You too can own a digital billboard!

Californian politicians are at the very early stages of a scheme to allow drivers to offer their license plates as a digital advertising billboard.

Car owners could earn a little extra on the side sure, but the revenues will also have to be split with the cash-strapped Californian government.

The technology, owned by the company Smart Plate, only exists in patent form at the moment. It would mean cars had a digital plate which would normally show the registration number of the car. If the car was stationary for more than four seconds, for example in congestion or at lights, the ads would appear.

The most likely set-up would be that the state would run a pool of advertisements and would be forced to include any ad which didn’t breach obscenity laws. However, drivers could veto individual ads from appearing on their vehicle.

Funny that a state government would turn to advertising to make money…but then again, they have a movie star for a Governor – anything is possible. It just goes to show the power of advertising.