Have You Seen These Billboards Around Rochester?

I first noticed these two billboards -- one as you head south on Highway 52 near 65th St, and the other as you head east toward Rochester on Highway 14 east -- a few weeks ago. They're nice looking and promote our fair city. But I wondered, just who put them up?

Well, according to this story in the Post-Bulletin, those generic-type billboards aren't actually paid for by any business or organization; instead they're a gift to the area from Fairway Outdoor Advertising, the company who owns the billboards.

And, the story says they serve a dual purpose: In addition to being a nice perk for the area, they take up space that would otherwise be vacant between paid ads on those boards.

The PB story says, "Mary Niemeyer, divisional general manager at Fairway, says the boards are a "gift to the city -- we're doing our part to help promote the great shopping and dining' in Rochester, as well as the business climate."

So that's it. I'm always curious about who's sponsoring what when it comes to advertising. When it comes to the broadcast side of things, radio and TV stations are bound by the FCC's sponsor identification rule, which states that whomever is buying the commercial must be clearly identified. Most times, it's pretty obvious -- if you hear a commercial about a big sale at Billy Bob's Tattoo Parlor, for example, it's most likely that Billy Bob has paid for the commercial himself.

But it gets a little murkier when it comes to all those political ads we're bombarded with during election years. To help listeners figure out who's paying for what, the FCC sponsor ID rule is the reason you hear the phrase, "Authorized and paid for by Billy Bedfellow for Senate..." on commercials the candidate's campaign has purchased. You'll also hear the always-popular, "Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee..." on some of those third-party attack ads that aren't paid for by the actual candidate.

All of which is an entirely too long explanation of why I was curious about who was paying for those slick-looking, pro-Rochester billboards in the first place...