Posters that last forever

In recent weeks, two fascinating stories have circulated through the media: posters that last forever or are intended to last forever – one deliberately, the other unplanned.

The most boring poster

Titled “The most boring billboard in the world,” the wood protection manufacturer Sioo Wood Protection occupied a billboard space in Malmö for twelve years. The idea: The billboard was covered with wood and then treated with the brand’s wood protection. The manufacturer aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of its protection – whether it will work, we will know in twelve years. The implementation is unusual and attention-grabbing in any case.

Germany’s oldest advertising poster

The oldest poster of the republic can be found in Meerbusch. Since 2008, Sony-Ericsson has been advertising there for a model that is no longer available. However, this is not because the mobile phone manufacturer booked the advertising space for such a long period. The out-of-home marketer WallDecaux had taken the space out of active marketing ten years ago, so the city was responsible for the area once again. However, apparently the city was unaware of this fact. This resulted in the Sony ad going unnoticed for over ten years. In this regard, one can assume a very favorable CPM for Sony-Ericsson.

How are traditional posters replaced, and is it possible for posters to be left hanging deliberately?

Traditional posters (large formats and full columns) are booked for decades. A decade lasts ten or eleven days and begins either on a Tuesday or a Thursday. This medium is traditionally still applied with glue. The design remains hanging throughout the booked period and is then overlaid with a new design afterwards. Unless the space has not booked, so the old design remains hanging – the so-called hangover. In this case, the poster is deliberately left hanging.