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Excalibur billboards, like this one visible from I-15 Northbound traffic, mimic road signs are therefore may be illegal, state and local officials say. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Thursday, August 30, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

A joust over signs promising Camelot

Officials: Billboards mimic highway signs

Excalibur billboards along Interstate 15 and U.S. 95 that mimic the look of highway traffic-control signs violate federal rules and California law, federal and state officials said Wednesday.

Nevada officials plan to evaluate similar Excalibur billboards placed along the roadways in Primm, Sloan, Searchlight and Las Vegas to see if they comply with state law, a Nevada Department of Transportation official said.

The six Excalibur billboards use a green background with a white border and white lettering, similar to the appearance of signs used on federal highways to advise drivers of freeway exits.

Federal and state rules prohibiting billboards from copying road signs are designed to allow drivers to maintain their attention on driving, without being tricked into looking at advertisements, said Bill Todd, right-of-way office for the Federal Highway Administration's California Division.

In July, Excalibur owner Mandalay Resort Group placed five of the billboards along the northbound side of I-15, with another board placed near Searchlight, along U.S. 95. Two of the Excalibur's billboards are in California, in Yermo and Kelbaker.

The signs appear to violate federal rules, said Greg Novak, an operations engineer with the Federal Highway Administration in Carson City.

"Technically, the signs are probably out of compliance," Novak said.

California and Nevada laws also prohibit the placement of signs that imitate official highway signs.

"These billboards are not conforming because they imitate official signage," said Holly Kress, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. "That's distracting and confusing to the public."

Kress said she expects Caltrans officials to contact the billboards' owners to change the signs so they conform with federal and state rules.

Mandalay Resort Group Senior Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations John Marz said he wasn't aware of any federal rules prohibiting advertisements from imitating official highway signs.

"We check our (billboard) messages to make sure they comply with state gaming rules," Marz said. "I guess it's our responsibility, but I think it's a real stretch to think that people will be confused by the (billboard)."

Marz said Mandalay would make required changes if the signs are found to violate federal or state rules.

Las Vegas advertising and public relations firm R&R Partners created the Excalibur's billboard campaign.

The I-15 ads all use the green highway sign design, but have a range of messages. The Yermo sign asks: "Need a room? Camelot 144 miles." The Primm sign queries: "Still Don't have a Room? Camelot 36 miles."

R&R consciously tried to mimic the color and style of the highway signs, said Peter Wood, the agency's art director.

"That's intentional," Wood said. "It has to look as close to a highway sign as possible. The thought (behind the campaign) was the irony of using Camelot as an actual destination."

R&R's Excalibur account leader Lindsey Loop said she contacted state transportation officials in an attempt to get the exact color of the highway signs the agency wanted to copy.

"They wouldn't give us the color, but what makes the sign work is making sure the sign is as close as possible to the (official highway sign)," Loop said.

The Federal Highway Administration's Todd said the federal government allows the 50 states to enforce rules prohibiting any advertising from imitating official highway signs.

R&R's Wood said a number of differences make it clear to drivers they're looking at ads and not official signs.

"The billboards are much larger than signs, they're set away from the highway, they have an Excalibur logo, the corners are squared and the text is very different," Wood said.

The billboards are 14 feet-by-48 feet, while highway exit signs are 6 feet-by-4 feet.

Mandalay's Marz said the company's billboard campaigns typically run from one to two years. The artwork on each billboard costs as much as $4,000, and leasing the space for each sign costs another $2,000 to $8,000 monthly, depending on the location.

The federal regulation prohibiting such signs reads: "No sign may be permitted which attempts or appears to attempt to direct the movement of traffic or which interferes with, imitates or resembles any official traffic sign, signal or device."

The Nevada law prohibiting display of unauthorized signs, NRS 484.287, reads: "It is unlawful for any person to place, maintain or display upon or in view of any highway any unauthorized sign, signal, marking or device which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an official traffic control device...."

Bob McKenzie, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Transportation, said agency employees will soon check out the Excalibur billboards to see if they comply with state law.

"If they find the signs to be in violation we'll take steps through the advertising agency to have them corrected or removed," McKenzie said.