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Billboards have been a part of Times Square for over a century as an advertising spot for major brands, but 3D billboards are more than just ads. These are next-generation LED advertising screens that use anamorphic content design to create an illusion of three-dimensional depth and create experiences.

These screens combine high-resolution panels, corner-wrapped screens, and advanced brightness levels to make objects appear and extend beyond the screen or sink into it. Through these captivating visuals, brands attract millions of pedestrians and tourists who pass through Times Square every day.  To understand how LED screens work and why they’re so different from LCDs, check out our LCD vs LED Display Guide.

Times Square doesn’t have just one 3D billboard, it is becoming a hub for such advertisement spots. The 3D billboards that everyone talks about in Times Square are primarily located near the Marriott Marquis and the NASDAQ MarketSite building. There are also several other boards around the plaza that are now experimenting with 3D content.  For more details about these landmark boards and how they’ve evolved, read our recent valuable Times Square billboard guide.

At first glance, a Times Square 3D billboard feels like magic, but the secret is a clever mix of optical illusion and cutting-edge LED technology. Here’s what makes the illusion come alive:

• Anamorphic Design:  Artists design the visuals using perspective tricks, so that when you stand at just the right spot, the flat screen suddenly looks three-dimensional. A sneaker might look like it’s popping out of the frame, or a car might seem to be floating above the street.
  
• Curved or Corner Screens:  Many of Times Square’s 3D billboards bend around a corner. This shape naturally enhances the depth effect, making the illusion even more convincing.
  
• Brightness and Contrast: Remember, Times Square is one of the brightest places on Earth, lit up 24/7. To compete with neon lights and daylight glare, LED screens must deliver extreme brightness and contrast without losing clarity.
  
• Content Synchronization:  Behind the scenes, motion designers use advanced software to align every frame perfectly with the billboard’s surface, so the illusion flows smoothly as objects move.

The bottom line: a 3D billboard is only as good as its LED hardware. Even the most brilliant creative design will fall flat on a poor-quality screen.

EagerLED built outdoor 3D billboard displays with pixel pitches from P2.5 to P10, designed specifically for 3D billboard projects. You will get high-quality, weather-resistant, ultra-bright, and completely customizable screens. No matter if it’s a curved corner display in a shopping mall or any massive outdoor installation, the 3D effect remains crystal clear.

If you have experience of walking through Times Square, you might feel like you are swallowed by screens, this is exactly what we also encounter, and that is not far from the truth. According to the official Times Square NYC site, there are dozens of major digital screens owned and managed by different companies, such as Clear Channel Outdoor and Outdoor Media. While exact numbers fluctuate because screens are added or upgraded all the time. However, estimates suggest there are well over 100 major Times Square 3D billboards displayed. Not everyone can show 3D content, but in recent years, at least a dozen premium locations have been actively producing 3D or anamorphic campaigns.

Cities across the globe are taking notes. Places like Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, London, and Dubai are all building their own “mini Times Squares” with clusters of high-impact digital displays. Brands that can’t afford a spot in New York are deploying similar campaigns closer to home, and that’s where companies like EagerLED play a huge role, supplying the LED technology behind these kinds of immersive displays in your budget.

When it comes to the most famous billboards in Times Square. A few iconic names come to mind. The Coca-Cola 3D Robotic Sign. It is arguably the symbol of Times Square. Its first billboard appeared there around 1920, and over the decades, the brand has kept pushing the envelope in design and technology.

In 2017, Coca-Cola unveiled a groundbreaking version: a 3D robotic billboard, 68 ft by 42 ft, composed of 1,715 moving LED cubes plus 245 static ones.

Guinness World Records declared it as both the first and largest 3D robotic billboard at the time.

Other Standouts & Viral Campaigns:

While the Coca-Cola 3D sign is considered one of the famous crown jewels, several other billboards also grab global attention:

• The NASDAQ MarketSite billboard is famous not only for its financial data and IPO announcements, but also for brand takeovers and major launch events.
• Entertainment giants like Netflix and media agencies also rent these premium screens to run high-impact 3D visuals that go viral.

Billboards are no longer just about size or brightness. There are few ingredients that tend to make certain Times Square billboards stand out: 

1. Motion & Depth: Technology like moving LED cubes (as in Coca-Cola’s sign) or curved/angled screens that distort perspective.
2. Storytelling & Creativity: Ads that surprise you (e.g. something appearing to come out of the screen), delight, or provoke a reaction tend to get shared wildly.
3. Location & Visibility: Flags like NASDAQ, Marriott Marquis, and key corners where foot traffic is massive.
4. Social Media Splash:  It helps if the billboard yields visuals that people want to film and post. Once content ends up on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, it amplifies the reach far beyond Times Square.

These billboards are more than ads, they’re moments. Such moments that make people remember, talk about, and share. EagerLED helps brands capture those moments in their own regions by offering custom LED display hardware and creative support to build immersive, 3D-capable screens that have the same “wow” factor.

Most of the giant digital billboards in Times Square are not owned by the brands you see on them. Instead, they’re controlled by major media companies like Clear Channel Outdoor, Branded Cities, and Outfront Media. Property owners lease their building façades to these firms, which then rent advertising slots to brands, much like how TV airtime is sold.

If you want to advertise on a Times Square billboard outright, it can cost tens of millions of dollars, making ownership rare. Due to this reason, most of the businesses renting ad time are far more practical.

Absolutely, they are effective because they work better than most traditional ad formats. Times Square alone attracts nearly 300,000 pedestrians every day and more than 50 million visitors each year. A single eye-catching 3D ad can grab the attention of thousands in just a few minutes.

Businesses can install their own 3D-ready LED screens provided by EagerLED, which can capture attention locally and still ride the global wave through social sharing.

Now come to the most interesting question that everyone asks: How much does it cost to advertise on a Times Square 3D billboard?

A 3D billboard in Times Square can cost anywhere from $50,000 to over $500,000 per month. It completely depends on size, screen location, and duration.

A 30-second ad on a Times Square digital billboard typically costs $1,000–$5,000 per day, depending on screen size, location, and frequency of display. High-traffic spots like 47th Street and Broadway are more expensive, but shorter slots can still reach hundreds of thousands of pedestrians daily.

A 1-minute Times Square 3D billboard ad generally ranges between $2,000 and $10,000 per day. Pricing depends on whether it runs once or multiple times daily. Longer exposure or placement on iconic screens like the Nasdaq MarketSite will significantly increase both visibility and overall cost.

One day cost for renting Times Square 3D billboards ranges between $5,000 to $50,000. However, it also depends on the size and screen prominence.  Full-day digital takeovers, especially on massive wrap-around boards, can run much higher. Shorter-duration campaigns are common for birthdays, proposals, or brand launches.

You can make your loved ones’ birthday celebrations unforgettable and surprising for just between $150- $1000, depending on the screen size, time slot, and length of your message.  It is not as expensive as many people think. 

Photo display packages in Times Square let individuals or small groups feature a personal image, message, or welcome note on a shared digital screen. They are affordable and fun for birthdays, proposals, or social media bragging rights, though they don’t have the visibility of large brand campaigns.

Times Square 3D billboards are more than advertisements, they’re spectacles that stop people in their tracks. With the right expertise, it can light up any city in the world, and that’s exactly what EagerLED delivers.

Founded in 2009, EagerLED has over 15 years of expertise in designing and producing LED displays. With a modern 5,000+ square meter facility and clients across 120+ countries, we’ve earned a reputation as one of China’s most trusted LED screen providers. We help brands to turn their advertising campaigns into unforgettable experiences through:

• Outdoor LED Screens
• 3D-Compatible LED Panels
• Curved & Corner LED Displays
• Transparent LED Screens
• Rental LED Screens

All our products are built with superior LED chips, high-quality driving ICs, and durable LED modules, ensuring clarity, reliability, and long service life. All displays meet global standards, certified by ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO45001, FCC, CCC, and RoHS.

For advertisers, this means you don’t need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a few seconds in Times Square. With EagerLED, you can own your own 3D-capable LED screen, run campaigns 24/7, and generate continuous visibility at a fraction of the cost in your commercial areas.

From Asia to Europe, the Middle East to America, EagerLED has helped brands, governments, and event organizers create Times Square–style spectacles in their own cities. Whether it’s a permanent installation or a rental display, EagerLED delivers the technology, expertise, and reliability to make your vision larger than life.

Renting just a few seconds ad in a Times Square 3D billboard can cost tens of thousands of dollars, vanish in an instant, and leave you with little more than a social media clip. No doubt these are powerful media, but they are not the only way to make an impact.

If you invest that same budget into your own 3D-capable LED screen instead of renting ad space, you own the platform. Now your campaign is running 24/7, 365 days a year, giving you long-term visibility and even the option to rent it out to other businesses.

This is where EagerLED changes the equation. With fine-pixel LED panels, curved corner displays, and outdoor-ready technology, EagerLED allows brands, malls, sports venues, and city centers to create their own “mini Times Square.” In short, Times Square shows what’s possible. EagerLED makes it practical.

With EagerLED’s advanced LED screen solutions, worldwide brands are already building Times Square-style 3D billboard experiences at a fraction of the price. From generative 3D modeling to AI-driven animation, creativity has never been more scalable, and EagerLED screens are future-ready to showcase it all with unmatched clarity and flexibility.

Just reach out to EagerLED today and explore how our advanced LED screens can help you create Times Square-style 3D experiences right in your own market.

While Times Square 3D billboards are iconic, mobile billboard advertising is another rising trend worth exploring.