Should Montana Be the Next State to Ban All Billboard Advertising?

The most common way to advertise your business traditionally is to use billboards. People see billboards dotted across the interstate and inside cities advertising all kinds of things, from local businesses to political candidates. Some states, however, have actually banned the massive advertisement platforms and a couple of others have even put a cap on the number of new billboards that can be built. Someone online brought up a valid question; would Montana benefit from doing the same?

Why Would a State Ban Billboards?

According to the website Fact Central, four states have banned all billboards within their borders; Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, and Maine. This is due to the large amount of tourism generated by their landscape, which billboards would tarnish. In fact, voters in Alaska solidified the law in 1998, when over 73% of their population voted to keep billboards out.

With a reason like that, it makes total sense to get rid of billboards. I wonder what tourists would think about looking at beautiful scenery only to see a sign asking if you've ever been in a car accident and to call a law office that's about 150 miles away. But, is it the right move for Montana?

It Seems Montanans Do Have an Opinion On This

Montana has an estimated 160 billboards in the state. That's not as much compared to Washington's over 2,000, however, it is a lot when you look at the population of Montana. So, what do Montana's citizens think about banning billboards? Just take a look at some of these comments from the Montana Subreddit on this topic.

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In my opinion, they don't really convince me to visit a business in the first place. So, it wouldn't matter to me if they kept them, but it would be nice to actually look up and see some nice landscapes instead of a billboard ad talking about the nearest casino. What do you think?