On the road that connects the new Egyptian Sphinx airport with Cairo there are large billboards with all kinds of advertising. A luxurious residential complex called Rivers with a green promenade and a serene pond, followed by the eternal Mediterranean life in the thriving city of Ras el Hikma. They also sneak into the latest models of mobile phones, flavor concentrates for cooking and one of the country’s latest theatrically released action films, Darwish.
What in some places may seem like entertainment while driving on a boring motorway, in others can become a dangerous visual obstacle, especially at nightfall, between the dense traffic of the capital and the incessant brake lights. There are places where the eye-catching billboards and advertising screens completely flood the view, adding to the gymkhana of adversities that motorists have to overcome in the midst of frenetic traffic and roads that are not always in good condition.
In recent years, the proliferation of outdoor advertising in Cairo has occurred without any control. In the last six years alone, the number of large billboards on the capital’s streets has skyrocketed from around 2,500 in 2019 to around 6,300 today, according to AdMazad, an industry firm. This equates to more than 30 large advertisements per square kilometer of inhabited surface, not counting the illuminated digital screens, which have increased tenfold in the same period and today already exceed 300.
Despite digital development in Egypt, many companies continue to rely on this type of advertising as part of their brand strategies, and the market already moves 110 million euros. The sector that invests the most, and by far, is the real estate sector, which represents 60% of the offer, demonstrating its constant and risky expansion. They also rely on consumer product brands and, to a lesser extent, hospitality, automobiles, appliances and telephones. The main beneficiary of this spending is the state coffers.
Roads
The increase in outdoor advertising in Cairo has gone hand in hand with the incessant expansion of the road network undertaken by the Government over the last decade. In recent years, around 6,500 kilometers of new roads have been completed in the country, work has been carried out on 10,000 kilometers of road network and almost a thousand tunnels and bridges have been built, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.
One of the problems is that outdoor advertising in the capital has reached saturation levels and is generating what the industry calls a “visual zoo”, due to the proliferation of adverts and the bewildering variety of sizes and formats, creating a very dense visual environment in some areas. So much so, companies like AdMazad warn, that there are fears the effect could overwhelm consumers, reduce the impact of advertising and reduce profits for brands.
The government appears determined to intervene now to impose some control before the situation gets out of hand. In September, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly himself called a meeting with several members of his team to specifically address advertising on the country’s public roads and highways. And recognizing the challenge, he stressed the need to establish greater control to ensure “the preservation of the urban landscape” and that advertising complies “with social values”.
Although it receives less attention, it is also easy to see the impact that this advertisement displayed on the streets of Cairo can have on the population. Most advertisements show luxury residential complexes on the outskirts of the capital or on the Mediterranean coast or the Red Sea, projecting an image of tranquility and green spaces that contrasts with the reality of a deserted and modest country, where the minimum wage barely exceeds the equivalent of 120 euros a month. For the vast majority of Egyptians these splendid villas, the latest generation cell phones and high-end cars are the dream of another life.
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