Have you ever wondered what an old billboard for Campbell's soup might look like? If so (and even if you haven't), you may find this digital collection from the Duke University Libraries quite intriguing. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives contain over 16,000 images which tell the modern history of the outdoor advertising industry in the United States. With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the metadata was collected and catalogued for this project, and the images were then digitized with the assistance of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. First-time visitors can browse the collection by company, product, date, place, subject, tone, or placement company. Browsing by product is a good way to get started here, and some of the more creative advertisements can be found in the "TWA airlines" and "gasoline" sections. Visitors shouldn't miss the "Traffic Safety" area, as there are massive billboards that feature slogans like "Don't be a HURRY BUG. SLOW DOWN and Live".
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