• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 31, 2013

‘Tis the season for spectacular out-of-home advertising stunts, and they're not limited to Times Square. To celebrate New Year's Eve, Clear Channel Outdoor and the Associated Press are joining forces for a nationwide, digital-out-of-home campaign that will bring images from New Year's Eve celebrations from all corners of the planet to digital billboards across North America.

Starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Time today, Clear Channel Outdoor has been displaying AP Images photos of celebrations from around the world to its network of over 1,000 digital billboards in 37 top markets in the U.S., as well as in select locations in Canada. The campaign is set to conclude when Alaska and other U.S. territories in the Pacific finally cross into the New Year.

Clear Channel is displaying the AP photos into custom outdoor creative with the hashtag #NYE4all to encourage social sharing of the images.

Meanwhile, Toshiba said it expects its Toshiba Vision digital LED billboards in Times Square to be seen by over 1 billion TV viewers during the final 60-second countdown on New Year's Eve. Beginning around 6 p.m., the Toshiba Vision screen atop One Times Square will show live and pre-recorded musical performances, celebrity messages, revelers, and a special New Year's greeting in collaboration with NASA.

Toshiba Vision signs will also be hosting the New Year's countdown in 15 other big cities around the world, beginning with Tokyo.

Also, MasterCard is incorporating social media into its special New Year's Eve outdoor ad event, playing on the “Priceless” theme. The campaign invites consumers to post a picture and message to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, along with the hashtag #PricelessNewYear, with a chance to have their submissions displayed on 11 digital billboards around Times Square during today and tonight's festivities.