Inventory of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, 1885-1990s
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleOutdoor Advertising Association of America
(OAAA) Archives,
1885-1990s
Creator
Outdoor Advertising Association of America
Extent
227 Linear Feet
172,250 Items
Repository
172,250 Items
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections
Library
Language
English.
[top]
Information for Users
Access RestrictionsThe Video, Film, and Audio Recordings Series is closed.
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and
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In addition, all or portions of this collection may be housed
off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may
be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare
Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred
to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the
Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Outdoor Advertising Association of America
(OAAA) Archives, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University.
Provenance
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives was
received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
transfer in 1996.
Processing Information
Processing of this collection was supported by the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Richelle Bartlett, Alicia Cave, Lisa Chandek-Stark,
Richard Collier, Ginny Daley, Lynn Eaton, Meagan Guerzon, Bari Helms, Berta
Matos, Mike Mattie, Po Chin Tan, Lucile Wood.
Completed June 7, 2003
Encoded by Richard Collier, Lynn Eaton, Sarah Van Kirk
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives
arrived at Duke in various accessions from both OAAA and from Fairleigh
Dickinson University, where a portion of the archives was originally housed. An
initial container list was created by Technical Services staff, covering the
largest accession. The over 200 boxes were not internally well-organized, with
files that fell within the same subject area scattered across a number of
boxes. The initial container list was used to pre-organize the boxes for
intellectual arrangement, according to subject areas. These subject areas are
reflected in the series names listed below, which were created at Duke in order
to group related materials together.
The contents of folders were for the most part kept intact and were
tranferred to acid free folders within acid-free boxes. The information that
was included in the initial container list was kept with the original folder.
That information is included in the container list and is demarcated by
brackets. Some inconsistency between the information in brackets and the
contents of the folder may exist since it is possible that some items were
removed from the folder if they belonged in a more appropriate place.
The series are organized alphabetically, with the
Oversize Series listed at the end. In general,
material within each series is further separated into smaller subseries
headings, and organized alphabetically. However, where materials reflected
events that occurred with periodic regularity (such as meeting minutes) or
reflected a progressive development over time (such as legislative or legal
issues), a chronological ordering was used for better context.
Furthermore, within each series the information on one topic may be
divided between letter- and legal-size groupings, and each box number also
indicates the box size. Oversize items from each series have been removed,
placed in and listed in the Oversize Series.
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Historical Note: Chronological Timeline of Major Events in Outdoor Advertising
NOTE: Items in boldface indicate that materials relevant to these items may be found in the Collection.
| 1850 | John Donnelly opened his outdoor advertising business in Boston. |
| 1867 | The first billboard spaces in the U.S. were leased. Leasing remains the standard practice for acquiring outdoor advertising space. |
| 1870 | Philip Tocker, onetime president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, (OAAA), considered 1870 the line between ancient and modern outdoor advertising. This was the year in which the web fed printing press was perfected, which made possible poster printing limited only by the size of paper stock available. Other technological developments that occurred around 1870 include stereotyping, paper-folding machines and a new lithographic halftone printing process. Lithography replaced woodcuts as the primary poster printing technique. |
| 1872 | The International Bill Posters' Association of North America was formed by a meeting of 11 bill posters in St. Louis, Mo., on August 27. They created a charter for the organization and elected their first president, John D. Walker. The initial charter set out the ethical standards of the organization: to regulate a uniform scale of posting prices, and to act as a watchdog against the "malicious covering of bills." Their goal was to upgrade and establish uniform and fair policies for outdoor advertising. It was the first national advertising association in the U.S. |
| 1875 |
Thomas Cusack, a sign painter, established his business in
Chicago. The Thomas Cusack Company would become one
of the prominent outdoor advertising businesses in the U.S.
The first state billposting association was formed in
Michigan.
|
| 1877 | At the Association convention in Pittsburgh, Pa., the International Bill Posters' Association of North America resolved to organize state associations. Later that year Ohio bill posters formed a state-wide association, but remained independent from the national Association. In 1878, however, the Ohio Bill Posters' Association agreed to work in harmony with the International Bill Posters' Association of North America. |
| 1884 | After the annual meeting of the International Bill Posters' Association of North America in Philadelphia, the association declined, and by 1888 it had disbanded. B.W. Robbins started the American Billposting Company, the forerunner of the General Outdoor Advertising Company. |
| 1891 |
The Associated Bill Posters Association
of United States and Canada (ABPA) was established to promote greater
national recognition and understanding of the organized poster medium. The
ABPA's constitution was influenced by that of its predecessor, the
International Bill Posters' Association of North
America. Edward A. Stahlbrodt of Rochester, N.Y. was elected as the
Association's first president. The following year ABPA would be incorporated.
The ABPA went through a number of name changes, becoming the
Associated Bill Posters and Distributors Association
(ABPD), and then the Poster Advertising Association
(PAA). The ABPA's inaugural meeting marked the first national convention of
outdoor advertising professionals.
During this period posters for theater revues and burlesque
shows became increasingly lurid and provoked public criticisms of outdoor
advertising in general. In response, around 1891 the national and state
associations agreed to refuse to handle offensive
"paper,"
a trade slang term for posters and
handbills. It was the earliest recorded censorship exercised by an advertising
medium over copy in the U.S., and marked the beginning of a long practice of
self-regulation in the outdoor industry.
|
| 1894 |
Barney Link and William Fay
started the American Billposting Company of Brooklyn
(not to be confused with the American Billposting Company that B.W.
Robbins began in 1890). Soon after that, American Billposting of Brooklyn
merged with the T.J. Murphy Company to form the Brooklyn Poster Advertising
Company, later named the New York Billposting Company
The R.C. Maxwell Co. began in
Trenton, N.J., where it would service the Middle Atlantic states until its sale
in 2000.
|
| 1896 |
The Associated Bill Posters
Association (ABPA) first published its official organ,
The Bill Poster - A
Monthly Journal Devoted to Outdoor Advertising - You Stick to Me and I will
Stick to You.
The ABPA members began work toward establishing uniform
structure standards.
On January 8, the Inter-State Bill
Poster Protective Association was incorporated under Illinois law. In
June its name changed to the International Bill Posting
Association (IBPA). It competed with the ABPA for members, although its
chief constituency was in the Midwest and among small-town posters.
|
| 1897 |
The Associated Bill Posters
Association changed its name to the Associated Bill
Posters of United States and Canada, and incorporated under New York law
with James F. O'Mealia as president.
On May 10, the New York State Bill
Posters' Association adopted a written policy of accountability to
advertisers, whereby the posting company was required to maintain lists of all
locations leased for the advertiser, and to maintain the posters in good order
for the duration of the showing. It is believed that this was the first such
policy drafted by a professional outdoor advertising organization.
In August a new journal,
Display
Advertising, made its debut. Published by Edward A. Stahlbrodt, it was
dedicated to the various media that make up display advertising.
|
| 1898 | Display Advertising and The Bill Poster merged to form a single journal dedicated to all aspects of outdoor advertising, called The Bill Poster and Display Advertising. The first issue appeared in May. It was now the official organ of the Associated Bill Posters of United States and Canada. |
| 1898 | The International Bill Posting Association (IBPA) collapsed following a defection of key leadership, along with its Illinois membership, to the Illinois state association. The following year the surviving members of the IBPA shifted their focus from bill posting to distribution, and renamed the organization the International Distributors Association of United States and Canada. It adopted The Bill Poster and Display Advertising as its official organ of publication, making that journal the major trade publication covering the entire outdoor advertising industry. |
| 1899 | The Association of American Advertisers, predecessor to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), was formed. |
| 1900 |
Standardized billboard structures were developed, which
could hold 3, 8 or 16 sheets. The standard sheet was 42 x 28 inches.
The Associated Bill Posters' Protective
Association was incorporated in New Jersey, the first national sales
organization for the outdoor industry. Its membership was composed of bill
posters from the 40 largest U.S. cities. It was designed to circumvent the
entry of a capital combine (a corporation of financiers and investors who
bought and sold companies on speculation, an early form of corporate raiders)
into the area of outdoor advertising.
At their 10th annual convention, the membership of the
Associated Bill Posters of United States and Canada adopted an
"Obligation of Honor,"
by which each member
agreed to uphold a common standard of billposting and distributing practice,
and to treat each advertiser with complete impartiality. One of the
consequences of the adoption of this code of ethics was that both membership
lists and rate schedules came to be printed in The
Billposter-Display
Advertising periodical.
|
| 1901 | Walter Foster and George Kleiser opened their advertising business, Foster & Kleiser (F & K), in Portland and Seattle. They incorporated in 1902. Foster & Kleiser became a major industry force for many decades, especially on the U.S. west coast, and actively promoted a number of innovations in outdoor advertising displays, such as national display standards, landscaping around billboard structures, and the larger 30-Sheet poster. |
| 1902 |
On March 4, nine auto clubs met in Chicago to form the
American Automobile Association (AAA).The AAA would
become the primary lobby for motorists. The AAA had a long relationship with
the outdoor advertising industry, occasionally as partners, frequently as
adversaries, over such issues as traffic safety, scenic highway beautification
and billboard regulation.
In September, the first annual meeting of the
Canadian Bill Posters and Distributors Association
was held. Prior to that, the Canadian industry had been meeting as a chapter
within the American group, the Associated Bill Posters of United States and
Canada.
J.M. Coe formed the Pensacola Advertising Company in
Pensacola, Fla. Charles W. Lamar, Sr. would later take over the company and
rename it the Lamar Advertising Company By the end
of the 20th century, Lamar had grown to become one of the largest outdoor
advertising companies in the U.S.
The U.S. Government's Bureau of Public
Roads was established, leading to the first federally funded
roads.
|
| 1904 | The short-lived International Advertising Association was formed in St. Louis. Meanwhile, advertising clubs on the west coast organized into the Pacific Coast Advertising Men's Association (later the Advertising Association of the West, or AAW), and on the east coast advertising clubs formed the National Federation of Advertising Clubs (later the Advertising Federation of America, or AFA). |
| 1905 |
The Associated Advertising Clubs of
America was formed in Chicago.
Eleven New York City billposting firms were united into the
Van Buren and New York Billposting Company.
|
| 1906 |
The Associated Bill Posters' of the United States and
Canada, the Associated Bill Posters' Protective Association, the Billposter and
Display Advertising Publishing Company, and the International Distributors
Association all merged to form the Associated Bill Posters
and Distributors of the United States and Canada (ABPD), which was
incorporated under New York law.
The Advertising Painters' League of
America was organized.
The Food and Drug Act was passed by Congress, which required
manufacturers to list the ingredients of their products and mandated truth in
advertising.
|
| 1907 | Barney Link and associates purchased several Chicago-area poster companies, giving them control of virtually all outdoor advertising for 40 miles around Chicago. |
| 1909 |
The members of the Advertising Painters'
League of America voted to dissolve (in July), but soon reformed (in
Sept.) as the Painted Display Sign Advertisers
Association, the forerunner to the Painted Outdoor
Advertising Association (POAA). Historically, the painted bulletin
industry had been a distinct entity from the poster industry, with its own
traditions, spaces and technologies.
The Thomas Cusack Company located
its corporate headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y. In the 1910s Cusack controlled
nearly 20% of all outdoor advertising in the U.S.
The Illinois Zoning Statute was enacted. No advertising
structure was allowed within 500 feet of any public park or boulevard in any
city with a population over 100,000. It was considered one of the first
"scenic area"
ordinances restricting
advertising.
Senate bill S1369 proposed a license tax on outdoor
advertising.
|
| 1910 |
The Promotion Bureau of the Associated
Bill Posters and Distributors of the United States and Canada issued the
first
"Official Membership List."
The Promotion
Bureau was charged with promoting the wider use of billposting by the
commercial sector, and with promoting the mutual interests shared by
advertisers and bill posters. The membership list was arranged alphabetically
by state, and showed every city and town where the Association's standard of
quality and service was guaranteed. The first edition listed over 3,000 towns.
The membership book also listed the rates that each member agency charged per
sheet for a normal four-week showing, and the cost per thousand for broadside
distribution. Finally, the book showed the rating grade assigned to each
billposter (A = exceeds Association standards, B = meets standards, C = fails
to meet standards). Generally, the higher rating meant that the billposter
could charge higher rates for postings, which encouraged all bill posters to
improve their quality of service.
The Associated Bill Posters and
Distributors of the United States and Canada organization adopted a
number of other standardized practices in addition to the plant rating system.
It established a licensing arrangement for official salesmen, giving the
Association better control over the actions of salesmen. The Association also
set national standards for outdoor advertising and established the numbers of
panels sold in each market. For the first time, advertisers could evaluate and
measure the effectiveness of outdoor advertising. The Association began to
prescribe the number of locations necessary to give advertisers adequate,
representative coverage in cities and towns in which their ads were
displayed.
George Kleiser began his campaign for national
standardization of outdoor structures at the Painted
Display Sign Advertisers Association.
In August, the first issue of
The Poster, the
new official journal of the Associated Bill Posters and Distributors, appeared.
It continued until 1930, when it was replaced by
Advertising
Outdoors.
State and national associations adopted policies of equal
treatment for all advertisers, and set minimum limits to the number of
locations considered to be an adequate and equitable
"showing."
The Class A poster structure standard was established. It
featured steel-faced sections.
The Association of National
Advertisers was formed.
|
| 1911 |
Foster & Kleiser displayed
the first individualized Class AA 10' x 25,' 24-sheet poster structure in
America.
The Advertising Federation of
America (AFA) organized a national vigilance committee to raise the
ethical standards in the advertising industry. As a result, the
"Truth in Advertising"
movement began in
Boston. This organized movement contributed to the eventual formation of the
Better Business Bureau. The Advertising Association of the West (AAW) joined the
movement the following year, in 1912.
The Painted Display Sign Advertisers
Association changed its name to the Painted Display
Advertising Association.
|
| 1912 |
The Associated Bill Posters and Distributors of the United
States and Canada became the Poster Advertising
Association, Inc. (PAA), reflecting concerns that the term
"billposter"
had taken on a negative
connotation. By this time, the poster had largely replaced the advertising bill
as the standard medium of outdoor advertising, and the name change also
reflected a growing sentiment that the time of the advertising bill had passed,
and the era of the poster had arrived. Its official publication was called
simply
Association News
and continued until 1926.
The period 1912-1915 was one of rapid improvements to the
quality of poster structures, and these structures were modernized and
improved. This period of investment saw a nearly immediate return, as national
posting revenues increased over 500% in this period. The Association began its
policy of rating poster plants and posting services, and compiled national
lists of plants and services.
The Poster Advertising
Association began to measure circulation values offered in different
cities, and created a national listing of space availability. An agency
commission was standardized at 16 2/3 percent.
In May, the Canadian Bill Posters and
Distributor's Association changed its name to the Poster Advertising Association of Canada.
The 24-sheet poster standard was adopted; the size was
regulated at 8'8” high by 19'6” wide; 8-, 12-, and 16- sheet posters were also
recognized as acceptable sizes; and a new standard
"sheet"
measured 28 x 41 inches. Sheet sizes had been
standardized by lithographers and printers, and were adopted by the bill
posting firms. Show bills and posters were typically 4 sheets high, and the
variable widths were based on the number of sheets used. An 8-sheet poster was
4 sheets high by 2 sheets wide; a 16-sheet poster was 4 by 4; and so
on.
Standardized Class AA poster panel and Class AA posting
service grades were adopted.
|
| 1913 |
The Poster Advertising
Association established an Education Committee to encourage public
service advertising donations and to secure public acceptance and approval of
the outdoor medium. The Committee selected two posters (
"The Birth of Christ"
and
"The Life of General Grant"
) for their first public
service campaign; they were displayed beginning in Dec. 1913 to widespread
public acclaim and approval. The Association also
switched from annual to semi-annual classification inspections for its member
plants in order to encourage plant operators to improve their service. The
biggest incentive was that operators who improved their services did not have
to wait a year to receive a rating change.
With the help of a noted art connoisseur, William V.
O'Brian, the Poster Advertising Association began to
approach poster advertising from the standpoint of artistic merit. This
aesthetic approach would have long-lasting consequences for the outdoor
advertising industry, as some of the most prominent artists of the modern era
would be solicited and engaged in the production of images for the poster
advertising industry. The explosion of creativity that ensued made American
billboard art famous throughout the world.
The National Advertising
Commission was formed. It lasted until 1930.
|
| 1914 |
E.L. Ruddy of Toronto, Canada was elected president of the
Poster Advertising Association.
The International Advertising
Association changed its name to the Associated
Advertising Clubs of America, and then to the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World, to reflect the
worldwide scope and span of organized outdoor advertising. It eventually formed
part of the Advertising Federation of America
(AFA).
Frank Birch began the first organized 3-sheet poster sales
organization, in Boston.
The first exhibition of outdoor advertising art took place
during the convention of the Associated Advertising Clubs
of America, meeting in Toronto.
The other watershed event that occurred at the Toronto
convention was the adoption of the Code of Ethics and Standard of Practice for
each medium in outdoor advertising, the first industry-wide systematic attempt
at self-regulation.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations
(ABC) was formed. The ABC audited the circulation of newspapers and magazines,
and served as the model for the outdoor industry's Traffic
Audit Bureau (TAB), established in 1933.
The Painted Display Advertising
Association changed its name to the Painted Outdoor
Advertising Association (POAA). The POAA would continue in existence
until it merged with the Poster Advertising
Association in 1925.
|
| 1915 |
By this time, industry-wide billboard structural design,
display and blanking standards had been adopted.
Class AA paneled poster structures came into use, which
featured a distinctive green molding.
The Poster Advertising
Association membership, under fire from religious and civic leaders
opposed to public displays that encouraged alcoholic beverage consumption,
voted to no longer accept advertising for “spirituous liquors.” The decision
was a milestone in the outdoor advertising industry's self-regulation efforts,
and stood as an ethical practice until 1933.
The National Outdoor Advertising Bureau,
Incorporated (NOAB) was incorporated under New York law.
NOAB was charged with the actual placing of outdoor
advertising, a service it provided only to its members. From 1918-1925
NOAB used the Thomas Cusack
Company as a clearinghouse for placing ads with individual firms; from
1925-1930 it used General Outdoor, and after 1930
NOAB reverted to its original practice of placing
advertising directly with individual plant operators.
NOAB was cooperatively owned by
200 of the largest outdoor advertising firms. It provided a wide range of
standardized administrative services to member agencies, such as cost analysis,
billing, production scheduling, accounting, etc. NOAB was initially incorporated to regularly inspect
showings; its members, owners, and operators were the ad agencies. It conducted
the outdoor advertising portion of business that advertising agencies had with
their various clients. It contracted for out-of-home media, verified delivery
and performed other service functions. The Bureau
eventually controlled about three-quarters of the outdoor national advertising
in America.
|
| 1916 |
The outdoor advertising industry volunteered to promote
military service in support of the impending war effort.
The Poster Advertising Company
(PAC) was formed to solicit national outdoor advertising contracts. It
functioned until its demise in 1925, as part of negotiations that led to the
creation of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Functionally, the
PAC was the forerunner of Outdoor Advertising Incorporated
(OAI).
In 1916, a representative national showing, or outdoor
poster campaign, used 28,915 posters that reached over 81 million people, 2/3
of the population of the U.S. at the time. It cost an advertiser, on average,
$281,447.36 to run a one-month national outdoor campaign. Nationwide, the
combined plant facilities of the outdoor industry could accommodate 25 such
showings at a time.
The first outdoor advertising industry award was given for a
billboard that promoted outdoor advertising. It depicted a waterfall, with copy
that read
"Beauty, Power, Impressiveness, All
Cardinal Qualities of Poster Advertising."
The
"Landis Decree"
was
handed down in U.S. vs. Associated Bill Posters and
Distributors of U. S. and Canada. The ruling stated that the Association
could not limit its membership to one member for each town and city, nor could
it prohibit members from competing against one another within a single market.
Furthermore, members could not combine to fix prices for poster displays. It
was dismissed on appeal in 1922.
|
| 1917 |
By this time, the Poster Advertising
Association membership represented over 7,500 cities and towns. The
Poster Advertising Association's Legislative Committee was formed to work with
the Law Committee, which was already in existence as part of the original
association charter. The primary focus was to be the association's lobby in the
legal and legislative arena, and to defend the industry against legislative
attacks and discriminatory actions at the local, state, and national
levels.
At the suggestion of A.M. Briggs, a member of the
Poster Advertising Company, the American Protective League was formed as a volunteer
association under the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice. Dedicated to
patriotic service in support of the nation's war effort, the League's appeal
was widespread and immediate, and by the end of 1918 its rolls had swelled to
over 260,000 members drawn from every sector of American business and
professional life. One of the consequences of the Poster Advertising Company's
leadership role in the League was to enhance the reputation of outdoor
advertising with the American public and to instill a general appreciation of
poster art and poster advertising.
The Poster Advertising
Association pledged its entire resources to support the U.S. effort
during World War I. Key outdoor public service campaigns during the war
included Liberty Loans, conservation of natural resources, and the
Red Cross, as well as posters depicting patriotic
themes. Adolph Treidler's poster
"Have You Bought
Your Bond?"
was the first wartime poster sponsored by the U.S.
government.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in St.
Louis Poster Advertising Company vs. City of St. Louis, et al, that the
Supreme Court of the State of Missouri erred in upholding the constitutionality
of the St. Louis billboard regulation ordinances. The St. Louis ordinances were
judged to violate constitutional rights to the use of private property.
The War Revenue Act placed a tax on outdoor
advertising.
|
| 1918 | At the 28th National Convention held in Chicago, the Poster Advertising Association passed a resolution that led to the opening of a Washington, D.C. office, intended to increase the ties between the Association (and by extension, the outdoor advertising industry) and the national government. |
| 1920 |
The Poster Advertising
Association membership expanded to serve over 9,000 cities and towns in
the U.S.
Thomas Young opened a sign shop in Ogden, Utah. In the 1930s
it expanded to become the Young Electric Sign Company
(YESCO), and would go on to create some of the most important and
memorable neon displays in Las Vegas, such as for the Sands Hotel.
|
| 1923 |
Foster & Kleiser developed
the
"Pilaster Board."
Commonly called
"lizzies,"
these poster panels were framed by
classical-inspired sculptures, and fronted by a landscaped formal garden.
Pilaster boards remained in use until the Depression.
Elizabeth B. Lawton, a housewife,
organized the National Roadside Council to combat
the proliferation of roadside advertising.
|
| 1924 |
Elizabeth Lawton, now the
Chairman of the National Committee for the Restriction of
Outdoor Advertising, published a letter in the trade journal
Printer's Ink
that clarified the Committee's stand on outdoor advertising. The Committee, she
wrote, objected to outdoor advertising only when it appeared outside of
commercial areas. This idea of
"commercial
areas"
as open zones of advertising and commercial speech, versus
"scenic areas"
closed to advertising, would be
a dominant element in the
"billboard
controversy"
for the next 50 years.
The Barney Link Fellowship was
established at the University of Wisconsin. The Fellowship sponsored pioneering
research in the field of traffic circulation and analysis.
|
| 1925 |
The first 12' x 25' standard poster panels with three-foot
green bottom lattice appeared.
Dry-brush, non-wrinkle type posting techniques were in
general use.
The first Burma Shave series of
signs was erected, by Allan G. Odell. Six signs were placed 100 feet apart
along Minnesota highways 65 and 61. Eventually the Burma Shave advertisement
series became one of the most famous and widely recognized outdoor campaigns in
history. Burma Shave signs continued in use until 1963.
The first major outdoor advertising industry merger took
place when the Fulton Group and the Thomas Cusack
Company combined to become the General Outdoor
Advertising Company (GOA). Nearly two dozen poster advertising companies
were involved in the merger. Kerwin Fulton was named its president. The merger
gave General Outdoor a disproportionate voting power in the Poster Advertising Association. A member had one vote for
every town with a population over 2,500 that the member represented, a policy
that favored the larger advertising companies.
The Poster Advertising
Association, Inc. merged with Painted Outdoor
Advertising Association to form the Outdoor
Advertising Association of America, Inc. (OAAA). The same merger brought about the demise of the
Poster Advertising Company. Harry O'Mealia was elected as the first president
of the newly consolidated organization. His father, Joseph, had been previously
the president of Painted Outdoor Advertising Association. The merger brought
more uniformity to billboard structures. Some state associations also changed
their names to mirror the new national Association.
|
| 1926 | The first convention of the new Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) was held in Atlanta, Ga. OAAA members now served over 15,000 cities and towns. The new organization continued the PAA's official publication, Association News as its official organ but changed its name to the Outdoor Advertising Association News. |
| 1927 |
National outdoor advertising volume reached $50
million.
The National Poster Art Alliance
was established, linking the OAAA with poster art
associations, lithographers, and local arts councils in the promotion of the
poster as an art medium.
The Tiffen Art Metal Company
began producing all-steel poster panels and bulletin structures. Touted for its
low-maintenance cost and weather resistance, steel panels eventually became an
industry standard.
|
| 1928 |
National outdoor advertising volume dropped to $47 million,
an indicator of hard times to come.
A second antitrust case was brought against organized
outdoor advertising. The so-called
"Mack
Decree"
was handed down in U.S. vs. General Outdoor
Advertising Company et al. The case came about after General Outdoor had grown to become the largest member
within OAAA, capable of influencing Association
policies in ways that eliminated General Outdoor's potential competitors. The
Association's then-current practice of voting, one vote per market in lieu of
one vote per member, gave General Outdoor a disproportionate voice within the
Association. The suit was later dismissed when the national association (OAAA) agreed to voluntarily correct its membership
policies, and institute a one member-one vote policy.
The OAAA and the Executive
committee of the General Federation of Women's Clubs
held a joint committee meeting to discuss their differences regarding outdoor
advertising and scenic beauty.
|
| 1929 |
National outdoor advertising volume fell to $43
million.
Howard Johnson posted his first
billboard--produced by the John Donnelly and Sons
outdoor company near Boston--to promote his restaurant. Howard Johnson's chain
of restaurants and motels became virtually synonymous with travel among
American motorists and vacationers, according to cultural historians, in part
because of Johnson's ubiquitous outdoor displays.
The Barney Link Fellowship
Committee conducted a county-wide survey of roadside advertising in
Waukesha County, Wisc. This was the first systematic study of roadside
advertising in the U.S.
|
| 1930 |
National outdoor advertising volume fell to $40 million in a
depressed U.S. economy.
The first Annual Exhibition of Outdoor
Advertising Art was held in Chicago, sponsored by the Outdoor
Advertising Committee of the Advertising Council of the Chicago Association of
Commerce. In its first ten years, the exhibition received 3,650 submissions,
and issued over 130 awards for designs that represented 77 different products
or services in 42 different business sectors.
The trade publication
The Poster
became
Advertising
Outdoors.
The National Advertising Commission,
established in 1913, dissolved.
In the context of an overall reorganization program, which
led to the creation of Outdoor Advertising, Inc.
(OAI) in 1932, the OAAA Reorganization Committee
recommended that the Association headquarters be moved from New York to
Chicago. However, this move did not happen until 1947. The OAAA reorganization plan included a basic policy of
self-regulation in order to protect and preserve natural beauty and scenic
landscapes along the nation's highways.
|
| 1931 |
National outdoor advertising volume slipped to $22 million,
less than half of the revenue figure of four years earlier. Poster plants
shrunk to half of their pre-Depression levels, while incomes dropped as much as
75%. Throughout the Depression, however, there were no bankruptcies recorded
among OAAA members.
OAAA underwent a basic
reorganization. The new organization was based around state associations, which
set the standards for membership. Voting procedures changed to allow for one
vote per member, as opposed to one vote per town. The national Association's
primary task was to coordinate the activities of the several state
associations, and to undertake activities in the national arena that would not
be economical or practical for state associations. In addition, the national
Association itself was reorganized into seven divisions: Business Development
(sales promotion); Education (public relations); Legal (government
legislation); Plant Development (surveys and research); Membership and
Statistical (records); Finance and Budget (accounting); and a general
Administration which coordinated among the divisions.
At the previous year's (1930) annual convention, the
OAAA membership adopted a resolution to preserve and
protect the natural beauty of America's rural roadways. As one of the first
steps undertaken in support of that resolution, the OAAA sponsored a Conference on
Roadside Business and Natural Beauty that was held in Washington, D.C.
in the spring of 1931. Attended by representatives from 33 national
organizations along with those from the advertising and retail industries, the
meeting resulted in a draft of a model law,
"A Bill
for an Act to Create a Statewide Scenic Highway System."
This law was
instrumental in helping to create the system of scenic byways.
|
| 1932 |
Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI)
was formed as the sales and promotional arm of OAAA.
Its basic mission was to sell the concept of outdoor advertising to
advertisers. The effectiveness of OAI can be gauged in part by the revenue
figures for the next few years: 1932 ($20m), 1933 ($18m), 1934 ($21m), 1935
($28m), 1936 ($33.6m), 1937 ($39.3m), 1938 ($36.7m).
The OAAA undertook a
"tentative plan"
program, which created
proposals and model laws for regulating outdoor advertising in scenic areas.
The tentative plan distinguished between commercial zones and scenic areas
through the use of zoning laws, and proposed to limit advertising to commercial
areas.
Publication of the trade journal
The Bill Poster
was suspended.
The Barney Link Fellowship at the
University of Wisconsin published a research report on
"A Method of Making Short Traffic Counts and
Estimating Traffic Circulation in Urban Areas."
This groundbreaking
report heightened interest in traffic research.
The Association of National
Advertisers (ANA), the OAAA, the
National Outdoor Advertising Bureau (NOAB) and the
American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA)
co-sponsored research at Harvard to establish a scientific foundation for
determining circulation evaluation, under the auspices of “Traffic and Trade
Researches” at Harvard University. Directed by Miller McClintock and
John Paver, the 112-city traffic count study
demonstrated the practicality of the Barney Link Fellowship's short count
formulas.
|
| 1933 |
The Association of National Advertisers
(ANA), the OAAA, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) agreed
to establish the Traffic Audit Bureau, Inc. (TAB),
which was incorporated in 1934. The TAB's mission
was to conduct traffic research and provide circulation data and evaluations
for the advertising industry. TAB data is still widely used in marketing
planning and advertising campaign strategies.
An OAAA referendum voted to
rescind a ban on alcoholic beverage advertising, which had been in place among
members since 1915. The OAAA also adopted an
official
"public policy"
of voluntary
regulation by the advertising industry regarding natural beauty. It was
intended as a pro-active measure to address the critics of the
"billboard blight."
The OAAA dropped the term
"billboard"
and replaced it with the terms
"poster panel"
and
"painted bulletin."
|
| 1934 | Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI) published its first award book, 100 Best Posters. |
| 1938 |
Transportation Displays, Inc.
(TDI) was founded as a poster advertising medium to reach the commuter
market.
Ad-ver-tis-er, Inc. was formed to
encourage the development of a "junior panel" format as a national medium.
Junior panels were envisioned as a quarter the overall size, but proportionally
the same as standard poster panels. Franchises were sold which offered sales
help, selling manuals, statistical information, and other services. Junior
panels eventually did become popular, primarily as an urban advertising medium.
Sizes initially varied from 6- to 8-sheets.
The Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB)
developed a procedure for conducting nighttime traffic counts.
General Outdoor developed the
Streamliner bulletin structure. Streamliner panels featured Art Deco trim
styling and included flexible sections for cutouts to customize ad copy, giving
the panels a highly distinctive appearance.
|
| 1939 | The OAAA reorganized its membership structure through the creation of Regional Zones. Originally there were 12 Regions represented by Regional Councils, but the number was reduced to 10 councils in 1946. |
| 1940 | The Women's Fact-Finding Roadside Association was formed with the aim of addressing the question of balancing roadside aesthetic with the rights of property owners. |
| 1941 |
On Oct. 7, the OAAA, at its
annual convention, issued a unanimous declaration of membership support of
government policies in the event the U.S. went to war.
On Dec. 15, after the U.S. had entered World War II, the
Executive Committee of the OAAA Business Development
Committee met in Chicago to discuss ways of engaging the outdoor advertising
industry in promoting the War Objectives program.
Traffic safety became a major concern. In 1941, the
National Safety Council used billboards extensively
to promote its
"Operation Safety"
campaign. A
pilot campaign in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to a 57% drop in traffic
fatalities in its first year. In California the campaign was credited with
cutting traffic fatalities in Los Angeles in half during the period 1946-1949.
By 1949
"Operation Safety"
had been adopted by
over 2,000 communities.
The Outdoor Advertising
Foundation at Notre Dame University was founded. Its function was to
create a library for materials relating to advertising, to conduct research and
to provide training for outdoor advertising professionals.
|
| 1942 |
The War Advertising Council was
founded as a non-profit organization creating public service campaigns in all
advertising media. The U.S. Office of War Information decided on the particular
campaigns to be used to support the war effort and boost morale. Then, the War
Advertising Council would prepare and execute the campaign, and ensure that the
outdoor part of the campaign was distributed to plant operators.
On June 1, the first poster supporting the war effort
appeared. Perhaps the most famous of the Council's campaigns was
"Rosie the Riveter"
who became an icon of
wartime support. Throughout the war years, the Council produced an estimated
$350 million in free public service messages. After the war it was renamed the
Advertising Council, which continues its public
service campaign activities.
The OAAA presented its first
OBIE awards for excellence in outdoor advertising.
The OBIE took its name from the Egyptian Obelisk, which many historians
considered to be one of the earliest forms of outdoor advertising.
The first accredited course in outdoor advertising in the
U.S. was offered at Notre Dame University. The course allowed students with a
major in marketing to pursue a concentration in outdoor advertising.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in
Valentine v.
Chrestensen, ruled that the government's regulation of commercial
speech was not limited by the First Amendment. The decision strengthened the
government's ability to control advertising copy.
|
| 1943 |
At the annual OAAA convention,
members unanimously reiterated their support for the war effort.
The National Safety Congress
(NSC) was formed to study postwar traffic safety.
|
| 1944 |
The National Safety Congress's
Postwar Committee was renamed the National Committee for
Traffic Safety, and relied heavily on outdoor advertising. Its safety
awareness campaigns quickly became familiar sights in towns across the
U.S.
Outdoor advertising's Postwar Planning
Board held its first meeting on February 18, to discuss the return to
peacetime activities. Over the next several months the Board met on a number of
issues. One of the main resolutions that came from these meetings was the
recommendation to adopt a new standardized medium called the Junior Panel. The
proposed Junior Panel standard specified a 6-sheet poster (1/4 the area of a
standard 24-sheet poster) that was intended for point-of-purchase advertising
at supermarkets and other urban retail establishments. Small-format posters of
varying sizes had been promoted as "junior" panels for several years, and had
become popular in urban areas where standard poster sizes proved
impractical.
The Postwar Planning Board hired
the industrial design firm Raymond Loewy Associates
to study billboard structures and devise a new design.
|
| 1945 |
National poster sales reach $45.5 million.
Anti-billboard activist group, the National Roadside Council, grew to include 20 state
Councils and over 80 cooperative associations among its members.
|
| 1946 |
The Raymond Loewy-designed poster
panels were adopted as a new 24-sheet structure standard. The
OAAA originally intended to adopt the Loewy panels
as the official standard panel, but the cost of changeover and the scarcity of
materials in postwar U.S. forced the OAAA to
designate it as
"an"
official panel design,
which was adopted at the 1946 annual convention. Loewy panels were painted
light gray in contrast to the older billboards' dark green. There were no
buttresses in back of the structure, and no lattice-work in the front.
A Junior Panel poster standard was adopted by the
OAAA. It was a 6 1/2 sheet sign with an outer
dimension of 6'1" x 12', an inner dimension of 4'6" x 10'5", and a posting
surface measuring 54” x 125".
The School of Outdoor Advertising
was established at Notre Dame University.
Standard Outdoor was formed. It
consisted of a network of 27 of the largest outdoor advertising firms,
including Donnelly (Boston), Packer (Cleveland), United (Newark), and Walker
(Detroit).
The OAAA was subpoenaed to appear
before a Federal District Court grand jury, in relation to a complaint about
restriction of competition.
|
| 1947 |
The OAAA relocated its
headquarters to Chicago, at 24 Erie St.
The first billboards appeared using Scotchlite™, a
reflective substance developed by the 3M Corporation for use on road signs.
Scotchlite greatly increased nighttime visibility for outdoor
advertising.
Father Peyton Patrick, an Irish
immigrant, founded the Family Theatre, a Catholic
faith-based multi-media public service program. Currently in its 56th year, it
is one of the longest-running public service campaigns in the world. Family
Theatre has sponsored over 600 radio and 70 television programs totaling over
10,000 broadcasts. Its outdoor campaign, which began in 1948, has appeared on
over 100,000 billboards; an outdoor advertising industry study has estimated
that the billboards have been seen over 400 million times. The campaign is
responsible for such memorable slogans as
"The Family
That Prays Together Stays Together,"
"Keep
Christ in Christmas,"
and
"A World at Prayer is
a World at Peace."
|
| 1948 | An OAAA initiative, "Voluntary Cooperative Program," was established. Its aim was to work with the traditional critics of outdoor advertising--women's clubs, garden clubs, government planners, etc.--to promote higher standards of operation and maintenance among plant operators, while also promoting the economic benefits of outdoor advertising. |
| 1949 |
Loewy poster panel designs were modified to include lighter
stainless steel moldings, replacing porcelain enamel materials.
The OAAA Public Policy Committee
passed a resolution requiring poster panels to be occupied at all times, and
recommended that public service ads be used to fill open panel spaces.
|
| 1950-1960 |
Billboards began utilizing cutouts that extended beyond the
billboard itself.
Full-bleed posters (no white border around the poster) were
developed, which allowed billboards to be created using segmented panels that
could be painted in the shop instead of on-site, and could then be reused in
several showings.
Three dimensional effects first appeared on
billboards.
Research conducted by both the Harvard Medical School and
Iowa State College suggested that roadside signs may relieve
"highway hypnosis."
The Young Electric Sign Company
(YESCO) became one of the chief architects of the illuminated strip in Las
Vegas.
|
| 1950 |
Tiffin Art Metal Company, one of
the largest suppliers of the standard outdoor poster industry, introduced a
6-sheet junior panel to encourage a standard poster. The Junior Panel Outdoor Advertising Association was formed to
promote and develop this new medium.
National poster sales reached $85.5 million.
The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against the
OAAA and 46 state Associations, charging them with
price-fixing and discriminating against potential Association members through
the use of their
"Minimum Poster Plant
Requirements."
The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against the
General Outdoor Advertising Company on anti-trust
charges, claiming that General operated a monopoly in 1500 cities.
|
| 1952 | The OAAA received a judgment in the federal antitrust suit, which forced the organization to clarify and/or alter several practices concerning Association membership requirements and competition between its members. |
| 1953 | Wilbur Smith and Associates launched a series of reach and frequency findings for car-owning households that basically substantiated earlier studies. These studies were underwritten by the OAAA. |
| 1954 | General Outdoor produced the first animated cutouts, on a billboard for Peter Pan brand bread. |
| 1955 |
National poster sales reached $114.5 million.
U.S. Senator Richard Neuberger (D.-Ore.) introduced a
provision into the Highway Act, calling for a total ban on outdoor advertising
along the proposed Interstate Highway system. The Interstate system had been
mandated by Congress in the 1944 highway bill, but the details of construction,
funding and regulation were still being debated in Congress a decade later.
Neuberger's amendment was defeated during floor debate, but the Neuberger
proposal marked the first major legislative attack on outdoor advertising at
the federal level.
|
| 1956 |
New
"slimline"
fluorescent
lighting devices were tested and adopted for poster panels.
The 30-sheet poster format became popular.
The Federal Highway Act was
passed by Congress, creating the Interstate Highway system.
|
| 1958 |
The Federal Aid Highway Act was
passed. Commonly called the Bonus Act, the law
created a bonus system of incentives for states to comply with federal
regulations on outdoor advertising along primary roadways. The bonus was a way
of circumventing states-rights arguments against regulated outdoor
advertising.
The U.S. Commerce Department published its National
Standards, which regulated billboards along federally funded highways.
The OAAA commissioned
Jack Prince, a professor of ophthalmology at Ohio
State University, to study the visual dynamics of outdoor advertising,
resulting in the first legibility studies of ad copy.
|
| 1960-1970 |
OAAA members now represented over
90 percent of the outdoor advertising firms in the U.S.
A highlight of this decade was the return to popularity of
the single-sheet (28"x42") poster, used to publicize pop culture events like
rock concerts and political rallies.
|
| 1960 |
The first International Congress of
Outdoor Advertising was held in Toronto, Canada.
OAAA proposed a nationwide
regulatory act to protect scenic areas, and to require license permits and
bonds in order to ensure responsible operation. The proposal was modified in
1964 as a proposal for a Model Highway Scenic Area
Act.
National poster sales reached $120 million.
The OAAA created the
Women's Division. The first newsletter of the
Outdoor Advertising Women of America stated that
"it was felt the industry should be more adequately
interpreted from the women's point of view."
By 1960, nationwide there
were nearly 10,000 women associated with the advertising industry, either
advertising professionals or the wives and family members of plant operators.
They were soon joined by women professionals in the Roadside Business Association and from the motel
industry.
The A.C. Nielsen research company
produced the first nationwide study of advertising reach and frequency.
|
| 1961 |
Single post unitized construction of poster panels began.
Prefabricated panels were created in poster plant shops and transported to the
display, where they were hoisted into place by boom trucks.
The first mobile advertising panels were used.
Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI)
produced its
"Testa"
awareness test project.
The campaign consisted of billboards announcing a
"new"
automobile, the fictional
"Testa"
car, followed by a series of recall
studies around the poster showings. The project highlighted the ability of
outdoor advertising to create audience awareness of new products in a
relatively brief exposure period.
|
| 1962 | Some Foster & Kleiser territories were sold to Karl Eller, who formed the Eller Outdoor Advertising Company |
| 1963 |
Howard Johnson's became the first
advertiser to receive the OAAA's newly established
Achievement Award, for the chain's
"outstanding
service to the American motoring public."
By the 1960s Howard Johnson's
had become the biggest advertiser in the restaurant industry, having grown to
over 600 restaurants and 153 motor lodges in the U.S., which were advertised
using over 2,200 painted bulletins and posters. Howard Johnson's reached a
level of recognition that made the chain synonymous with travel. Research
conducted in the 1960s revealed that Howard Johnson signs produced over 80%
recall and remembrance.
New York State Highway Department officials tore down 53
billboards along the New York State Thruway. The billboards were allegedly
illegally erected inside the 660 ft. right-of-way limit. The
OAAA threatened to sue for damages on behalf of the
billboard operators. The action set off a national debate over billboards along
the Federal Highway system.
The research firm of Madigan-Hyland, in a study of the New York Thruway system,
found that there were three times as many accidents in billboard zones as in
billboard-free zones along the Thruway. The controversial study increased the
friction between proponents and opponents of outdoor advertising, and was
influential in helping to shape the legislative developments leading to the
1965 Highway Beautification Act.
|
| 1964 |
The United Advertising Corp.
(Newark, N.J.) introduced
"Tandem Rotary"
panels. The panels measured 15' high by 55' long with a 5'x15' cut-out
illustration connecting the 2 panels.
The OAAA prepared a
Model Highway Scenic Area Act proposal, providing
for the establishment of scenic areas by law, and regulating and restricting
placement of all signs therein. A later proposal that year called for overall
regulation.
Metromedia, after purchasing
Foster & Kleiser, and General Outdoor's Chicago and New York plants, became
the largest outdoor advertising operator in the U.S. Metromedia withdrew its
membership from Outdoor Advertising, Inc.
(OAI).
The Metropolitan Outdoor Network,
Inc. (MONI) was formed to promote outdoor sales in the 50 largest U.S.
outdoor markets. This organization forced OAI to
concentrate on the 300 smaller markets, and small market sales, effectively
crippling the viability of OAI. An OAAA Study
Committee, responding to these changes in the general outdoor industry's
business environment, proposed that OAI become the
direct sales arm of the OAAA, while the
concept-selling and research services of OAI were to
be spun off into a separate organization. The following year, however, the
Committee recommended the dissolution of Outdoor Advertising, Inc.,
"in that it had arrived at a point where it was a
direct selling organization representing too small a segment of the
medium."
A.C. Nielsen produced the first
research study that compared and correlated outdoor and television
campaigns.
|
| 1965 |
The Outdoor Advertising Institute
was created as an autonomous, non-profit organization. It provided an
industry-wide, total medium program of research and information services
intended to better align outdoor with other advertising media. Its structure
was styled after similar organizations that served other advertising media,
such as the Bureau of Advertising (newspapers) and the Radio Advertising
Bureau. Within a month of its formation, the Institute changed its name to the
Institute of Outdoor Advertising (IOA) to avoid
acronym confusion with its predecessor, Outdoor Advertising, Inc. The
IOA coordinated research for the industry including
national reach and frequency figures, new copy pre-testing methods, and other
statistics.
The Highway Beautification Act
was passed by Congress. It sought to limit billboards to commercial zones, and
away from areas designated as
"scenic areas."
Billboards were strictly regulated along the Interstate and other
federally-funded primary highways. Federal laws mandated state regulation of
billboard size, lighting and spacing standards.
National poster sales reached $215 million.
The White House Conference on Natural
Beauty was held.
Metromedia's Foster & Kleiser
division commissioned the first aerial photographic study of traffic volume and
circulation, in the Los Angeles area.
|
| 1966 | The Alfred Politz Company conducted its groundbreaking nationwide advertising awareness study. |
| 1967 |
The Advertising Federation of
America (AFA) and the Advertising Association of the
West (AAW) merged to form the American Advertising
Federation (AAF).
The OAAA Chicago headquarters
property, at 24 Erie St., was sold. The OAAA
maintained offices in New York and Washington, D.C.
The research firm of Arthur D. Little,
Inc. published its report
"A Study of Human
Response to the Visual Environment in Urban Areas."
The study,
commissioned by the OAAA to develop scientific
methods to study human responses to the man-made environment, was one of the
first systematic efforts to move beyond anecdotal complaints and assumptions
about outdoor advertising.
|
| 1968 | TAB began a three year reorganization program. Budd Buszek, formerly with the advertising agency BBDO, became TAB's Managing Director. |
| 1970 | The Highway Beautification Act of 1968 was funded by Congress, forcing states to enact compliance laws regarding the spacing, size and lighting of outdoor advertising structures in the vicinity of federally funded primary and Interstate highways. Congress amended the Highway Beautification Act, creating the Urban System which sought to regulate the visual environment in urban areas. |
| 1971 |
The Institute of Outdoor
Advertising (IOA) merged with the OAAA to
become a division within the OAAA overall structure.
The IOA retained its name and basic function, but
the merger was intended to streamline the lines of communication between the
IOA and the Association membership.
Land use lawyers Daniel Mandelker and William Ewald
published their report,
"Street Graphics: A
Concept and a System,"
a model municipal sign ordinance program. The
controversial report touched off widespread debate among both outdoor
advertising and city planning professionals, and contributed to a general
rethinking of the problems connected to the urban visual landscape.
|
| 1972 |
Tobacco advertising was banned
from broadcast media. Outdoor then became one of the most popular venues for
tobacco advertising.
As part of a broad reorganization plan, the
OAAA divided some of the functions of the IOA and
created the OAAA Marketing Division.
A major revision to the Federal Highway Act failed to pass
Congress, due to a lack of quorum present on the last day of the Congressional
session.
|
| 1975 |
The Institute of Outdoor
Advertising (IOA) launched a campaign to test the effectiveness of
billboard advertising, using the image of newly crowned Miss America, Shirley Cothran. Her name recognition soared
after the campaign.
The Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB)
hired the firm E.J. Sharsky & Associates to
re-evaluate its traffic estimating procedures. It was the first complete review
of TAB procedures since its inception in 1934. The findings were published in
the book
Counting Cars in
1979.
|
| 1982 |
The National Outdoor Advertising
Bureau (NOAB) dissolved.
The Institute of Outdoor
Advertising (IOA) conducted a $2.5 million, 60-day, multiple-site market
study test for the Clark Candy Company The test,
which covered eight market sites around the U.S., was considered to be the
largest recall/recognition study of outdoor advertising for a single product up
to that time.
|
| 1983 | The U.S. Supreme Court, in Metromedia v. City of San Diego, ruled that the San Diego, Calif., anti-billboard ordinances were unconstitutional limitations on free speech. |
| 1984 | The first video billboard went on display in Kansas City (June 14). It was a joint collaboration between the Gannett Outdoor Company, Sony Communications and Video Masters, Inc. |
| 1986 |
OAAA's Board of Directors voted
to separate the OAAA and IOA
into two distinct organizations, so each could re-evaluate its purpose
and examine how it could better serve the Association membership.
Metromedia sold its
Foster & Kleiser division to the
Patrick Media Group.
|
| 1990 | Revenue for outdoor advertising reached $1.5 billion; the outdoor industry donated over $140 million in advertising to charitable causes |
Collection Overview
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America
(OAAA) Archives document the operations and activities of the OAAA, the
primary professional organization throughout the modern history of the outdoor
advertising industry in the U.S.,
1885-1990s. The bulk of material falls between 1941
and 1980, that is between the entry of the United States into World War II and
the end of the 1970s, a period that witnessed rapid and radical changes in the
ways that Americans viewed and used the outdoors. The collection also includes
materials pertaining to the OAAA's predecessor organizations such as the
Poster Advertising Association,
Associated Bill Posters, the
Painted Outdoor Advertising Association, and the
International Bill Poster's Association of North
America. Some of the major outdoor advertising companies and
organizations represented in this collection include:
General Outdoor;
Foster & Kleiser;
United Advertising;
Institute of Outdoor Advertising (IOA);
National Outdoor Advertising Bureau (NOAB); and
Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI). There is some
information on the outdoor industry abroad as well, especially Canada and the
England/U.K. Taken as a whole, the collection reflects the activities and
concerns (as well as the record-keeping practices) of the outdoor advertising
industry.
Although physically organized into 23 series in alphabetical order,
the collection may also be collocated intellectually into five main themes or
topical areas: organization, affiliations, operational activities, technical
activities, and audio-visual material. These broad categories reflect the scope
of activities undertaken by the OAAA, the network of trade associations,
professional organizations, governmental regulatory bodies, material
manufacturers and engineering societies, and member associates. There is
considerable overlap among the subjects covered by the various series, so
searches of multiple series (and/or keyword electronic searches) should be
undertaken to obtain a comprehensive view of the collection.
Included in the collection are multiple-format materials: paper files,
printed materials, photographs, slides, blueprints, placards and metal signage.
Other materials are a wide variety of media and formats, such as
correspondence, directories, published materials (such as technical and
periodic reports, newsletters and bylaws), membership records, texts of
speeches, articles and clippings, minutes of association meetings, and industry
publications such as the long-running serial
The Poster. The numerous
photographs scattered in files have been given index numbers and have been
replaced in the files by photocopies so the originals may be better preserved
and more accessible for browsing. The original images are located in the
Photographs and Negatives Series, and are organized
by index numbers. A searchable online database, Resource of
Outdoor Advertising Descriptions (ROAD), contains descriptions of these
images.
Researchers interested in the organization of the OAAA might begin
with the following series: Administration--Officers;
Budget / Finance; Constitution
& Bylaws; History; Meetings; Organization--Committees; and Organization--Departments and Divisions. These series
document the overall organizational structure and operations of the OAAA, its
board, committees and departments, as well as the record of its activities as
reflected in meeting minutes, budgets, and its governing bylaws and policies.
The OAAA was organized as a corporation, with a president and key officers
elected from the Association membership. A Chairman's Advisory Committee
assisted the Association leadership. Prominent officers represented in the
collection include
Frank Cawl,
Karl Ghaster, and
Walter Holan. Below that, the OAAA followed a dual
"line and staff"
organizational structure in
which functions and activities determined the range of departmental divisions,
and each division was overseen by an administrative committee which carried the
same name as the division or department. Key divisions within the Association
include the Public Policy, Research and Engineering, Business Development, and
Plant Development divisions.
Material pertaining to the industry affiliations of the outdoor
advertising industry is contained in the following series: History, International,
Membership, Notre Dame,
Outdoor Advertising Companies, Publications, State
Associations, and Trade Organizations. This
theme includes the regional and state outdoor advertising associations, along
with the outdoor advertising companies that comprised the membership of the
OAAA. Prominent among these are the
General Outdoor Advertising Co.,
Foster & Kleiser Company, the
R.C. Maxwell Company,
John Donnelly and Sons, the
Thomas Cusack Company,
Columbus Outdoor, and
United Advertising. In addition, the collection
documents the activities of a number of professional organizations linked to
outdoor advertising, such as the
Association of National Advertisers, the
Associated Advertising Clubs of America, the
Advertising Federation of America, the
American Association of Advertising Agencies, the
American Advertising Federation, the
National Outdoor Advertising Bureau,
Outdoor Advertising, Inc., the
Institute of Outdoor Advertising, the
International Congress of Outdoor Advertising, and
Notre Dame University's School of Outdoor
Advertising.
The operational activities of the outdoor industry are documented
mainly in the following series: Campaign Case
Studies, Issues and Activities,
Local Markets, and Regulation. These activities included sales, industry
promotion and education, the monitoring of legislation and public policy
affecting outdoor advertising, and public service campaigns. Operational
activities linked the OAAA and outdoor advertising to the larger world, through
such programs as patriotic and public service campaigns, as well as advocacy
and promotional efforts through trade and general-audience publications. In
addition, these files document the OAAA’s participation in the public debate
over issues directly concerning outdoor advertising, such as zoning ordinances,
advertising regulation, and visual aesthetics. There are files on research
firms and researchers such as
A.C. Nielsen,
Bruskin Associates,
General Media,
John Paver and
Wilbur Smith. These series show the interactions
between the OAAA and both governmental and non-governmental agencies and
interest groups, such as the
American Automobile Association, the
National Safety Council, the
Advertising Council (and its precursor the
War Advertising Council), and the
General Federation of Women's Clubs, as well as
some notable individual activists such as
Elizabeth Lawton. The materials in these files
show the relationships, sometimes oppositional but frequently collaborative,
between these agencies and the OAAA, over topics that included legislation and
litigation over the regulation of outdoor advertising (at state and local as
well as at the federal level) displays (posters, signs, and billboards),
patriotism (especially during World War II), the energy crisis, urban renewal,
zoning ordinances, the Highway Beautification Act (pursuant to the Federal
Highway Acts), and highway and traffic safety. Also included in the series in
this topical area are case studies of a wide range of outdoor advertising
campaigns, involving such client companies as the
Kellogg Company,
Ford Motor Company, the
Morton Salt Company,
Swift and Co., and the
Clark Candy Company (now owned by
New England Confectionery Company). In addition,
the OAAA and its membership conducted advertising campaigns designed to
demonstrate the effectiveness of the outdoor medium, using famous figures such
as
Calvin Coolidge,
Woodrow Wilson,
Miss America Shirley Cothran, and even with a
fictitious automobile, the
"Testa"
car.
Technologies and research-related activities involved in outdoor
advertising are represented in the series: Audience /
Readership; Physical Structure;
Research; and Traffic Audit
Bureau. These series address those activities that comprise the
production and display of outdoor advertising, such as billboard structure
standards; research on paint, paper and glue; illumination; sign legibility;
layout and typography; and posting practices. These files include materials on
advertising reception and recall, traffic counts and other market-related
research. Research aimed at improving the efficiency of outdoor advertising
includes studies of billboard and poster placement, standardized sizes of
billboards and posters, legibility studies, the development of market research
methodologies, and the audits of individual poster plants to ensure
industry-wide standard practices. In addition, the OAAA engaged in ongoing
research into the technical aspects of manufacturing and posting outdoor
advertising displays, through studies of billboard structure construction and
engineering, building and plant maintenance, landscaping, paint and color
research, paper, glue, illumination techniques and standards, the formation and
modification of building codes and code compliance, and workplace safety. These
activities involved ongoing relationships between the OAAA and a number of
research and engineering agencies and associations, such as the
A.C. Nielsen Company (readership studies), the
Simmons Market Research Bureau,
Wilbur Smith and Associates, the
Barney Link Fellowship (academic research), the
Traffic Audit Bureau (a nationwide organization
based in N.Y.),
Raymond Loewy Associates (developer of the Loewy
panels), the
Tiffen Art Metal Co. (all-metal billboard
structures),
Bruskin Associates (foot-traffic research),
Daniel Starch and Staff, and
Axiom (market research).
The audio-visual files, which include the Publications Series; the Video, Film
and Audio Recordings Series; and the Photographs and
Negatives Series, contain materials such as photographs, slides,
negatives, trade and Association publications, training films, and audio
recordings of presentations. A searchable on-line database (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions --ROAD)
contains descriptions of the majority of these photographs, slides and
negatives. Please contact a reference archivist for information on accessing
the ROAD resource. Photographs, negatives, and slides are available for
research usage. Films, videotapes and audio recordings are closed for
preservation reasons.
Glossary of Key Terms Used in Outdoor
Advertising
NOTE: Trade terms in the glossary text in boldface indicate that those
terms also have an entry in this glossary.
3-Sheet Poster: A poster measuring 6' high
by 3' wide, usually found along the outer walls of retail stores.
6-Sheet Poster: A poster measuring 4'4" x
9'10", usually found near retail stores. This was originally the size meant by
the term Junior Poster
8-Sheet Poster: A poster format measuring
6' x 12' overall with a bleed area of 5' x 11'. The 8-sheet posters are
prominent features around retail establishments, and are widely used for
advertising around neighborhoods. They also gained popularity among farm
equipment suppliers for economical and seasonal reminder advertising. They are
also currently known as Junior Posters.
24-Sheet Poster: The most widely used
poster size in North America, and what most people mean when they refer to
"billboards."
These posters have a copy area
measuring 8'8" high by 19'6" wide.
30-Sheet Poster: The largest standard
poster size, measuring 12'3" x 24'6" overall with a bleed area of 10'5" x
22'8".
Allotments: The number of
poster panels that make up a showing.
Animation: Devices or techniques used to
create the illusion of movement in a poster or bulletin display. Animation may
be mechanical, like a moving armature or figure, or it may be achieved with
lighting patterns. The famous Coca-Cola spectacular at Times Square, for
example, uses programmed lights to create the illusion that the Coke bottle
regularly fills and empties.
Approach: In a line of travel, the distance
from which an advertising structure first becomes fully visible to the point
where the copy is no longer readable (having passed out of sight). Sometimes
descriptive terms are used, such as Flash Approach, Short Approach, Medium
Approach, or Long Approach, which also indicate the relative duration that an
advertising structure remains visible to a potential reader in traffic.
Flash Approach: For pedestrian traffic, it
refers to an approach distance of under 40'; for vehicles an approach of under
75' (for vehicles moving under 30 miles per hour) to under 100' (for vehicles
moving over 30 mph).
Short Approach: For pedestrian traffic, an
approach distance between 40'-75'; for vehicles an approach distance from
75'-150' (under 30 miles per hour) to 100'-200' (over 30 mph).
Medium Approach: For pedestrian traffic, an
approach distance between 75'-125'; for vehicles an approach distance from
150'-250' (under 30 miles per hour) to 200'-350' (over 30 mph).
Long Approach: For pedestrian traffic, an
approach distance greater than 125'; for vehicles an approach from over 250'
(under 30 miles per hour) to over 350' (over 30 mph).
Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC): An
independent auditing organization that conducts advertising and readership
research, primarily in newspapers and magazines. It was founded in 1914, and
continues its research mission today. The pre-eminent print media research
organization in the world, it served as the model for the Traffic Audit Bureau. In fact, TAB was conceived to
provide the same kinds of service to the outdoor advertising industry that ABC
provided for the print industry.
Audited Circulation: The
Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) investigates and
determines the circulation for a given advertising
location, based on procedures generally accepted by the business community. The
Audit Bureau of Circulations is another independent
reporting firm that provides similar research services.
Awareness: The degree to which one
remembers having seen a particular ad in a test market.
Billboard: A generic term that refers to
any large outdoor advertising sign. These may be any of the many multiple-sheet
posters, painted bulletins, wall murals, stadium
signs, and so on. However, in popular use, the term billboard refers to the
standard 24-sheet poster, along with its physical
structure, which became a ubiquitous part of the American roadside
architecture. The outdoor industry dropped "billboard" as a technical term in
the early 1930s, due to negative connotations, but the word has persisted in
the popular vocabulary of the American public to this day.
Blanked ad: In a recall or awareness study,
portions of a poster's copy, usually the
advertiser's name, brand name, or marketing slogan, are covered and hidden from
view. Respondents are asked if they can identify the ad despite the missing or
covered copy elements.
Blanking: The white paper border
surrounding poster copy.
Bleed Area: Bleed is when printed images
run all the way to the edge of the page, as opposed to standard printing which
leaves a white border around the image. Bleeds are usually printed larger than
the finished image (called trim size). The part of the printed image's margin
that is trimmed away to achieve a final size is called the bleed area. It
differs from cropping, in which a part of the actual image is removed.
Bleed-Through: A situation where previous
advertising copy can be seen though present copy.
Also called
"show-through."
Blister: Air pockets that sometimes form
between the sheets of a poster and the posting surface.
Circulation: The traffic volume at a given
location; it is synonymous with traffic. Circulation
refers to the circulation of people in an urban landscape. Beginning in 1912,
the outdoor advertising industry became increasingly concerned with the growing
urban concentration of people, the patterns of circulation of people, and the
challenge of locating advertising structures at points of maximum circulation.
Cooperative Account: An outdoor advertising
campaign in which both the manufacturer and the distributor of a product share
the costs of advertising.
Copy: The pictorial design, background, and
message combined in a display on a poster or bulletin. Copy refers to all of
the elements that go into a billboard design, not just the textual message.
Counting Station: A specific point along a
traffic artery where vehicles are counted in order to determine traffic
volume.
Coverage: The placement of an outdoor
advertising message on a network of principal thoroughfares so that the
advertiser's message reaches as many people, as often as possible, throughout a
given display period.
Cut-Outs: Figures or mechanical devices
that are attached to a poster structure to create a 3-dimensional effect.
Daily Effective Circulation (DEC): The size
of the audience that has the opportunity to see a given advertising message in
a 24-hour period. It is the least number of people counted in the
Daily Gross Circulation (DGC) who have a reasonable
opportunity to see an advertising display. The basic formula is: 50% of
pedestrian DGC traffic; 50% of motor vehicle traffic; and 25% of mass
transportation traffic.
Daily Gross Circulation (DGC): The total
number of persons who pass by a given set of panels (a representative showing)
in a given day.
Daily Impressions: Another term for
Daily Effective Circulation; an estimate of the
number of people who pass by a given outdoor ad.
Display Period: The duration of an
advertising display, as stipulated in a posting contract.
District Showing: A showing where posters
are displayed in only a portion of a market (hence the term
"district"
), rather than in the whole
market.
Effective Circulation: The potential
audience for a given advertising structure.
Electric Spectacular: A flashing or neon
lighted display generally seen at points of high congestion or at tourist
attractions. New York City's Times Square; the Boardwalk at Atlantic City, New
Jersey; and the strip in Las Vegas are examples of sites famous for their large
concentrations of dramatic spectaculars.
Extension: Another term for
cutout; additional copy beyond the panel face of a
bulletin or billboard.
Face: The surface area of an outdoor
advertising structure.
Facing: The side of an advertising
structure visible to traffic flow.
Flagging: A tear on a poster, which causes
it to hang loose, like a flag.
Frequency: The number of times a person has
a chance to see a given advertising message during a showing period.
Gross Rating Points (GRP): The total number
of impressions delivered by a showing. GRP are figured by dividing the
Daily Effective Circulation (DEC) by the market
population.
Hoarding: An early word for
billboard. Originally, a hoarding, from the Old
French word for "fence," referred to the fencing placed around construction
sites. Its association with advertising came from the fact that such fences
were handy posting surfaces for bill posters. Eventually fences, along with
large wall-like structures, were erected specifically for advertising purposes
along roadways. Modern billboards represent the culmination of historical
efforts to control the placement of outdoor advertising as well as to regulate
the size and configuration of posting surfaces, in an effort to address
concerns and complaints raised by hoardings and the specter of "billboard
blight."
Identification: Identification occurs when
a respondent identifies an advertiser in a blanked ad during an
awareness/recognition study.
Illuminated Bulletin: Posters or bulletins
equipped with electric lighting, generally used in areas with high traffic
volume day and night.
Impression: A term used to indicate the
number of people who have an opportunity to see an ad in a given period of
time.
Intensity: The size of a poster
showing, or the extent to which an advertiser's
message is displayed in a market. Intensity is
usually represented in terms of an index number, such as #100, #50, and so on.
See the entry for showing for further
explanation.
Junior Panel: The posting structure
measuring 6'x8', designed to accommodate Junior
Posters.
Junior Poster: Junior posters are smaller
versions of standard 24-sheet poster billboards that
maintained the billboard's 1:2.25 height-width proportions but included only
1/4 the overall dimensions and surface area. They were commonly referred to as
6-sheet posters, although the standard officially
adopted by the OAAA was technically a 6-1/2 sheet size. By the 1970s the term
"Junior Poster"
was interchangable with the
term 8-sheet poster. They were originally conceived
to reinforce and supplement standard-sized poster campaigns, but developed a
niche in urban areas, around retail establishments, and in sites where zoning
laws limited the use of larger posting structures.
Length of Approach: The measured distance
from which a painted bulletin or poster is clearly visible.
Line of Travel: The centerline of an
approach road.
Lithography: A technique for reproducing
images in the mass production of posters. In lithography, the design is
transferred onto stone or metal plates which are inked and printed onto paper.
Load Factor: In a traffic study, the
average number of occupants in a vehicle.
Location List: A list of the locations of
all poster panels sold and delivered.
Mandatory Copy: Ad copy that is required by
law to appear on advertising of certain products. It includes warnings,
labeling requirements, and disclaimers.
Market: A market is generally considered in
terms of a local consumer area, typically a town or municipality. Traffic
research has shown that typically 20 percent of a town's roads carry 80 percent
of its traffic, within each market. Therefore, roughly equal sections of major
traffic arteries are divided into poster zones,
which determine the intensity of a poster display campaign, called a poster
showing.
Minimum Showing: The smallest number of
poster panels that an advertiser can purchase without paying a per-panel rate
premium.
Mobile Panel: An advertising panel mounted
on a trailer that can be transported to a given site. It is usually used for
merchandising purposes or event advertising.
Molding: The frame made of wood, metal or
plastic, which surrounds the face of an advertising
structure. Also called
"trim."
M.O.V.I.: Metro Outdoor Visibility Index. A
pre-testing technique that allows an advertiser to evaluate the effectiveness
of an outdoor message design by simulating the environment in which the message
will appear.
Net Advertising Circulation (NAC): The
Daily Effective Circulation (DEC) of a showing,
modified by the poster structures' Space Position Value
(SPV). To arrive at the NAC of a showing, the average NAC of all
illuminated panels in a poster plant is multiplied
by the number of illuminated panels in a showing. The same procedure is
followed for the un-illuminated panels in a showing, and the NAC is the sum of
the two figures.
Off-Premise Sign: A sign that advertises a
product or service away from the location where it is made or provided.
On-Premise Sign: A sign that advertises a
product or service at the location where it is made, sold or provided.
Outdoor Advertising: Refers to all
advertising encountered out-of-doors. The OAAA currently recognizes four broad
categories of outdoor advertising: billboards,
street furniture, and transit
advertising as well as alternative media, which includes advertising
sites such as stadiums, airborne advertising, and gas pumps.
Outdoor Travel: The number and percentage
of people who go outdoors in a given day.
Out of Home: A catch-all phrase that refers
to all forms of advertising that reach consumers primarily outside his or her
home.
Painted Bulletin: Bulletins differ from
posters in a number of ways. Bulletin structures tend to be larger than poster
boards; the standard bulletin structure measures 14' x 48', or twice the width
of a standard poster panel. Also, bulletins generally occupy the most desirable
locations along major roadways. While poster panels
or sheets are typically mechanically reproduced by lithograph or other means,
painted bulletins are painted, frequently by hand, and each bulletin tends to
be in some way unique. Painted bulletins share a common history with the arts
of sign-painting, lettering and calligraphy. The term
"painted bulletin"
also refers to notices and
advertisements painted on walls and roofs, as well as signs and notices painted
on barns along rural roadways. Painted bulletins frequently feature special
cutouts that alter the appearance of the structure.
They tend to be more expensive than posters, due not only to the desirability
of their locations but also to the labor required in their execution and
maintenance. Painted bulletins are generally leased for showings that last a year.
Porta-Panel: Full-sized poster panels
erected for indoor events.
Plant Capacity: The total number of #100
showings (see the explanation under Showing) that
are available in a poster plant.
Plant Operator: A company or individual who
operates or maintains outdoor advertising structures.
Poster Panel: A structure used to display
either 24- or 30-sheet posters. It measures 12' high
by 24' wide. Also called a billboard.
Poster Plant: A poster plant consists of
all the bulletin structures in a single urban area controlled by a single
advertising company. The establishment of poster plant standardized operations,
construction, maintenance and quality control has been an integral part of the
OAAA's activities since its inception. The ultimate goal is for all poster
plants to deliver the same quality of service to advertisers, limiting the
difference only to the quality of the location of a plant's advertising
structures.
Posting Date: The date on which the posters
of a showing are scheduled for display.
Pounce Pattern: A poster pattern is
projected onto large sheets of paper and traced in outline form. The outline is
then perforated with a needle, and the perforated designs are known as a pounce
pattern. Dust is blown through the perforations, which creates a pattern on the
posting face, ready for painting. Prior to
computerized graphic design techniques, it was a common practice for
transferring and enlarging copy art.
Premiere Panel: A standard display,
measuring 12'3" x 24'6" overall. Typically, premiere panels are single sheet
vinyl panels stretched over a 30-sheet poster panel structure.
Rain Lap: The practice of lapping
poster panel sections, so that the upper sections
overlap the lower sections, similar to shingles. Rain lap panels reduce
flagging and rain seepage.
Rates: Beginning in 1901 Associated Bill
Posters inaugurated the practice of publishing the rates of its member agencies
in an effort to promote a standard of service across the outdoor advertising
profession. The rates were listed in terms of the cost per sheet, a number
which had to be multiplied by the number of sheets required for each
poster, and by the number of postings in a
showing. Thus, a listed rate of 12 cents (.12) meant
that for example in Minneapolis, where a properly representative showing