| Billboard is a term used for describing a type of outdoor advertisement, found along side highways and streets. The board is a frame, upholstered with sheets of galvanized steel or plywood, covered by atmosphere-resistant compositions, fixed on supports. The term appeared in the USA, when a series of companies started hanging their advertisement boards “bills” (from this, the name “billboard” originated) on wooden structures.
History:
The appearance of advertisement boards was born from the necessity to make the information reach an uneducated population. The history of billboards started way back in Ancient Egypt from reward announcements for capturing fugitive slaves. Posters, which are predecessors to advertisement boards, are known way back in history. The appearance of posters was possible thanks to the invention of the lithograph (type of printing). Posters were used at the end of the 19th century for advertising theatrical shows. But the first large-scale use of posters was done by circus authorities for advertising circus shows.
Billboards in the news: A man's efforts to get a healthy liver with public pleas, including billboards and a Web site, succeeded as he underwent transplant surgery with a donated organ. Todd Krampitz, a newlywed, was diagnosed in May with liver cancer and by July his doctors said only a transplant would save his life.
His family mounted a billboard campaign, including the two billboards along a Houston freeway, and a Web site that detailed his plight and raised awareness about organ donation. Krampitz and his wife Julie also did national media interviews.
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