Billboards: Mirrors Reflecting Society's Deepest Issues

Explore how billboards, from iconic spots to everyday ads, mirror societal issues, shape public debate, and highlight the divide between consumerism and activism.

The Ubiquity of Billboards

Love them, hate them, or shrug your shoulders at them; advertising hoardings, posters, and billboards are everywhere.

In cities across the UK streetscapes and public spaces are taken over by huge Out-of-Home (OOH) posters, massive digital screens, or experiential advertising stunts. Whether it's an immersive campaign – like M&S’s suncream-scented campaign in Oxford Circus – or a giant 3D ice cream coming out of the screen while you walk past, they’re all around you.

A Brief History of Billboards

Advertising billboards first came to prominence in the 19th century, and it wasn’t long before whole areas became dedicated to the art of OOH. Iconic advertising spots such as Times Square in New York and Piccadilly Lights in London have now been added to by the multi-sensory experiences provided by spaces like the Outernet.

The Changing Popularity of OOH Advertising

The popularity of OOH has risen, declined, and oversaturated the UK’s cities and towns like the very industries the ads represent. But it appears that whether you actually like the idea of seeing adverts at every turn depends on your allegiances and values as much as it does on your aesthetic inclinations and buying habits.

Billboards and Social Issues

A recent report from anti-billboard activists Adfree Cities has thrown a spotlight on the social issues highlighted by billboard placement, causing friction between the two opposing sides.

Are Adfree Cities Right About Unhealthy Billboards?

Named ‘Unavoidable Impact,’ the Adfree Cities report was designed to spark debate about the role of advertising in society and its link to public health.

It found that 82% of all outdoor advertising is located in the poorest half of England and Wales, while 92% is located in the most polluted areas. Digging deeper into the numbers, the report also found that the ten most deprived areas in England and Wales are home to a total of 3,306 billboards, while the least deprived had just 393 between them.

While this stark difference could perhaps be justified by higher population densities in the poorest areas, for Adfree Cities, it is ultimately symptomatic of the potential impact billboards can have in communities which already suffer from stark health inequalities.

Activist Actions Against Billboards

The group has carried out an array of activist actions directed at OOH spots. These include lodging a complaint about colorful vape ads located near schools, protesting against adverts it sees as greenwashing from the car and airline industries, and supporting councils that have banned HSFSS billboards such as Sheffield.

Adfree Cities activist Robbie Gillett feels that billboards advertising unhealthy foods or environmentally damaging forms of transport like aeroplanes encourage people to live higher carbon and more unhealthy lifestyles.

“There’s this disconnect in our lives. On the one hand, we’re reading increasingly dire news about how we need to live, and yet the advertising industries are continually encouraging us to buy more of these products,” he says.

For Gillett, there’s an “urgent need” to end the advertising of environmentally-damaging products like petrol, diesel cars, and fossil fuel. He’s certainly not alone in thinking that billboards hold particular power in the forum of public debate, with Brandalism activists hacking advertising space to share their anti-fossil fuel message.

The Power of Billboards

But why do billboards hold so much power? Well, perhaps it’s that consumers can skip an advert on YouTube or get up and make a cup of tea if they are incensed by a television spot – but it’s far harder to escape a 48-sheet poster you drive past every single day.