Outdoor Advertising Association of America

Professional and trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry; founded to promote outdoor advertising interests in the United States. OAAA members own and operate billboards, street furniture, transit, or other outdoor advertising displays. Members also include service providers to the industry, users of the outdoor medium, and others supporting its goals.

From the description of Poster designs, ca. 1930-1940s and n.d. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 61426045

The primary professional and trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry.

From the description of Outdoor Advertising Slide Library, 1891-2000. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 83771579

From the description of Outdoor Advertising Slide Library, 1891-1994. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 50945750

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library was created by officials in the Outdoor Advertising Association of America ( OAAA ) and member organizations. OAAA is the primary professional and trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry, and was founded to promote outdoor advertising interests in the U.S. OAAA members own and operate billboards, street furniture, transit, or other outdoor advertising displays. Members also include service providers to the industry, users of the outdoor medium and others supporting its goals.

A Few Significant Dates in Outdoor Advertising History

• 1891: OAAA was founded as the Associated Bill Posters' Association of the US and Canada (ABPA).
• 1901: Outdoor advertising company Foster and Kleiser opened for business in Portland and Seattle; the company later was known as Patrick Media, then Eller, then Clear Channel.
• 1906: ABPA changed its name to Associated Bill Posters and Distributors of the United States and Canada.
• ca. 1910: Association set national standards for outdoor advertising and established the numbers of panels to be sold in each market.
• 1912: Association changed its name to the Poster Advertising Association, Inc. (PAA).
• 1912 - 1913 : PAA established an Education Committee to encourage public service advertising donations.
• 1916: The National Outdoor Advertising Bureau was formed to inspect showings and to conduct the outdoor advertising portion of ad agency business.
• 1920: The Art Directors Club was organized, establishing standards for commercial arts through competitions and the identification of categories of commercial art.
• 1925: PAA and the Painted Outdoor Advertising Association merged to become OAAA. The Fulton Group and the Cusack Co. combined to become the General Outdoor Advertising Company.
• 1930: First National Contest and Exhibit of Outdoor Advertising Art was held under the auspices of the Outdoor Advertising Department of the Advertising Council of the Chicago Association of Commerce.
• 1941 - 1942 : Advertising Council (initially, during WWII, the War Advertising Council) founded as a non-profit organization to coordinate selected public service campaigns.
• 1946: Raymond Loewy poster panel adopted as new 24-sheet structure for billboards.
• 1962: The first modern "multivision" painted bulletin displayed in Sacramento, Calif. Triangular sections permitted display of three different designs on a single unit.
• 1990s: Digital technology affected creation of advertising designs and display. Painted boards were replaced by computer-generated formats.

From the guide to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library, 1891-1994, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

• 1891: OAAA was founded as the Associated Bill Posters' Association of the US and Canada (ABPA)
• 1901: Outdoor advertising company Foster and Kleiser opened for business in Portland and Seattle; the company later was known as Patrick Media, then Eller, then Clear Channel
• 1906: ABPA changed its name to Associated Bill Posters and Distributors of the United States and Canada
• 1912: Association changed its name to the Poster Advertising Association, Inc. (PAA)
• 1920: The Art Directors Club was organized, establishing standards for commercial arts through competitions and the identification of categories of commercial art
• 1925: PAA and the Painted Outdoor Advertising Association merged to become OAAA The Fulton Group and the Cusack Co. combined to become the General Outdoor Advertising Company
• 1930: First National Contest and Exhibit of Outdoor Advertising Art was held under the auspices of the Outdoor Advertising Department of the Advertising Council of the Chicago Association of Commerce
• 1962: The first modern multivision painted bulletin displayed in Sacramento, Calif.; triangular sections permitted display of three different designs on a single unit
• 1990s: Digital technology affected creation of advertising designs and display Painted boards were replaced by computer-generated formats

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) compiled and held the materials that became this collection of poster designs (formerly known as the Outdoor Advertising Sketch Library), but the card file and volumes in this collection most likely originated within the outdoor advertising companies represented, such as General Outdoor Advertising Co. and Foster and Kleiser. OAAA is the primary professional and trade association representing the outdoor advertising industry and was founded to promote outdoor advertising interests in the United States. OAAA members own and operate billboards, street furniture, transit, or other outdoor advertising displays. Members also include service providers to the industry, users of the outdoor medium, and others supporting its goals.

From the guide to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Poster Designs, circa 1930-1940s and undated, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

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

From the guide to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, 1885-1990s, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)