Day advertising billboards lost all their appeal

It may be carrying an important message, but it has never warned you of its dangers. Placed along all city roads, and along major highways in Kenya, billboards rarely go unnoticed.

But the large outdoor advertising structures have their dangers. Last week on Wednesday evening, several billboards came tumbling down when heavy rains accompanied by strong winds swept through Nairobi.

A big billboard in Muthurwa was the first to go down as several others were destroyed, causing injuries to pedestrians and destroying motor vehicles. Another huge billboard advertising Christmas offers was blown down and lay across the railway line near the Nyayo stadium for the better part of the evening.

Several other billboards were damaged in the heavy downpour. The heavy rains also left a trail of destruction in Nairobi, killing four people, uprooting trees and roofs and causing a heavy traffic snarl up.

The damage caused by the billboards has raised safety concerns on Kenya’s roads as motorist complain that they cause distraction. “It is dangerous walking along the road after what we saw,” said Mr Stephen Kyalo, a hawker in Nairobi’s Muthurwa Market. “Billboards can really kill. They should be removed from the roads.”

During Christmas

Several others may be brought down after the weatherman said more rains were expected during Christmas. The Meteorological Department had announced that the country was headed for El Niño from late September to January, usually the short rains period.

However, it said the rains would not merge with the long rains that begin in March. The department on Sunday said the outlook for the October-December short rains indicated that much of the country would experience near normal to above-normal rainfall.

Typically showing large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible. But motorists have expressed their concern on the billboards saying they distract them. “Some billboard designs spill outside the actual rectangles or squares, with parts or figures hanging off the billboard edges,” said Mr Onesmus Njue, a matatu driver who plies Thika Road. “Drivers cannot see the road well especially at night and during the rainy season.”

But a Nairobi-based advertising agent said the billboards were well-designed and placed away from the road. According to Mr Steve Soung, of Sygenta Outdoor Advertising Company, the billboards are placed with the full knowledge of City Council who give the permit. “The billboards are well placed. All billboards makers ensure that they do not distract drivers.”

The erection of the billboards has also raised concerns in Western countries. For example in America, many groups such as Scenic America have complained that billboards on highways cause excessive clearing of trees and intrude on the surrounding landscape, with billboards’ bright colours, lights and large fonts making it difficult to focus on anything else, making them a form of visual pollution.

Other groups believe that billboards and advertising in general contribute negatively to the mental climate. This is because they promote products as providing feelings of completeness, wellness and popularity to motivate purchase. And in 2007, São Paulo, Brazil, banned billboards because there were no viable regulations of the billboard industry.

According to Wikipidea, on Sunday, São Paulo, Brazil, is working with outdoor companies in the region to rebuild the outdoor infrastructure in a way that will reflect the vibrant business climate of the city while adopting good regulations to control growth.