Looking for the most creative, traffic stopping, head turning billboard ads out there? Well you have come to the right place. You will love this comprehensive list that we’ve compiled.
With digital taking the lead in the industry, it’s easy to start wondering if other traditional forms of advertising still make an impact. We definitely think that billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising are still highly effective. Advertisers are challenging themselves each and every day to stand out, and by utilising billboards in a creative manner, not only do you get your message across to the masses, you’re able to show clever creativity and become memorable.
We’ve compiled a list of the most eye catching billboards out there. They are witty, gigantic, and they get their message across in a creative way. Let’s get into our list of the best billboard ads of all time!
- Our 4 Favourite Hygiene and Beauty Billboards
- The Best Food Billboards
- Our Top 10 Homeware & Hardware Outdoor Ads
- Top 3 Automotive Billboard Ads
- Favourite 3 Health and Medical Billboard Ads
- The Best Entertainment Billboard Ads
- Top Travel Billboards
- Safety Awareness Billboard Advertisements
- Clothing Brands Outdoor Billboard Ads
- Top Technology Billboard Ads
- Environmental Out of Home Billboard Ads
Hygiene and Beauty Billboard Adverts
The hygiene and beauty industry is commonly advertised on billboards and because of various sizes of these canvases, one is able to take advantage of the space to make an impactful statement. Let’s have a look at some creative examples.
1. Formula
The hygiene and beauty industry is commonly advertised on billboards and because of various sizes of these canvases one is able to take advantage of the space to make an impactful statement with this medium. Let’s have a look at some of the creative options out there.
Via canva.com
2. Ponds
Do you struggle with pimples? Use ponds to clear them away. The billboard shows a person’s face hidden by the corner of the canvas of the ad. A very clever play on combining imagery and text.
3. Ponds Antibacterial Scrub
The facial scrub and pore cleaner billboard ad portrays a giant pore and in the middle of the pore stands a man, who is literally cleaning out the pore and taking out the dirt that is in it, which may be the cause of blackheads.
Via canva.com
4. Kolestone
This innovative design features a woman’s hair due, cut in the billboard and making use of negative space to capture the variations of Koleston Naturals’ colours through the different phases of the day and night.
Via Adsoftheworld.com
The Best Food Billboard Ads
Food is probably one of the most advertised categories on all various ad platforms. But food ads on billboards are a sure way to get your tummy rumbling while sitting in that peak hour traffic. Here’s a look at some popular out of home billboard ads:
1. Oreo
This billboard add shows the contrast and the well-known black and white silhouette of the oreo cookie in the form of an eclipse. This creates the indelible image of the oreo, reminding you about the cookie.
2. Mr Kipling
Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and other well known pastries. The billboard ad shows a collage made of cakes and other baked goodies, relaying the message that life is better with a little bit of cake, and not just any cake , but cake from Mr Kipling.
Via Adweek.com
3. McDonald’s
This billboard ad shows just how convenient Mcdonalds is; even at the odd hour of 2:04, Mcdonalds will be open 24 hours for your convenience.
Via Adsoftheworld.com
4. KFC
Making use of rocket ships, race cars and a super hero squadron, KFC uses this metaphor to communicate just how fiery hot their Hot and Spicy chicken is and the graphics superimpose the chicken, making it the hero of the image.
Via Penji.co
5. McDonald’s- On your right
From the award-winning Follow the Arches campaign, the McD’s team deconstructed the iconic golden arches and transformed them into minimal directional billboards to help steer drivers to the nearest branch of McDonald’s on their daily commutes.
Via Penji.co
6. Coca-cola
Coke has always had this life long adage of sharing life’s moments over a coca-cola. In this ad the drink is drawn on the side of the building and there are straws emanating from the bottle directed towards different windows. The neighbours can then share from the same coke bottle, and thus share in coca cola moments.
Via Boredpanda.com
7. Anando Milk
Coke has always had this life long adage of sharing life’s moments over a coca-cola. In this ad the drink is drawn on the side of the building and there are straws emanating from the bottle directed towards different windows. The neighbours can then share from the same coke bottle, and thus share in coca cola moments.
Via Penji.co
8. Kit-Kat
Using their well known catchphrase “Have a break, have a Kit-Kat”, this billboard lets the consumer fill in the missing words on what seems like an incomplete billboard in the process of completion, but the guys decided to have a break.
Via Penji.co
9. Chipotle
Sometimes you just have to highlight the most important words so that the message is clear. Chipotle wanted to effectively write about their locally sourced natural ingredients but this massive billboard with the right copy highlighted, did that job for them.
Via Sellingeating.com
10. McDonald’s Fresh Salads
Sometimes you just have to highlight the most important words so that the message is clear. Chipotle wanted to effectively write about their locally sourced natural ingredients but this massive billboard with the right copy highlighted, did that job for them.
11. Royal
Let them eat cake, a Really Big Cake! A key ingredient for any baker in the kitchen, Royal baking powder makes sure your baking comes out better and bigger than expected. Wrapped over two huge walls of a building that has a cross section in it, making it look like a sliced out cake, this billboard instantly attracted attention that turned the building into a landmark.
Via penji.co
Our Top 10 Homeware & Hardware Outdoor Ads
The homeware outdoor ads definitely don’t disappoint when it comes to creative use of billboard ads. Let’s go through a few of our favourites!
1. Tyrolit Rust
This billboard, intended to show off Tyrolit’s Iceline knife range’s unique selling point. Initially, passers-by were faced with a mysterious sheet of metal, with just the brand’s logo on it. After a few weeks, the surface became covered with rust, leaving only the shape of a knife untouched by the rust and the tagline; Flawless. Forever. drove home the message.
Via trendhunter.com
2. Kitchenaid
Kitchenaid shows us its diverse options of colours for their kitchen wear and how you can mix and match their product to suit your space by using a minimalistic billboard featuring a striking photo of their stand mixer on a dark background, with the KitchenAid logo serving as the only copy. When the CN Tower changed colour, the billboard would detect this and automatically change the mixer colour to the match the colour of the tower.
Via adweek.com
3. Craftsman
Has over 90 years of quality and innovation in tools used for building and DIY. The billboard ad has the outer structure of a strong arm holding fast a spanner, and the text depicts that the trust is in your hands.
Via penji.co
4. Strong Tape
The billboard which is on the side of a building, shows that the corners of the canvas are held up with the tape adhesive, and a roll of the tape is smack in the middle, sending the message of just how strong the tape is.
Via boredpanda.com
5. Miele
Creatively demonstrating the power of the Miele S8 monster suction vacuum cleaner, this brilliant billboard design was placed over a well-known tunnel, giving the illusion that all the cars that go into the tunnel are getting sucked into the power of the vacuum.
Via digitalsynopsis.com
6. Mr Crack
From the urban slang saying ‘crack is whack’, no one likes to see cracks. And Mr Happy Crack from the crack team specializes in the fixing of cracks in your foundation and wherever else the walls split. We’re not sure if they can help with the crack of the handy man though.
Via tastyad.com
7. Coops Paint
This ad was a joint venture between Coops Paint and Nationwide Insurance. You may be minding your own business painting your walls, and all of a sudden the paint spills and makes a mess in the house or on your car. Do you have the insurance to help you deal with the mess? That’s where nationwide comes in, to help with the insurance of the unexpected calamities of life.
Via deliciousthemes.com
8. 3M Tape
When it comes to something sticking, nothing sticks with you quite like the tune of a song. That’s why 3M took three of the most catchy songs and put them on numerous billboard sites across Hong Kong.
9. Berger
Berger paints, developers of natural finish colours. The billboard shows a painter up on the wall as he paints the canvas of the billboard with the natural sky blue colour. The colour blends in with the natural light of the sky and into the billboard, depicting just how natural the colours are, they blend into the very nature.
Via penji.co
10. IKEA
Your furniture and home accessory store is here to help you set up the “jigsaw puzzle “ that is met up with when you buy various goods from the store. You need not worry, IKEA has your back and will sort it out for you.
Via adweek.com
Top 3 Automotive Billboard Ads
What better way to get you thinking about getting a new car, than whilst you’re in your not-so-new car. Here are how some of the big players in the automobile industry are taking advantage of the spaces on the roads.
1. BMW VS Audi
The battle continues between the big car manufactures and in this instance its BMW and AUDI. There is a juxtaposition of two billboards, one small one by AUDI and a bigger, more towering one by BMW. The copy on the small one reads, “Your move, BMW”, and the towering BMW one comes back with a “Checkmate” response. And just like that the game is over, there’s clearly no more competition.
Via penji.co
2. Mazda Sticky Notes
The billboard ad shows sticky notes on which there are drawings and intricacies that go into the design and planning of the Mazda.
Via bobshideout.com
3. Chevrolet Penny Billboard
This billboard was right on the money, aiming to advertise the 769,500-pence starting price of the new Chevrolet Aveo. They wanted to stop traffic and put money back into the motorists hands, and they succeeded. As people walked by, they would stop and pick a penny or 12 from the billboard and within 30 minutes the pennies were all gone.
Via trendhunter.com
Favourite 3 Health and Medical Billboard Ads
Many people find traffic a headache, and so the creatives addressed the pain. Here are two creative billboards that we felt boldly address those pain points many of us struggle with or try to ignore.
1. Tylenol
Paracetamol offers relief from aches and pains. Even though you feel as though you have been hit by a bulldozer truck, your pain shall be made better and you’ll have symptom relief.
Via Cannes Short List 2009
3. Silberman’s Fitness Center
The billboard shows a man with a pot belly, standing on the far end of the billboard causing it tipping to the side, showing just how weighty he is; suggesting that he is in need of Silberman’s Fitness Centre to help him shed some of the weight.
Via Boredpanda.com
4. Colorado Crisis Service
The Colorado Crisis Services made use of jumbled up typography to drive the point home that help is just a phone call away when life stops making sense.
Via Penji.co
The Best Entertainment Billboard Ads
This category looks at some fun, funny and shocking ads that promote various sectors in the entertainment industry, from music to movies to magazines. Let’s dive in!
1. Spotify
A creepy, yet pretty cool campaign, by the online music streaming app, in which they made use of their precious data to create fun, funny and embarrassing content, without exposing its users personal information of course. This billboard they use a humorous approach to ask this particular user what exactly they did on Valentine’s day that they played the song 42 times.
Via Penji.co
2. Netflix
After causing a whole lot of confusing for commuters, with a plain stark white billboard that included no branding, just the somewhat insulting text that “Netflix is a joke” which resulted in a lot of social media chatter, it was later assumed and somewhat confirmed that Netflix themselves were behind the campaign to promote their stand up comedy shows.
Via Penji.co
Top Travel Billboard Ads
What’s better than being stuck in traffic? Reminded that island holidays exist and you should book your next getaway? We think so too. Take a look at some of our favourite travel out of home billboards:
1. The Detroiter Travel Center
The billboard ad shows that at the next exit you will find the bathroom; as depicted by the image of a passenger who is pressed and in need to take a leak. Detroiter Travel Centre, will always get you there.
Via Canva.com
2. British Airways
British Airways makes use of their surveillance technology to track flights – allowing a child to point to the overhead flights in real time. The billboard manages to channel that excitement one gets a child when they #lookup and see a plane in the sky.
Via Creativebloq.com
3. Air Asia
Cheap enough to say, Phuket i’ll go is what the ad says, but if you pronounce the Ph as an F then it gives it a totally different meaning. The expletive, goes to show that you wouldn’t mind the pricing of the airline ticket at all.
Via Tastythailand.com
4. Mammoth
Mammoth Mountain is a ski resort out in California. Made from a lava dome, it offers great ski slopes and this is depicted by the billboard ad that shows a skier with some considerable hang time while skiing on the slopes of mammoth mountain.
Via Canva.com
Safety Awareness Billboard Advertisements
Being on the road, safety should be the biggest priority. Here’s a great billboard that punts the message of road safety.
1. Belt Up
The billboard depicts a guy sitting in the back seat without a safety belt, however attached to the back seat is a slingshot ready to launch the guy at any moment. Sending a message that one shouldn’t sit at the back with no seatbelt thinking that it is safer because it isn’t. So rather belt up
Via Canva.com
Clothing Brands Outdoor Billboard Ads
A little retail therapy never hurt anyone, here are some awesome billboards that will have you wanting to go try something on.
1. Levi’s
Even this billboard had to get a pair of Levi’s 501. This LA billboard really had heads turning with it’s creative use of printed vinyl that is stretched around a metal framework, magically replicating the texture and look off a real pair of 501’s.
Via Trendhunter.com
2. Adidas
This billboard spans over the whole highway and depicts a goalkeeper dressed in his Adidas sponsored outfit, diving across the road as he saves the ball from going through the posts. Extremely eye-catching and highly original, this billboard shows how you can push the boundaries of traditional advertising.
Via Trendhunter.com
Top Technology Billboard Ads
Technology… where would our creativity be without it! Here are some billboards that pay homage to the greatness of technology.
1. Apple iPod and iTunes
There is just no way anyone would miss this huge billboard by Apple which towered several feet in the air showcasing a fountain of products that can be purchased and enjoyed on the then-popular portable media player, the iPod. Apple’s message is simple: combine an iPod with iTunes and you have an endless source of entertainment at your fingertips.
2. IBM
A smart idea to create bench. IBM hows up as being a leader in innovation, not just in the computer sphere but also in advertising. The billboard doubles up, not only as a marketing strategy, but also as a “park bench” where the commuters can sit as they wait for the bus. Subtle, not so intrusive, but delivers the message needed.
3. Airpods
Apple pulled off this creative spot the difference trick with a giant billboard that shows a guy seemingly dancing with no earphones in his ears for the morning traffic rush. Later in the afternoon traffic the billboard changes and now has the Air pods inserted in the man’s ears and the ad suddenly makes a lot more sense.
Environmental Out of Home Billboard Ads
A reminder to take care of the world that takes care of us. We loved these billboards conveying this important message with more than just a graphic.
1. UTEC Clean Air
A billboard that brings innovation to life. UTEC created this billboard during the construction of their new campus to minimise the air pollution that would come as a result of the project. The billboard uses amazing technology that filters the polluted air into the billboard and cleans it through a water system and releases it on the other side as clean air.
2. Wave of Waste
To mark World Oceans day in 2018, Corona worked with Wieden + Kennedy on this sobering billboard advertising campaign. A 3D ‘wave’ made from plastic waste collected in the UK, with an image of Chris Hemsworth surfing the wave that seems to be coming out of the billboard to emphasise the volume of plastic ending up in the ocean. The public was encouraged to drop off their own waste at the site.
Credit given to the following websites:
Your International Outdoor Advertising Agency
Empire is an industry leader in the advertising and media buying realm. Working across the UAE and further abroad, we are well-versed in every aspect of marketing and advertising. If you’re interested in reaching your audience through outdoor advertising, contact us and we’ll get you noticed.