from background noise to bold cultural statements.
The Hand-Painted Era: Advertising in Its Rawest Form
Before the advent of Photoshop and digital printers, India’s first foray into outdoor advertising was through hand-painted murals. Think vintage Coca-Cola ads on the sides of small-town buildings or larger-than-life film posters announcing the latest Raj Kapoor release. These weren’t just marketing efforts; they were art. Sign painters, locally known as “hoarding artists,” spent days on scaffolding to bring a brand to life.
In the pre-television era, this was the primary way to visually reach the masses. According to a 2010 report by the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association, almost 70% of rural and semi-urban advertising in the 1980s relied on painted walls and static hoardings.
The Golden Age: Static Hoardings and the Rise of Iconic Brands
With liberalisation in the early 90s, brands flooded Indian markets- and with them came a surge of billboard advertising. This era brought bolder typography, clever copywriting, and punchy visuals. The Amul girl became a weekly ritual, cleverly capturing national events with humour and satire. Meanwhile, Fevicol made a mark with minimalist yet hilarious visuals, like their famous “Bus full of people stuck together” ad.
It wasn’t just about being seen- it was about being remembered. And these brands nailed it.
Billboards were now being seen not just as sales tools but as branding monuments, something that could turn heads and hearts in 3 seconds flat.
“A good billboard doesn’t need more than six words. If it needs more, it should’ve been a newspaper ad.”
— David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising.
Going Big, Bold and Outrageous: Experiential & 3D Billboards
By the 2000s, creativity was bursting out of the rectangular frames. Billboards started to play with dimension, interactivity, and even humour.
A classic example- Zomato’s 3D “floating pizza” billboard in Delhi NCR. Designed to look like a pizza slice was popping out of the hoarding, it was unmissable and viral.
Another jaw-dropper was Netflix’s Stranger Things billboard in the U.S., which looked like the upside-down world had swallowed an entire building. Such billboards aren’t just seen – they’re photographed, shared, memed, and remembered.
In 2022 alone, 3D billboard campaigns saw a 40% increase globally, according to a study by Grand View Research. The rise of DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) is blending physical space with storytelling like never before.
Billboards Enter the Virtual World
Today, billboards aren’t just on roads – they’re in your virtual worlds. In games like Grand Theft Auto, FIFA, or Fortnite, you’ll find actual brand ads placed in the game environment. In 2021, Balenciaga created a billboard in the metaverse for their digital fashion line in Fortnite – yes, a billboard in a video game.
Even Meta (formerly Facebook) has tested virtual billboards in VR spaces like Horizon Worlds, and companies are already bidding for this real estate. It’s not science fiction anymore; it’s marketing strategy.
Pop Culture Status: The Legacy of Billboards
What started as a wall painting now holds cultural power. Whether it’s the Amul girl’s take on politics or Tanishq’s Diwali billboard sparking national debate, outdoor ads have become mirrors of the times- literally and metaphorically.
They’re no longer background noise. They’re front-row, center-stage. Part of your commute, your city’s aesthetic, your Instagram feed, and now, even your metaverse.
From painted walls to pixels in virtual worlds, billboards have come a long way – but their mission remains the same: to stop you in your tracks.
As tech evolves and attention spans shrink, one wonders – what will the next great billboard look like?
Will it shout, whisper… or follow you home?
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