Outdoor Advertising

In Tehran, billboards form part of a shared visual environment containing commercial advertising alongside political, religious, and public messages. Research by Narciss Sohrabi and Negar Zojaji describes these parallel functions and examines a temporary intervention that replaced familiar messages with artworks. Their study frames billboards as part of the relationship between citizens and urban images, rather than simply as surfaces rented by advertisers. s1

This distinction helps international readers interpret what they encounter. A large roadside image is not necessarily a commercial placement, and its visibility does not establish whether anyone paid for it. The documented coexistence of different kinds of messages means that an account of outdoor advertising must consider who controls the surface, who supplies the message, and what purpose the display serves. s1

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A September 2019 report published by Tasnim quoted Hamid Saber Farzam, then an advertising and revenue official at Tehran’s Beautification Organization, describing separate responsibilities. According to his account, municipal advertising structures were allocated to advertising agencies licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the national ministry responsible for relevant cultural licensing. Advertising designs required ministry approval before display. s2

The official also described a municipal role in checking whether the version submitted for installation matched the approved design. His account therefore distinguished content approval from administration of the advertising structures; it did not describe an absence of municipal involvement. s2

This is a dated institutional explanation, not a verified statement of the complete rules in force in October 2026. It also concerns Tehran’s municipal structures. It cannot establish arrangements for every privately controlled surface, transport facility, or municipality elsewhere in Iran. Contemporary procurement documents and local regulations are needed before extending this model to other settings. s2

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In May 2015, Tehran temporarily displayed reproductions of Iranian and international artworks on billboards normally carrying other messages. A Reuters report carried by Ynet described the project as an open-air exhibition and recorded both appreciation and criticism. The intervention demonstrates that advertising infrastructure can also become a vehicle for cultural programming. s3

Sohrabi and Zojaji’s article identifies the initiative as a change in the city’s usual billboard landscape and states that it generated debate among citizens and experts. Only the article’s abstract was inspected for this page, so no detailed findings about audience responses are attributed to the study. s1

The event should not be treated as proof of a lasting change in commercial advertising policy or increased museum attendance. The reporting establishes that the display occurred; it does not establish its subsequent cultural or economic effects. Understanding outdoor advertising in Iran therefore requires keeping the physical display, its institutional arrangements, and evidence of audience response distinct. s1s3

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