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Digital Billboards: Curse Or Purse?

The New York Times, Thursday, January 11, 2007 11:45 AM

It may be a case of working too well. Roadside billboards, those iconic messengers of the motoring experience, are increasingly going digital with bright colors and the ability to rotate messages constantly.

Advertisers are thrilled. Highway safety advocates and municipalities, however, are worried that bright lights and changing imagery are distracting drivers.

Such signage has been popping up more frequently inside subways and buses, shopping malls, office buildings and airports. Over the last two years, the out-of-home category has been second only to the Internet in its growth rate.

So far, lawsuits involving roadside billboards have been about traditional signs, but the American Planning Association said digital billboards would probably be the next battleground.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »

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