In advertising photography, your run-of-the-mill picture of your product is not enough to get the message across to your audience. A unique perspective, and outside-the-box thinking is required to turns heads. Here are some of the 20 best advertising billboards ever.

#20 - Glassex

 

The final copy of the ad clearly communicates that the glass is so clean, you can’t see it below the woman supposedly “levitating”.

#19 - Marlboro

 

The Marlboro Man ad campaign, featuring the new 100s, was very much deceptive in altering the perception of manliness. If you didn’t smoke Marlboros, you weren’t a man. To this day, their iconic image of a cowboy is still used ads. Leo Burnett was the ad agency responsible for creating this campaign in 1955.

#18 - Volkswagen

With the emergence of the Beetle in the 1980s, advertisers put a spin on the phrase “Think Big” to “Think Small” in order to highlight its fuel and money economy. Smart.

# 17 - McDonald’s

Their “You Deserve A Break Today” copy by Needham, Harper, & Steers in 1971 was simple and spoke directly to the reader. How’s about you get a quarter pounder, hmm.

#16 - Old Spice

With spokesperson Isaiah Mustafa dressed as a snowy mountaintop, the brand uses humor to get across to the audience. It’s quite obvious, really: If you use Old Spice, you’ll smell as fresh as…uh…a snowy mountaintop.

#15 - Lego

Using the simple image of two Lego blocks connected together with a silhouette of an airplane in the copy was really clever. It brings us back to the days when playing with Lego was all about using your imagination.

#14 - Chilean Corporation Against Cancer

Using children uncomfortably suffocated by cigarette smoke as the models produces chilling ads that accurately portray the effects of second-hand smoke to children and well... everybody.

#13 - Romanian Anti-Smoking Ad

This expreses a striking point: The choice to smoke is suicide.

#12 - Alien Vs. Predator 

It’s interesting to see these two rivals compete in normal activities like chess, drinking brandy and being involved in gruesome bloodbaths.

#11 - Durex

The message is clear: Using a Durex condom is cheaper in the long run.

#10 - BIRM

The image and the copy make the ad pretty convincing.

#9 - Belt Up

 

Easy to understand: Wear a seatbelt at all times.

#8 - Berger

Notice the smart use of the billboard.

#7 - BiC Razor

Brilliant. Just. Brilliant.

#6 - DHL

“Get to your destination via the shortest route possible.” Yep, that’s DHL’s brand proposition for you.

#5 - Formula Toothcare – Bite

Strong teeth. Totally.

#4 - Hot Wheels

Way to use the loop de loop, one of their recognizable trademarks.

#3 - Jobsintown.de

Clever.

#2 - Martor Razor Blades

Witty and smart.

#1 - Coke

Happiness in a bottle. Perfect.