If you’ve ever made the trip through the Carolinas on I-95, then I’m sure you’ve seen the 7,000 billboard signs for South of the Border, the self-proclaimed “highway oasis & gateway to the southeast.”

Though slightly annoying, they certainly help with exposure to the location. But one sign in particular always catches my eye when traveling northbound, headed back home to good old Raleigh, NC. The company will remain nameless, but basically the billboard almost solely contains a huge image of a chopped BBQ sandwich.

Now bear with me…

I think the image of the giant sandwich paints a clear picture of what this restaurant probably does well, but I think the delivery and maintenance of the billboard is more than lacking. Not only is a close-up image of a chopped BBQ sandwich not very appetizing in my opinion (and I love me some good North Carolina BBQ), but it seems to me that the billboard has been up and on display for many years now. I don’t really know the average life span of a billboard ad such as this, but this one has obviously been sitting in the sun, slowly fading away for much too long. Now I’m sure it’s not cheap to update/replace these billboards, but when you are using a picture of the food you serve to lure in hungry travelers to your establishment, you might want to think about keeping the image fresh and appealing.