Sunset Strip, the long-known, sexy, West Hollywood s-curve of commerce that draws attention from around the world, is as famous for its own brand of outdoor advertising as Times Square and Las Vegas are famous for theirs. The Sunset Strip Billboard Awards, now named The Sunset Strip/Times Square Billboard Awards, is the annual celebration that honors the creative minds and technical industries that power the production of these amazing outdoor giants and, truth told, serves as a very nice reason to have a great big party every summer. The Billboard Awards might not command the media attention of the Academy Awards, but it definitely has its place in the world of advertising and, most certainly, has the best name of all for their prized trophy - The Stripper.

Communication technology has taken extraordinary leaps into new areas. Advertisers must extend their reach to ipods, vpods, video enabled cellphones, tv in automobiles and instant access across the globe to vast numbers of people through the internet. In spite of the big changes and glut of tiny personal windows on the world, outdoor advertising, once considered a dying industry, has become evermore effective and increasingly important. This year the Sunset Strip/Times Square Billboard Awards added an "Alternative Media" award category to honor the creativity that goes into designing for temporary or unusual spaces like construction fences, phone booths, bus stops.

Billboards are such a large part of the American experience, we take them for granted with little thought to whether or not they have an effect. It's clear to ad execs that they do have an impact which justifies the millions of dollars invested in their design and placement. Within such high costs, high-end design is a major component. There is, basically, no such thing as a bad billboard, just better and worse locations. Sunset Strip and Times Square are among the most coveted areas where a yearly board space rental can start at half a million or more. According to
Rick Robinson, Creative Director of MacDonald Media, "Times Square is a fixed audience, you're standing there, you're not moving, you can look at a board for an hour if you want to....You can have more layers in your message. It's a lot more challenging on the Strip to break through. (because most people are in their cars thinking about other things) You really have to have that one single moment that makes people stop, look and point their finger."

In Times Square space is more expensive. Billboards can be up for a year and even longer, 10 to 15 years in some cases. On the Sunset Strip, billboards change monthly. Rick Robinson joked, "Everything comes and goes in L.A. We celebrate no history here." It is an accurate statement within an industry that must perpetually race to stay viable. That is where The Sunset Strip/Times Square Billboard Awards unexpectedly enters the picture, though ever so briefly. It produces a freeze-frame for the year and creates an archive that will ultimately speak as eloquently in visual terms about the American culture as any recorded history. This was probably not part of the original plan laid out by the WeHo Chamber of Commerce but has come about as a side benefit.

Seven years ago the annual event was launched by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who has continued to oversee the year long process of organizing billboard nominations, forming the panel of judges and planning the event appropriately held at the Sunset Strip House of Blues. Under the watchful eye of Mindy Bradish, President and CEO of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Stripper Awards has grown and matured into a West Hollywood tradition and an American asset.

You can see a full list of 2006 nominees with pictures at 

http://www.billboardawards.com/
For more Info
http://www.wehochamber.com