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62-516: Luther Blissett is a multiple-use name , an " open pop star " informally adopted and shared by hundreds of artists and activists all over Europe and the Americas since 1994. The pseudonym first appeared in Bologna , Italy, in mid-1994, when a number of cultural activists began using it for staging a series of urban and media pranks and to experiment with new forms of authorship and identity. From Bologna

124-573: A parody of the Marlboro Man , some billboards depicted cowboys riding on ranches with slogans like "Bob, I miss my lung." Likely the best-known of the tobacco advertising boards were those for "Mail Pouch" chewing tobacco in the United States during the first half of the 20th century (pictured at left). The company agreed to paint two or three sides of a farmer's barn any color he chose in exchange for painting their advertisement on one or two sides of

186-460: A city of twelve million in Brazil , Billboards and advertising on vehicles have been banned since January 2007. It also restricted the dimensions of advertising on shop fronts. In British Columbia , a province of Canada, billboards are restricted to 300m away from roadways, the government also retains the right to remove any billboard it deems an unsafe distraction. In Toronto , a city of over 2 and

248-530: A copy of Luther Blissett's Italian book Totò, Peppino e la guerra psichica (Toto, Peppino and the psychic war) and quoted extensively from it, in the original Italian: "Chiunque può essere Luther Blissett, semplicemente adottando il nome Luther Blissett" (Anyone can be Luther Blissett simply by adopting the name Luther Blissett). At the end of the show, hosts and guests all said in unison: "I am Luther Blissett!" Two years later, highlights of this broadcast were posted on YouTube . Multiple-use name One of

310-533: A failure to enforce existing laws. In 1964, the negative impact of the over-proliferation of signage was abundantly evident in Houston, Texas, US, and it motivated Lady Bird Johnson to ask her husband to create a law. At the same time, the outdoor advertising industry was becoming aware that excessive signs, some literally blocking another, were bad for business. In 1965, the Highway Beautification Act

372-560: A form of visual pollution - a state of affairs evoked pithily in Ogden Nash 's parody of Joyce Kilmer 's oft-quoted poem Trees : I think that I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree Indeed, unless the billboards fall I'll never see a tree at all. Other groups believe that billboards and advertising contribute negatively to the mental climate of a culture by promoting products as providing feelings of completeness, wellness, and popularity to motivate purchase. B.U.G.A. U.P.

434-628: A half million in Canada, a municipal tax on billboards was implemented in April 2010. A portion of the tax will help fund arts programs in the city. In Sweden, there is a general ban against billboards within the road area (typically the road plus ditch), except for standardized signs such as gas stations, restaurants, or hotels. But there is no ban against them outside the road if the landowner approves. Many farmers along major routes earn some money from such signs. Many signs advertise local restaurants and shops in

496-436: A moving multi-image sign. This is compared to a 19% retention rate for static signs. Unlike a typical billboard, mobile billboards are able to go directly to their target audience. They can be placed wherever there is heavy foot traffic due to an event – including convention centers, train stations, airports, and sports arenas. They can repeat routes, ensuring that an advertiser's message is not only noticed but that information

558-413: A person's attention and create a memorable impression very quickly, leaving the reader thinking about the advertisement after they have driven past it. They have to be readable in a very short time because they are usually read while being passed at high speeds. Thus there are usually only a few words, in large print, and a humorous or arresting image in brilliant color. Some billboard designs spill outside

620-569: A positive mythic figure that was supposed to embody the very process of community and cross-media storytelling rather than being understood only as a media prankster and culture jammer . Roberto Bui, one of the co-founders of the LBP and Wu Ming, explains the function of Luther Blissett and other radical folk heroes as mythmaking or mythopoesis : Mythopoesis is the social process of constructing myths, by which we do not mean "false stories," we mean stories that are told and shared, re-told and manipulated, by

682-510: A postcard, and sold in the College Bookstore. The Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement Inc. (TAB) was established in 1933 as a non-profit organization whose historical mission has been to audit the circulation of out-of-home media in the United States. TAB's role has expanded to lead and support other major out-of-home industry research initiatives. Governed by a tripartite board composed of advertisers, agencies, and media companies,

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744-639: A resistant material such as vinyl; this is placed on a large metal structure, which makes it one of the media with the most visibility and high impact within the advertising field. Some of the most prominent billboards are alongside highways; since passing drivers typically have little to occupy their attention, the impact of the billboard is greater. Billboards are often drivers' primary method of finding lodging, food, and fuel on unfamiliar highways. There were approximately 450,000 billboards on US highways in 1991. Somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 are erected each year. Current numbers are put at 368,263, according to

806-440: A vast and multifarious community, stories that may give shape to some kind of ritual, some sense of continuity between what we do and what other people did in the past. A tradition. In Latin the verb "tradere" simply meant "to hand down something," it did not entail any narrow-mindedness, conservatism or forced respect for the past. Revolutions and radical movements have always found and told their own myths. Another important element

868-538: Is articulated in the "Declaration of Rights of Luther Blissett", redacted by the Roman LBP in 1995. In this manifesto , the LBP claims that because in late capitalism any social activity can potentially generate value, the culture and media industries should guarantee a basic income to every citizen detached from individual productivity: The industry of the integrated spectacle and immaterial command owes me money. I will not come to terms with it until I will not have what

930-1038: Is both a proper noun and a condition that may be achieved by anyone), Poor Konrad (the collective name adopted by all Swabian peasants during their rebellion against taxes in 1514), Captain Ludd , Robin Hood and Captain Swing . Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world ) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board ), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically brands use billboards to build their brands or to push for their new products. The largest ordinary-sized billboards are located primarily on major highways, expressways, or principal arterials, and command high-density consumer exposure (mostly to vehicular traffic). These afford

992-572: Is in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution : Shaving brushes You'll soon see 'em On a shelf In some museum Burma-Shave These sorts of multi-sign advertisements are no longer common, though they are not extinct. One example, advertising for the NCAA , depicts a basketball player aiming a shot on one billboard; on the next one, 90 yards (82 meters) away,

1054-426: Is not necessary at all, because I am Luther Blissett, the multiple and the multiplex. And what the industry of the integrated spectacle owes me, it is owed to the many that I am, and is owed to me because I am many. From this viewpoint, we can agree on a generalized compensation. You will not have peace until I will not have the money! LOTS OF MONEY BECAUSE I AM MANY: CITIZEN INCOME FOR LUTHER BLISSETT! The novel Q

1116-476: Is owed to me. For all the times I appeared on TV, films, and on the radio as a casual passersby or as an element of the landscape, and my image has not been compensated . . . for all the words or expressions of high communicative impact I have coined in peripheral cafes, squares, street corners, and social centers that became powerful advertising jingles, without seeing a dime; for all the times my name and my personal data have been put at work inside stats, to adjust

1178-427: Is perhaps a place where they find a greater degree of acceptability and may assist in maintaining a neat, vibrant, and safe atmosphere if not too distracting. Museum Station , Sydney has mounted restored 1940s billboard panels along the platforms that are in keeping with its heritage listing. Billboards are also used to advertise national or global brands, particularly in more densely populated urban areas. According to

1240-516: Is required. The " Sunset Strip " in Los Angeles is one area where hand-painted billboards can still be found, usually to advertise upcoming films or albums. A technical invention called "trivision" allowed three different images to be rotated for presentation. A digital billboard shows varying imagery and text created with computer programs and software. Digital billboards can be designed to display running text, have several different displays from

1302-531: Is retained through repetition. Billboards may be multi-purpose. An advertising sign can integrate its main purpose with a telecommunications antenna or public lighting support. Usually, the structure has a steel pole with a coupling flange on the above-fitted advertising billboard structure that can contain telecommunications antennas. The lighting, wiring, and antennas are placed inside the structure. Common along highways are free-standing two-sided as well as three-sided billboards. Other types of billboards include

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1364-595: Is the basket. Another example is the numerous billboards advertising the roadside attraction South of the Border near Dillon, SC , along I-95 in many states. Many cities have high densities of billboards, especially where there is dense pedestrian traffic— Times Square in New York City is a good example. Because of the lack of space in cities, these billboards are placed on the sides of buildings and sometimes are free-standing billboards hanging above buildings. Billboards on

1426-588: The Australian Capital Territory considered relaxing this law to allow more outdoor advertising. An Inquiry into billboards received a record 166 submissions, with only 6 respondents supporting allowing more advertising in the Territory. The other submissions supported the current laws, or pointed to shortcomings and loopholes of the current laws, such as the allowance of mobile billboards , bus wrap advertising and political campaign signs , as well

1488-644: The First Amendment has made this difficult. A San Diego law championed by Pete Wilson in 1971 cited traffic safety and driver distraction as the reason for the billboard ban but was narrowly overturned by the Supreme Court in 1981, in part because it banned non-commercial as well as commercial billboards. Billboards are largely absent in Australia 's capital city, Canberra , due to a 1937 ordinance that prohibited unauthorized signs on Commonwealth land. In 2017,

1550-491: The Outdoor Advertising Association of America , the top billboard advertisers in the United States in 2017 were McDonald's , Apple and GEICO . A large number of wireless phone companies, movie companies, car manufacturers and banks are high on the list as well. Prior to 1999, billboards were a major venue of cigarette advertising ; 10% of Michigan billboards advertise alcohol and tobacco, according to

1612-463: The Watford player they were impressed with was in fact John Barnes and they mistakenly bid for Blissett being one of the two black strikers at the club. If this is the case, the group may have taken the name as a reference to a red herring . Since the beginning of the project, the real Blissett has been aware of the group taking his name. However, early reports differed widely in saying whether he liked

1674-431: The billboard bicycle attached to the back of a bicycle or the mobile billboard, a special advertising trailer to hoist big banners. Mechanical billboards display three different messages, with three advertisements attached to a conveyor inside the billboard. There are also three-dimensional billboards, such as the ones at Piccadilly Circus , London. Traditional billboards consist of a large format advertisement printed on

1736-510: The surrealist poet Robert Desnos . In publishing, a long-running book series may be written by numerous authors but published under a uniting collective pseudonym . Examples include Carolyn Keene for the Nancy Drew series and other mystery stories, and Franklin W. Dixon for the Hardy Boys series. References in other realms of culture go back much further. Some examples are Buddha (which

1798-618: The 1980s, among other teams. It is particularly popular among Italian subcultural activists and artists, possibly because of the Milan connection. The reasons the group chose the name remain unclear to mainstream journalists (e.g. the BBC suggested that Blissett, one of the first black footballers to play in Italy, may have been chosen to make a statement against right-wing extremists in the country). It has also been suggested that, when being scouted by A. C. Milan ,

1860-607: The Detroit Free Press. This is particularly true in countries where tobacco advertisements are not allowed in other media. For example, in the US, tobacco advertising was banned on radio and television in 1971, leaving billboards and magazines as some of the last places tobacco could be advertised. Billboards made the news in America when, in the tobacco settlement of 1999, all cigarette billboards were replaced with anti-smoking messages. In

1922-518: The Johnson era, when the government was trying to make him remove his billboards along Interstate 5. He had erected the signs after he lost a legal battle to prevent the building of the freeway across his land. Numerous legal and illegal attempts to remove the Uncle Sam billboard have failed, and it is now in its third location. One message, attacking a nearby liberal arts college , was photographed, made into

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1984-506: The OAAA (Outdoor Advertising Association of America). In Europe billboards are a major component and source of income in urban street furniture concepts. An interesting use of billboards unique to highways was the Burma-Shave advertisements between 1925 and 1963, which had 4- or 5-part messages on multiple signs, keeping the reader hooked by the promise of a punchline at the end. This example

2046-582: The TAB acts as an independent auditor for traffic circulation in accordance with guidelines established by its board of directors. Similarly, in Canada, the Canadian Outdoor Measurement Bureau (COMB) was formed in 1965 as a non-profit organization independently operated by representatives composed of advertisers, advertising agencies, and members of the Canadian out-of-home advertising industry. COMB

2108-411: The UK, billboards are controlled as adverts as part of the planning system . To display an illegal advert (that is, without planning permission) is a criminal offense with a fine of up to £ 2500 per offense (per poster). All of the large UK outdoor advertisers such as CBS Outdoor , JCDecaux , Clear Channel , Titan, and Primesight have numerous convictions for such crimes. In São Paulo ,

2170-565: The actual space given to them by the billboard, with parts of figures hanging off the billboard edges or jutting out of the billboard in three dimensions. An example in the United States around the turn of the 21st century was the Chick-fil-A billboards (a chicken sandwich fast food chain ), which had three-dimensional cow figures in the act of painting the billboards with misspelled anti-beef slogans such as "friends don't let friends eat beef." The first "scented billboard", an outdoor sign emitting

2232-444: The artistic world include Luther Blissett , Sandy Larson, Monty Cantsin , Geoffrey Cohen , and Karen Eliot . These multiple-use names were developed and popularized in the 1970s and 1980s in artistic subcultures like Mail Art and its offshoot Neoism , which coined the multiple-use name concept of the "open pop star." The avant-garde pre-texts include the pseudonym Rrose Sélavy jointly used by Dada artist Marcel Duchamp and

2294-574: The attention he received because of them. On 30 June 2004 he appeared on the British television sports show Fantasy Football League - Euro 2004 , broadcast on ITV , and joked about his own (alleged) involvement in the Luther Blissett Project. After host Frank Skinner read a line from the novel Q 's prologue ("The coin of the kingdom of the mad dangles on my chest to remind me of the eternal oscillation of human fortunes"), Blissett produced

2356-482: The billboard industry. Today, São Paulo is working with outdoor companies to rebuild the outdoor infrastructure in a way that will reflect the vibrant business climate of the city while adopting good regulations to control growth. The most comprehensive review of the literature to date by the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q) (Australia) found that crash risk increases by approximately 25-29% in

2418-474: The book was nominated for the Guardian First Book Prize. In January 2000, after their " seppuku ", the authors of Q formed a new group called Wu Ming ( Chinese for "nameless"), under which name many novels were published in several languages and countries. The multiple identity is named after the association footballer Luther Blissett, who used to play for Watford F.C. and A.C. Milan in

2480-483: The children that I love them" were parts of the campaign, which was picked up by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and continues today on billboards across the country. South of Olympia, Washington is the privately owned Uncle Sam billboard . It features conservative, sometimes inflammatory messages, changed on a regular basis. Chehalis Farmer Al Hamilton first started the board during

2542-439: The coming miles and are crucial to drawing business in small towns. One example is Wall Drug , which in 1936 erected billboards advertising "free ice water". The town of Wall, South Dakota , was essentially built around the many thousands of customers per day those billboards brought in (20,000 in 1981). Some signs were placed at great distances, with slogans such as "Only 827 miles to Wall Drug, with FREE ice water." In some areas

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2604-486: The demand, refine marketing strategies, increase the productivity of firms to which I could not be more indifferent; for all the advertising I continuously make by wearing branded t-shirts, backpacks, socks, jackets, bathing suits, towels, without my body being remunerated as a commercial billboard ; for all of this and much more, the industry of the integrated spectacle owes me money ! I understand it may be difficult to calculate how much they owe me as an individual. But this

2666-520: The first modern multiple-use names was that of Nicolas Bourbaki , which first appeared in 1935. It was used by a group of French mathematicians associated with the École Normale Supérieure to exemplify the collective effort that goes into mathematics. The name Alan Smithee has been in use in Hollywood since 1968 by directors who wish to disavow creative credit for a film where control has been taken away from them. Other multiple identities in use in

2728-433: The greatest visibility due not only to their size, but because they allow creative "customizing" through extensions and embellishments. Posters are the other common form of billboard advertising, located mostly along primary and secondary arterial roads. Posters are in a smaller format and are viewed principally by residents and commuter traffic, with some pedestrian exposure. Billboard advertisements are designed to catch

2790-402: The installed billboard and touch up the edges between panels. These large, painted billboards were especially popular in Los Angeles where historic firms such as Foster & Kleiser and Pacific Outdoor Advertising dominated the industry. Eventually, these painted billboards gave way to graphic reproduction, but hand-painted billboards are still in use in some areas where only a single board or two

2852-409: The multiple-use name spread to other European cities, such as Rome and London, as well as countries such as Germany, Spain, and Slovenia. Sporadic appearances of Luther Blissett have been also noted in Canada, the United States, Finland, and Brazil. For reasons that remain unknown, though according to one former member the decision was based purely on the perceived comic value of the name, the pseudonym

2914-476: The odors of black pepper and charcoal to suggest a grilled steak, was erected on NC 150 near Mooresville, North Carolina by the Bloom grocery chain . The sign depicted a giant cube of beef being pierced by a large fork that extended to the ground. The scents were emitted between 7–10 A.M. and 4–7  P.M. from 28 May 2010 through 18 June 2010. Almost all these billboards were painted in large studios. The image

2976-454: The posters begin to play sounds. Digital billboards can also employ 3D effects. A great example is how Spirit Halloween used a 3D or anamorphic effect for their Times Square billboard campaign . Outdoor advertising, such as a mobile billboard, is effective because it is difficult to ignore. According to a UK national survey, it is also memorable. Capitol Communications Group found that 81.7% of those polled recalled images they saw on

3038-469: The presence of digital roadside advertising signs (digital billboard) compared to control areas. There is an emerging trend in the literature suggesting that roadside advertising signs can increase crash risk, particularly for those signs that have the capacity to frequently change (often referred to as digital billboards). In the US, many cities enacted laws banning billboards as early as 1909 ( California Supreme Court , Varney & Green vs. Williams ) but

3100-420: The same company, or provide several companies with a certain time slot during the day. Flexible and real-time scheduling can decrease traditional upkeep and maintenance costs, and some billboards may measure audiences or serve dynamic content. Using digital billboards dynamically has come to be known as programmatic out-of-home advertising. Billboard posters can play audio using conductive ink ; when touched,

3162-502: The screening of junk yards adjacent to regulated highways. Around major holidays, volunteer groups erected highway signs offering free coffee at rest stops. These were specifically exempted in the act. Currently, four states—Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine—have prohibited billboards. Vermont 's law went into effect in 1968, Hawaii 's law went into effect in 1927, Maine 's law went into effect in 1977, and Alaska 's law went into effect upon its achievement of statehood in 1959. In

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3224-499: The sides of buildings create different stylistic opportunities, with artwork that incorporates features of the building into the design, such as using windows as eyes, or for gigantic frescoes that adorn the entire building. Many groups such as Scenic America have complained that billboards on highways cause excessive clearing of trees and intrude on the surrounding landscape, with billboards' bright colors, lights, and large fonts making it difficult to focus on anything else, making them

3286-416: The signs were so dense that one almost immediately followed the last. This situation changed after the Highway Beautification Act was passed; the proliferation of Wall Drug billboards is sometimes cited as one of the reasons the bill was passed. After the passage of the act, other states (such as Oregon ) embarked on highway beautification efforts. Billboard advertising in underground stations, especially,

3348-675: The structure facing the road. The company has long since abandoned this form of advertising, and none of these advertisements have been painted in many years, but some remain visible on rural highways. Not all billboards are used for advertising products and services— non-profit groups and government agencies use them to communicate with the public. In 1999 an anonymous person created the God Speaks billboard campaign in Florida "to get people thinking about God", with witty statements signed by God. "Don't make me come down there", "We need to talk" and "Tell

3410-521: The writers' collective Wu Ming . While the folk heroes of the early-modern period and the nineteenth century served a variety of social and political purposes, the Luther Blissett Project (LBP) were able to utilize the media and communication strategies unavailable to their predecessors. According to Marco Deseriis, the main purpose of the LBP was to create "a folk hero of the information society" whereby knowledge workers and immaterial workers could organize and recognize themselves. Luther Blissett became

3472-550: Was a movement that commenced in Australia and took direct action against primarily tobacco and alcohol billboards. Another focal point for this sentiment would be the magazine AdBusters , which will often showcase politically motivated billboard and other advertising vandalism, called culture jamming . Billboards have been criticized as an example of attention theft . In 2000, rooftops in Athens had grown so thick with billboards that it

3534-504: Was borrowed from a real-life Luther Blissett , a notable association football player, who played for A.C. Milan , Watford F.C. and England in the 1980s. In December 1999, the Italian activists who had launched the Luther Blissett Project in 1994 decided to discontinue usage of the name by committing symbolic ritual suicide, or seppuku . After authoring the best-selling historic novel Q as "Luther Blissett", five of them went on to found

3596-447: Was difficult to see its famous architecture. In preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympics , the city embarked on a successful four-year project demolishing the majority of rooftop billboards to beautify the city, overcoming resistance from advertisers and building owners. Most of these billboards were illegal but had been ignored until then. In 2007, São Paulo , Brazil instituted a billboard ban because there were no viable regulations of

3658-435: Was projected on the series of paper panels that made up the billboard. Line drawings were done, then traced with a pounce wheel that created perforated lines. The patterns were then "pounced" onto the board with a chalk-filled pounce bag, marking the outlines of the figures or objects. Using oil paints, artists would use large brushes to paint the image. Once the panels were installed using hydraulic cranes, artists would go up on

3720-526: Was relationship of the Italian LBP to the autonomist - Marxist theory of labor known as workerism . Drawing from the work of Italian workerists, such as Antonio Negri , Paolo Virno , Maurizio Lazzarato and others, the activists of the LBP envisioned Blissett as the expression of the capacity of immaterial workers to produce forms of wealth that cannot be properly measured and attributed to an individual producer. The incalculability of these new forms of labor

3782-549: Was signed into law. The act applied only to "Federal Aid Primary" and "Defense" highways and limited billboards to commercial and industrial zones created by states and municipalities. It required each state to set standards based on "customary use" for the size, lighting, and spacing of billboards and prohibited city and state governments from removing billboards without paying compensation to the owner. The act requires states to maintain "effective control" of billboards or lose 10% of their federal highway dollars. The act also required

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3844-411: Was written by four Bologna-based members of the LBP (Roberto Bui, Giovanni Cattabriga, Federico Guglielmi and Luca Di Meo), as a final contribution to the project, and published in Italy in 1999. So far, it has been translated into English (British and American), Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Danish, Polish, Greek, Czech, Russian, Turkish, Basque, Serbian and Korean. In August 2003

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