Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Kelly Burke

Signs of the times: the stories behind Australia’s biggest and best-loved billboards

Sydney’s iconic Coca-Cola sign signals the gateway to Kings Cross, 1990.
Sydney’s iconic Coca-Cola sign in 1990. Photograph: Len Stone and Vic Solomons Collection/City of Sydney Archives

One of Sydney’s most renowned signs – and the largest billboard in the country – has received a makeover to mark its 50th anniversary. At 41 metres wide and 13 metres high, the Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross presides over one of Sydney’s busiest thoroughfares, William Street, and has widely been regarded as the gateway to the inner city enclave since it was the epicentre of Sydney’s bohemia in the 1970s.

The world’s most popular carbonated beverage (the estimated worth of the brand is more than US$33.17bn) is still going strong after more than 140 years. But other distinctly Australian household brands – and their enduring advertising symbols – date back even further.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.