Billboards make a comeback as a shared cultural and experiential moment

As streaming platforms multiplied, billboards slid into oblivion. Now they are making a comeback, serving once again as a shared cultural and experiential moment

A sweater shouldn’t be the most interesting thing in the sky. Yet earlier this week in Delhi, a blue argyle one hung off the edge of a yellow billboard. Not printed on it, but tilted forward as if left there to dry above a crowded intersection. For a moment, the city paused. A scooter slowed. Someone lifted their phone to click a picture. And Delhi, a place that rarely sees its own skyline through the smog, looked up at this quiet, slightly absurd interruption — a billboard pretending it was never just a billboard.