Looking for something unusual to see on your next visit to New York? Well, it’s now possible to see your own face on the famous billboards in New York’s Times Square! But first, what makes the advertising in America’s most famous square such a big deal…?
In 1904, two disembodied hands appeared high above Broadway. They clinked celebratory glasses in the sky, advertising Trimble Whiskey. This was Times Square’s first electric billboard – a glowing attraction in a city still lit by gas lamps. The strangeness worked. People stopped. People stared. And advertisers noticed…
The Golden Age Of Mechanical Spectacle
Bizarre But True! By 1941, Camel cigarettes had erected what would become a 25-year fixture: a billboard that blew steam rings onto the street below!
The Camel sign used a small hole to simulate cigarette smoke. Other “spectaculars” followed – a steaming cup of A&P coffee, a Super-Suds detergent sign producing 3,000 floating soap bubbles per minute.
These weren’t just advertisements. They were marketing genius!
The engineering was absurd. The maintenance costs were astronomical. But the attention was guaranteed!
The Big Digital Change… And Chance To See Yourself In Lights!
For decades, Times Square billboards belonged exclusively to big corporations with budgets measured in millions.
Then, the digital displays arrived. Production costs dropped 90%. Installation barriers vanished. And suddenly, the same platform that launched global brands became accessible to any business who could pay for airtime on the Times Square billboards.
And now, you can appear on a Times Square billboard for 24 hours too!
Your face displays for 15 seconds every hour on a 31-foot-tall, 55-foot-wide screen above the Pelé store, directly across from the famous TKTS red steps. The same intersection where over 360,000 pedestrians pass daily. The same location that generates more foot traffic than any Disney theme park globally…!
What You Actually Get..?
The mechanics are straightforward. You upload a photo or video. You choose a custom frame, “Happy Birthday,” “Congratulations,” or “Will You Marry Me?” There’s no cap on how many people can feature in a single image either.
Your content then rotates into the billboard’s display cycle for 24 hours. Fifteen seconds of visibility per hour. (That’s 360 seconds total across the day).
Some Mad Times Square Stats To Nudge You..!
More people walk through Times Square daily than live in Iceland. On New Year’s Eve, one million revellers crowd the intersection, double the usual traffic and the billboards generate over $20 million in advertising revenue that single night!
And now you can join that rotation for less than the cost of a decent meal in Manhattan…
Book your slot. Upload your photo and join the rotation..!
