This anti-smoking ad replaced a long-standing Sunset Strip landmark - The Marlboro Man who welcomed visitors coming from the east.

Tower Records is constantly displaying originally painted portraits of the artists it sells, as well as other promotions like this most recent one for The Spy Who Shagged Me by transforming the store into Powers Records!

Creativity has always ruled on the Strip! This Absolute Vodka billboard features a mechanical moving drink and eyes, as well as a slew of neon all over the place!

From the hippest of fashion, like this DKNY Jeans ad (above), to the latest big-budget blockbuster, like Wild Wild West, (below), a Sunset Strip billboard can be an important part of an advertising campaign.

But it seems that most of the time, these extravagant, hand-painted gems are more monuments to the huge egos they represent! Either way, they are fantastic to behold, and unique only to The Sunset Strip.

written by Scott Docherty ©1999 CoolStreets

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Click on the photos to see a bigger version.

The Sunset Strip has been famous since the 60's for it's over-the-top billboard advertising. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is that this 2 mile stretch of Sunset Blvd. connects Hollywood, where the entertainment industry is, to the homes in Beverly Hills where the movers and shakers who run the industry live.

From promoting upcoming films, to just displaying a current recording artist, these billboards have become a status symbol that tells the world "you've arrived!" More importantly, these billboards are sure to be seen by the most important people in the entertainment industry.

Well known artists will even have Strip billboards written into their contracts! This one, above, announces Geri Halliwell's latest recording.

It seems as though just about every inch of vertical space, like the front of this Aahs, promoting Lenny Kravitz, can and is used to promote anything and everything. Most of the multi-floor buildings have their entire facades painted with advertisements like the Western Media Bldg (below left advertising Inspector Gadget), the Hyatt on Sunset (below right advertising Evian Water) and the Peterson Publishing Bldg (below advertising The Gap).

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Cable networks like MTV, Showtime and HBO also promote their cutting edge offerings on the Strip.

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