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Digital signage celebrates Independence Day (Video)

Digital billboards across the country led viewers in refrains of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' over the holiday weekend.

July 8, 2013 by Christopher Hall

Starting July 3 and running through the holiday weekend, digital billboards across the U.S. displayed the lyrics of the national anthem to salute the nation's birth on Independence Day.

Clear Channel Outdoor announced on Independence Day Eve that it was lighting up a cross-country campaign on more than 1,000 of its digital billboards throughout the United States. The company said its "sea-to-shining-sea salute" was part of its patriotic #united4th campaign, "harnessing the immediacy and flexibility of its digital out-of-home media to unite the nation in celebration of Independence Day."

From July 4 to July 7, CCO displayed verses of the national anthem across its digital billboard network in cities across the country, and encouraged viewers to visit the website united4th.com to view a special short film featuring a collection of videos of billboards from across the country and celebrating the diversity of communities across the United States. Working in collaboration with creative agency partner TAXI, CCO created a short film that begins with the sun rising on East Coast billboards displaying the lyrics "Oh Say Can You...," after which it traverses the nation from East to West, North to South and middle America and returns East to Times Square as night has fallen on billboards proclaiming, "...Home of the Brave."

Platinum-selling musician and 2013 VH1 Save The Music Foundation ambassador Ingrid Michaelson, whose music has been featured on more than 200 TV shows, feature films and commercials and who has sold more than 4 million singles to date, applied her vocal talents to provide the rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" heard in the short film.

With on air promotional support from more than 200 Clear Channel radio stations nationwide and through iHeartRadio, Clear Channel's digital radio platform, the campaign leveraged Clear Channel's enormous, cross-platform national reach to encourage Americans to show their Independence Day spirit by posting patriotic photos or videos depicting how they celebrate July 4th (including videos of themselves singing the National Anthem) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine, using the hashtag #united4th. Throughout the campaign, Clear Channel Outdoor will collect the content that is shared across these social media channels, and then post the best of the user-generated content to its digital out-of-home media and to united4th.com beginning July 8.

"We are extremely proud to highlight the lyrics to 'The Star-Spangled Banner' on our extensive digital out-of-home network, against the backdrop of our diverse American landscape, to drive a dialogue with the public during such a patriotic time," said Vicki Lins, CMO and EVP of Clear Channel Outdoor – North America. "The #united4th campaign demonstrates what is possible through collaboration, and it also illustrates the unique power of out-of-home media to curate a cultural conversation and connect with consumers in engaging, meaningful ways. With our partners, we've had tremendous enjoyment building this film for America and now we invite Americans everywhere to join us with their own submissions."

Billboards displayed the national anthem in Albuquerque; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Dallas/Fort Worth; Des Moines, Iowa; El Paso, Fort Smith, San Antonio and Houston, Texas; Indianapolis; Jacksonville; Fla.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Los Angeles; Melbourne/Daytona Beach, Ocala, Orlando, Tampa and Miamia, Fla; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee; Minneapolis and St Paul, Minn.; New York City; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif,; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and Wichita, Kan.

Watch the short film showcasing the national anthem on digital billboards across the U.S. below:

Learn more about digital billboards.