Bayer’s Crosses

Wednesday, 24th September 2008 by

Where would you expect to find the world's largest illuminated advertisement? With my years of experience in completely-useless "World's largest" facts, I would definitely assume it would be in America, perhaps in Times Square or maybe Las Vegas.

But I would, of course, be wrong. The largest illuminated advertisement in the world is found in the German city of Leverkusen, and is known as the Bayer Cross.

The 51 m diameter logo advertises the German chemical company Bayer AG, which has also given the world aspirin, heroin and methadone. Hanging between two 118 m steel towers, the 300 tonne advert has held its world record since 1958. Unfortunately, the giant logo fails to cast an appreciable shadow.

Nevermind, the logo is again represented at the company headquarters, this time flat on the ground.

Read more about Bayer at Wikipedia and see the giant advert at Flickr.

Thanks to volker lauterbach.